Cawnpore, or will carry him to Calcutta, or back to the western side of India, to the great city of Bombay. From the Outer Circle extend branches, one of which, that from Sukkur, on the Indus, to Chamman, which traverses the dreaded Boland Pass, strikes into the heart of Afghanistan, and may be regarded as the first section of a railway to Kandahar; while the other, from Lahur to Peshawur, brings us within reasonable distance of Cabul itself. But not content with this Outer Circle, an Inner one is now being constructed. The Indus is again to be bridged at Hydrābād, and from that point a railway is to be made on the eastern or left side of the river to Khyrpur and Bukkur, and from Bhawulpur, on the north-western, another line, the Southern Punjāb, is to strike across India to join a line already made between Buttinda and Amballa. I have perhaps dwelt at too great a length on the North-Western Railway, but I have done so with a view of submitting to you the enormous value of the addition made to the British Empire by the conquest of the Province of Sind and of the little muddy harbour of Karachi half a century ago; and in conclusion I will briefly call your attention to the vast importance that they may be to us in the future. It is not necessary to suppose that the desire to make further conquest is likely to create difficulties between the British Empire and that of our great Northern neighbour, Russia, but it is well within the area of probabilities that at no very distant date, and under certain events, the two Powers must come into contact, friendly or otherwise, and let us hope that it will be the former. The event to which I refer is a disputed succession to the throne of Afghanistan; and from the past history of that country it is an event very likely to occur on the demise of the present ruler. In Mohamedan countries, primogeniture, or the right attaching to seniority by birth, carries very little weight, and blood-relationship is never a factor of great importance. It is usual for the reigning sovereign to nominate his successor during his lifetime, and his nominee may be one of his own brethren or one of his numerous sons. In neither case does the tie of brotherhood have the effect of inducing those who are not selected, to accept quietly the accession to power of the fortunate nominee. Children of the same father, but by different mothers, imbibe at the very breast the same feelings of jealousy that existed between their mothers; and as they grow in years, so that jealous feeling increases, and when manhood is reached there is frequently hatred and malice between them instead of a tie of brotherly love. Then, again, a handsome person, physical strength, undoubted courage, are qualities that have a great effect upon a warlike people like the Afghans, and all these characteristics must be taken into account before the nominee of the Amir can hope to mount the steps of the throne. If his successor be supported by both the great Powers to whom I have referred, then there is every probability that his seat may be rendered secure; but if these Powers take adverse sides and each supports a pretender, what will be the consequence? It is a difficulty that we may undoubtedly have to face, and in raising it I am by no means a bird of illomen, for I trust and hope that diplomacy may be able to avert one result that might ensue, namely, a declaration of war. But should that be the disastrous termination of a disputed succession in Afghanistan, and should the troops of the Queen and Empress have to face those of his Imperial Russian Majesty on the banks of the Helmund, then shall we learn to appreciate the value of Sir Charles Napier's victories at Meeanee and Dābo, for Karachi is the port at which our reinforcements from home must be disembarked, and it is through Sind by the North-Western (State) Railway that they must be carried to the scene of strife. With that European force will be combined gallant regiments of cavalry and infantry drawn from all parts of the vast Indian Empire-Sindees, Sikhs, Ghoorkas, Bheels, and Belochees, all of them not half a century ago our inveterate foes, but now embodied and disciplined and proud to serve under British colours. "You will yet be the glory of the East; would that I could come again, Kurrachee, to see you in your grandeur," were the parting words of Sir Charles Napier, the conqueror of Sind, when he bade his last farewell to India. BENGAL BY ROMESH DUTT, C.I.E. (Lecturer in Indian History at University College, London; late THE Province of Bengal is bounded on the north by the mountainous regions of Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan ; on the east by Assam and Burma; on the west by the North-Western and Central Provinces of India; and on the south by the sea. It is divided into four wellmarked divisions, viz., Bengal Proper, Behar, Orissa, and Chota-Nagpur. BENGAL PROPER Bengal proper, in which the Bengali language is spoken, is a flat, level, and alluvial country, stretching from the lower slopes of the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. It has an area of over 75,000 square miles, and a population of nearly 40,000,000, partly Hindu and partly Mohamedan. The Ganges and the Brahinaputra flow through this region into the sea, and intersect it by their numerous branches. The Damodar, the Dwarkeswar, and the Cassye flood the western districts; while a great portion of the eastern districts is annually inundated in the rains by the combined waters of the Brahmaputra and the Ganges. The eye wanders then over vast expanses of water, broken here and there by raised village sites, with their trees and human habitations and cattle sheds appearing like islands in an inland sea. Bengal proper is one of the most fertile spots in the earth; and the population, though physically weak, are patient and industrious, quick and intelligent. Bengal takes the foremost place in the progress which India has witnessed under the British rule. BEHAR Behar is the plain on both sides of the Ganges, lying farther up the river than Bengal proper. It has an area of 44,000 square miles, and a population of over 24,000,000. The people are mostly Hindus, speak the Hindi language, and are more sturdy and robust, but less quick, than the people of Bengal proper. ORISSA Orissa is the great sea-board stretching north and south, along the western coast of the Bay of Bengal. It has an area of 24,000 square miles, but a population of less than 6,000,000, mostly Hindus, and speaking the Uriya language. Large portions of Orissa are under petty tributary chiefs, and many aboriginal tribes, like the Khands, live in these tributary States, and speak their native dialects. The Mahanadi, the Brahmani, the Baitarini, and the Subarnarekha flow from the western hills through Orissa into the sea, and not unoften in the rains flood the entire country, destroy crops, and sweep away human habitations. The people of Orissa are slower, poorer, and hardier than those of Bengal proper, and their land is famous for the finest specimens of ancient Hindu architecture (of the sixth to twelfth century A.D.) that can be seen anywhere in India. CHOTA-NAGPUR Lastly, we have the undulating plains and hills of Chota-Nagpur, forming the western portion of the province, and lying between Behar, in the north, and |