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Native States:-: English

BRITISH RULE. -The English East India Company first acquired a foothold at Surat in 1613, and in 1669 the island of Bombay, part of the dowry received by Charles II. with his wife, Catherine of Braganza, was ceded to them. Settlements in Bengal were made in 1698, the first being on the Hughli, near Calcutta. The French held Pondicherry and other ports for many years, and their commandant, Dupleix, began a war with the English in 1744, which for a time threatened the expulsion of the latter power from India, but which ultimately resulted in the total overthrow of the French. In 1756, Surajah Dowlah, Subahdar of Bengal, captured Calcutta, and imprisoned 150 English residents and soldiers in the "Black Hole," a loathsome dungeon, in which nine-tenths of the captives perished during one night by suffocation. This crime was avenged a few months later by Lord Clive, who completely defeated Surajah Dowlah at Plassey, and raised Meer Jaffier, the former Vizier, or Prime Minister, to the throne. Subsequent wars with the Emperor of Delhi and King of Oudh resulted in the acquirement of Bengal, Behar, Orissa, and other provinces by the British. Hyder Ali and his son, Tippoo Sahib, kings of Mysore, fought the English for 30 years with varying success, but in 1799 Tippoo was slain at the storming of Seringapatam, and his dominions were divided between the British and their ally, the Nizam of Mysore. Up to 1838 Indian affairs were in the hands of the East India Company, the most powerful trading organization ever formed. It had an army of its own, with many thousand native troops, officered by Europeans, and for over 100 years drew a revenue of many millions annually from its commercial monopoly. But in 1857 the smouldering embers of discontent burst into flames, and the Sepoys rose in rebellion. Delhi, Benares, Cawnpore, Agra, and Lucknow were seized or beseiged by the native troops, and in many places the garrisons and all European residents, without distinction of sex or age, were murdered in cold blood. The kings of Delhi and Oudh placed themselves at the head of the revolt, which lasted for nearly a year and a half. Barnard; Havelock, Lawrence, O'Neil, Sir Hugh Rose, Sir Hope Grant, Nicholson, Outram, and Sir Colin Campbell (afterwards Lord Clyde), led the British forces; Delhi, Cawnpore, and Lucknow were recaptured; and by February 1859 Oudh was once more under British rule. At the close of the rebellion the government was transferred to the British Crown. In 1876 Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India. The British frontier has been gradually extended to the borders of Afghanistan, and the native princes are now only titular rulers, tributary to the conqueror.

THE EXISTING GOVERNMENT. -The executive authority of India is vested in a Governor-General, appointed by the Crown of Great Britain, and acting under order of the Secretary of State for India. The salary of this official is $125,000 per annum, exclusive of allowances, $60,000.

RACES AND RELIGION. - Hindoostan is the home of many different races, widely differing in creed, language, and appearance. The cowardly Bengali, the warlike Sikh, the Parsee of Bombay, devoted to commerce, and the fierce hill tribes, the Tamuls of the south (probably an aboriginal people), and the Mohammedans of Delhi and the Ganges plains, form a heterogeneous mass of humanity, whose diversities of customs, manners, and habits would require a volume to describe. There are at least 50 distinct languages or dialects spoken in Hindoostan, and probably as many different creeds are held. But the vast bulk of the Hindoos are believers in Brahmanisn, with its multitudes of divinities and its system of caste. There are about 50,000,000 Mohammedans in the provinces under the British administration, over 3,000,0০০ Buddhists, 2,500,000 Parsees (fire-worshippers), and possibly 1,700,000 Christians of various denominations. The native Christian population is constantly increasing, especially in the southern districts.

MINERALS AND PRECIOUS STONES.-Some gold and much silver is produced, but for many years the supply of the precious metals has been inadequate to the demand, and India, like China, continues to import large amounts of bullion, which are hoarded by the natives and used in the arts and in the manufacture of jewelry. The country is rich in minerals. Iron has been mined for many centuries; copper, lead, tin, antimony, cobalt, and other metals abound, and there are extensive coal fields near Calcutta, and in Assam and other districts. Salt abounds in the Punjab, and petroleum in that district and in Pegu. Precious stones have been found in India from the remotest times, and include the diamond, ruby, topaz, carnelian, garnet, and many others. The ruby mines of Upper Burmah are world famous. In connection with valuables and jewels it is a noteworthy trait of the Indian peoples, the hoarding of valuables of every description. Savings from all sources are invested in jewelry and buried beneath the flooring of the houses, in disused wells, or other out-of-the-way places. Jewelry is regarded as the most staple kind of wealth, and fortunes are never counted without estimating the value of the stock of jewels, the market for which is never closed and never depressed. They form the great factor in matrimony; the most lowly bride having her stridhan, which is often equal in value to five years' income of the bridegroom. One of the greatest boasts of the jewelry owner is that his hoards are not taxed. A man may own jewelry valued at a lac of rupees and pay no income tax. It has been computed by those who are best able to judge, that valuables amounting to at least £250,000,000 are hoarded throughout British India, more especially amongst the inland towns and villages of the Bengal Presidency. This tendency of the native Indians prohibits the introduction of gold as current coinage, for gold coin would be infallibly hoarded and put out of circulation. PALESTINE.

Palestine, the ancient home of the Hebrews, and the birthplace of the Saviour, consists of a somewhat hilly country bordering on the Mediterranean, and extending from Mount Lebanon S. to the desert which separates it from Egypt and Arabia. It lies between 30° 40′ and 33° 15′ N. lat., and 33° 45′ and 36° 30′ E. long.; and has a length of about 200 m., an average breadth of 60 m., and an area of 12,000 sq. m.; being something less than that of the State of Maryland. The deep valley of the Jordan extends from N. to S. through the eastern centre. W. of this depression the land is mountainous; the N.-E. is a level plain, and S. of this are many picturesque 550