usehold is fixed in each case. Government is regulated by the [v.04
p.0841] Kachin hills regulation. Since 1894 the country has been
practically undisturbed, and large numbers of Kachins are enlisted, and
ready to enlist in the military police, and seem likely to form as good
troops as the Gurkhas of Nepal.

The Chin hills were not declared an integral part of Burma until 1895, but
they now form a scheduled district. The chiefs, however, are allowed to
administer their own affairs, as far as may be, in accordance with their
own customs, subject to the supervision of the superintendent of the Chin
hills.

_Religion._--Buddhists make up more than 88.6%; Mussulmans 3.28;
spirit-worshippers 3.85; Hindus 2.76, and Christians 1.42 of the total
population of the province. The large nominal proportion of Buddhists is
deceptive. The Burmese are really as devoted to demonolatry as the
hill-tribes who are labelled plain spirit-worshippers. The actual figures
of the various religions, according to the census of 1901, are as
follows:--

Buddhists 9,184,121
Spirit-worshippers 399,390
Hindus 285,484
Mussulmans 339,446
Christians 147,525
Sikhs 6,596
Jews 685
Parsees 245
Others 28

The chief religious principle of the Burmese is to acquire merit for their
next incarnation by good works done in this life. The bestowal of alms,
offerings of rice to priests, the founding of a monastery, erection of
pagodas, with which the country is crowded, the building of a bridge or
rest-house for the convenience of travellers are all works of religious
merit, prompted, not by love of one's fellow-creatures, but simply and
solely for one's own future advantage.

An analysis shows that not quite two in every thousand Burmese profess
Christianity, and there are about the same number of Mahommedans among
them. It is admitted by the missionaries themselves that Christianity has
progressed very slowly among the Burmese in comparison with the rapid
progress made amongst the Karens. It is amongst the Sgaw Karens that the
greatest progress in Christianity has been made, and the number of
spirit-worshippers among them is very much smaller. The number of Burmese
Christians is considerably increased by the inclusion among them of the
Christian descendants of the Portuguese settlers of Syriam deported to the
old