Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 1.djvu/821

Rh A M R A M R ready, pouring some of the holy oil into the spoon, and with it the archbishop anointeth the Queen in the form of a cross. . . . Then the Dean of Westminster layeth the ampulla and spoon upon the altar.&quot; Gildas mentions its use as established among the Britons in his time, and St Columtxi is said to have employed it in the coronation of King Aidan. The most celebrated ampulla in history is that known as la sainte ampoule at Kheims, from which the kings of France were anointed. According to the legend, which gained for itself a secure place in the national belief, it had been brought from heaven by an angel for the coronation of Clovis, and at one period the kings of France claimed precedence over all other sovereigns on account of it. It seems, however, that Pepin in the 8th century was the first French king who was anointed, and this in connection with his baptism rather than his coronation. (See the preface to the 3d volume of Maskell s Monumenta Ritualia and the authorities there referred to.) AMBAOTI, a district and city of India, in the com- missionership of East Berar, within the Haidarabad assigned districts. The district lies between 20 23 and 21 7 N. lat., and between 77 24 and 78 13 E. long. It is bounded on the N. by the Elichpur district; on the E. by the Wardha river, separating it from the central provinces; on the S. by the Basim and Wiin districts; and on the W. by Akola district. The area is estimated at 2566 square miles, but the survey has not yet been com pleted. The population in 1867 was returned at 407,276 souls, which, taking the ama as given above, would show an average density of 158 persons per square mile; num ber of males, 212,575; females, 194,701; the proportion of males to the total population being 52 19 per cent. The district consists of an extensive plain, about 800 feet above sea-level, the general flatness being only broken by a small chain of hills, running in a north-westerly direction, be tween Amraoti and Chandor, with an average height of from 400 to 500 feet above the level of the lowlands. Four towns are returned as containing a population ex ceeding 5000 souls namely, Amraoti, population 23,410; Karinja, a considerable commercial town, population 11,750; Badnera, a town on the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, which intersects the district, population 6876 ; Kolapur, population 6169. AMRITSAR, a division, district, and city of British India, under the jurisdiction of the Lieutenant-Governor of the Panjab. The Amritsar DIVISION comprises the dis tricts of Amritsar, Sialkot, and Gurddspur. It is bounded on the N.E. by the Himalayas; on the S.W. by the Gujran- wala and Lahor districts; on the N.W. by the river Chendb; and on the S.E. by the river Bids. The total population of the division is returned at 2,743,880 souls, divided into the following classes: Hindus, 659,905 ; Mahometans, 1,401,290; Sikhs, 352,885; others, 329,800. The number of males was returned at 1,512,480, and the females at 1,231,400, the proportion of males to the entire population of the division being 55 per cent. AMRITSJLR DISTRICT lies between 30 40 and 32 10 N. lat., and between 74 40 and 75 40 E. long. It is bounded on the N.W. by the river Ravi, on the S.E. by the river Bias, on the N.E. by the district of Gurdds- pur, and on the S.W. by the district of Lahor. Amritsar district is a nearly level plain, with a very slight slope from east to west. The banks of the Bias are high, and on this side of the district well-water is not found ex cept at 50 feet below the surface; while towards the Ravi wells are less than 20 feet in depth. The only stream passing through the district is the Kirni or Saki, which takes its rise in a marsh in the Gurddspur district, and after traversing part of the district empties itself into the Ravi. Numerous canals intersect the district, affording ample means of irrigation. The Sind, Panjab, and Dehli Railway, and Grand Trunk Road, which runs parallel with it, afford the principal means of land communication and traffic. Total population of Amritsar district, 832,750, divided into the following classes: Hindus, 138,027; Mahometans, 377,135; Sikhs, 223,219; others, 94,369. The males number 465,074, and the females 