Page:Gazetteer of the province of Oudh ... (IA cu31924073057352).pdf/449

SUL 441 great hold upon popular favour. It is still, however, in ordinary official use to denote the individuality of estates held under separate revenue engagements. With this signification it forms the revenue subdivision of the pargana, and is, indeed, the unit of revenue responsibility. It forms also the point where official fiscal arrangements become merged in private land tenures; for each muhál is represented by one or more lambardars or headmen, who possess a double character--on the one hand they are pri- vate persons, members of the proprietary body of the muhál, raised to their representative position in conformity with rules springing out of the past customs of the family : on the other hand, they are invested with a quasi- official position, inasmuch as they have delegated to them the duty of collecting the revenue payable by their co-sharers, and are primarily res- ponsible to the state for its collection. Village.--As the muhál is the unit of fiscal subdivision of the pargana, so is the village or township the unit of local subdivision. The town- ships, says Elphinstone, are the indestructible atoms, from an aggregate of which the most extensive Indian empires are composed, just as Creasy says Anglo-Saxon townsbips were the integral molecules out of which the Anglo-Saxon state was formed. Police-With respect to police jurisdictions, thána circles take the place of the fiscal arrangement of parganas. Their boundaries sometimes but not always coincide. In the district as it stood previous to July, 1869, eight thánas corresponded to twelve parganas, and in the changes which then took place, symmetry was again subordinated to convenienco and utility; the principle acted upon was that cach village should report to the nearest thánas, subject to any modifications which might be caused by the local topography of the country. The police force consists of two branches, the regular belonging to a provincial establishment, and the rural which is purely local. The first is partly distributed at the thánas partly employed as jail and treasury guards, and partly held in reserve at headquarters. The regular force allotted to the district numbers 379 of all ranks. The rural police or village chaukidars at the time of settlement were 2,664 in number, or one to every 354 of population. Each of them had his separate fixed beat extending over an average area of 377 acres. А large majority of the chaukidars belong to the Pási and other low castes ; but a Brålman now and then condescends to fill the post with very ques- tionable advantage, I believe, to the village he honours with his service. Statement showing the population of things. Name of Thána. Population. Raipur 139,655 Jag lispur ... 729,697 Musafirkhana 174,708 Kuraibhár ... Piparpur 64,044 Dosipur Sultanpur. 110,190 Lawhwa 86,584 Kádipur 93,694 Total 1,000,786 The total population in this calculation which has been inade later differs sowneybat froza that givca in the table of area and population in Chapter II. 56 20 75+ 114,246 87,978 ... 1. 149