Page:Allan Octavian Hume, C.B.; Father of the Indian National Congress.djvu/195

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middle section under fourteen years of age, for proficiency either in English or mathematics. In addition to this Mr. Hume made a separate endowment of Rs. 1200 for an annual prize to be given to the youngest boy who passed me entrance examination.

The first medical institution built in Etawah was built in 1856 by Mr. A. O. Hume.

Old Etawah lies among or at the head of the ravines, and the newer portions of the city stretch backwards to the north. Several nalas intersect the site of the town. Owing to the uneven nature of the ground, communication between the old and the new quarters was difficult before the time of Mr. Hume. But by means of cuttings,, embankments and bridges he made fine broad metalled roads, and rendered communication at all times easy or practicable. He made so many good roads that even after forty- five years of his leaving Etawah, with all the municipal and district boards' arrangements, only very few roads have been constructed since.

In the centre of the city is Humeganj. Formerly the place was an unsightly and uneven piece of waste ground infested with wild beasts, but it was levelled and drained by Mr. Hume and it now forms the site of imposing public buildings and a handsome market-place also called the Humeganj, the principal grain and cotton market which is lined with handsome shops, remarkable for their fine brickwork arches. To the west of the grain market is Hume's Serai, which is entered by a handsome gateway resembling a triumphal arch. The imposing building of the Tehsili, the American Mission Church, which is now used as municipal office, the vegetable market, Hume High School, the Kotwali, the old Munsifi and the town school and the hospital, all stand upon the site and will ever remain a living monument of Mr. Hume and his work in Etawah. He also erected a baradari on the debris of Somersah's fortress and constructed a road leading to it, which is now out of order. The handsome residence of the collector and the small building used as a club were also built by him in