367,676; the proportion of males to the total population being 55 84 per cent. The principal tribes and castes in point of num bers are as follow: (1.) Jats, viz., Hindus and Sikhs, 189,065; Mahometans, 65,964: total, 255,029. (2.) Brdh- mans, 43,846. (3.) Kshattriyas, 39,892. (4.) Kashmiris, 37,456. (5.) Arords, 29,103. The total agricultural popu lation is returned at 417,747. Area of the district, 2036-23 square miles, or 1,303,188 acres, of which 927,730 acres are under cultivation, 178,939 acres are cultivable, but not actually under tillage, and 196,519 acres are un cul tivable and waste. This result gives l - 56 acres (of which I ll acres are cultivated and 21 cultivable) per head of the population, or 3 12 acres (2 - 22 cultivated and 42 culti vable) per head of the agricultural population. The principal agricultural products of Amritsar are wheat, barley, and grain for the spring crop ; and rice, joar (spiked millet), Indian corn, moth (PMseolus aconitifolius), and mash (Phascolus radiatus) for the autumn crop. The current settlement of the district expires in 1875-76. Five towns are returned as containing a population of upwards of 5000 souls namely, Amritsar, population 135,813; Jandrala, 6975; Majitha, 6600; Ram Das, 5855; Bundala, 5287. Of the foregoing towns Amritsar has been constituted a first-class, and Jandrala, Majitha, and Earn Das third-class municipalities. Besides the regularly-constituted municipalities, however, a muni cipal income is also realised at the following ten places : Tarn Taran, Fathiabad, Govindwal, Naushahra Fannian, Verowal, Jalalabad, Attari, Chamiari, Vanniki, and Bhallar. Municipal revenue is in all cases levied by means of octroi duties, supplemented in some instances by house rates and other direct taxation. The total revenue of Amritsar district in 1871-72 amounted to 113,785, of which 85,727, 18s., or 75 per cent., was derived from the land. The other principal items of revenue were as follows : Distilleries, 3677, 14s. ; drugs and opium, 3548, 6s. ; income tax, 1724, 8s; stamps, 13,621, 18s. ; local rates levied under the provisions of Act 20 of 1871, 5208. 10s. The staple manufacture of Amritsar is woollen shawls, in imitation of those of Kashmir. The value of this manufacture in 1871-72 was estimated at 91,742. AMEITSAE CITY, the divisional headquarters and capital of the district of the same name, is situated in 31 40 N. lat. and 74 45 E. long. It lies at an equal distance be tween the Bids and Rdvi rivers, is about 8 miles in cir cumference, and forms at once the great trading centre of the Panjdb, and a celebrated seat of the Sikh religion and learning. The following description of the town is ex tracted from Thornton s Gazetteer (ed. 1862): &quot;Amritsar owes its importance to a talao or reservoir which Earn Das, the fourth guru or spiritual guide of the Sikhs, caused to be made herein 1581, and which he termed Amrita Saras, or the Fount of Immortality. It thenceforward became a place of pilgrimage. Nearly two centuries afterwards, Ahmad Shall, the founder of the Duraiii empire, alarmed and enraged at the progress of the Sikhs, blew up the shrine with gunpowder, filled up the holy tank, and caused kine to be slaughtered upon the site, thus desecrating the spot. On his return to Kabul, the Sikhs repaired the shrine and reservoir, and commenced the overthrow of Mahometan sway in Hindustan. The sacred tank is a square of 150 paces, containing a great body of water, pure as crystal, notwithstanding the multitudes that bathe in it, and supplied apparently by natural springs. In the middle, on a small island, is a temple of Hari or Vishnu ; and on the bank a diminutive structure, where the founder, Earn Das, is said to have spent his life in a sitting posture. The temple on the island is richly adorned with gold and other costly embellish ments, and in it sits the sovereign guru of the Sikhs to receive the presents and homage of his followers. There are five or six hundred akalis or priests attached to the temple, who have erected for them selves good houses from the contributions of the visitors. Amritsar is a veiy populous and extensive place. The streets are narrow, but the houses in general are tolerably lofty, and built of burnt brick. On the whole, Amritsar may claim some little architectural I. -- 98