Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 15.djvu/205

Rh MADRAS 187 are Kamandrug near Bellary, and Jakatala or &quot;Wellington in the Nilgiri hills. Administrative Statistics. An early task of the English ad ministration was the repression of the system of black mail levied by bands of Kavilgars, which was not fully extinguished for many years. By a Government regulation in 1866 the village police was placed under the head of the village, and became practically the most useful (although a somewhat dishonest) agency of the magis trate in the police administration. The Madras police force was organized in its present form in 1860. In March 1881 it consisted of a total strength of 26,415 officers and men, maintained at a cost of 364,233. In 1880 the total number of prisoners passing through the jails in the presidency was 27,708, considerably less than during and after the famine ; the daily average number of prisoners was 12,202. Education was afforded in 1880-81 by 12,878 schools, attended by 327,808 pupils; the expenditure was 284,873, of which 86,641 was contributed by the state. The chief educa tional institutions are the Madras university, the provincial college of Combaconum, the Madras Christian college, the Doveton Pro testant college, S. P. G. high school at Tanjore, medical college, civil engineering college, Lawrence asylum, school of agriculture, school of ordnance artificers and school of arts, and the military orphanage at Utakamand in memory of the late Sir Henry Lawrence. Climate and Health. The climate varies in different parts of the presidency, being determined by the very diverse geographical conditions. The Nilgiri hills enjoy the climate of the temperate zone, with a moderate rainfall, and a thermometer rarely exceed ing 80 F., and sometimes falling to the freezing-point. On the Malabar coast the south-west monsoon brings an excessive rainfall, reaching 150 inches in the year at certain spots. The rain clouds hanging on the slope of the Western Ghats sometimes obscure the sun for month after month. Along the eastern coast and on the central table-lands the rainfall is comparatively low, but the heat of the summer months is excessive. At Masulipatam the thermo meter frequently rises to above 110 F. in the shade. The whole coast of the Bay of Bengal is liable to disastrous cyclones, which not only wreck the shipping in the roads, but have repeatedly over whelmed the low-lying ports. The most prevalent diseases are fevers, diarrho3a, dysentery, and other bowel complaints, cholera, and small-pox. History. -Until the English conquest the whole of southern India had never acknowledged a single ruler. The difficult nature of the hill passes and the warlike character of the highland tribes forbade the growtli of great empires, such as succeeded one another on the plains of Hindustan. The Tamil country in the extreme south is traditionally divided between the three kingdoms of Pandya, Chola, and Chera. The west coast supplied the nucleus of a monarchy which afterwards extended over the highlands of Mysore, and took its name from the Carnatic. On the north-east tjie kings of Kalinga at one time ruled over the entire line of sea board from the Krishna to the Ganges. Hindu legend has preserved marvellous stories of these early dynasties, but our only authentic evidence consists in their inscriptions on stone and brass, and their noble architecture. The Mohammedan invader first established himself in the south in the beginning of the 14th century. Ala-ud- din, the second monarch of the Khilji dynasty at Delhi, and his feneral Malik Kafur conquered the Deccan, and overthrew the ingdoms of Karnataka and Telingdna, which were then the most powerful in southern India. But after the withdrawal of the Musal- man armies the native monarchy of Vijayanagar arose out of the ruins. This dynasty gradually extended its dominions from sea to sea, and reached a pitch of prosperity before unknown. At last, in 1565, it was overwhelmed by a combination of the four Moham medan principalities of the Deccan. At the close of the reign of Aurangzeb, although that emperor nominally extended his sove reignty as far as Cape Comorin, in reality So uth India had again fallen under a number of rulers who owned no regular allegiance. The nizam of the Deccan, himself an independent sovereign, repre sented the distant court of Delhi. The most powerful of his feudatories was the nawab of the Carnatic, with his capital at Arcot. In Tanjore, a descendant of Sivaji ruled ; and on the cen tral table-land a Hindu chieftain was gradually establishing his authority and founding the state of Mysore, destined soon to pass to a Mohammedan usurper. Vasco da Gama cast anchor off Calicut on the 20th May 1498, and for a century the Portuguese retained in their control the commerce of India, The Dutch began to establish themselves on the ruin of the Portuguese at the beginning of the 17th century, and were quickly followed by the English, who established them selves at Calicut and Cranganore in 1616. Tellicherri became the principal British emporium on the west coast of Madras. The Portuguese eventually retired to Goa, and the Dutch to the Spice Islands. The first English settlement on the east coast was in 