ministration Report of the Province, and it may
not be uninteresting to quote the opening sentences of it:

"Gentlemen,

"By command of His Highness the Maharajah, I have much pleasure
in welcoming you to this Assembly, which meets here to-day for
the first time under the election system sanctioned last year.
You come here as the duly elected representatives of the
agricultural, the industrial, and the commercial interests of the
State. Last year, when His Highness was pleased to grant the
valued privilege of election, he was not without some misgivings
as to how the experiment would succeed, but it is most gratifying
to His Highness that, though unused to the system, the electoral
body has been able, in the very first year of its existence, to
exercise the privilege with so much judgment and sense of
responsibility as to send to this Assembly men in every way
qualified to speak on their behalf. That men representing the
industry and the intellect of the country should have already
taken so much interest in the scheme augurs well for the future
of the institution. His Highness asks me to take this opportunity
publicly to acknowledge the expressions of warm gratitude which
have reached him from all sides for the privilege of election
granted last year."

The Dewan then proceeded to make his statement of the Revenue and
Expenditure of 1890-91, by which it appeared that the Revenue for that
period--the largest ever realized by the State--was 145 lakhs of rupees,
or, at par,[12] L1,450,000, and the account showed a surplus of 23 lakhs,
or L230,000; but from this had to be deducted a sum for expenditure on
new railways, which reduced the surplus, or rather, disposed of it to such
an amount as to leave a balance of 12-1/2 lakhs, or L125,000. The budget
was then taken up in detail, and the Dewan showed in the most lucid manner
the financial position as regards the various heads of receipts and
expenditure, all of which I shall pass over except that relating to gold,
which the reader will probably find interesting, for, as the Kanarese
proverb says, "If gold is to be seen, even a corpse will open its mouth."
There was, then, an increase in State receipts from gold mining dues to
the extent of 37,000 rupees in the amount of royalty, while "Premia and
deposits on leases" brought in 71,000 rupees. The mines in the Kolar gold
field during 1890 extrac