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 206 INDIA which the individual cultivators, known as ryots, pay assessments directly to the govern- ment. Bengal is for the most part subject to a permanent settlement made on a fixed basis for ever with the zemindars in 1703; so that the land revenue of Bengal proper, Behar, and Orissa yields but little more now than it did then. Generally throughout the rest of the country, however, the government demand is a certain percentage of an assumed rental, which rental is fixed for a term of years, quite commonly 30. In northern India the tenure by village communities prevails, but Madras and Bombay are subject to the ryotwar sys- tem. The government has a monopoly of the opium grown in Bengal, which it buys of the cultivator at a fixed price, and sells in the fol- lowing year. A heavy duty is levied on Malwa opium, which can be legally exported only through the port of Bombay. There is a duty on imported salt in Bengal, a government salt monopoly in Madras, and an excise on the salt works in Bombay. In the year ending March 31, 1872, the revenue included 20,520,337 from land, 9,253,859 from opium, 5,966,595 from salt, 2,575,990 from customs, 2,369,109 from excise on spirits and drugs, and 2,476,- 333 from stamps. The total ordinary revenue of the Indian government for that year was 50,110,215, and the total ordinary expendi- ture 46,986,038. For 1872-'3 the revenue was 50,220,360, and the total expenditure was 50,641,052, of which 2,184,570 was ex- traordinary expenditure for public works. Ex- cluding the latter item, there was a surplus of 1,763,878; including it, the deficit for the year amounted to 420,692. The regular es-> timates for 1873-'4 were as follows : Revenue, 49,476,000 ; ordinary expenditure, 51,577,- 300, which included 3,920,000 for the relief of the famine in Bengal ; extraordinary expen- diture upon public works, 3,541,000; total expenditure, 55,118,300; surplus, excluding expenditures on account of the famine and for public works, 1,818,700; deficit, excluding expenditure for public works, 2,101,300 ; de- ficit, including it, 5,642,300. The prelimi- nary estimates of the governor general for the fiscal year 1874-'5 show a revenue of 48,984,- 000 and a total expenditure of 54,935,000, thus leaving a deficit of 5,951,000. The ex- penditure comprises 2,580,000 for famine re- lief, and 4,563,000 for public works ; if these items were excluded, there would be a surplus of 1,192,000. The deficit would be reduced to 1,388,000 if the amount laid out on public works were excluded from the total expendi- ture. A well graded system of education, providing instruction for all classes, has been in process of organization and development in India since 1854. There are three univer- sities, at Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay re- spectively. With each of these is affiliated a certain number of colleges, which fit the uni- versity undergraduates for the higher exami- nations ; and next below in the scale are the high schools where students are prepared to enter the university. These institutions com- plete the scheme for the education of the wealthier classes. After them come the mid- dle schools, where the course of instruction is intermediate between that of the primary and the high schools. Elementary education is af- forded by the primary or village schools, of which the several provinces contain 37,544, there being 9,701 in receipt of government aid. Of colleges there are 28 in Bengal, 7 in the Northwest Provinces, 1 in Oude, 3 in the Punjaub, 13 in Madras, and 8 in Bombay. The total number of high schools is 349, of middle schools 3,096, of female schools 2,011, and of normal schools 132. The professional schools comprise civil engineering colleges at Roorkee, Calcutta, Madras, and Poonah; medical col- leges at Bombay, Madras, Lahore, and Calcut- ta (the attendance of students at the last in 1871-'2 numbering 1,046 persons) ; and schools of design and decorative art at Calcutta and Madras. There are museums in many of the principal cities. From the outset it has been the object of the Indian educational system, while encouraging the cultivation of the Eng- lish language, to diffuse a knowledge of Euro- pean science, art, and philosophy by means of the native languages. There is an influential native press, and several hundreds of books in various tongues are published annually. Sci- entific and literary societies, including both Europeans and natives in their membership, flourish in many of the cities. Prominent ' among them is the Bengal Asiatic society at Calcutta, founded in 1784 by Sir William Jones. Of the earliest period of the history of India little is known with certainty. The sacred writings of the Hindoos give to their ancient history an incredible chronology, ex- tending over millions of years, and treat of heroes, kings, and dynasties, in most instan- ces probably merely mythical or fabulous. It is the general opinion of the best authorities that the Hindoos were not the first inhabitants of the country, but were an invading race who subdued and enslaved the aborigines, who are still represented by rude tribes in the central and southern parts of India, such as the Bheels, the Kolees, the Gonds, and the Shanars. The distinction of castes did not exist among these people, and their religion seems to have con- sisted of the worship of a variety of spiritual deities. The Aryan Hindoos are supposed to have entered the country from the northwest, probably from regions between the Hindoo Koosh and the Caspian sea. They brought with them the Brahmanical religion, and formed the institution of caste by dividing themselves into the three higher castes of Brahmans, Kshatriyas, and Vaisyas, while the conquered people constituted the Sudras or servile caste. It is not known at what pe- riod this invasion took place, but it was un- doubtedly prior to the 14th century B. C. The language of the conquerors was probably the