of villages per square mile, 1*39; number of houses per square mile, 104; number of persons per village, 427; number of inmates per house, 57. The Subdivision consists of the 4 police circles (thánás) of Pábná, Dulái, Mathurá, and Chátmahar. In 1869 it contained II Magisterial and Revenue Courts, and a total police force of 314 officers and men. The village watch or rural police in the same year numbered 1222 men. The separate cost of the Subdivisional administration amounted to £10,441, 6s. od. THE SIRAJGANJ SUBDIVISION was established in November 1845. It contained in 1872 an area of 1031 square miles, with 1492 villages, 100,870 houses, and a total population of 656,575 souls, of whom 175,488 were Hindus, 478,278 Muhammadans, 55 Christians, and 2754 belonged to other denominations: proportion of Muhammadans to total population, 72'9 per cent.; proportion of males to total population, 49'9 per cent.; average number of persons per square mile, 637; number of villages per square mile, 145; number of houses per square mile, 98; number of persons per village, 440; number of inmates per house, 6'5. The Subdivision consists of the 4 police circles of Sháhzádpur, Ullápára, Sirajganj, and Ráiganj. In 1869 it contained 4 Magisterial and Revenue Courts, a police force of 133 officers and men, and a village watch of 1018 men. The separate cost of Subdivisional administration amounted to £6380, 8s. od. The Subdivision of Kumárkhálí, formed in August 1859, was removed from Pábná District in 1871. It contained in 1869 2 Magisterial and Revenue Courts, a police force of 82 officers and men, and a village watch of 414 men. The separate cost of Subdivisional administration amounted to £3099. FISCAL DIVISIONS.-In 1866, the District of Pábná (including Kumárkhálí) contained 47 parganás or Fiscal Divisions. The following list, taken from the statistics of the Board of Revenue, gives their names, with the number of estates, the land revenue, and area of each. As to its untrustworthiness, see post, p. 369 :— (1) AMIRABAD: number of estates, 3; Government land revenue, £474, 4s. od.; area, 9417 acres. (2) ATIA 4 estates; revenue, £80, 12s. od. ; area, 5571 acres. (3) BAJU CHAPPA: 42 estates; revenue, £1636; area, 52,138 acres. (4) BAJURAS MAHABATPUR: 11 estates; revenue, £921, 4s. od.; area, 24,677 acres. (5) BAJURAS NAZIRPUR: 17 estates; revenue, £1518, Ss. od.; area, 27,082 acres. (6) BARABAJU: I estate; revenue, £15, 10s. od.; area, 719 acres. (7) BELGACHHI: 12 estates; revenue, £34, 18s. od.; area, 967 acres. (8) BHAR FATHIJANGPUR: I estate; revenue, £5, 4s. od.; area, 56 acres. (9) BRAHMAPUR: 3 estates; revenue, £143, 18s. od.; area, 4591 acres. (10) CHAPLIA TAPPA: 4 estates; revenue, £336, 10s. od.; area, 10,479 acres. (11) DAKSHIN BIRAHIMPUR ; 3 estates; revenue, £1903, 4s. od.; area, 37,903 acres. (12) DATHIA JAHANGIRPUR: 2 estates; revenue, £29, 16s. od. ; area, 499 acres. (13) GANGAPUT: no estates paying revenue to the Pábná Collector; area, 1500 acres. (14) GOPINATHPUR : no estates paying revenue to the Pábná Collector; area, 1032 acres. (15) HAPANIA: 3 estates; revenue, £48, 6s. od.; area, 2611 acres. (16) ISLAMPUR; 32 estates; revenue, £3831, 6s. od.; area, 61,047 acres. (17) JAHANGIRABAD: 23 estates; revenue, £954, 4s. od.; area, 14,685 acres. (18) JIORAKHI: 2 estates; revenue, £20, 8s. od.; area, 706 acres. (19) KAGMARI; 2 estates; revenue, £29, 10s. od.; area, 1605 acres. (20) KATARMAHAL 3 estates; revenue, £29, 6s. od.; area, 285 acres. (21) KANTANAGAR: 6 estates; revenue, £487, 18s. od.; area, 8561 acres. (22) KASIMNAGAR : 2 estates; revenue, £1, 14s. od.; area, 166 acres. (23) KHALSI TAPPA: 22 estates; revenue, £475, 14s. od.; area, 1158 acres. (24) KURURIA: I estate; revenue, £426, 14s. od.; area, 4819 acres. (25) MIHMANSHAHI: I estate; revenue, £4, 16s. od.; area, 112 acres. (26) MOHIMSHAHI: 69 estates; revenue, £159, 16s. od.; area, 8411 acres. (27) MUHAMMADSHAHI: 10 estates; revenue, £545, 6s. od.; area, 17,895 acres. (28) NALDI: 2 estates; revenue, £33, 18s. od.; area, 1665 acres. (29) NASIBSHAHI: 46 estates; revenue, £181, 18s. od.; area, 4162 acres. (30) NASRATSHAHI: 55 estates; revenue, £2169, 16s. od.; area, 60,681 acres. (31) NAZIR INAITPUR: 3 estates; revenue, £169, 14s. od. ; area, 3063 acres. (32) ROKANPUR: no estates paying revenue to the Pábná Treasury; area, 3800 acres. (33) SAKHINI TAPPA: 48 estates; revenue, £248, 18s. od.; area, 17,341 acres. (34) SATUR: 4 estates; revenue, £6, 2s. od. ; area, 200 acres. (35) SENBARSHA: I estate; revenue, £14, 18s. od.; area, 1125 acres. (36) SHAHAJAPUR: I estate; revenue, 6s. ; area, 15 acres. (37) SHAH AUJIAL: I estate; revenue, £452, 2s. od. ; area, 9029 acres. (38) SINDURI: 70 estates; revenue, £2722, 125. od.; area, 58,844 acres. (39) SONABAJU: 4 estates; revenue, £125, 14s. od.; area, 4329 acres. (40) SUDKI: 7 estates; revenue, £67, 10s. od.; area, 1124 acres. (41) SUJABAD: I estate; revenue, 16s. ; area, 14 acres. (42) TARAGUNIA: 2 estates; revenue, £27, 4s. od.; area, 1845 acres. (43) TARA UJIAL: I estate; revenue, £7, 6s. od.; area, 69 acres. (44) UTTAR