who occupied by far the greater part of the country. Now, to this subject Thomason bent his whole mind. Its prime importance has been recognized by every civil government in India. The task has been prosecuted by a long line of illustrious administrators; all of whom have discharged it effectively, and many have performed it excellently. On the whole, without disparagement of them, we may say that Thomason was the most accomplished administrator of the Land Revenue that has ever been seen in India. In a national race, where so many eminent persons have so nobly striven, as in this, the ultimate winner can win only with a slight advantage; and thus it is with Thomason. He did best that which a great number of able men have done well, and this is an encomium of the highest order — palmam qui meruit ferat.
For the management of all these affairs he found an organization ready to hand. The unit of social life was the village, meaning the collection of houses or cottages and the surrounding area, corresponding to an English parish. A large number of villages, several thousand, would be grouped into a district corresponding to an English county — except that the district, having an average population from a million to a million-and-a-half, was larger than a county. Over each district was placed a high official, always European, styled Magistrate and Collector; who had charge of everything in all branches save the judicial branch; and who practically was administrator-general. There
