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SECTION VII.

TABLES of DISTANCES in HINDOOSTAN.

HE following Tables, will, it is hoped, be particularly acceptable, not only to thofe, who for useful purposes may be defirous of calculating the time required for a courier or messenger to travel from one place to another, but also to thofe, who on the score of curiofity, or for the illuftration of history, may wish to be informed of the distances between the principal towns. in Hindooftan. This information cannot be obtained merely by the application of the compaffes to the map, because the windings and inflections of the roads are not there taken into the account: but an approximation towards it, may be obtained, by the double: operation of measuring the distance on the map, and then applying to it, the rule given in page 7 of this Memoir.

To accomplish the task above propofed, I first felected. the names of such cities and other places as appeared likely to become objects of enquiry in future; and in fo extenfive a country, no less than 168 such places occurred. To have given the distance between every two of these places refpectively, would not only have extended the tables to an immoderate length (upwards of 14,000 distances occurring on the above number) but would have burthened the purchaser with much useless matter. For instance, although Jionpour has a political connexion with Lucknow, and Tanjore with Madras; and it may be neceffary that the distance of each of these fubordinate places from its fuperior, should be given :: H. h. 2: yet,,

yet, as Jionpour and Tanjore stand in little or no relation to each other, it was of no use to give the distance between them. The fame may be faid of most of the other fubordinate places.

The method, therefore, that I have followed, is this: I have chofen fuch places as appear to be of the greatest political consequence (fuch as the British Presidencies, and the Courts of the native Princes) and of which I reckon 12; and confidering them as centres, have formed for each a separate table, in which the distance from the central place to every other place of note, whose situation may be fuppofed to become a matter of enquiry, is inserted; the names following in alphabetical order. A page is allotted to each of these central places, which are AGRA, BENARES, BOMBAY, CALCUTTA, DELHI, HYDERABAD, LUCKNOW, MADRAS, NAGPOUR, OUGEIN, POONAH, and SERING APATAM, and these alfo follow in the fame order.

The tables contain near 1000 distances; and although these are reckoned only from 12 different points, yet by attending to the particulars of each table, a great many other distances may be found; as the communication between places, is ufually by the medium of the capital towns that intervene (see page 6). For inftance, the distance between Arcot and Allahabad may be collected from the tables of Hydrabad and Nagpour, as thefe places lie in the line of direction between the two former. Also, the distance between Patna and Aurungabad may be found by means of the Nagpour table: and that from Mirzapour to Surat, by fubtracting the distance of the one from the other, in the Benares table. And by the fame methods, the distances between moft other places of note may be found. And in order to facilitate the fearch, and bring into one view the respective pofitions of the several places mentioned in the tables, I have added a finall map.

To avoid repeating the distances between the 12 central or primary places, through every table, they are inferted in that table, alone, whose name ftands first in the alphabet. Thus the distance

between CALCUTTA and AGRA, will be found in the AGRA table, and not in that of CALCUTTA.

With respect to the distances themselves, it must not be expected that they are in general critically exact; for although the positions of 8 out of the 12 primary places are determined with fome degree of precision; and 3 out of the 4 remaining ones, pretty nearly; yet the intermediate roads have, in few instances (those between Bengal and Delhi excepted) been measured. But fince the publication of the first tables, the measured routes of Col. Pearfe from Calcutta to Madras, Mr. Ewart's between Calcutta and Nagpour; and Mr. Pringle's tables of routes in the Carnatic; have come to hand: and the present tables will accordingly be found much improved. The deficiencies could only be supplied by the computed distances; which, however, appear to come as near the truth in India, as in any country whatever or where thefe have failed, by allowing fuch a degree of winding, as is found by experience to take place in a fimilar kind of country. The cofs is always reckoned at one British mile and nine-tenths, in road measure. For other particulars respecting the length of the cofs, and the windings of roads, the reader is defired to turn to the first pages of this Memoir.

The length of a day's journey in Hindooftan (as has been obferved before) is from 11 to 12 coffes, or about 22 miles, for an ordinary traveller. But that of a courier, or profeffed messenger, may be reckoned at 30 or 33; and on occafions of emergency, they can travel even more; and that for a continuance of 15 or 20 days.

A regular post is established throughout the parts of Hindoostan subject to the East India Company, and alfo from Calcutta to Madras. The poftmen always travel on foot. Their stages are commonly from 7 to 8 miles; and their rate of travelling within our own districts, about 70 miles in the 24 hours.

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