Kachin hills regulation. Since 1894 the country has been practically undisturbed, and large numbers of Kachins are enlisted, and ready to enlist in the military police, and seem likely to form as good troops as the Gurkhas of Nepal.
The Chin hills were not declared an integral part of Burma until 1895, but they now form a scheduled district. The chiefs, however, are allowed to administer their own affairs, as far as may be, in accordance with their own customs, subject to the supervision of the superintendent of the Chin hills.
Religion.—Buddhists make up more than 88.6%; Mussulmans 3.28; spirit-worshippers 3.85; Hindus 2.76, and Christians 1.42 of the total population of the province. The large nominal proportion of Buddhists is deceptive. The Burmese are really as devoted to demonolatry as the hill-tribes who are labelled plain spirit-worshippers. The actual figures of the various religions, according to the census of 1901, are as follows:—
| Buddhists | 9,184,121 |
| Spirit-worshippers | 399,390 |
| Hindus | 285,484 |
| Mussulmans | 339,446 |
| Christians | 147,525 |
| Sikhs | 6,596 |
| Jews | 685 |
| Parsees | 245 |
| Others | 28 |
The chief religious principle of the Burmese is to acquire merit for their next incarnation by good works done in this life. The bestowal of alms, offerings of rice to priests, the founding of a monastery, erection of pagodas, with which the country is crowded, the building of a bridge or rest-house for the convenience of travellers are all works of religious merit, prompted, not by love of one’s fellow-creatures, but simply and solely for one’s own future advantage.
An analysis shows that not quite two in every thousand Burmese profess Christianity, and there are about the same number of Mahommedans among them. It is admitted by the missionaries themselves that Christianity has progressed very slowly among the Burmese in comparison with the rapid progress made amongst the Karens. It is amongst the Sgaw Karens that the greatest progress in Christianity has been made, and the number of spirit-worshippers among them is very much smaller. The number of Burmese Christians is considerably increased by the inclusion among them of the Christian descendants of the Portuguese settlers of Syriam deported to the old Burmese Tabayin, a village now included in the Ye-u subdivision of Shwebo. These Christians returned themselves as Burmese. The forms of Christianity which make most converts in Burma are the Baptist and Roman Catholic faiths. Of recent years many conversions to Christianity have been made by the American Baptist missionaries amongst the Lahu or Muhsö hill tribesmen.
Education.—Compared with other Indian provinces, and even with some of the countries of Europe, Burma takes a very high place in the returns of those able to both read and write. Taking the sexes apart, though women fall far behind men in the matter of education, still women are better educated in Burma than in the rest of India. The average number of each sex in Burma per thousand is:—literates, male 378; female, 45; illiterates, male, 622; female, 955. The number of literates per thousand in Bengal is:—male, 104; female, 5. The proportion was greatly reduced in the 1901 census by the inclusion of the Shan States and the Chin hills, which mostly consist of illiterates.
The fact that in Upper Burma the proportion of literates is nearly as high as, and the proportion of those under instruction even higher than, that of the corresponding classes in Lower Burma, is a clear proof that in primary education, at least, the credit for the superiority of the Burman over the native of India is due to indigenous schools. In almost every village in the province there is a monastery, where the most regular occupation of one or more of the resident pongyis, or Buddhist monks, is the instruction free of charge of the children of the village. The standard of instruction, however, is very low, consisting only of reading and writing, though this is gradually being improved in very many monasteries. The absence of all prejudice in favour of the seclusion of women also is one of the main reasons why in this province the proportion who can read and write is higher than in any other part of India, Cochin alone excepted. It was not till 1890 that the education department took action in Upper Burma. It was then ascertained that there were 684 public schools with 14,133 pupils, and 1664 private schools with 8685 pupils. It is worthy of remark that of these schools 29 were Mahommedan, and that there were 176 schools for girls in which upwards of 2000 pupils were taught. There are three circles—Eastern, Central and Upper Burma. For the special supervision and encouragement of indigenous primary education in monastic and in lay schools, each circle of inspection is divided into sub-circles corresponding with one or more of the civil districts, and each sub-circle is placed under a deputy-inspector or a sub-inspector of schools. There are nine standards of instruction, and the classes in schools correspond with these standards. In Upper Burma all educational grants are paid from imperial funds; there is no cess as in Lower Burma. Grants-in-aid are given according to results. There is only one college, at Rangoon, which is affiliated to the Calcutta University. There are missionary schools amongst the Chins, Kachins and Shans, and a school for the sons of Shan chiefs at Taung-gyi in the southern Shan States. A Patamabyan examination for marks in the Pāli language was first instituted in 1896 and is held annually.
