Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 15.djvu/858

Rh S2G M E E M E G Meerut and the lieutenant-governorship of the North- Western Provinces, India, lying between 28 28 and 29 18 N. lat., and 77 10 and 78 14 E. long, is bounded on the N. by Muzaffarnagar district, on the E. by the Ganges, on the S. by Bulandshahr district, and on the W. by the Junina. The area in 1881 was given as 2361 square miles. Meerut forms a portion of the long and narrow plain lying between the Ganges and the Jumna, with a very gentle slope from north to south. Though well wooded in places and abundantly supplied with mango groves, it has but few patches of jungle or waste land to break the general expanse of cultivated soil. Sandy ridges run along the low watersheds which separate the minor channels, but with this exception the whole district is one continuous expanse of careful and prosperous tillage. Its fertility is largely due to the system of irriga tion canals, which intersect it in every direction. The -eastern Jumna canal runs through the whole length of the district, and supplies the rich tract between the Jumna and the Hindan with a network of distributary streams. The main branch of the Ganges canal passes across the centre of the plateau in a sweeping curve, and waters the midland tract. The Amipshahr branch supplies irrigation to the Ganges slope. Besides these natural and artificial channels, the country is everywhere cut up by small water-courses. The Burh Ganga, or ancient bed of the Ganges, lies at some distance from the modern stream ; and on its bank stood the abandoned city of Hastinapur, the legendary capital of the Pandavas at the period of the Mahdbhdrata, said to have been deserted many centuries before the Christian era, owing to the encroachments of the river. The census of 1872 returned the population of the district at 1,276,104, the Hindus numbering 991,226. Among the higher castes Brahmans muster strong (109,804). The Rajputs (both Hindus and Mohammedans) number 55,033, and enjoy great social distinction as landholders ; the Banias, or traders (66,942), also now hold considerable landed property. The great cultivating castes are the Chamars (197,273) and Jats (145,514). The Gujars (60,350) are a pastoral tribe, with an ancient character for plunder ami cattle-lifting, which is now passing away. The Mohammedans (281,857) are tor the most part the descendants of converted Hindus. The Christian population consists of 2149 Europeans, 142 Eurasians, and 730 natives. Fifteen towns in the district con tain a population exceeding 5000 ; namely, Meerut, 81,386 ; Hapur, 14,544 ; Sardhana, 12,466 ; Garhmukhtesar, 7962 ; Bagpat, 7367 : Ghaziaba&amp;lt;l, 7365 ; Shahdara, 7257 ; Baro, 7056 ; Mawana, 6864 ; Pilkhua, 6239 ; Khekara, 6045 ; Tikri, 5698 ; Kirthal, 5651 ; Dasna, 5605 ; Chaprauli, 5594. Meerut is one of the most nourishing and best tilled districts of the Doib. Out of a total area of 1,505,824 acres, as many as 1,048,221 were under cultivation in 1881, 281,095 acres being irrigated by Government works, and 303,526 by private individuals. The grazing lands comprehended 242,091 acres, and the waste 185,400. The condition both of agricultural labourers and of artisans and workmen in the towns has considerably improved of late years. About one-half the soil is cultivated by the proprietors themselves, the remainder being about equally divided between tenants with occupancy rights and tenants-at-will. Rents are paid in money, and range from 18s. lOd. per acre for the best canal- watered lands down to 2s. 5Jd. per acre for &quot; dry &quot; unirrigated soils. The chief exports of the district are grain, cotton, and indigo ; and the principal imports are Manchester goods, English hardware, tobacco, drugs, and spices. The chief commercial centres are Meerut, Ghaziabad, and Bagpat. Besides the great waterways of the Jumna and Ganges, and the navigable canals, communication is afforded by the East Indian and the Punjab and Delhi Railways ; also by 1505 miles of made roads. In 1876 the district was in the administrative charge of four covenanted civilians, and contained seventeen magisterial and fifteen civil courts. The gross revenue in 1881 was 248,754, of which 203,977 was derived from the land-tax ; the cost of officials and poHce was 27,520. In 1881 there were 214 schools, attended by 6677 pupils. The comparatively high latitude and elevated posi tion of Meerut make it one of the healthiest districts in the plains of India. The average temperature varies from 57 Fahr. in Janu ary to 87 in June. The rainfall