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    No. 440, Augkjst 28, 1858.J T EfE LEADER...

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    NEW TOWNS AND SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA. Thk ...

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    CASHMERE AND NEPAUIi. It was a matter of...

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    Notes On Indian Progress. The Red Sea Te...

    Gas is to be introduced into the Government offices ' at Calcutta . The progress of this improvement has been much interfered with by the enormous charges made for gas-fitting , -which has been constituted a monopoly . Government House alone cost 100 ? . The dividend of the Bank of Bengal for the last half year is at the rate of 12 } per cent , per annum . The Bank of Bengal has issued new notes , of different colours which it is considered impossible to copy in India . A large copper miiit is in preparation at Calcutta , as large as the present one . The machinery is being provided in England by Mr . Harvey , the Mint engineer . We hope the new mint will coin pieces founded on a decimalised rupee , assimilated to the florin , " so that we may in time have a uniform decimal currency in England and India . "

    The Indian Government has taken a step further in the direction of Municipal Government , by passing in iihe Legislative Council an Act for an improved municipality in Bombay . There are to be three Commissioners —one to be appointed by the Government , and two to be elected by the Justices for Bombay . Each Commissioner is to be paid 1000 / . a year if he devotes his whole time . A Mayor , Alderman , and Town Council , elected by the Justices or by the English citizens in Bombay , would be a much more rational measure . It is , however , something to get in here and there the thin edge of the municipal election wedge . -

    The Gwalior Rajah , on his restoration , has determined to carry out for public administration what many zemin-• dars and other natives have done in their private transact ions , and more would do , if the men were at hand ; namely , to dismiss his natives in offices of trust , and to ¦ employ English . _ There is a sad want of European medical assistance m Bengal at present , and the Governor-General has approved a proposal of the Director-General for employing more natives and inferior hands for a period of two years , to meet the present exigencies of the English xegiments , : - Nineteen additional deputyTcollectors and ninetesn deputy-magistrates are to be appointed for Bengal and Bebar . This is a step in the right direction , but many jnorc English magistrates are wanted .

    Dr . Smith has received the sanction of the Supreme ¦ Government to the establishment of a medical college at Lahore . .. ' ' . ' " . - . - . .. . . . ¦ ' .. '; ; . ;" ¦ " '¦ . ' ¦; . .. '¦; . ' . - A new masonic lodge is about to be opened at Dacca . The Government Central Museum at Bombay , which was last year temporarily lodged in the town barracks , and then temporarily dislodged to make way for roops and seriously damaged by needless exposure to the rain , is being rearranged in the Town-hall and Council-room , by Dr . Eirdwood , the new curator . The propor place for a central museum is not in Bombay , but in the healthier up-regions near Poonah . Two female institutions have been establi $ hed at Beitala , a village in Bengal . The daughters of most of the orthodox Brahmins attend .

    The enlightened Ilajah of Bhownuggur , among other acts , has established female schools throughout his dominions , and sent his own daughter' to that of Bhownuggur . . . The surplus of the Calvin Memorial Fund after providing a portrait for the Court-house of the Sudder Dewance Adawlut ,. at Calcutta , is to bo applied to the foundation of scholarships in the University of Calcutta . The Azimghur mission school having been ruined by the rebels , requires rebuilding . The Goruckunpore mission school is reopened . The deputy inspectors in Jampoor and Azimghur are busj" re-establishing the village schools . The Tchsileh schools arc partially restored in the Allahabad , Fuitehporc , and Cawnpore districts .

    'lh-o sanitoria nre m operation for'the season . Lord Harris has loft Madras for the Neilgberries , and the Governor of Bombay for the Hills . The Bengal authorities arc not so fortunate , nnd Simla , Latulour , and Danceling , will materially suffer from the absence of the usual Government functionaries , who nre elsewhere engaged . The news from Central Asia reports a battle between thu forces of China and Kokand , in which the latter were defeated . ; At Leh Bu . iti llam , the Thanadar , unfavourable to the English , lias been holding conference * with messongcra from the Thibetan Court of Lhassn . IHllnh 3 huh , however , a man opposed to Busti Ham , has been appointed tux-rcntur at Leh , and some good is expected from his rivalry .

    No. 440, Augkjst 28, 1858.J T Efe Leader...

    No . 440 , Augkjst 28 , 1858 . J T EfE LEADER . o q

    New Towns And Settlements In India. Thk ...

