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BASINGSTOKE — BASTI

exports and imports are from and to Baghdad. The average Basingstoke, a municipal borough (extended exports of the five years 1894-98 were valued at £996,224,, 1891) and market town, in the Basingstoke parliamentary and the imports at £1,103,356. division of Hampshire, England,19 miles Is E. by Is. of Bassam, Grand, See Ivory Coast. Winchester by rail. A cottage hospital and a home for women have been built. Area, 4194 acres ; population Bassano, a town of the province of A icenza, A enetia,. on this area (1891), 8213; (1901), 9793. Italy, picturesquely situated at the foot of the Venetian Basque Provinces, ail old division of Spain, now Alps and on the torrential Brenta, 24 miles N.E.; from subdivided into the provinces of Viscaya or Biscay, Alas a, ATcenza by rail. Its most important building is the and Guipuzcoa, for particulars of each of which see under museum, which contains a picture gallery and a library.. the separate headings. The total area is 2958 square miles ; Bassano also possesses a bronze statue of Garibaldi, a population about 570,000. The second Carlist insurrection monument to Victor Emmanuel, and a school of industrial (1870 to 1876) led to some curtailment of the almost com- design. Population, about 8000; of commune, about plete local self-government previously enjoyed by these 15,000. provinces, and especially to their forfeiting exemption from Bassein, a district in the Irrawaddy division of conscription. When the three provinces sent m their hrst Lower Burma, in the delta of the Irrawaddy. It has contingent of 2046 conscripts in 1877 it was found that all been reduced to 4090 square miles, from 8954 square but about 60 knew how to read and write, and succeeding miles in 1871, having given up a large tract to the contingents have kept up to this average of primary educa- district of Myaungmya formed in 1896. In 18/1-/2 the tion. After the close of the civil war in 18/6, the repre- population of the larger area amounted to 316,883 in sentatives of the three provincial councils, assisted by the 1554 villages. In 1891 the smaller district had 1439 senators and deputies of the Basque provinces in the Cortes, villages, with a total population of 311,262, paying in negotiated several successive pacts, each lasting some years, 1898-99, Rs. 14,98,772 revenue.. Of the population 284,349 and the last still in force, securing for the three provinces were Buddhists and Jains,. 6315 Hindus, 4741 Mahomtheir municipal and provincial self-government, the ad- medans, and 15,857 Christians, of whom 15,610 were ministration of their local affairs, and the assessment natives, chiefly Karens.. Of a total area of ^,617,600 distribution, and collection of their principal taxes and acres, 472,357 were cultivated in 1898-99, and 1,125,935 octroi duties, on the understanding that a lump sum, acres were not available for cultivation, the cultivable area a creed upon beforehand, but subject to increase whenever apart from fallow being 927,833 acres. The rainfall in the national taxation of other provinces was augmented, 1898-99 was 124-56 inches. Apart from Bassein the should be paid annually. These pacts have been scrupulously chief town is Ngathainggyaung, which had a population observed, and as the local authorities levy the contribution in 1891 of 5608. It is a municipal town. Bassein, the after their own ancient customs, landed property and the chief town and port, which had 19,577 inhabitants in industrial and commercial classes are less heavily taxed m 1871, had 30,177 in 1891. It has a municipal committee these territories than in the rest of Spain Enough is of 16 members, of whom 12 are elective, and there is a raised, however, besides the amount handed over to the central jail capable of holding 1242. prisoners. There is a Government, to enable the schools^ roads, harbours, and large rice export from Bassein, with several steam rice nublic works of every kind to be maintained at a standard mills. In 1898-99 forty sea-going vessels with a burden which compares very favourably with that maintained of 78,123 tons entered Bassein port, and 42 with a tonnage elsewhere in Spain. The present provincial deputations of 78,058 cleared. The vessels of the Irrawaddy Flotilla of the three provinces have less power than the ancient Company ply between Rangoon and Bassein by inland “ foral diputaciones ”; they are now elected like the waters. rest of the Spanish provincial councils, and are subject BastaTj a feudatory state of British India, in the to the ordinary interference of the civil governors Em thenChhattisgarh division of the Central Provinces, with an deliberations. ■ ' area of 13,062 square miles. In 1881 the population was Basra, or Bussorah. (1) A vilayet of Asiatic 196,284, and in 1891 it was 310,884, being 24 persons Turkey formed in 1884 by detaching the southern districts per square mile. In 1901 the population was 306 544,. of the Baghdad vilayet. It includes the. great marshy showing a decrease of 1 per cent., compared with an districts of the Lower Euphrates and Tigris, anti of their apparent increase of 58 per cent, in the preceding decade.. ioint stream the Shatt el-Arab, and a sanjak, Nejd, on the The estimated revenue was Rs.2,50,162; the tributewestern shore of the Persian Gulf. The climate is humid Rs 17 200. The chief town and residence of the Raja is and unhealthy. There are large numbers of sheep, Jagdalpur’ on the river Indravati. The principal products camels, and cattle. The exports are dates, wool cereals are rice, oilseeds, lac, tusser silk, horns, hides, wax, and and indigo. Population, 950,000 (Moslems, 940,000 of a little iron. Teak timber is floated down the rivers whom 664,000 are Shlas ; Christians, 6000 ; Jews 4000). to the Madras coast. The state is (1901) under British (2) The capital of the vilayet, situated two miles from administration, while the young Raja is being educated the right bank of the Shatt el-Arab, was founded by at the Rajkumar college at Raipur. A good road will Midhat Pasha. It is reached from the river by a ^arrow shortly bring Jagdalpur into connexion with the railway winding creek, but the British Consulate and. the at Raipur. merchants’ houses are at Margil on the bank of the river. Basti. a town and district of British India, in the The water supply is bad, the climate trying and at times Gorakhpur division of the North-West Provinces. The unhealthy, and there is much malarial fever. The countiy town, a collection of villages, is on the river kuana, 40 on both banks is liable to floods, which sometimes, as in miles from Gorakhpur by railway. The population m 1896 when 2,000,000 date trees were destroyed do much 1891 was 13,630. It has no municipality. I he district damage The ruins of the Basra of the Khalifs and of has an area of 2767 square miles; the population m 1891 the Arabian Nights are to the south-west of the present was 1,785,944, being 645 persons per square mile. Classitown. Basra is the port of transhipment from nyer boats fied according to religion, Hindus numbered I,al0,i4 to ocean steamers which run to England and India, and is Mahommedans, 275,729; Christians, 66, including -3 the seat of a British Consul. The pnncipa! exports are i Europeans. In 1901 the population was 1,845,7 wool, dates, cereals, gum, liquorice root, &c. Most of the