BIRAHIMPUR: 19 estates; revenue, £1620, 8s. od. ; area, 56,428 acres. (45) YARPUR: 2 estates; revenue, £7, 10s. od.; area, 1063 acres. (46) YUSUFNAGAR: 2 estates; revenue, £585, 16s. od.; area, 16,733 acres. (47) YUSUFSHAHI: 256 estates; revenue, £6621, 25. od.; area 199,007 acres. : The totals obtained from the preceding list are as follow:47 parganás, containing 804 estates, paying a land revenue of £29,177, 16s., and covering an area of 739,229 acres, or 1155'05 square miles. In correction of these figures, which cannot be accepted as accurate, even for the year 1866 to which they primarily refer, the following are the latest statistics available :-In March 1876, Pábná District contained 38 recognised parganás, the names of which are given below, and materially differ from those in the preceding list. The number of estates on the rent-roll of the District in 1870-71 was 876; and the amount of land revenue paid in that year was £31,763. The Census Report of 1872 returns the area of the District at 1966 square miles. According to a special return made by the Boundary Commissioner in 1875, the area 1838 square miles; in March 1876, after certain transfers, only about 1474 square miles actually paid land revenue into the District Treasury. was In 1870 the Collector reported that Pábná District, inclusive of Kumárkhálí, comprised 44 parganás; but owing to the transfers that have been made since, the District contains at present (March 1876) only the following 38 parganás :-(1) Amírábád, (2) Atiá, (3) Bara Báju, (4) Báju Chappa, (5) Bájurás Mahabatpur, (6) Bájurás Názirpur, (7) Bhar Fathijangpur, (8) Byas tappá, (9) Chaplia tappá, (10) Dáthiá Jahangirpur, (11) Gatraháttá, (12) Guátá Gangárámpur, (13) Hándiál, (14) Jahángírábád, (15) Islámpur, (16) Kágmári, (17) Kántanagar, (18) Kásimnagar, (19) Kátármahál, (20) Khalsí, (21) Mihmánsháhí, (22) Muhammadsháhí, (23) Nij Bájurás, (24) Pukhariá, (25) Rokanpur, (26) Sákhiní tappá, (27) Senbarsha, (28) Sindurí, (29) Sháhájápur, (30) Sháhá-ujiál, (31) Sonábáju, (32) Sujábád, (33) Táráguniá, (34) Tárá Ujiál, (35) Uttar Biráhimpur, (36) Yárpur, (37) Yusufnagar tappá, (38) Yusufsháhí. CLIMATE. The climate of the District is mild, and, compared with the rest of Bengal, not unhealthy. The cold weather lasts four months, beginning at the end of October, and ending about the first week in March. The rainfall is reported by the Civil Surgeon to vary in ordinary years from 50 to 70 inches. The average annual rainfall at the Pábná Civil Station during the nine years ending 1874 was 69.20 inches, of which 16:35 inches fell between January and May inclusive, 47°43 from June to September, and 5:42 inches VOL. IX. 2 A from October to December. The average rainfall in the Sirájganj Subdivision for the five years ending 1874 is reported at 58′22 inches. The table on the opposite page, compiled from the Meteorological Report for 1873, gives the monthly rainfall, and the number of days on which rain fell during each month in 1871 and 1873 (the year preceding the Behar famine). It also shows the mean monthly temperature in 1873, as returned by the Civil Surgeon. CYCLONES. On the 20th September 1872 a severe cyclone swept over Pábná. At II A.M. the gale commenced, and after veering round from east to north-east, the cyclone burst on the District, and continued till about 4.40 P.M., at which time the wind was due north. There was then a lull for about twenty minutes, but at 5 P.M. the wind began again to blow violently from the north-west, though not with so much force as before. By 6 p.m. the wind had changed to west-south-west, and after that it subsided. gradually. In the town of Pábná, native huts were blown down in all directions, plantains were levelled to the ground, several large trees were uprooted, and the Dogáchhí and bázár roads were blocked by fallen branches and trees. On the Ichhámatí river, two large laden boats, besides a few small ones, were sunk. The District Superintendent reported that within the limits of the Municipality 10 boats were broken up, about 20,000 fruit trees blown down, and 5000 native houses and huts levelled to the ground. In the Subdivision of Sirajganj, the loss of life was very large, and not limited to the few cases reported to the police. 'Dead bodies,' writes the Subdivisional officer, 'continued to float down the river until the 24th of September, if not later; and I fear the number of persons drowned must be estimated by hundreds.' In the Sirajganj Subdivision alone, 111 boats with 34,132 maunds or 1249 tons of goods were sunk; nor does this number include numerous boats that were subsequently raised during the three days after the cyclone. The Subdivisional officer's house was unroofed, every police building and Government office at Sirajganj was blown down, and almost all the records were destroyed. The Maimansinh and Sirajganj mail-boat sank in the Jamuná, and three persons in it were drowned. The steamer Simla' and two flats were driven high on the bank of the Haráságar river, and three flats at Sirajganj [Sentence continued on page 372. |