Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 8.djvu/587

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ELM—ELM

E T A E T A 5(55 post of minister of foreign affairs in the Batthyani adminis tration, where he endeavoured to bring about a reconcilia tion between the Austrian and the Hungarian ministry. After the suppression of the revolution, he retired into private life. In 1858, he represented Austria at the coronation of Alexander II., emperor of Russia. He died at Ratisbon 21st May 1866. ETAH, a district and town of British India, in the lieutenant-governorship of the north-western provinces, and included in the division of Agra. Etah District stretches along the eastern edge of the Duab or alluvial plain enclosed by the Ganges and the Jumna, and lies between 27 20 30" and 28 1 N. lat, and between 78 29 and 79 19 30" E. long. It is bounded on the N. by the Ganges, on the W. by the districts of Agra and Aligarh, on the S. by the district of Mainpuri, and on the E. by that of Farrakhabad. The total area of the district is 1512 square miles, of which 970 are cultivated. The total popu lation, according to the census of 1872, amounts to 703,527 souls, comprising 636,149 Hindus, and 67,278 Mahometans. The males number 382,746, the females 320,739, the proportion of males to the total population being 5 4 5 per cent. The principal tribes and castes in point of number are: (1) Brahmans, 60,691; (2) Rajputs, 57,025; (3) Baniyas or traders, 13,056 ; (4) Chamars or manual labourers, 86,635; (5) Ahirs, 76,754 ; besides numerous minor clans. The density of population is 465 persons to the square mile. The district consists for the most part of an elevated alluvial plateau, dipping down on its eastern slope into the valley of the Ganges. The uplands, how ever, are not so fertile as in most of the neighbouring dis tricts, owing to the insufficiency of the water supply ; while patches of a barren saline efflorescence occasionally interrupt the cultivated expanse. Between the modern bed of the Ganges and its ancient channel lies a belt of fertile land, covered with a rich deposit of silt, and abundantly supplied with natural moisture. A long line of swamps and hollows still marks the former course of the river; and above it rises abruptly the original cliff which now forms the terrace of the upland plain. The Kali Nadi, a small stream flowing in a deep and narrow gorge, passes through the centre of the district, and affords an outlet for the sur face drainage. The tract of country to the west of this river is irrigated by the Cawnpur and E f awah branches of the Ganges canal ; ancl another work, now in progress, will supply abundant water in future to the dry plateau on the east. No railway passes through the district, but good metalled roads connect the chief towns, and the Ganges affords a means of transport for heavy goods. The principal agri cultural products comprise wheat, barley, pulses, millets, cotton, sugar-cane, indigo, and opium. Two harvests a year can be taken off the land, in the spring and the autumn. Etah exports large quantities of food-grains and other produce to neighbouring districts. Indigo is manu factured in 200 factories, some of which are conducted by English capital. Eight towns in 1872 contained a population exceeding 5000: Etah, 8044; Marahra, 9214; Soron, 11,182; Sahawar, 5156; Sakit, 5415; Dundwaraganj, 5414; Aliganj, 7912; Kasganj, 15,764. In 1870 the total revenue of Etah district from all sources amounted to .119,399, of which 78,852 was due to the land-tax. The five municipalities of Kasganj, Etah, Soron, Marahra, and Aliganj possess a joint income of 4878. The climate is dry and healthy, but sand and dust storms frequently occur. Etah was at an early date the seat of a primitive Aryan civilization, and the surrounding country is mentioned by Hiouen Thsang, the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim of the 7th century A.D., as rich in temples and monasteries. But after the bloody repression of Buddhism before the 8th century, the district seems to have fallen once more into the hands of aboriginal tribes, from whom it was wrested a second time by the Rajputs during the course of their great migration eastward. With the rest of Upper India, it passed under the sway of Mahmud of Ghazni in 1017, and thenceforth followed the fortunes of the Mahometan empire. At the end of the last century it formed part of the territory over which the vazir of Oudh had made himself ruler, and it came into the possession of the British Government in 1801, under the treaty of Lucknow. During the mutiny of 1857 it was the scene of serious disturbances, coupled with the usual anarchic quarrels among the native princes. ETAH TOWN, the capital of the district, stands on the Grand Trunk Road, in 27 33 50" N. lat., and 78 42 25" E. long. The population in 1872 numbered 8044 souls, comprising 5884 Hindus, 2150 Mahometans, and 10 Christians. Before the period of British rule the town had little importance, and at present it is chiefly noticeable as the administrative headquarters for the district. It con tains a handsome temple and large tank, with the usual public offices of a district capital. The muncipality had an income in 1874-75 of =1183, of which 845 was raised by an octroi duty. The incidence of taxation was at the rate of 2s. per head of the population. ETAMPES, or ESTAMPES, a town of France, capital of an arrondissement of the same name in the department of Seine-et-Oise, is situated on the Paris and Orleans railway, 30 miles S. by W. of Paris, in a fertile valley, on the banks of two small streams, which fall into the Seine immediately below the town. It is the seat of a tribunal of primary instance, a communal college, and an agricul tural society. Its most remarkable building is an old tower called Guinette, which is all that now remains of an ancient royal castle built in the llth century by King Robert, in which Philip Augustus kept his wife a prisoner from 1199 to 1201. Etampes has three ancient churches Notre-Dame built in the 13th century (with a lofty tower and spire), the church of St Martin, and the church of St Basil. In the square there is a statue of Etienne Geoffroy Sainte-Hilaire, who was born in Etampes. The principal manufactures of the town are woollen goods, soap, and leather ; and it sends large supplies of corn, meal, vegetables, and honey to Paris. Etampes is very old. In 886 it was plundered by the Normans, and it was con quered by the prince of Conde in 1652. The population in 1872 was 7511. ETAWAH, a district and city of British India, in the lieutenant-governorship of the North-Western Provinces, and included in the division of Agra. Etawah District forms a purely artificial administrative division, stretching across the level plain of the Duab, and beyond the valley of the Jumna, to the gorges of the Chambal and the last rocky outliers of the Vindhyan range. It lies between 26 20 30" and 27 N. lat., and between 78 45 45" and 79 47 E. long., and is bounded on the N. by Mainpuri and Farrakhabdd districts ; on the W. by the Jumna, the Agra district, the Chambal, the KuAri Nadi, and the native state of Gwalior; on the S. by the Jumna ; and on the E. by Cawnpur district. The total area of the district ia 1691 square miles, of which 880 are cultivated. The total population, according to the census of 1872, amounts to 663,611 souls, comprising 631,923 Hindus, 36,571 Mahom etans, and 147 Christians. The males number 369,928, the females 298,653, the proportion of males to the total population being 55-3 per cent. The principal tribes or castes are as follows : (1) Brahmans, 93,082 ; (2) Rajputs, 58,358 ; (3) Baniyas or traders, 32,693 ; 4 Cham.irs,

96,923; (5) Ahirs, 75,035; (G) Kachhis, 48,160; (7)