is small, less than 30 inches annually. The only endemic disease in the district is malarial fever ; but small-pox and cholera occasionally visit it as epidemics. The authentic history of the district commences with the Moslem invasions. Until the llth century it is probable that Meerut was mainly in the hands of predatory native tribes, such as the Jats and Dors. The first undoubted Mohammedan invasion was that of Kutab-ud-din in 1191, when Meerut town was taken, and all the Hindu temples turned into mosques. In 1398 Tiniur swooped down upon the district, captured the fort of Loni after a desperate resistance, and put all his Hijidu prisoners to death. He then proceeded to Delhi, and after his memorable sack of that city, returned to Meerut, captured the town, razed all the fortifications and houses of the Hindus, and put the male inhabi tants to the sword. The firm establishment of the great Mughal dynasty in the 16th century, under Babar and his successors, gave Meerut a period of internal tranquillity and royal favour. After the death of Aurangzeb, however, it was exposed to alternate Sikh and Mahratta invasions. From 1707 till 1775 the country was the scene of one perpetual strife, and was only rescued from anarchy by the exertions of the military adventurer Walter Reinhardt, afterwards the husband of the celebrated Begam Samru, who established himself at Sardhana in the north, and ruled a large estate. The southern tract, however, remained in its anarchic condition under Mahratta exactions until the fall of Delhi in 1803, when the whole of the country between the Jumna and the Ganges was ceded by Sindhia to the British. It was formed into a separate district in 1818. In the British period it has become memorable as being the place where the first outbreak of the great mutiny of 1857 took place. MEEKUT, a city^ and cantonment in the above district, is situated about half way between the Ganges and the Jumna, in 29 41&quot; N. lat. and 77 45 3&quot; E. long. The city proper lies south of the cantonments, and although a very ancient town, dating as far back as the days of the Buddhist emperor Asoka (circ. 250 B.C.), Meerut owes its modern importance to its selection by the British Govern ment as the site of a great military station. In 1805 it is mentioned as &quot;a ruined depopulated town.&quot; The canton ment was established in 1806, and the population rose rapidly to 29,014 in 1847, and 82,035 in 1853. In 1872 the census returned the population (exclusive of the military) at 81,386, viz., Hindus, 47,606 ; Mohammedans, 33,532 ; Christians, 248. The slight decline of population between 1853 and 1872 may probably be attributed to the mutiny of 1857. Most of the streets have a poor appearance, owing to the hasty manner in which they were erected. The cantonment, a little to the north of the city ; forms the headquarters of a military division. The prin cipal building is the Meerut church with its handsome tall spire. There are also a Fioman Catholic church, mission chapel, asylum for the relief of Europeans and Christians, and a club. The Mall is one of the finest drives in India. MEGALO TOLLS, a city of southern Arcadia, situated in a plain about 20 miles south-west of Tegea, on both banks of the Helisson, about 2| miles above its junction with the Alpheus. Like Messene, it owed its origin to Epamin- ondas, and was founded in 370 B.C., the year after the battle of Leuctra, as a bulwark for the southern Arcadians against Sparta, and as the seat of the Arcadian federal diet, which consisted of ten thousand men. The builders of the city were protected by a Theban force, and directed by ten native oecists, who likewise attended to the peopling of the new city, which apparently drew inhabitants from all parts of Arcadia, out more especially from the neighbouring districts of Majnalia and Parrhasia. Forty townships are mentioned by Pausanias (viii. 27, 3-5) as having been incorporated in it. It was fifty stadia in circumference, and was surrounded with strong walls. Its territory was the largest in Arcadia, extending northward 24 miles. The city was built on a magnificent scale, and adorned with many handsome buildings, both public and private. Its temples contained many ancient statues brought from the towns incorporated in it. On the north side of the Helisson, which divided it into two nearly equal parts, was the agora with four porticos, the gymna sium, a sacred grove, temples to the Lyca?an Zeus, Pan Oinoeis, Rhea, Tyche, the great goddesses (Demeter and Core), Zeus Philios (with a statue by Polycletus), Aphro-