42 



Statistics of the Sircar Yelgunthul. [No. 39, 



Whether any decrease in the number of the population has 

 actually taken place, there is nothing upon which to form a 

 correct report, the almost universal reply by village authorities, 

 when questioned on this subject, describes it as diminishing : 

 however this may be, there is certainly nothing to invite or 

 attract an influx of strangers ; for through Kooshbash get land 

 upon more favourable terms, the wants of the zemindars ren- 

 der them nominal, the ruined villages and broken tanks are evi- 

 dence of decrease in agriculture ; and such can scarcely hap- 

 pen, without a decrease of people, in a community where there 

 is little or no trade in manufactured articles. People seldom 

 leave their villages without great provocation, and should they 

 do so, it is only to remove to one belonging to the neigh- 

 bouring zemindar, so that the population of a large district would 

 not be numerically influenced thereby, the social condition of the 

 ryots may have more influence, pressed as they are with demands, 

 they live upon as little expense of labour and food as possible, 

 the want of confidence universally existing in the good faith 

 of the zemindars prevents that wholesome exertion necessary for 

 the realization of property, and its attendant benefits ; so that, the 

 tendency is generally either backwards, or to remain in a state 

 of apathetic listlessness badly clothed and half fed. Disease, 

 especially small pox, must have great effect in retarding the 

 growth of the population; every three or four years a visita- 

 tion from this scourge is expected, and in the absence of all 

 preventive or sanitory measures, is the cause of great morta- 

 lity. In the village of Alleoporum, in the Vempully Purgun- 

 nah, out of a population of 436 it is stated that 85 died in 

 4 months from that cause alone. Cholera breaks out once 

 in 8 or 10 years. Intermittent fevers prevail in the Northern 

 Purgunnahs during the cold season, and to a more limited ex- 

 tent in the South, but the mortality from this disease is not 

 great. 



The number of schools is 52, one to every 15 

 villages ; the number of scholars 1,352, or one to 

 every 130 of the population. Teloogoo (for there are no Persian 



