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BHAGALPUR.

35 °

however, consisted of advances, which were intended to be recovered,

and have since been Cotrunerce

partially realized.

and Trade,

etc

.

— The principal manufacture of the

indigo, of which the annual out-turn

District

125 tons, selling in ordinary years for about ^70,000. The weaving of tasar silk cloth gives employment to a considerable number of persons in the District, but this is

is

industry appears to be slowly dying out. are made,

Several kinds of coarse glass

and cotton-weaving and the manufacture of

carried on to a limited extent.

The

saltpetre are

trade of the District

is

yearly

increasing, the principal exports being rice, wheat, gram, barley, Indian

and dairy produce, and the chief imports, salt, sugar, and piece-goods the exports largely exceed the imports in value. The chief wholesale business is with Lower Bengal, but there is also considerable traffic between Nepal and Bhagalpur, the principal exports from Bhagalpur being rice and other cereals, and the chief imports, mustard-seed and paddy. Administration The revenue and expenditure of Bhagalpur have corn, oil-seeds,

.

greatly increased since the beginning of the present century.

In 1799, the net revenue of the District amounted to ;;^34,747, and the expenditure to ;^55,226 ; by 1860-61 the revenue had increased to while the expenditure amounted to ;^54,i48

revenue was

39,535,

and

the

net

and

in

expenditure,

1870-71, the net

^8o,323.

In

1880-81, the total revenue was returned at ;^i34,939, of which

^57,i32 was contributed by the land tax, and ;^35,42i by excise.

The land revenue has varied very much from time to time, owing to changes in the extent of revenue jurisdiction. The assessment per acre is extremely low throughout the District, particularly on the north of the Ganges, while the value of land has increased enormously since the beginning of the centur)'.

During the same period, subdivision

of property has also gone on very rapidly, the number of estates being thirty-fold, it

once

into

four

and the number of proprietors nearly

was.

Bhagalpur

Sub-divisions

is

— the

divided

Sadr or

for

eighty-fold,

administrative

head-quarters

what

purposes

Sub-division

(936 square miles in extent), Banka (1185 square miles), Madahpura (872 square miles), and Siipul (1275 square miles). There has been a steady increase in the machinery for the protection of person and

In 1780, there was only i magisterial and i and revenue court in Bhagalpur ; in 1850 the number of magisterial courts was 4, and of civil courts, 10; in 1881, there were ii magisterial and 6 civil courts. The District is divided for police purposes into property in the District. civil

12 thdnds or police circles.

In 1880-81, the regular police force con-

and 74 subordinate officers, and 413 constables, maintained at a cost to Government of ^,^8648. In addition to these, there was a municipal police of 123 officers and men, costing £<j2o sisted of 2 superior