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 NORTHWEST PROVINCES NORTHWEST TERRITORIES 501 136; Jhansi, 934,747; Allahabad, 5,466,116; Benares, 8,178,147. Of these, 26,569,068 were Hindoos, 4,189,348 Mohammedans, and 10,640 Christians. The density of the population, 380 to the square mile, exceeds that in any other large division of India except Oude, where there are 465 to the square mile. The com- missionerships are subdivided into 35 districts, and in 1872 contained 91,226 villages. At that time the area of the subject-allied native states under the supervision of the provincial govern- ment was 5,390 sq. m., with an estimated popu- lation of 1,284,691. Although the northern portions, situated within the Himalaya region, are broken by spurs of the great snowy range, the Northwest Provinces lie chiefly in the rich Gangetic plain, and are watered by the Ganges and Jumna and their affluents, which here flow through an exceedingly fertile and prosperous region, dotted with wealthy, famous, and pow- erful cities, and abounding in historical inter- est. The tract between the Ganges and the Jumna, known as the Doab, is occupied by one of the most extensive and important systems of artificial irrigation in the world, of which the Ganges canal is the chief work, supplying water in 187l-'2 to an area of about 800,000 acres. The principal forests are in Jhansi and near the foot of the Himalaya in Gurwhal and Ku- maon, and are under the care of the govern- ment forest conservancy. The chil (pinus ex- celsa}, the chir (pinus longtfolia), the saul tree, and the deodar are the chief timber trees. Immense numbers of bamboos are obtained from the bamboo forests in the north. There are but few trees in the lower country. The climate is dry from April to June, when the rains begin, but the annual rainfall averages very little more than 30 inches. Opium, in- digo, sugar cane, and the cereals are cultivated in the plains ; there is a cotton farm at Bu- lundshuhur ; and tea is grown in Gurwhal, Ku- maon, and the district of Dehra Boon. Mines of lead and copper occur in the north, and iron also has been found in Kurnaon, but the ore cannot be worked profitably. The Northwest Provinces are traversed by the East Indian and Delhi railways, together forming the great trunk line between Calcutta and Lahore. On April 1, 1873, there were 839| m. of railway in operation within the provincial limits. The whole opium crop is sent to the government de- pot at Ghazepoor, near Benares, and consider- able quantities of cocoanuts are exported to oth- er parts of India. The manufacture of cotton goods is an important industry, but most of the supply is required for home consumption. A proprietary system of land revenue prevails, the principle of which is derived from a settle- ment made by the emperor Akbar. The cul- tivators of the soil pay rent to the proprietors of the villages, from whom the government exacts a portion as a tax, now amounting to one half of the assumed rental. These pro- prietors are usually the members of a family who own a village, all the villagers being their tenants. In 1871-'2 the net land revenue was 3,682,588, and 414,501 were derived from the duty on salt, 216,868 from excise duties, and 79,174 from income tax ; the total reve- nue in 1872-'3 was 5,849,714, and the expen- diture was 2,083,562. The executive author- ity is vested in a lieutenant governor, appoint- ed by the viceroy with the approval of the secretary of state for India. A high court of judicature, consisting of a chief justice and five puisne judges, is the chief judicial tribunal. There are 67 regularly organized municipalities. Among the more important cities and towns are Allahabad, the capital, Agra, Bareilly, Be- nares, Cawnpore, Furruckabad, Ghazepoor, Go- ruckpoor, Meerut, and Muttra. The total num- ber of educational institutions in 1872 was 8,938, at which there was an average daily attendance of 180,898 pupils. These included seven col- leges affiliated to the Calcutta university, all of which received assistance from the govern- ment, while four were directly under its control, 35 high schools, and 13 normal schools. Under British rule, elementary education has made greater progress here than elsewhere in India. Separate statistics are wanting as to the Prot- estant mission schools of the Northwest Prov- inces alone, but in 1872 the entire number there and in Oude was 335, with an attendance of 16,609 students; while there were 7,779 native Christian converts distributed throughout the same territory. At Agra there is a medical college. A prosperous native literature exists, comprising books, magazines, and newspapers in Urdu, Hindee, and other languages; du- ring 1871-2, 30 native newspapers and 9 mag- azines were regularly published, a majority of them in Urdu ; and of the 317 books which appeared in 1871, 90 were in Urdu, 56 in Persian, 53 in Hindee, 47 in Arabic, and 33 in English. The Northwest Provinces were formerly included in the presidency of Fort William in Bengal, but in 1833 they were "con- stituted a separate administrative division, with the capital at Agra. During the sepoy mutiny they were the principal theatre of war. (See INDIA.) In 1862 the seat of government was removed to Allahabad. NORTHWEST TERRITORIES, a portion of the Dominion of Canada, comprising the greater part of the former Hudson Bay territory, bounded N. by the Arctic ocean and Hudson strait, and E. by the portion of Labrador be- longing to Newfoundland and by Quebec. On the south it has for its boundary, E. of the Rocky mountains, Quebec, Ontario, the United States, Manitoba, and again the United States (along the parallel of 49 N.) ; and W. of that range, British Columbia along the parallel of 60. Its W. boundary, S. of the 60th parallel, is formed by the Rocky mountains, separating it from British Columbia, and N. of that line by Alaska, along the meridian of 141 W. Its E. extremity is in Ion. 65 W. Much of the E. portion is occupied by Hudson bay, with its S. projection, James bay. The length E. and W.