Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 6.djvu/768

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732
CUT—CUT

cation first took place with the British Government. During the contests for the sovereignty between the usurper and the legal heir, the leader of the royal party, Hansnij, the governor of Mandavi, sought the aid of the British. But no closer connection followed at that time than an agreement for the suppression of piracy, or of inroads of troops to the eastward of the Kunn, or Gulf of Cutch. But the Gulf continued notwithstanding to swarm with pirates, who were openly encouraged or connived at by the son of Hansraj, who had succeeded his father, as well as by Fathi Muhammad. The latter left several sons by different wives, who were competitors for the vacant throne. Husain Miyan succeeded to a considerable por tion of his father s property and power. Jugjevan, a Brahman, the late minister of Fathi Muhammad, also received a considerable share of influence ; and the hatred of these two factions was em bittered by religious animosities, the one being Hindu and the other Mahometan. The late Rao had declared himself a Mahometan, and his adherents were preparing to inter his body in a magnificent tomb, when the Jharijas and other Hindus seized the corpse and

consigned it to the flames, according to Hindu custom.


The administration of affairs was nominally in the hands of Husain Miyan and his brother Ibrahim Miyan. Many sanguinary broils now ensued, in the course of which Jugjevan was murdered, and the executi ve authority was much weakened by the usurpations of the Arabs and other chiefs. In the meantime Ibrahim Miyan was assassinated ; and after various other scenes of anarchy, the Rao Bharmulji, son of Rao Rahiden, by general consent, assumed the chief power. But his reign was one continued series of the grossest enormities ; his hostility to the British became evident, and accordingly a force of 10,500 men crossed the Ruun in November 1815, and were within five miles of Bhuj, the capital of the country, when a treaty was concluded, by which the Rao Bharmulji was confirmed in his title to the throne, on agreeing, among other stipulations, to cede Anjar and its depen dencies in perpetuity to the British. He was, however, so far from fulfilling the terms of this treaty that it was determined to de pose him ; and an army being sent against him, he surrendered to the British, who made a provision for his maintenance, and elevated his infant sou to the throne.

ln 1822 the relations subsisting between the ruler of Cutch and the British were modified by a new treaty, under which the terri torial cessions made by the Rao in 1816 were restored in considera tion of an annual payment. The sum fixed was subsequently thought too large, and in 1832 the arrears, amounting to a consi derable sum, were remitted, and all future payments on this account relinquished. From that time the Rao has paid a subsidy of 20,000 per annum to the British for the maintenance of the mili tary force stationed within his dominions. Suttee has been prohi bited in Cutch ; and, under British influence, various other mea sures of a salutary and beneficent character have been adopted.

CUTCH GUNDAVA, a district in the province of Baluchistan, situated at the bottom of the mountains lying south-east of Khelat, between 27 40 and 29 50 1ST. lat. and 67 20 and 69 17 E. long. It is about 150 miles in length, and measures nearly an equal distance in its greatest breadth. The Hala range of mountains extends along its western frontier, and forms the eastern wall or face of the elevated table-land of central Baluchistan. Through this range are two great passes, the celebrated Bolan Pass in the north leading in a north-westerly direction, and the Mula Pass, which, more to the south, takes an extensive circuit, the two extremities pointing towards the north, and the convexity towards the south. The soil is rich, black, and loamy, and produces every spices of grain, as also cotton, indigo, madder, and other commodities. The rains are heavy in June, July, and August ; it rains also, but not so heavily, in the spring months. The climate during the summer is unhealthy, owing to the simoom or pestilential wind which blows at that time, causing the death of many of the inhabitants. Great quantities of grain are exported from this district to the seaports of Kurrachee and Son- miani. Cutch Gundava is the most populous part of Baluchistan, and constitutes the most valuable portion of the dominions of the Khan of KLelat, who during winter resides at the chief town.

CUTHBERT, St (. . .–687). The precise date and place of the birth of Cuthbert are unknown. Some writers assert that he was born in Ireland. It is much more probable, or rather it is almost certain, that he was of English descent, and born in that part of the kingdom of Northumbria which lay north of the Tweed, and was afterwards included in the Scottish kingdom. The original abbey of Melrose to be distinguished from the later Cistercian foundation of that name, which lies higher up the Tweed had been founded before the middle of the 7th century. The first abbot was Eata, one of the twelve English disciples of the Scottish Aidan ; and under him Cuthbert, then probably in early youth, became a monk. He accompanied Eata on the latter being appointed superior of the monastery at Bipon, founded by Alchfrid, son of Oswy, king of Northumbria. AVhen the dispute arose between the English and Scottish ecclesiastics as to the proper time of keeping Easter, Eata, rather than con form to the English usage, returned to Melrose along with Cuthbert, who soon afterwards was appointed prior of that monastery. Eata having subsequently adopted the English rule was appointed abbot of Lindisfarne by king Oswy, and Cuthbert, still accompanying him, held the office of prior. Under the influence of that intense desire to lead a life of absolute solitude by which the Scottish monks of the school of St Columba were so frequently impelled, Cuthbert, after a residence of considerable duration at Lindisfarne, resigned his office and retired to the neighbouring island of Fame. From this seclusion Egfrid, king of Northumbria, endeavoured to recall him. Cuthbert at first resisted the king s entreaties, but was at last induced to comply and to become bishop of Lindisfarne. He was consecrated at York during the Easter festival of 685 by Theodore, arch bishop of Canterbury. After exercising his episcopal office for two years he again retired to his solitude of Fame, where he died on the 20th of March 687.

During his lifetime Cuthbert had been reverenced as a saint, a reverence which his holy life and faithful discharge of all his duties had well deserved. His austere and secluded mode of living added greatly to the estimation in which he was held, and as usual at that period the per formance of miracles was freely ascribed to him. Two accounts of his life were written within a short time after his decease, one by an unknown author, the other by the most distinguished ecclesiastic of the age the Venerable Bede. They give an interesting account of Cuthbert while prior of Melrose. His labours were not confined to his monastery. He went about the country, sometimes on horseback, but more frequently on foot, preaching to the rude people, and instructing them in their religious duties, following in all respects the example of St Aidan and the other early Scottish missionaries. When bishop of Lindisfarne he continued to act in the same manner, as well knowing, to use the words of Bede, that " He who said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, also said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

The fame of Cuthbert increased as time went on, and

excelled that of all the saints of the north. His remains were preserved at Lindisfarne as the most precious treasure of the church ; and, when the island towards the end of the 9th century was attacked by the heathen Danes, the monks fled, carrying the relics with them, which were finally deposited at Durham, when that city became the seat of the Northumbrian bishopric. During the Middle Ages his shrine at Durham was almost as famous as that of St Thomas at Canterbury, and attracted the visits of innumerable pilgrims. The English army rallied round the banner of St Cuthbert at the battle of Neville s Cross, and it is said to have been carried for the last time at the rising known as the Pilgrimage of Grace, in the reign of Henry VIII. When the whole mediaeval system was beginning to crumble, and after its entire overthrow, the popular reverence for his name did not cease in his own northern region. The last Roman Catholic bishop of Durham, and nut the least

famous of his line, was Cuthbert Tunstall ; and in the