ean
countries; and with courts of justice as impartial and as faithfully
conducted as any to be found in the world, India may well claim a place
among the great empires of the present era."

The British Government has respected the possessions of native chiefs in
whose hands still remain about one-third of the country. But these so
called native territories are so largely under English control and
guidance that we may well regard them as essentially a part of the British
Domain.

The Secretary of State for India has practically the control of British
Indian affairs. He, with his council in London, has the final word in
Indian matters of paramount importance. Nevertheless, the Indian
Government finds this power rarely antagonistic in matters whereon it has
firmly made up its mind.

The British possessions in India are distributed into twelve governments,
each separately organized and yet all of them constituting parts of the
Supreme Government of India. This Supreme Government is administered by a
Governor-General or Viceroy with whom is associated a Council of six
members. This Council constitutes the Viceroy's Cabinet and each one has
charge of a separate department of the government.

Of the Provincial Governments of India, the principal ones are the
Province of Bengal with 71,000,000, under a Lieutenant-Governor; United
Provinces of Agra and Oudh, with a population of 47,000,000, under a
Lieutenant-Governor; Presidency of Madras, with 35,500,000, under a
Governor; Presidency of Bombay, with 18,800,000, under a Governor; and the
province of Punjab, with 20,800,000, under a Lieutenant-Governor.

The unit of government in India is the District. The whole of India is
divided into 235 Districts. At the head of a District is placed an officer
known as Collector, Senior Magistrate, or Deputy Commissioner, who is
practically ruler of that division. He is the administrative
representative of the government. In each District there is also a
District Judge and a few other officers at the head of various
departments. These Districts vary in size and population, covering areas
from 14,000 to 1,000 square miles, and containing from 3,000,000 to
250,000 population. The average population of a District is 800,000.
Nothing impresses the careful observer more than the large amount of
responsibility and the multifarious duties which devolve upon these
District officers. During recent years, however, authority has been
withheld in