Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/858

BENGAL. the trade passes through Calcutta. Internal communication is facilitated by numerous navi- galile rivers, as well as by roads and railway lines. Of roads, Bengal has about 40.000 miles, of which only about one-eighth is macadamized. The railway system includes three main lines — • one leading* from Calcutta toward the northwest ; a second eastward: the third to Madras. The total length is about 22,.5O0 miles.

. Owing to the heterogeneity of the population of Ben.sal and the wide dissimi- larity in the intellectual capacity of the inhabit- ants,' the government of Bengal has been highly centralized. At the head of the administration is the Lieutenant-Governor, who practically exer- cises the executive power unassisted by any political body. The legislative power is nomi- nally shared by him with the Legislative Council, wliieh consists partly of members elected by the people; but even this nominal attempt at repre- sentative government is practicality invalidated by the provision which demands the sanction of all measures by the Viceroy or the Secretary of State for India before they are introduced in the Coun- cil. Thus a territory exceeding the area of the Britisli Isles by one-fourth, and with nearly twice their population, is governed by a few officials, without allowing the natives a voice In the man- agement. For administrative purposes Bengal is divided into nine divisions, five in Bengal proper, two in Behar, one in Orissa, and one in Chota-Nagpur. These divisions are adminis- tered by commissioners, who have entire charge of their respective territories, and have under their control the district officers. The latter are in charge of the districts into which every division is subdivided, performing the execu- tive, legislative, and judicial functions. The functions of the High Court of Calcutta are mostly supervisory; but it has also original jurisdiction within the limits of Calcutta. Every district officer is also at the head of the police department, which is dircctfy managed by a superintendent of police. In the larger munici- palities (of which there are very few in Bengal) the government is more representative in char- acter, and taxpayers rre accorded the privilege of electing their representatives to the municipal board.

Education is provided for partly by the Gov- ernment schools, partly by schools aided by the Government, and partly by private schools. The report for 1900 gives the number of schools of the first kind as 372, with an attendance of about 40,000; of the second, about 30,000, with an at- tendance of nearly 1,190,000; and of the third kind, over 2.^,000, with an attendance of about 460,000. These educational institutions include 44 art colleges, 471 high English schools, 9.50 middle English schools, 1045 middle vernacular schools, and 504 special schools of all kinds. The Bengal Army is the term applied to the troops raised in Bengal for service with the Indian native army. The cavalry troops of the Bengal Amiy, and particularly the lancer regi- ments, are world-famous.

Finance. The Imperial revenue is derived chiefly from the opium monopoly (over 35 per cent.), land-rent (about 22 per cent.), the salt monopoly, and customs. The Imperial expendi- tures amount usually to less than one-fourth of the revenue, and the surplus is partly utilized to cover the military expenditures both in Ben- gal and in other parts of India, and partly spent on public works. The cost of the administration of the province is covered by the provincial and municipal taxes.

The population of Bengal is as follows: Of the total population of Bengal, including the native States, about G4 per cent, are Hindus, about 32 per cent. Mohammedans, and about 4 per cent. Animistic. There are about 200,000 Buddhists and as many Christians. The pre- vailing language is Bengali, or Bengalese, one of the most important modern Aryan tongues of India, spoken by some 40,000.000 people. Be- sides the speakers of Aryan dialects, there are in this province several more or less numer- ous aboriginal 'peoples ( Santals, Kols, Gonds, Bhuiyas, Oraons, etc.) of Dra vidian or Kolarian stock, with others in the eastern parts of Indo- Chinese affinities, while the rest consists of Jains, Sikhs, Parsis, and Jews.

Behar, the northern part of Bengal, anciently a powerful Sanskrit monarchy, was conquered about A.D. 1200 by the Jlohammedans, and was ruled until 1576 by governors who enjoyed at different times almost independent authority. The first British commercial settlement was made about 1020. In 1686 the English bought, from the grandson of Aurungzeb, the site of the present Calcutta. In 1757 Clive's victory, gained against odds of tv'cnty to one, transferred Ben- gal from the Mogul's viceroy to the English East India Company, which was secured in its possession by the Mogul's own grant of 1765. Warren Hastings consolidated the British power in Bengal (1772-85). Under him and his suc- cessors the civil administration was thoroughly organized and important land legislation enact- ed. After the treaties of 1765. which placed Bengal, Behar. and Orissa under British adminis- tration, the history of Bengal merges with that of British India. See India, and its bibliog- raphy.

BENGAL,. A portion of the Indian Ocean, of almost triangular form, projected northward between India and Farther India. Its southern side, dravn from Coromandel to Ma- lacca, so as merely to leave on the right both Ceylon and Sumatra, may be stated at 1200 miles. Its northern extremity, from Balasore to Chittagong, measures about 250 miles. The Bay of Bengal receives many large rivers — the Ganges and the Brahmaputra on the north, the Irrawaddy on the east, and on the west the Ma- hanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna, and the Kaveri. On the western coast there is hardly anything worthy of the name of harbor: while on the east there are many good ports, such as Akyab, Cheduba, Negrais. Syriam, Martaban, Tavoy River. King's Island, besides several more in the islands between Pegu and Sumatra. The Andaman and Nicobar islands are situated in the eastern part of the bay. The northeastern and soithwpstern monsoons prevail, respectively, I