Volume 1

The East-India gazetteer; containing particular descriptions of the empires, kingdoms, principalities, provinces, cities, towns, districts, fortresses, harbours, rivers, lakes, &c. of Hindostan, and the adjacent countries, India beyond the Ganges, and the eastern archipelago; together with sketches of the manners, customs, institutions, agriculture, commerce, manufactures, revenues, population, castes, religion, history, &c. of their various inhabitants / By Walter Hamilton.

  • Hamilton, Walter, M.R.A.S.
Date:
1828
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The East-India gazetteer; containing particular descriptions of the empires, kingdoms, principalities, provinces, cities, towns, districts, fortresses, harbours, rivers, lakes, &c. of Hindostan, and the adjacent countries, India beyond the Ganges, and the eastern archipelago; together with sketches of the manners, customs, institutions, agriculture, commerce, manufactures, revenues, population, castes, religion, history, &c. of their various inhabitants / By Walter Hamilton. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    limits of Bahar; but by the change of seasons, which have been remarked within these forty years, the influence of the hot winds is now felt in Ben¬ gal, where, on that account, the ma¬ nufacture of saltpetre might now be attempted with success. One hun¬ dred parts of nitre earth from the Tirhoot district, when analyzed by Dr. John Davy, was found to con¬ tain Nitrate of potash. 8 3 Nitrate of lime. 3 7 Sulphate of lime . 0 8 Common salt . 0 2 Carbonate of lime . 35 0 Earthy matter, insoluble in water and nitric acid ... 40 0 Water, with a trace of vege¬ table matter . 12 0 100 0 Artificial nitre beds consist of the refuse of vegetable and animal mat¬ ter undergoing putrefaction, mixed with calcareous and other earths. The air furnishes the oxygen and nitrogen (or azote), which are the component ingredients of nitric acid j but how lime contributes to their union is not known, and the appear¬ ance of potash is equally extraor¬ dinary. The opium produced in the pro¬ vinces of Bahar and Benares is mono¬ polized by government, to be sold in Calcutta by public auction; and, for various reasons, this monopoly seems less exceptionable than many others. At present, the opium agent at Patna makes his purchases in the districts of Bahar, Ramghur, Shahabad, Sarun, and Tirhoot; but Dr, F. Buchanan is of opinion, that, with some pains, the whole quantity might be procured from the Bahar district alone, which would tend greatly to the suppression of the contraband trade in this nar¬ cotic. In the evening, each capsule of the poppy, as it attains the proper stage of maturity, has a slight inci¬ sion made in its whole length, and next morning what opium has exud¬ ed is collected. After two or three days another incision is made, at some distance from the first, and ac¬ cording to the size of the capsule, it admits of being cut from three to five times ; but the crop lasts six weeks, as the capsules advance at different periods. The extraction of the opium does no material injury to the seed, which is chiefly reserved for future sowing; but a little is also used in native sweetmeats. Formerly the opium sent to Calcutta was much adulterated by the intermixture of foreign ingredients, and it was diffi¬ cult to discover the nature of the adulteration; it has, however, been supposed, that it is usually vitiated with an extract from the leaves and stalks of the poppy, and with gum of the mimosa. Although the soil and climate are so singularly adapted for the production of this intoxicating drug, yet in 1815, the Board of Trade reported that the two agencies of Bahar and Patna had never been able to supply a greater quantity of opium, in the most favourable sea¬ sons, than was sufficient to satisfy the demand for foreign trade, and that during unfavourable seasons (which frequently occur) the quantity had never been equal to meet that object. In the nature of landed property, there are several distinctions between Bengal and Bahar, of which the fol¬ lowing are some of the principal. In Bengal the zemindarries are, or rather were, very extensive; and that of Burdwan alone was equal in produce to three-fourths of Bahar, in which the zemindarries are comparatively small. The power and influence of the principal zemindars in Bengal were proportionally great, and they were able to maintain a degree of independence, which the inferior zemindars of Bahar soon lost. The latter also, having been placed under a provincial administration, from dis¬ tance as well as comparative inferio¬ rity, have been precluded from that degree of information which the zemindars of Bengal, from their vici¬ nity to Calcutta and access to the officers of government, have been able to attain. The lands of Bahar have