European kingdoms. The soubahs were again divided into circars, and these sub-divided into purgunnabs. If I was to apply English names to these divisions, I should style them kingdoms (or vice-royalties), counties, and hundreds.* The names of the eleven soubahs were Lahore, Moultan (including Sindy), Agimere, Delhi, Agra, Oude, Allahabad, Bahar, Bengal, Malwa, and Guzerat. A 12th soubah, that is, Cabul, was formed out of the countries contiguous to the western sources of the Indus, and included Candahar and Ghizni; and three new ones were erected out of the conquests in the Deccan: viz. Berar, Candeish, and Amednagur; in all fifteen. A slight inspection of the map will afford more information concerning the relative position of these soubahs to each other, and to the adjacent countries, than whole sheets of writing. It may be necefsary, however, to make a few remarks on the boundaries of those soubahs that bordered on the Deccan, in order to understand the extent of the new conquests. Guzerat, then, extended southward to Damaun, where it touched on the district of Baglana, a division of Amednagur. Malwa extended to the south of the Nerbuddah river; and an angle of it touched on Baglana and Candeish on the south-west and south, and on Berar on the east. The Nerbuddah formed the rest of the southern boundary of Malwa, and also of Allahabad. The government of Bengal extended to Cattack || and along the river Mahanuddy; but the soubah of Orissa appears not to have been formed at that time. Of the newly erected soubahs in the Deccan, Candeish§ the smallest of them, occupies the space between Malwa on the north, Berar on the east, and Amednagur on the west and south. * Few circars are of lefs extent than the largest English counties. + Called also Illahabad. Guzerat is by some of the Hindoos considered as lying without the limits of Hindoostan, Vide Berar Rajah's letters. Called also Cuttack. Named by Acbar, DANDEISH, in honour of Prince Danial; but at present it bears its old name. Berar, according to the present definition, has Allahabad and Malwa on the north; Candeish and Amednagur on the west; Tellingana and Golconda on the south; and Orissa on the east. I apprehend that only the western parts of Berar were reduced by Acbar. Amednagur, the southmost of Acbar's soubahs, had Candeish and Malwa on the north; the Gatte, or Balagat mountains on the west; Bejapour (or Visiapour) and Tellingana on the south; and Berar on the east. The limits of this soubah (Amednagur) are not defined in the Ayin Acbaree; and as Acbar had wars in the Deccan during almost his whole reign, it may be supposed that its limits were perpetually fluctuating. Tellingana, which in the Ayin Acbaree is called a circar of Berar, was possessed only in part by Acbar. Tellingana, of which Warangole was the capital, comprehended the tract lying between the Kistnah and Godavery rivers, and east of Visiapour (answering to the modern province of Golconda): and was probably in more early times, an extensive kingdom; as the Tellinga language is said to be in use, at present, from the river Pennar in the Carnatic, to Orifsa, along the coast; and inland to a very considerable dis tance. Thus we have a standard for the geographical division of Hindoostan proper, in the time of Acbar; but for the Deccan in general, no authority on record has ever come to my knowledge. It appears that Acbar reduced the western side of it, as far down as the 18th degree of north latitude: and under his succefsors, the remainder of it, together with the peninsula, as we have already seen, was either entirely subjected, or rendered tributary to the throne of Delhi (the mountainous tracts held by the Mahrattas, * The capital of this soubah being originally established at the city of Amednagur, it gave name to the whole province, but the name of the fortrefs of Dowlatabad has in turn superseded it. In like manner the name of Tellingana has now given way to that of Golconda. + Called Arinkill by Ferishta. The rampart of this place can still be traced, and shews that it must have been a place of vast extent. excepted), and formed into one government under the name of the DECCAN;* which name, in its most extensive signification, includes the whole peninsula south of Hindoostan proper. However, in its ordinary acceptation, it means only the countries situated between Hindoostan proper, the Carnatic, and Orifsa; that is, the provinces of Candeish, Amednagur, Visiapour, Golconda, and the western part of Berar. When the Mogul empire was extended to its utmost limits, by the addition of this vast province, its annual revenue exceeded 32 millions of pounds sterling: † and to enable the reader to make a just estimation of its absolute value, it is necessary to repeat, that the products of the earth are about four times as cheap in Hindoostan, as in England. * I do not mean to insinuate that the country in question first obtained its name of DECCAN, under the successors of Acbar: on the contrary, it has been so distinguished from the earliest times. It signifies the SOUTH; as POOR U B does the EAST, when applied to Bengal and its dependencies. + Mr. Fraser, in his Life of Nadir Shah, states the revenues of the provinces under Aurungzebe, as follows: TOTAL-30 crores, 18 lacks of Sicca rupees, or about 32 millions of pounds sterling. * Bengal is rated in the Ayin Acbaree (towards the close of the 16th century) at 149 lacks; in Sujah Cawn's nabobship, A. D. 1727, at 142; and in 1778, at 197 lacks, net revenue. PRESENT DIVISION of HINDOOSTAN. HAVING given this very general idea of the original division of India, I shall next endeavour to convey an idea of the present division of it, as far as respects the principal states, or the powers that have appeared on the political theatre, since the establishment of the British influence. The British nation possess, in full sovereignty, the whole soubah of Bengal, and the greatest part of Bahar; I say the greatest part, because it appears that there are several purgunnahs on the south-west of Little Nagpour, that were formerly classed as belonging to Bahar, but are now in the possession of the Mahrattas.* In Orissa, they possess only the districts of Midnapour, the rest being entirely in the hands of the Mahrattas and their tributaries. These possessions contain about 150,000 square British miles of land; to which, if we add the district of Benares, the whole will be 162,000; that is, 30,000 more than are contained in Great Britain and Ireland: and near eleven millions of inha * This circumstance was ascertained by the late Colonel Camac. The following is an account of (nearly) the quantity of land contained in the countries subject to the British government, and to the British allies, in Hindoostan. bitants. The total net revenue, including Benares, is at present about 287 lacks of Sicca rupees, which may be reckoned equal to 3,050,000. In this calculation, every branch of the revenue is included; such as the profits arising from salt and opium, the customs, &c.: and the amount of the charges attending the collection of the revenues, and the stipend to the Nabob of Bengal, &c. are deducted: the whole amount of the grofs revenue being 3,790,000l. The subsidy from the Nabob of Oude is not taken into this account.* * The following is nearly the state of the Company's receipts and disbursements at the present time, reduced to sterling money: the Sicca rupee being valued at 2s. 1žd. BENGAL. Total net revenue at Bengal and Madras At Bombay the disbursements exceed the receipts, by about 300,000 50,000 85,000 1,755,000 350,000 Total of net revenue in India £ 1,405,000 It appears that the aggregate sum of the territorial revenue of the East-India Company, |