1620, at Masulipatam, even then celebrated for its fabrics. Farther south a factory, the nucleus of Madras city, was erected in 1639. Pondicherri was purchased by the French in 1762. For many years the English and French traders lived peacefully side by side, and with no ambition for territorial aggrandisement. The war of the Austrian succession in Europe lit the first flame of hostility on the Coromandel coast. In 1746 Madras was forced to surrender to Labourdonnais, and Fort St David remained the only British possession in southern India. By the peace of Aix-la-thapelle Madras was restored to the English ; but from this time the rivalry of the two nations was keen, and found its opportunities in the disputed successions which always fill a large place in Oriental politics. English influence was generally able to secure the favour of the rulers of the Carnatic and Tanjore, while the French suc ceeded in placing their own nominee on the throne at Hyderabad. At last Dupleix rose to be the temporary arbiter of the fate of southern India, but he was overthrown by Clive, whose defence of Arcot in 1751 forms the turning point in Indian history. In 1760 the crowning victory of Wandewash was won by Colonel (afterwards Sir Eyre) Coote, over Lally, and in the following year, despite help from Mysore, Pondicherri was captured. Though the English had no longer any European rival, they had yet to deal with Mohammedan fanaticism and the warlike popula tion of the highlands of Mysore. The dynasty founded by Hyder AH, and terminating in his son Tipu Sultan, proved itself in four several wars, which terminated only in 1799, the most formidable antagonist which the English had ever encountered (see HYDER ALT and INDIA). Since the beginning of the present century Madras has known no regular war, but occasional disturbances have called for measures of repression. The pdlegdrs or local chieftains long clung to their independence after their country was ceded to the British. On the west coast, the feudal aristocracy of the N airs , and the religious fanaticism of the Moplas, have more than once led to rebellion and bloodshed. In the extreme north, the wild tribes occupying the hills of Gaujam and Vizagapatam have only lately learned the habit of subordination. In 1836 the zamlnddri of Gumsur in this remote tract was attached by Government for the rebellious conduct of its chief. An inquiry then instituted revealed the wide prevalence among the tribe of Kandhs of human sacrifice, under the name of meriah. The practice has since been suppressed by a special agency. The different territories comprising the Madras presidency have been acquired by the British at various dates. In 1763 the tract encircling Madras city, now Chengalpat district, was ceded by the nawab of Arcot. In 1765 the Northern Circars, out of which the French had recently been driven, were granted to the Company by the Mughal emperor, but at the price of an annual tribute of 90,000. Full rights of dominion were not acquired till 1823, when the tribute was commuted for a lump payment. In 1792 Tipu was compelled to cede the Baramahal (now part of Salem district), Malabar, and Dindigal subdivision of Madura. In 1799, on the reconstruction of Mysore state after Tipii s death, Coimbatore and Kanara were appropriated as the British share ; and in the same &quot;year the Mahratta raja of Tanjore resigned the administration of his territory, though his descendant retained titular rank till 1855. In 1800 Bellary and Cuddapah were made over by the nizam of Hyderabad to defray the expense of an increased subsidiary force. In the following year the dominions of the nawab of the Carnatic, extending along the east coast almost continuously from Nellore to Tinnevelli, were resigned into the hands of the British by a puppet who had been put upon the throne for the purpose. The last titular nawab of the Carnatic died in 1855 ; but his representative still bears the title of prince of Arcot, and is recognized as the first native nobleman in Madras. In 1838 the nawab of Karnul was deposed for inisgovernment and suspicion of treason, and his terri tories annexed. MADRAS, capital of Madras presidency, is situated on the sea-coast in 13 4 8&quot; N. lat., 80 14 51&quot; E. long. Although at first sight the city presents a disappointing appearance, and possesses not a single handsome street, it has several edifices of high architectural pretensions, and many spots of historical interest. Seen from the roadstead, the fort, a row of merchants offices, a few spires and public buildings, are all that strike the eye. Roughly speaking, it consists of the following divisions. (1) Black Town, an ill-built, densely populated block, about a mile square, is the business part of the town, and contains the banks, custom house, high court, and all the mercantile offices. The last, for the most part handsome structures, lie along the beach. On the sea-face of Black Town are the pier and the new harbour. Immediately south of Black Town there is (2) an open space which contains the fort, esplanade, brigade paradfr ground, Government house, and several handsome public- buildings on the sea-face. (3) West and south of this lung of the city come a series of crowded quarters known by