rivers-Chenab, Jelum, Ravee, Sutlej, and Beas-drain the Punjaub, which thence derives its name (signifying five rivers).

Towns: (On the Indus) Attock, Hyderabad; (on the Cabul) Cabul, Jellalabad, Peshawur ; (on the Chenab) Mooltan; (on the Jelum) Cashmere; (on the Ravee) Lahore; (on the Sutlej) Aliwal, Sobraon, Ferozepore.

LAKES. None of importance. There are many salt-water marshes, or lagoons, near the coast in various parts. The largest is the Runn of Cutch, near the mouth of the Indus.

CLIMATE. Very various. The greater part of India lies within the tropics, and the climate is therefore generally hot. The centre of the country is very hot, being protected from the north winds by the mountains. The elevated table lands and hilly regions are cooler. Monsoons, or periodical winds, blow from the north-west and south-east (six months in each direction) throughout the year. The year consists of three seasons : the Wet Season (during which rain falls almost incessantly), from June to October; the Dry Season, from October to March; and the Hot Season, from March to June. The climate is unhealthy in the marshy parts near the mouths of the great rivers. Many Europeans retire from the low to the hilly regions for a time to recruit their health.

SOIL. On the whole, fertile. The mountain regions, marshes, and deserts are barren.

MINERALS. India possesses great mineral wealth, which however has not yet been fully developed. The chief mineral productions are:-Iron, coal, tin, copper, lead, saltpetre, gold, silver, marble, and building-stone. Diamonds and other precious stones were formerly found, especially at Golconda, near Hyderabad, but the supply is now very small.

FORESTS. The vegetable productions of India are abundant. The trees are those found in tropical countries, as the banyan, palm, cocoa-nut tree, bamboo, sugar-cane, teak, ebony, citron, orange, banana, etc.

WILD ANIMALS. These abound in the forests and jungles. Lion, tiger, elephant, leopard, panther, hyæna, rhinoceros, antelope, monkey, bear. Serpents abound everywhere. Reptiles, birds, and insects are very numerous.

II. POLITICAL.

AGRICULTURE. This forms the chief employment of the people. The chief objects of culture are :-Rice, cotton, corn (wheat, barley, maize), coffee, indigo, sugar, tea, flax, hemp. opium, pepper, cinnamon, jute. The domestic animals are:-Ox, elephant, camel, horse, ass. Agricultural operations are not of a very skilful kind, but are being improved. Notwithstanding the number and size of the rivers, droughts are frequent, and sometimes cause famines in various parts of the country. Irrigation is dependent to a large extent on the overflowing of the rivers.

MANUFACTURES. Cotton goods, silk, ivory carving, Cashmere shawls.

COMMERCE. Very important. Chiefly with England; also. with China, Persia, Arabia, and Central Asia.

Imports. Manufactured goods from England (cotton, hardware, silk, woollen, machinery), beer, wine, tea.

Exports. Raw cotton, opium, dyes (indigo, etc.), rice, raw silk, coffee, wool, Cashmere shawls, jute, saltpetre.

Ports. Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Surat, Tanjore, Tinnevelly, Kurrachee.

Overland Route. The usual route to India is from Southampton, by way of Gibraltar, Malta, Alexandria, Suez Canal, Red Sea, Aden, Bombay, Madras, Calcutta. The time occupied is about twenty-five days. A shorter route is through France to Malta via Marseilles. A still shorter is through Italy, via Brindisi.

INTERNAL COMMUNICATION. By means of the rivers, and by railways. There are several canals. The roads are

bad, but are being improved. Upwards of 6,000 miles of railway have been constructed.

POPULATION. About 245,000,000. Of these, there are about 200,000,000 in the British States, and 45,000,000 in the Tributary States.

India is peopled by many different races, speaking different languages. The majority of the population are Hindoos.

ARMY. About 70,000 British troops are garrisoned in India. In addition to these are native troops called Sepoys, forming part of the British army; and the Tributary States are bound to provide about 100,000 men when required.

RELIGION. The religion of the Hindoos is Brahminism. Buddhism is now confined to Ceylon. There are about 15,000,000 Mahometans. The European Inhabitants are Christians. Christianity has made some progress among the Indian population. The Sikhs have a religion of their own. Parsees, or fire-worshippers, are numerous in Bombay.

GOVERNMENT. The control of British India is now in the hands of the British Government, under Queen Victoria, Empress of India. There is a Viceroy, or Governor-General of India, who is appointed by the Queen. He is controlled by the Secretary of State for India, who is a member of the English Cabinet. The Viceroy is assisted by a Supreme Council appointed by the British authorities. The seat of government is at Calcutta. There is a separate Governor and Council for each of the Provinces of Madras and Bombay, but they are subject to the general control of the Viceroy.

Each Tributary and Independent State has a native prince and government of its own.

British India was formerly ruled by the East India Company; but in 1858 the government was transferred to the direct control of the British Crown.

Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India, at Delhi, in 1877.

HISTORY. The following is a list of some of the most important events in the History of British India :

The British Empire in India was founded on the ruins of the Tartar or Mogul Empire, which had its capital at Delhi. The last and most famous of the Mogul Emperors was Aurungzebe, on whose death, in 1707, the country was divided among various contending tribes.

The English, French, Dutch, and other European nations had formed settlements in India for purposes of trade.

In 1599 a Company of Merchants was formed for the purpose of trading to the East Indies. This was the origin of the famous East India Company. They obtained a charter, confirmed by James I. in 1609.

In 1612 they established their first settlement at Surat, by permission of the Mogul.

In 1653 a settlement was formed at Madras.

In 1662 Bombay was ceded to Charles II. by Portugal.

In 1698 Fort William (Calcutta) was erected on ground purchased by the Company.

On the fall of the Mogul Empire a contest for supremacy. in India arose between the English and French. The French were commanded by Dupleix, and the English by the celebrated Clive. The latter established the ascendency of the English by the defence of Arcot, 1751, and the battle of Plassey, 1757. In 1756, the English had been overpowered at Fort William, and many of them cruelly murdered in the Black Hole at Calcutta. Clive's decisive victory at Plassey re-established the English power.

The English now gradually extended their sway from one province to another. Warren Hastings, the first Governor-General, annexed the District of Benares and other provinces (1771-1785). Lord Cornwallis defeated Tippoo Saib, 1792, and annexed a portion of his dominions.

The English army, partly commanded by Arthur Wellesley, afterwards Duke of Wellington, overthrew Tippoo Saib, who was killed at the storming of Seringapatam, 1798.

In 1803, the Mahrattas were defeated by Wellington at Assaye, and their territories added to the British dominions. In 1842, the English troops met with a great disaster in the Khyber Pass, during the war with Afghanistan.

In 1843, Sinde was conquered by Sir Charles Napier. From 1844 to 1847, the English were engaged in war with the Sikhs, who were defeated at Ferozeshah, Aliwal, and Sobraon.

In 1848 and 1849 occurred the second Sikh war. After the battles of Chillianwallah and Gujerat the Punjaub was annexed. In 1857, the great Indian Mutiny broke out, which was finally quelled by Lord Clyde. The chief events occurring during this period were the Massacre of Cawnpore, the Relief of Lucknow, and the Storming of Delhi.

In 1858 India was placed under the direct authority of the Crown of England.

In 1877 Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India, at Delhi.

In 1879 the Afghans were defeated by the British troops, and the north-west frontier of the Indian Empire strengthened by the annexation of the Khyber and Bolan Passes.

(2) Protected or Tributary States. These are very nu

merous.

The following are the most important.