Finance.—The gross revenue of Lower Burma from all sources in 1871–1872 was Rs.1,36,34,520, of which Rs.1,21,70,530 was from imperial taxation, Rs.3,73,200 from provincial services, and Rs.10,90,790 from local funds. The land revenue of the province was Rs.34,45,230. In Burma the cultivators themselves continue to hold the land from government, and the extent of their holdings averages about five acres. The land tax is supplemented by a poll tax on the male population from 18 to 60 years of age, with the exception of immigrants during the first five years of their residence, religious teachers, schoolmasters, government servants and those unable to obtain their own livelihood. In 1890–1891 the revenue of Lower Burma has risen to Rs.2,08,38,872 from imperial taxation, Rs.1,55,51,897 for provincial services, and Rs.12,14,596 from incorporated local funds. The expenditure on the administration of Lower Burma in 1870–1871 was Rs.49,70,020. In 1890–1891 it was Rs.1,58,48,041. In Upper Burma the chief source of revenue is the thathameda, a tithe or income tax which was instituted by King Mindon, and was adopted by the British very much as they found it. For the purpose of the assessment every district and town is classified according to its general wealth and prosperity. As a rule the basis of calculation was 100 rupees from every ten houses, with a 10% deduction for those exempted by custom. When the total amount payable by the village was thus determined, the village itself settled the amount to be paid by each individual householder. This was done by thamadis, assessors, usually appointed by the villagers themselves. Other important sources of revenue are the rents from state lands, forests, and miscellaneous items such as fishery, revenue and irrigation taxes. In 1886–1887, the year after the annexation, the amount collected in Upper Burma from all sources was twenty-two lakhs of rupees. In the following year it had risen to fifty lakhs. Much of Upper Burma, however, remained disturbed until 1890. The figures for 1890–1891, therefore, show the first really regular collection. The amount then collected was Rs.87,47,020.
The total revenue of Burma in the year ending March 31, 1900 was Rs.7,04,36,240 and in 1905, Rs.9,65,62,298. The total expenditure in the same years respectively was Rs.4,30,81,000 and Rs.5,66,60,047. The principal items of revenue in the budget are the land revenue, railways, customs, forests and excise.
Defence.—Burma is garrisoned by a division of the Indian army, consisting of two brigades, under a lieutenant-general. Of the native regiments seven battalions are Burma regiments specially raised for permanent service in Burma by transformation from military police. These regiments, consisting of Gurkhas, Sikhs and Pathans, are distributed throughout the Shan States and the northern part of Burma. In addition to these there are about 13,500 civil police and 15,000 military police. The military police are in reality a regular military force with only two European officers in command of each battalion; and they are recruited entirely from among the warlike races of northern India. A small battalion of Karens enlisted as sappers and miners proved a failure and had to be disbanded. Experiments have also been made with the Kachin hillmen and with the Shans; but the Burmese character is so averse to discipline and control in petty matters that it is impossible to get really suitable men to enlist even in the civil police. The volunteer forces consist of the Rangoon Port Defence Volunteers, comprising artillery, naval, and engineer corps, the Moulmein artillery, the Moulmein, Rangoon, Railway and Upper Burma rifles.
Minerals and Mining.—In its three chief mineral products, earth-oil, coal and gold, Burma offers a fair field for enterprise and nothing more. Without yielding fortunes for speculators, like South Africa or Australia, it returns a fair percentage upon genuine hard work. Coal is found in the Thayetmyo, Upper Chindwin and Shwebo districts, and in the Shan States; it also occurs in Mergui, but the deposits which have been so far discovered have been either of inferior quality or too far from their market to be worked to advantage. The tin mines in Lower Burma are worked by natives, but a company at one time worked mines in the Maliwun township of Mergui by European methods. The chief mines and minerals are in Upper Burma. The jade mines of Upper Burma are now practically the only source of supply of that mineral, which is in great demand over all China. The mines are situated beyond Kamaing, north of Mogaung in the Myitkyina district. The miners are all Kachins, and the right to collect the jade duty of 3313 is farmed out by government to a lessee, who has hitherto always been a Chinaman. The amount obtained has varied considerably. In 1887–1888 the rent was Rs.50,000. This dwindled to Rs.36,000 in 1892–1893, but the system was then adopted of letting for a term of three years and a higher rent was obtained. The value varies enormously according to colour, which should be a particular shade of dark green. Semi-transparency, brilliancy and hardness are, however, also essentials. The old river mines produced the best quality. The quarry mines on the top of the hill near Tawmaw produce enormous quantities, but the quality is not so good.
The most important ruby-bearing area is the Mogôk stone tract, in the hills about 60 m. east of the Irrawaddy and 90 m. north-north-west of Mandalay. The right to mine for rubies by European methods and to levy royalties from persons working by native methods was leased to the Burma Ruby Mines Company, Limited, in 1889, and the lease was renewed in 1896 for 14 years at a rent of Rs.3,15,000 a year plus a share of the profits. The rent was
