BOMBA Y.

The BOMBAY PRESIDENCY, which lies wholly on the western side of India, is about 1,000 miles in length, and has a population of 181⁄2 millions. The Native States attached to the Province, of which the largest are Cutch and Baroda, occupy a third of the total area, which is about 195,000 square miles.

The principal productions of the Bombay Province are cereals, cotton, salt, (in the Rann of Cutch), sugar and oil seeds. Much of the cotton grown in the province is now worked up in the large cotton factories of Bombay itself. The large province of SIND, which extends over both banks of the Lower Indus, forms part of this Province. The following are the largest towns :-BOMBAY, SURAT, AHMADABAD, POONA, HAIDARABAD, KARACHI, and BARODA (sce page 33).

The city of BOMBAY (776), the capital of the Presidency, is situated upon the island of Bombay, which closely adjoins the coast. Bombay has an excellent harbour-one of the best in India. It is rapidly rising in importance as the chief commercial centre of the Indian Empire, with a trade nearly equal to the foreign trade of Calcutta. Bombay is historically noteworthy as one of the earliest English possessions in the East, having been part of the wedding dowry given to Charles II. with his Portuguese bride, Catherine of Braganza, in 1661. Surat (120), to the north of Bombay, at the mouth of the Tapti River, was the first trading centre of the British in India. Poona (154), an important military station, the capital of the Maratha power under the Peshwa. The most important place in the province of Sind is the rising port of Karachi (117), a short distance west of the mouths of the Indus. Haidarabad (70), also in Sind, is on the east bank of the Indus; near it is the village of Miani, where Sir Charles Napier gained his famous victory in 1843. Ahmadabad (186) lies on the Sabarmati, and is the old Mohammedan capital.

MADRAS.

The MADRAS PRESIDENCY embraces a large part of Central and Southern India, including both the eastern and western shores of the peninsula, besides an extensive portion of the interior plateau. Its area, 141,000 square miles, is nearly three times that of England, while its population numbers over 38 millions, an average of 270 per square mile.

The "Presidency" of Madras includes the old provinces of the Carnatic, the Circars, Coimbatore, Malabar, and Canara. Its principal towns are MADRAS, TANJORE, TRICHINOPOLI, MADURA, TINNEVELLY, TUTICORIN, and CALICUT.

The city of MADRAS (509), the capital of the Presidency, is on the Coromandel Coast. It is destitute of any natural harbour, the sea in front being merely an open roadstead. Its commerce is, nevertheless, very considerable, and is increasing, especially since the construction of the new tier and harbour of refuge. Masulipatam (39) and Coringa are to the north of Madras-the former near the mouth of the River Kistn, the latter at the mouth of the Godaveri. Bellari (58) is an agricultural centre on the Deccan. Arcot, Tanjore (54), Trichinopoli (105), Madura (106), and Tinnevelly (25) are inland cities. Tuticorin (25) is a seaport on the Gulf of Manar. The old provinces of Malabar and Canara are upon the western side of the peninsula, stretching along the seaward face of the Western Ghats. Calicut (77), Negapatam (57),

1. The eastern coast of Inia is nearly devoid for shipping, while the western, or Malabar Coast, throughout its entire length, ofany natural shelter, abounds in good natural harbours.

and Mangalore (40) are flourishing seaports upon the Malabar Coast. Kom. bakonum (60), in the Cauvery Delta, is a holy place of the Hindus.

The small district of Coimbatore, which is wholly inland, has on its northern border the group of the Nilgiri Hills, which (like Simla in Northern India) are resorted to for the sake of their cool and refreshing breezes. The sanatorium of Ootacamund or Utakamund, founded in 1822, is on the eastern side of the hills.

THE NATIVE STATES OF INDIA.

The Native States of India, including the Frontier States, are no less than 680 in number, and have a total area of 679,393 square miles, or 13 times the size of England and Wales, and a population of 63%1⁄2 millions, or twice the population of England and Wales. The Armies of the Native States number altogether about 137,000 men, while the Revenues of the Native Princes and Chiefs amount to about £15,000,000 of English money.'

Of the 680 distinct States, about 200 only are of any considerable size, and but few of these are of any great political importance. Many of the Native States are dependent upon the various British Presidencies and Provinces, others are governed by their own Princes or Rajahs, but are more or less controlled by Residents or Political Agents appointed by the Governor-General, while two of the Himalayan States are independent. We may therefore class the Native States of India under three heads :-(1) Dependent States, (2) Tributary States, and (3) Independent States.

DEPENDENT NATIVE STATES.

The Dependent Native States are those attached to the various Presidencies and Provinces. They have an area of nearly 190,000 square miles, and a population of about 221⁄2 millions.