    NEW TOWNS AND SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA . Thk impulse which has bean given to English settlement in India by the late limitation at homo and the proceedings of Mr . Ewart ' Committee , is now showing itself in every direction , Plans are being formed , and towns are springing up or boing extended with the aumu vigour as in Canada or Australia , because those who a fow yours ¦ ogo considered it almost hopeless to rely upon English enterprise « ro now encouraged in their attempts by the action of the Government and tho favourable state ot public feeling . Tho general iinproveinent of tho country , and the extension of railways , lutid to the establishment Of sew towns and villages of the native typo , but there

    is likewise an observable increase of stations more immediately the result of English enterprise and under its influence . _ Among these new towns , that of Malheran , or the Malheran-hill , is to some degree remarkable . It has sprung up so suddenly that it is even useless to look for it in " Thornton , " that repertory of Indian political geography .. It was founded but a few years ago , and owes its rise to the benefit of railway access , being within three hours of Bombay by the Great Indian Peninsular Railway . It ia situated midway between Bombay and the Syhadree Mountains , or "Western Ghauts , having an equable , temperate , and dry climate , within the limits of

    the sea breeze , being twenty miles from the sea . Open air exercise is possible at all times of the day , and the nights are cool . The spot "having been selected for settlement , the Bombay Government have had to increase the establishment , and Major Parkinson was lately superintendent of Malheran , and now Lieutenant Parker . Under these officers the land has been allotted for building sites , and as its character and climate became generally known , applications for lots were more numerous . Slowly , but constantly , the superintendent reports , the number of permanent buildings increased , visitors arrived , and large bodies of workmen were employed , a post-office was opened , a market established , and native dealers flocked in . The

    Government sanctioned a bridle road from Narell to the top of the hill , a system of carriage for visitors and baggage up and down hill was established , and a fund for the construction of roads -was raised among the residents , by means of which the superintendents have been able to form roads , which are nineteen miles , between all parts of the station . In 1857 , to increase the supply of water for the growing population the Government authorised the formation of three masonry dams for impounding the rainfall into a large ravine near the bazaar . It is considered this -will supply ample water storage for many years to come . The springs near the residences have likewise been improved . A body of police is provided . The number of site 3 taken to the last date was

    seventy-six , the average number of residents last paper was seventy-five , arid there have / been large numbers of occasional'visitors-. " It is now proposed to build a church by subscription , which has been liberally responded to by residents and siteholders . Large sums have been sunk in the erection of houses . The position of the electric telegraph and of a daily letter delivery enables business to be readily conducted in Bombay by merchants and others residing in Malheran , while trains run , morning and evening , between the foot of the Ghaut and Bombay . Malheran has proved a great resource forBorabay people , who have been deterred by time and expense from visiting Mahablesuwur , so that numbers of ladies and children have been permanent residents during the wliole dry season . Had there been more house accommodation the number of officers on sick leave would have been greater . As it is , many lived in tents this year .

    The yearly rent at Malheran is 10 s . per acre , and no more than five acres are allowed to be taken on one site . The number of houses built for Europeans is twent } --six , and the foundations of three more arc laid . TUe yearly revenue from land lots is now 130 ? . Of the new seport town at the Mutlah , as an outpost of Calcutta , we gave some account'in our last . Dominghur , three miles from Goruckporei 1 G 9 E . by S . from Lucknow , and 528 miles from Calcutta , near the ISaptee river , is being used as a station , bath , and sanatorium in the . 'North-West Provinces ; but its proyress has been impeded by the late grievances . At Kalii Khan , near Nynee Tal large European barracks are now being built . At Kenpaketal , near Nynee Tal , iron smelting under English . smelters is now in progress .

    At Jillapeeheer , near . Darjeelingr , new cantonments for Europeans are likewise established . In tho ueigbourhood of iJarjceling the villages are growing . Far awiiy among the Bhootan mountains , some distance from Tezpore , Muiigltidge , in the Durrung district of the Assam Government , is rising . Here nre a detachment yf military , a post-oftioc , and a lac-dye . manufactory ; and with tho increase of English in Assam , this place will iacrea . se and our hold on Bhootan become stronger . On the west ; we have a post at Darjceling ,

    which exercises some influence on ' that part of Bhootan . Among tho sites which nre pointed out for occupation as sanatoria , or English settlements , arc tUcPuchmurrce Ilillti , in our new province of Nuypore . They are about forty mil « s north-west of Cliimlwarrah , arc very high , and " suitable for u sanatarium , having a climate almost European . Even in the lower districts the thermometer comes down to 30 deg ., when ico is obtainable . There is abundance- of coal , toak timber , nnd land suitable for settlement . The population is the Ooail tribe .

