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CENTRAL

AMERICA—CENTRAL

Imperial Government maintains six gunboats on Lake Nyasa ana the rivers Shire and Zambezi. The actual native (African) strength of the 1st battalion British Central Africa Regiment in 1900 was 865 ; a 2nd battalion was raised for service outside the Protectorate. Unfortunately, though so rich and fertile, the land is not as a rule very healthy for Europeans, though of late it has shown signs of improvement in this respect. The principal scourge is black-water fever, which appears to be a result of the opening up of fresh unfilled soil to cultivation. The climate is agreeable, and except in the low-lying districts is never unbearably hot; while on the high mountain plateaux frost frequently occurs during the dry season. See The Lands of Cazembe (Dr Lacerda’s journey to Cazembe in 1898), a compilation by the late Sir R. F. Burton.—The Second Zambezi Expedition and Last Journeys of Dr Livingstone, by the late Rev. Horace Waller.—The Life of Livingstone, by Sir H. H. Johnston.—Captain Elton’s Travels in East Africa.—Adventures in Nyasaland, by L. Monteith Fotheringham.—To the Central African Lakes and Back, by Joseph Thomson.—An Encyclopaedic Dictionary cf the Manganja Language as spoken in British Central Africa, by the Rev. D. C. Scott.—British Central Africa, by Sir H. H. Johnston.—Africana, by the Rev. Alexander Duff.—The Shird Highlands, by John Buchanan.— Three Years in Savage Africa, by Lionel Decle. (h. H. J.) Central America, that portion of the American continent which lies between Mexico and Colombia, and comprises the area of the five states of Guatemala, Honduras, Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. An attempt, in which the Guatemalan president was the chief mover, was made in 1884 and 1885 to unite these states in a Central American federation, but both constitutional methods and military coercion failed. In 1895 the three states of Honduras, Salvador, and Nicaragua united for the purposes of foreign relations in a confederation called the Greater Republic of Central America. A Diet was convened and officials were appointed for the direction of affairs; but in 1898, when the new regime was on the British Territory. Divisions.

Districts.

PROVINCES

point of commencing, a revolution overthrew the Salvadorian government, and the Greater Republic separated into its constituent states. Central Falls, a city in Providence county, Rhode Island, U.S.A., formed from a part of Lincoln town. It is on Blackstone river and on a branch of the New York, New Haven and Hartford railway. It has extensive manufactures, principally of cotton and woollen goods. Population (1900), 18,167. Central India, the official name of a collection of native states under a political agent to the GovernorGeneral, who resides at Indore. They cover a large tract of country eastward of Rajputana, including Malwa, and extending northwards from the Nerbudda river to the Chambal and the Sone. There are seven subordinate agencies: Gwalior, Indore, Bhopal, Bhopawar, West Malwa, Bundelkhand, and Baghelkhand. Their total area is 77,808 square miles. The population in 1881 was 9,387,119 ; in 1891 it was 10,318,812, showing an increase of 10 per cent, and an average density of 133 persons per square mile. In 1901 the population was 8,501,883, showing a decrease of 17 per cent., due to the effects of famine, which was most severely felt in Bhopal and West Malwa. The whole is now fairly provided with railways, largely at the expense of Sindhia. There are British cantonments at Mhow, Neemuch, and Nowgong. Central Provinces, the official name of a province of British India, under the administration of a chief commissioner. It lies in the very middle of the peninsula, and comprises several native states still in a backward stage of civilization. The total area, including feudatory states, occupies 115,936 square miles; in 1891 the population was 12,944,805. The capital is Nagpur. Population.—The following table gives the area and population of the Central Provinces in 1891:—

Number of Area in Square Towns and Miles. Villages.

Males.

Females.

Total.

Density of Population to Square Mile.

Population, Census of 1891.

Population, Census of 1881.

Nagpur

Nagpur Bhandara Chanda Wardha Balaghat

3,843 3,908 10,749 2,428 3,139 24,127

1,691 1,620 2,75] 914 1,102 8,078

382,863 366,696 352,327 203,286 190,649 1,495,821

374,999 376,154 345,283 197,568 192,682 1,486,686

757,862 742,850 697,610 400,854 383,331 2,982,507

197 187 65 165 122 123

697,356 683,779 649,146 387,221 340,554 2,758,056

Chhattisgarh

Raipur Bilaspur Sambalpur.

11,724 8,341 4,948 25,013

5,083 3,806 2,852 11,741

775,736 573,077 396,874 1,745,687

808,691 591,081 399,539 1,799,311

1,584,427 1,164,158 796,413 3,544,998

135 140 161

1,405,171 1,017,327 693,499 3,115,997

Jubbulpore

Jubbulpore Saugor Damoh Seoni Mandla

3,948 4,007 2,831 3,198 5,056 19,040

2,316 1,833 1,138 1,402 1,757 8,446

375,964 305,712 167,329 184,841 171,253 1,205,099

372,182 286,031 158,284 185,926 168,120 1,170,543

748,146 591,743 325,613 370,767 339,373 2,375,642

189 148 115 116 67

687,233 564,950 312,957 334,733 301,760 2,201,633

Nerbudda

Hoshangabad Narsinghpur Betul Chindwara. Nimar

4,594 1,916 3,824 4,630 3,357 18,321 86,501 29,435 115,936

1,583 1,012 1,156 1,745 594 5,090 34,355 10,407 44,762

270,623 184,057 162,662 202,129 131,226 950,697 5,397,304 1,089,011 6,486,315

259,322 182,969 160,534 205,365 122,260 930,450 5,386,990 1,071,500 6,458,490

529,945 367,026 323,196 407,494 253,486 1,881,147 10,784,294 2,160,511 12,944,805

115 192 84

488,787 365,173 304,905 372,899 231,341 1,763,105 ,838,791 1,709,720 11,548,511

Total British Territory Total Native States. Grand Total.

102 125 73 111

Between 1881 and 1891, population increased at the rate of 9'6 I native states. Classified according to religion, in British districts per cent, in British territory, and at the rate of 26 per cent, in | only, Hindus numbered 8,831,467, or 82 per cent, of the total