brass, cotton goods, and so forth. It constitutes the fund from which rents are paid and the revenue is discharged.'

Through Trade.- Reference has hitherto been made to Sirajganj only as an outpost of the Calcutta trade, collecting to a centre the country produce destined for the metropolis, and distributing the Calcutta exports destined for the country. It has, however, relations with some places which do not come under this classification. It supplies a good deal of the goods consumed by the Bengal coolies on the tea estates of Assam. Thus, in the year 1873-74 it exported by steamer to Assam 184,949 maunds or 6800 tons of rice, 3683 maunds or 135 tons of gram and other grains, and 1701 maunds or 62 tons of sundries, mostly coolie stores. Sirajganj also does a large business in cocoa-nuts. the month of September it received 199,780 cocoa-nuts from Bengal, of which 25,600 came from Dacca, 11,500 from Jessor, 9800 from Faridpur, 23,000 from Noákhálí, 13,700 from Tipperah, and 3500 from Kumillá. These cocoa-nuts were despatched from Sirajganj to Goálpárá, Kuch Behar, Jalpáigurí, Rangpur, Bográ, Rájsháhí, Dinajpur, and Maimansinh. Lime is received at Sirajganj in large quantities from Sylhet, and there is a considerable trade in oil, fuel, betel-nuts, sugar, and spices.'

In

Boat Census.-"The municipal committee of the town have twice taken a boat census of Sirajganj, in order to find out how many boats are in the harbour when trade is brisk, what they contain, and whence they come. On the 31st August 1873, 1436 boats were found; on the 4th September 1874 there were 1185 boats. The total amount of goods in the boats on the first occasion was 162,000 maunds, or 5956 tons; on the second, 195,000 maunds, or 7169 tons. About a lákk of maunds (3676 tons) of jute formed the greater part of the stock both in 1873 and in 1874.'

Sirajganj Traders.—‘There are now at Sirajganj six European firms, or branch firms, and an agency of the Bank of Bengal has been established there. Their principal rivals are not natives of this province, but foreigners from Márwár. These Márwárís, or Káyás as they are called, form a trading community with correspondents along the whole line of the Brahmaputra river, as far as Debrugarh in Upper Assam. They are honest, frugal, diligent, and even enterprising, though but little educated. With more knowledge they would make excellent traders. As it is, they seem to be, with the Europeans, ousting the Bengalís from the profits of the

inland trade. The Bengalís who engage in traffic at Sirajganj generally belong to the caste of Sháhás, and some of them are very intelligent. They are not, however, so united among themselves as the Káyás. They do not trust each other so much, and in speculation they are timid.'

The table on the opposite page shows the amount of steamer traffic between Sirajganj and Calcutta during the four years 1871-72, 1872-73, 1873-74, and 1874-75.

CAPITAL. The money accumulated in Pábná District, owing to the value of the exports being in excess of that of the imports, is chiefly employed in trade; and a considerable sum is, the Collector reported in 1871, invested in building and fitting out boats. The current rates of interest are as follow:-(a) in small transactions, when jewellery or some other article is given in pawn as security, half an ánná per rupee per month, or 37 per cent. per annum; (b) in large transactions, with a mortgage upon moveable property, nearly as high; (c) in large transactions, with a mortgage on immoveable property, 20 per cent. per annum; (d) in the case of small loans to cultivators on their personal security, half an ánná per rupee per month, or 37 per cent. per annum; where the lender has a lien upon the crops, the interest charged is the same as for loans on personal security, unless the borrower assigns a specific share of the crop for payment; (e) when a man purchases an estate, from 10 to 12 per cent. per annum is considered a very good return on the outlay.

There is a branch of the Bank of Bengal in the town of Sirajganj. The Collector reports that many of the large native mercantile firms in that town also engage in banking; and advancing money to small traders, to speculators in boats, and even to professional native money-lenders. Any loans, however large, can be obtained by landholders who are able to give good security; small advances are made throughout the District by shopkeepers, who generally combine money-lending with trading operations.

IMPORTED CAPITAL.-The only industries in the District conducted wholly or in part by European agency, or with European capital, are the cultivation and manufacture of indigo, the manufacture of jute, and the trade in this staple. The jute factory near Sirajganj has already been noticed under the head of Manufactures, p. 331. It was established by Mr. Barry, who was for some time Deputy Magistrate at [Sentence continued on page 352.

Sentence continued from page 350.]

