as of strategic importance, owing to its swampy
surroundings and the lake that flanked its side. It was taken by the
French in 1751, and was retaken in 1752 by Clive, after which it proved
invaluable to the British, especially when Lally in his advance on
Madras left it unreduced in his rear. During the wars of the British
with Hyder Ali it withstood his power, and afforded a refuge to the
natives; and in 1780, after the defeat of Colonel W. Baillie, the army
of Sir Hector Munro here found refuge. The town is noted for its
manufacture of pottery, and carries on a trade in rice.

The DISTRICT OF CHINGLEPUT surrounds the city of Madras, stretching
along the coast for about 115 m. The administrative headquarters are at
Saidapet. Area, 3079 sq. m. Pop. (1901) 1,312,122, showing an increase
of 9% in the decade. Salt is extensively manufactured all along the
coast. Cotton and silk weaving is also largely carried on, and there are
numerous indigo vats, tanneries and an English cigar factory.

CHIN HILLS, a mountainous district of Upper Burma. It lies on the border
between the Lushai districts of Eastern Bengal and Assam and the plains
of Burma, and has an area of 8000 sq. m. It is bounded N. by Assam and
Manipur, S. by Arakan, E. by Burma, and W. by Tippera and the Chittagong
hill tracts. The Chins, Lushais and Kukis are to the north-east border
of India what the Pathan tribes are to the north-west frontier. In 1895
the Chin Hills were declared a part of the province of Burma, and
constituted a scheduled district which is now administered by a
political officer with headquarters at Falam. The tract forms a
parallelogram 250 m. from N. to S. by 100 to 150 m. wide. The country
consists of a much broken and contorted mass of mountains, intersected
by deep valleys. The main ranges run generally N. to S., and vary in
height from 5000 to 9000 ft., among the most important being the Letha
or Tang, which is the watershed between the Chindwin and Manipur rivers;
the Imbukklang, which divides the Sokte tribe from the Whenchs and sheds
the water from its eastern slopes into Upper Burma and that from its
western slopes into Arakan; and the Rong-klang, which with its
prolongations is the main watershed of the southern hills, its eastern
slopes draining into the Myittha and thus into the Chindwin, while the
western fall drains into the Boinu river, which winding through the
hills discharges itself eventually in the Bay of Bengal. The highes