Page:Provincial geographies of India (Volume 1).djvu/232



Panjab Districts.— The administrative unit in the Panjab is the district in charge of a Deputy Commissioner. The districts are divided into tahsils, each on the average containing four, and are grouped together in divisions managed by Commissioners. There are 28 districts and five divisions. An ordinary Panjab district has an area of 2000 to 3000 square miles and contains from 1000 to 2000 village estates. Devon, the third in size of the English counties, is about equal to an average Panjab district.

Branches of Administration.— The provincial governments of India are organized in three branches, Executive, Judicial, and Revenue, and a number of special departments, such as Forests and Irrigation. Under "Judicial" there are two subdivisions, civil and criminal. The tendency at first is for powers in all three branches to be concentrated in the hands of single individuals, development tends to specialization, but it is a matter of controversy how far the separation of executive and magisterial functions can be carried without jeopardy to the common weal.

The Lieutenant Governor.— At the head of the whole administration is the Lieutenant Governor, who holds office for five years. He has a strong Secretariat to help in the dispatch of business. The experiment of governing the Panjab by a Board was speedily given up, and for sixty years it has enjoyed the advantage of one man government, the Lieutenant Governor controlling all sub- ordinate authorities and being himself only controlled