These States are 82 in number, 4 of them being attached to the Province of B ngal, 2 to Agra and Oudh, 36 to the Punjab, 15 to the Central Provinces, 5 to Madras, and 5 to Bombay.

Of these States, the most important are Bahar, Chota Nagpur, and Orissa, attached to Bengal; Patiala and other Sikh States, attached to the Punjab; Garwhal and Rampur, attached to Agra and Outh; Travancore and Cochin, attached to Madras; and Cutch, Kathiawár and Palanpur, attached to Bombay.

TRAVANCORE extends along the south-western coast of India, from Cape Comorin to the frontiers of Cochin on the north, and is limited on he east by the Cardamom Mountains. The greater portion of this State is covered with forests, but the coast districts are well-cultivated and productive. The capital is Trivandrum (58), a seaport about 60 miles north-west of Cape Comorin.

COCHIN is a sma'l district immediately north of Travancore, and is similarly bounded on the east by the Cardamom Mountains. The town of Cochin is situated near the mouth of a large inlet, on the Malabar Coast.

GUJARAT is the general name for the territories east and west of the Gulf of Cambay. Of the numerous Native States attached to the Presidency of Bombay, the most important are Cutch and Kathiawár.

The exchange

1. A "ten of rupees," written R, is nominally | Rs. ; a "crore "10,000,000 Rs. equal to sterling, but in 1894 the value of the value of the rupee is now fixed at 15 43. (18 rupee fell below is id. A "lac" of rupees-100.000 rupees to the sovereign),

CUTCH (Kach) is a small peninsula separated from the adjoining peninsula of Kathiawar on the south by the Gulf of Cutch, and from the mainland on the north by the vast salt-marsh known as the Rann or Runn of Cutch. The Rao, as the Native ruler is termed, resides at Bhuj, an inland town. The productions of this peninsula comprise cotton, &c., and are mostly exported from the port of Mandivi, on the south coast.

Besides these, Kashmir, Baluchistan and Sikkim are also dependent on, or feudatory to, British India.

KASHMIR.

KASHMIR includes the famous valley of that name, which lies between some of the highest ranges of the Himalayas and the Karakoram Mountains, watered by the upper course of the River Jhelum. It has an area of 80,000 square miles, and a population of about 3 millions.

The new railway that has been proposed from the North-Western Railway near RAWAL PINDI, to SRINAGAR, the capital, is of the highest political, commercial, and strategical value, for Kashmir commands some of the most important trade routes into the heart of Central Asia, and is renowned for the beauty and magnificence of its scenery and its bracing and health-giving climate.

The proposed railway will turn Kashmir into the favourite health-resort and playground to India, as Switzerland is to Europe, and, besides attracting a large tourist immigration, it will also preserve the valley against famine. Happily, the Maharajah and his Council are working heartily under the advice and direction of the British Resident to improve the condition of the people and to develop the industries of this rich, but much-neglected and impoverished valley. The soil is extraordinarily fertile, but, as rain falls mostly in winter (the average is only 16 inches a year), cultivation is entirely dependent on irrigation, which is easily obtained from the Jehlam and the numerous tributaries that descend from the giant ranges of snow-clad mountains which environ the valley. The large herds of goats afford the fine wool which is woven into the celebrated Cashmere Shawls. SRINAGAR (123), the capital, lies on the banks of the Jhelum, at an elevation of about 5,000 feet above the sea.

SIKKIM.

This small Himalayan State lies between the Chumbi Valley on the east and Nepal on the west, and is bounded on the north by Tibet, and on the south by the British district of Darjiling.

Sikkim is about 70 miles in length, with an extreme breadth of about 50 miles. The Maharajah acts under the direction of a British Agent at Tumlong, the capital, and is bound by treaty to keep open the great trade route between Bengal and Tibet, which passes through his territories. A treaty with China was signed in 1890, by which the entire control of Sikkim is assumed by the British Government. In 1904 a British expedition occupied the Chumbi district to the east of Sikkim, and temporarily occupied Lhassa.

MANIPUR.

MANIPUR is a small Native State in Assam, in the heart of the mountainous region which borders Upper Burma. It is about 8,000 square miles in extent, with a population of over 250,000.

The hill ranges of Manipur are clothed with dense forests of teak, india. rubber, and other valuable woods, and the region generally is rich, but undeveloped, while coal, iron, and gold have been found, and the tea-plant grows wild in various parts of the country. The district is separated from Cachar, by seven ranges of hills, each from 2,000 to 7,000 feet in height, and four large rivers, unfordab'e during the greater part of the year. In 1887, arms and ammunition were presented to the Maharajah by the Indian Government for assistance rendered to our troops in Burma, and it was, doubtless, these very arms which were used against us in 1891, when the Chief Commissioner of Assam and the British Resident were massacred. Relief troops were immediately sent from Burma and Assam, and occupied the Manipuri capital. The State remained under British supervision till June, 1907, when the control was handed over to a new Rajah. IMPHAL is the chief town.

