The Act of Parliament (56 and 57 Vict., cap. 62), passed in 1893 for the abolition of the Indian Presidency commands, came into force on April 1, 1895. On that date the military control hitherto exercised by the governors in council of Madras and Bombay ceased, and the following arrangements came into operation. The army in India now consists of the Punjab, Bengal, Madras, and Bombay commands, each under a lieutenant-general, who is under the direct command of the commander-in-chief in India, and under the control of the government of India.

Since 1856, when the Indian army consisted of 40,000 European soldiers and 215,000 natives, the numbers have changed to 74,000 European and 140,000 native soldiers; and the concentration or mobilisation of troops has been greatly facilitated within the empire or on its frontier. A regular transport service now exists, and a method has been organised for the supply of animal carriage, hospital servants, and other field establishments sufficient to place a large army promptly in the field.

The expenditure on special defences, amounting to upwards of Rx. 4,500,000, is now practically completed. Efficient coast defences, armed with modern breech-loading guns, have been provided for Aden, Karachi, Bombay, the Hugli, and Rangoon ; as well as seven first-class torpedo boats, a new armament for two torpedo gunboats, and a number of armed gunboats. Inland, a large sum has been spent on defences and military establishments at Quetta

including an advanced position covering the place; on strategic roads; and on defences for various bridges, tunnels, &c., on the Sind-Pishin Railway. The Indus crossings at Attok and Sukkur have been defended; an entrenched position has been formed at Rawal Pindi and a defensible post at Multan; an arsenal has been established at Ferozepore; and a variety of minor works, such as defences for railway bridges, have been carried out.

The health of the Indian troops has been so improved by better barracks, by quartering a larger proportion of the European soldiers at hill stations, and by attention to sanitary conditions that the death-rate, which before the Mutiny was 69 per cent. for Europeans, and 2 for natives, has been reduced to 16 and 10 per cent. respectively. The number of volunteers in India on April 1, 1898, was as follows:

:

According to the estimates for 1898-99 the strength of the entire British army in India for the year (excluding the veteran and invalid establishment) is as follows:

Returns published in 1884 showed that the various feudatory and dependent States of India had armies numbering 349,835 men, and 4,237 guns. A large proportion of these forces were little better than a badly-equipped, undisciplined rabble; but in 1888, after the native chiefs had loyally offered large sums of money towards the cost of imperial defence, the Indian Government elaborated a scheme for the training and equipment of picked contingents of troops in certain States, with a view to enabling the chiefs to bear a direct share in the defence of the Empire. Measures are now in progress which will enable the chiefs to furnish contingents of troops fit to take their place in line with the regiments of the Indian

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army. The special contingents, known as Imperial Service Troops, now number about 16,618 men, organised and under instruction. Eighteen British Inspecting Officers have been appointed. The following table shows the States and contingents with which they have to deal :

At Sirmur and Maler Kotla the contingent consists of sappers; at Bikaner, of camel corps; at Jaipur, of transport corps; at Gwalior there is a transport corps of 320 in addition to the cavalry.

The following war-vessels belong to the Indian marine:— coast-defence turret ironclads: Magdala, station ship (3,340 tons), four 8-in. 14-ton guns; and Abyssinia (2,900 tons), with the same chief armament; also the despatch-vessel Lawrence (1,154 tons), and the sister first-class torpedo gun-boats Assaye and Plassey (735 tons), besides seven 90-ton torpedo boats built in 1889, a submarine mining flotilla consisting of eight vessels, and a number of troop-vessels, surveying-ships, inland steamers, &c.

Production and Industry.

The chief industry of India has always been agriculture, but it was not until about the year 1870 that the Indian Government directed systematic attention to fostering and improving Indian agriculture. Since that time there has been established in every province of India a public department, which collects and distributes early information concerning the crops, controls or advises upon model and experimental farms, introduces new agricultural appliances, tries new staples, and is organizing schools for teaching the chemistry and science of agriculture. By these departments Indian students of good education have been sent to Europe to

study at agricultural colleges. It is chiefly in respect of the use of manures, of rotation of crops, of fodder raising and storing, of new staples, and of such appliances as improved sugar-mills, that the example or teaching of the agricultural departments and their agents is likely to have useful effect. Something has also been done towards introducing better breeds of cattle into some provinces, and great attention has been paid to the improvement of the local breeds of horses, ponies, and mules.

In provinces where the zamindári tenure prevails (i.e. where single proprietors or proprietary brotherhoods possess large estates of several hundreds or thousands of acres), the State revenue is assessed at an aliquot part (usually about one half) of the ascertained or assumed rental. The revenue is payable on each estate as a whole; the assessment remaining unchanged for the period of settlement. In provinces where the ráyatwárí tenure prevails (i.e. where each petty proprietor holds directly from the State, as a rule cultivates his own land, and has no landlord between himself and the Government), the revenue is separately assessed on each petty holding, and land revenue becomes payable at once (or after a short term of grace in the case of uncleared lands) on all extensions of cultivation. The ráyatwárí proprietor may throw up his holding, or any portion of it, at the beginning of any year after reasonable notice whereas the zamindár or large proprietor engages to pay the revenue assessed upon him throughout the term of the settlement.

The following table shows, so far as returns are available, the class of tenure in each province during 1896-97 :—