    A sanatorium for the stations of Surat , Broacli , Baroda , Kairu , and Ahniedabad is proposed to be established ou the hill of l ' outipfhur , or Puwnngurli , near Cuninpanucr , tUo ancient capital of Gtizcrat . It rises suddenly from tho plain to the height of "JiOO feet , boing 2 riUU feet above tho level of the sea . It is occupied by n hill-fort , und is about twenty-eight milos from Baroda . Tho correspondent of tho Bombay Times , who proposes Pounghur , says here is a spot suitable for a sanatorium close to one of tho unhculthiest stations in India , und nothing is done to make it avuilablo . Tho hill ia solid

    rock , though covered -with a thine soil , evergreen grass and slurubs , but on the sides of the mountain there is timber , and in the forest below , abundance . Water m to be had on the top of the hill . The sooner this sugges tion is looked into by the Bombay Government the better . Evidence should likewise be prepared with regard to it for Mr . Ewart ' s committee next session . The Bombay Government have last year established a new sanatorium in Scinde ; and , indeed , sanatoria form part of the system of their army . Campbellpore , so named after the Commander-in-Chief , is one of the last-born stations in India . It is a military station , fourteen miles from Fort Attock , having the rirer Heroo within two miles . Its nearest sanatoria are Rawal , Pindee , and Murree , within two days' reach . At Sattara , a European community is springing up on a small scale .

    Cashmere And Nepauii. It Was A Matter Of...

    CASHMERE AND NEPAUIi . It was a matter of great rejoicing with some parties that during the rebellion Gkolab Sing , our nominee in Cashmere , and Jung- Bahadoor , the virtual King of Nepaol , were loud in their professions of zeaL Since then , public opinion has cooled , and we begin better to appreciate the untrustworthy state of our relations with those territories . The cession of Cashmere to Gholab Singh in 1846 was one of those errors which have resulted from the want of a far-sighted policy in India , and which might have been productive of great inconvenience , were it not that Indian princes and Indian chiefs of themselves gave rise to changes of policy and of dominion . It ia to be said in excuse that at the time when the arrange ment wa 3 made , the settlement of India by the English

    race -was only contemplated as a possibility , and nourishedas a wish , by some few of the great statesmen of Inclia ^ and England , without being recognised as a principle steadily to be kept in -view , and the application of which was to- be jealously provided for . To assign to Gholab Sing that very territory in . India which is , with Kangra , Darjeeling , and Puchmurree , among the districts which are peculiarly suited to English settlement , was a dangerous step , and , might have led to its perpetual alienation . The ambiguous services of Gholab Sing could have been equally well compensated by the apportionment of some other territory giving an equivalent revenue , and this is art arrangement to he closely kept in view . Cashmere was no more to him than any other territory whicii would give him a , revenue , but it is of great value to us ;

    Cashmere is a country rather less than Yorkshire or Wales , having an area of about 4500 square miles , including 2000 square miles of plain . This country is remarkable for a mild climate and a fertile soil , and , like many of the upper regions of India , has beautiful scenery . It is '" . well" watered by the Jhelam . The climate , in its influence on vegetation , is by Jacquenvont compared to that of Lombardy , for he is speaking of the plaius where rich produce of many kinds can be raised ; in the hills even cooler climates are to be enjoyed . . Of this country the population is estimated not to exceed 200 , 000 ,. while if it were settled by the English it would support a population of a million . The grinding despotism of Gholab Sing and his successor Rurabeer Sing :

    gave the native tribes but small chance of advancement . Gholab Sing had the wisdom to profess a desire to maintain his allegiance , for he knew the strong hand off Lawrence , and he placed his contingent under order . Ilumbeer Sing , his successor , has been fain to follow tlie same course , but grudingly , and there is little doubt , as the Jf q / ltasilitc observes , that he has been looking down on the plains of the Doab as an arena where . he may play a novel game to the wonder of the whole of India . II c has from time to time given us an inkling of his disposition , and has attempted to play the dubious game of protecting the Poorbcas and other revolters who have

    escaped into that part of our territories under his administration . As our contemporary says , thanks to Providence , ho has had to meet Sir John Lawrence for an antagonist , and the end of his strutting anil fretting is alvject submission , for , according to late advices , ho has consented to surrender all the Poorbeas . Had ho held out a little longer he might have given us some trouble , but this thankless dependent would , have been brought to obedience by force . It i > represented that a most disagreeable state of feeling prevailed for some time as to tho relations of our authorities with this district , and that much trouble has been given to Sir John Lawrence at a period when lie had many claims on his attention .

    The sooner an arrangement is made about Cash mere tho better , so that it may be occupied by English settlers . It will , with our districts of Luhoul and Kote Kangra adjoining , afford scope for the growth of a now branch of our nation in those healthy regions , so as to be able to command the vast provinces of tho Punjab , and to guard our frontiers ou that side where wo lmvo our most powerful enemy to encounter . Ilumbocr Sing should have an equivalent of revenue granted to him from another district . This may be the better measure for him , for if it he postponed for a few years , the course of his conduct id uuch that annexation will be tho certain punishment of his misdeeds . By a lato arrangement llumbcer Sing has relaxed Borne of tho obnoxious regulations by which our traders

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 28, 1858, page 23, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_28081858/page/23/