n of the attempt to
assassinate him made by Bengali malcontents on the 7th of November 1908.

The DISTRICT OF BURDWAN lies along the right bank of the river Bhagirathi
or Hugli. It has an area of 2689 sq. m. It is a flat plain, and its scenery
is uninteresting. Chief rivers are the Bhagirathi, Damodar, Ajai, Banka,
Kunur and Khari, of which only the Bhagirathi is navigable by country cargo
boats throughout the year. The district was acquired by the East India
Company under the treaty with Nawab Mir Kasim in 1760, and confirmed by the
emperor Shah Alam in 1765. The land revenue was fixed in perpetuity with
the zemindar in 1793. In 1901 the population was 1,532,475, showing an
increase of 10% in the decade. There are several indigo factories. The
district suffered from drought in 1896-1897. The Eden Canal, 20 m. long,
has been constructed for irrigation. The weaving of silk is the chief
native industry. As regards European industries, Burdwan takes the first
place in Bengal. It contains the great coal-field of Raniganj, first opened
in 1874, with an output of more than three million tons. The Barrakur
ironworks produce pig-iron, which is reported to be as good as that of
Middlesbrough. Apart from Burdwan town and Raniganj, the chief places are
the river-marts of Katwa and Kalna. The East Indian railway has several
lines running through the district.

The DIVISION OF BURDWAN comprises the six districts of Burdwan, Birbhum,
Bankura, Midnapore, Hugli and Howrah, with a total area of 13,949 sq. m.,
and a population in 1901 of 8,240,076.

BUREAU (a Fr. word from _burel_ or _bureau_, a coarse cloth used for
coverings), a writing-table or desk (_q.v._), also in America a low chest
of drawers. From the meaning of "desk," the word is applied to an office or
place of business, and particularly a government department; in the United
States the term is used of certain subdivisions of the executive
departments, as the bureau of statistics, a division of the treasury
department. The term "bureaucracy" is often employed to signify the
concentration of administrative power in bureaux or departments, and the
undue interference by officials not only in the details of government, but
in matters outside the scope of state interference. The word is also
frequently used in the sense of "red-tapism."

BURFORD, a market town in the Woodstock parliamentary division of
Oxfordshire, England, 18 m. W.N.W. of Oxford. Pop. (1901) 1146. It is
pleasa