between the neighbouring Districts, and to the splitting up of individual estates, the number as returned by the Collector in 1870 was 1898.
The Fiscal Divisions which were transferred from Jessor and Nadiyá in 1834 comprised the Joint Magistracy of Bárásat; and these, together with the twenty-four Fiscal Divisions acquired from the Nawáb Mír Jafar in 1757, and recent transfers from Nadiyá on the northern boundary, constitute the present District of the 24 Parganás. For a considerable time the District was divided into two great parts, the Alípur and the Bárásat Divisions. The former comprised the territory originally ceded to the Company, and the latter consisted of the Joint Magistracy of Bárásat, which was abolished under the orders of Government, dated 18th March 1861 (Calcutta Gazette of the 27th April 1861, page 1056). In that year the District was distributed into the following eight Subdivisions, and the arrangement continues to this day (1873):—(1) Diamond Harbour, (2) Báruipur, (3) Alípur, (4) Dum-dum (Dǎm-dǎmá), (5) Barrackpur, (6) Bárásat, (7) Basurhát, and (8) Sátkhirá. The boundaries of the District and Subdivisions as then laid down were modified in 1861 and 1863; all villages lying to the west of the Húglí were excluded, the northern limits of the District were extended, and the Sundarbans, with the sea-coast, were included. (Vide Calcutta Gazette of 1861, page 1126; Gazette Extraordinary of the 4th May 1861; and Calcutta Gazette of 1863, page 2016.)
The differences in the limits of the revenue and civil jurisdictions of the District arise from the fact that, at the time of the Decennial Settlement of 1787, the landed property in this part of the country was chiefly held by the Rájás of Bardwán, Nadiyá, and Jessor. For convenience of collection, the revenues of their whole estates were made payable to the treasuries nearest to their principal places of residence; while for police and general administrative purposes, it was deemed expedient to divide the territory without reference to the boundaries of estates or the treasuries into which their revenues were payable.
General Aspect of the District.—The twenty-four Parganás form the western part of the Gangetic Delta. They stretch out in one vast alluvial plain, with rivers to the right and left of it, the sea in front, and a hundred streams and channels intersecting it. The levels slope very gently upwards from the coast. The District may