BALUCHISTAN.

BALUCHISTAN, which includes the so-called Independent Baluchistan, ruled by chiefs under the Khan of Kelat as suzerain, and British Baluchistan, adjoins the western frontier of Sind.

... For a detailed description of Baluchistan see pp 426-8.

TRIBUTARY NATIVE STATES.

Of the Tributary Native States, the principal are those of Raj putana, Central India, Haidarabad, Mysore and Baroda.

RAJPUTANA, in the north-western part of India, is the name given to an extensive tract of country, within which are embraced numerous small States ruled by native Rajahs. The southern part of this territory is traversed by the Aravalli Hills, to the north and west of which extends the Thar or Great Indian Désert.

Although measuring about 450 miles from north to south and over 500 miles from east to west, with an area of fully 130,coo square miles, the total popula tion in 1901 only amounted to about ten millions. The ruling people in all the States are the proud and warlike Rajputs (hence the name of the country). Of the larger Rajput Principalities the most important are Udaipur (Oodeypore) and Jaipur (Jeypore), but Jodhpur is the largest. The chief towns are Jaipur (159), Bhartpur (68), Jodhpur (60), and Udaipur (47). The government of all the States is more or less under the control of British Political Agents, subordinate to the principal Agent, who resides at Ajmere, the chief town of a British District in the region of the Aravalli Hills.

Between the north-west frontier of Rajputana and the Indus and Sutlej lies the Native State of BHAWALPUR. The town of Bhawalpur is situated on the banks of the Sutlej, about 60 miles south of MULTAN.

The State of BARODA is under the rule of a Native Prince styled the Gaekwar, whose territory lies on the north-eastern side of the Gulf of Cambay The capital, Baroda (104) is about 250 miles north of Bombay, with which it is connected by rail. Area, 8,570 square miles; population (1901), z millions.

The States of CENTRAL INDIA lie between Rajputana and the Central Provinces, and have an area of about 75,000 square miles, with a population of 8 millions. The largest State is that of Gwalior, governed by the Maharajah Sindia, but the British Agent resides at Indore, the capital of the dominions of the Maharajah Holkar. Sindia's territories embrace the greater part of the tableland of Malwa. The famous hill-forts of the capital, Gwalior, were taken by the British in 1842. Bhopal is a small but important Mohammedan State in the Vindhya Mountains.

HAIDARABAD (Hyderabad), with an area of 82,000 square miles, and a population of 11 millions, is the most extensive of the Native States, and is under a ruler who bears the title of the Nizam. It is wholly inland, comprising a great part of the tableland of the Deccan. Not far distant from Aurungabad, in the north-west part of this territory, are the wonderful cave-temples of Ellora, and the little town of Assaye, where the Duke of Wellington (then Sir Arthur Wellesley) gained one of his splendid victories in 1803. The capital, Haidarabad (449), on a tributary of the Kistna, is strongly fortified, and Secunderabad, an important native military station, lies six miles to the north. Golkonda, further north, was noted for its diamond mines. The Nizam is advised on all important affairs by the British Resident.

MYSORE (Maisûr), which is also inland, is surrounded by the territories of the Madras Presidency. Area, 27,000 square miles; fopulation (1901), 51⁄2 millions. Seringapatam, the former capital, seated on an island in the River Cauveri, is a place of historic importance, having been besieged by the British thrice-in 1791, 1792, and 1798. Mysore was restored to the native Rajah in 1881, after having been under a British Commissioner since 1832. The present capital, Mysore, lies about 20 miles south-east of Seringapatam. The only territory in Mysore now held by the British is the fort and cantonment of Bangalore, near the eastern border.

INDEPENDENT NATIVE STATES.

The only Independent Native States are Nepal and Bhutan, on the southern slopes of the Himalayas.

NEPAL.

NEPAL lies between the Feudatory States of Sikkim on the east and Kumaon on the west, and is separated from the British provinces of Oudh and Bahar by the pestilential region of the Tarai.

Nepal has an area of nearly 57,000 square miles (and is thus nearly as large as England and Wales), and a population of about 2 millions.

Though bounded on the north by the lofty ranges of the Himalaya Mountains, the Nepalese carry on a considerable trade with Tibet. Until the British invasion of 1815, the country was virtually a dependency of the Chinese Empire.