Sirajganj, and subsequently Member of Parliament for Cork. 'Mr. Barry,' the Collector reports, 'resigned Government service in order to open a general commission business, and to work some hand screws which he had constructed to compress jute for exportation. On his return to Europe, he sold the good-will of his business to a company, which he promoted with the object of erecting a factory for weaving and spinning jute. In April 1867 the affairs of the company were put into the hands of liquidators, as there were no funds to complete the building of the factory. A new association, called the Sirajganj Jute Company (Limited), purchased the works and other assets, which had originally cost £78,000, for £16,500. The capital of the . new company was fixed at £65,000, and the total capital introduced by the factory into the Subdivision, up to 1871, may be estimated at £90,000. During the changes in proprietorship the construction of the works went on, and they were opened in October 1869. The building contains 15,000 hundredweight of iron, and 500,000 cubic feet of brickwork. The spinning and weaving is performed by steam power in the ordinary English method, and under the supervision of a European superintendent and European mechanics. Women and children are employed extensively in the higher work, and about 1200 hands of all descriptions are engaged. The principal manufacture consists of gunny bags, which are pressed and sent by steamer to Calcutta.' As already stated, 80,000 maunds or 2941 tons of gunnies were exported by steamer to Calcutta in 1871-72, 82,100 maunds or 3018 tons in 1872-73, 82,457 maunds or 3032 tons in 1873-74, and 104,570 maunds or 3844 tons in 1874-75. The Subdivisional officer estimates the value of the gunnies exported in 1874-75 at Rs. 1,202,555, or £120,255, 10s. od.

An account of the indigo industry in the District has been already given under the head of Manufactures on page 330.

INSTITUTIONS OR SOCIETIES.-Apart from the Bráhma Samáj, already noticed on page 288, and the Government schools (pp. 360-364) and dispensaries (pp. 375-376), no public institution exists in the District. Attached to the Pábná Government English School, there is a library containing a considerable number of English and Bengalí books, and several English and vernacular newspapers are also subscribed for.

NEWSPAPERS.-The only newspapers that have been published within the present limits of the District are the Desh hitaishini of

LAND TAX AND SUBDIVISION OF ESTATES. 353

Sirajganj, and the Jnán bikáshini of Chátmahar. The Deshhitaishini, or Well-Wisher of the Country, was in existence for several years, but ceased to appear about the close of the year 1874. Its tone was favourable to the large landowners of the District, and such influence as it possessed was exerted against the rayats in their struggle with the zamindárs. Its circulation was always very small, and its influence weak. The Jnán bikáshini, or Publisher of Knowledge, had a shorter life than the Desh hitaishíní.

INCOME. According to the Income-tax returns for 1870-71, the total amount of incomes exceeding Rs. 500 or £50 per annum was approximately £232,600. The amount of Income tax realized in that year, with the rate of assessment at an average rate of 3 per cent. on incomes above £50, was £7269. In the following year the rate of the tax was reduced to 14 per cent., and the minimum of the incomes liable to assessment raised to Rs. 750, or £75. The amount of tax realized in 1871-72 was £1499, 8s. od. The total number of incomes assessed in 1870-71, or, in other words, the number of annual incomes above £50 each, was 2048.

REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE.-The District was constituted in May 1832. Its total revenue from that date till the 31st March 1833 was £1700, 16s. od. ; its expenditure during the same period being only £480, 2s. od. In 1850-51 the revenue amounted to £32,404, 6s. od., and the expenditure to £10,231, 16s. od. In 1870-71 the actual revenue was £53,855, 11s. 1od., and the civil expenditure £22,716, 175. 9d.

The balance sheet on the following page exhibits in detail the net revenue and expenditure of the District for the year 1870-71, after omitting all items of deposit and account not representing actual income or expenditure.

THE LAND TAX AND SUBDIVISION OF ESTATES.-In the year 1837, there were 896 estates on the District rent-roll, held by 1691 registered proprietors or coparceners, who paid a total land revenue of £34,118, 8s. od.; equivalent to an average payment of £38, 1s. 7d. from each estate, and £20, 3s. 6d. from each individual proprietor or coparcener. By 1850, the number of estates had increased to 1048, and the number of registered proprietors to 1798, subject to the payment of a total land revenue of £35,401, 16s. od.; equivalent to an average payment of £33, 15s. 71d. from each estate, and £19, 13s. 91d. from each proprietor. By 1870-71 the [Sentence continued on page 355

VOL. IX.

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