Description.

THE petty state of Jawhar in Thana lies between 19° 43' and 20° 5' north latitude and 72° 55' and 73° 20' east longitude. It has an area or about 500 square miles, [In Mr. Mulock's opinion the area of the state is about 300 square miles.] a population, according to the 1881 census, of about 48,000 souls or ninety to the square mile, and for the five years ending 1880, an average yearly revenue of nearly £10,000 (Rs. 1,00,000).

Jawhar is surrounded by Thana, Dahanu and Mokhada lie on the north, Mokhada on the east, Vada on the south, and Dahanu and Mahim on the west. Most of the state is a plateau raised about 1000 feet above the Konkan plain. Except towards the south and. west where it is somewhat level, the country is hilly and rocky with numerous rivers streams and large forests. Its chief streams are the Deharji, the Surya, the Pinjali, and the Vagh. Except the Vagh which flows into the Damanganga these streams fall into the Vaitarna. The Deharji and the Surya have their sources in Jawhar, and the Pinjali rises in the Shir pass near Khodale and forms the southern boundary of the state. The Vagh rises below Vatvad and flows north, forming the eastern boundary of the state. The lands of Jawhar are distributed over three sub-divisions, or mahals, Malvada with an area of about 150 square miles and a population of nearly 20,000 souls, Kariyat Haveli with 360 square miles and nearly 25,000 inhabitants, and Ganjad with 30 square miles and nearly 5000 inhabitants.

At Jawhar, which is on a tableland, the water-supply is defective, the springs in the neighbouring valleys being small and much below the level of the town. The Chief has improved the water-supply by enlarging the Surya reservoir and by embanking a low piece of ground. Both these works are (1882) in progress.

Climate.

Though from its height above the sea it is decidedly cooler than the rest of Thana, the Jawhar climate is variable and feverish. A heavy rainfall, lasting from June to October and averaging about 120 inches, [The details are, 1873, 85-16; 1874, 122.94; 1875, 143.43; 1876, 105.1; 1877, 62.27; 1878, 180.67; 1879, 131.55; 1880, 119.28; 1881. 111.16.] is followed by nearly three months of damp weather, warm at first, and later on often chilly. After December comes a gradual change, until, in February or March, the hot season sets in. The heat is great in the lower villages, but on the raised plateau on which Jawhar stands it is less severe than in other parts of Thana. The climate in the hot-weather is like that of Mokhada and Nasik, the nights being always cool. No record of thermometer readings has been kept.

Production.

Except good building stone, nothing is known about the Jawhar minerals. The chief forest trees are teak, sag, Tectona grandis; blackwood, sisam, Dalbergia sissoo; khair, Acacia catechu, din, Terminalia tomentosa; palas, Butea frondosa; tiras, Ougeinia dalbergioides; kalam, Stephegyne parvifolia; asam, Briedelia retusa; and hed. Nauclea cordifolia. Though the reckless forest management of former Chiefs has left few trees fit for cutting, there is no village without its forest. The timber season begins about November and closes before the rains set in. The bulk of the timber is carried to Manor in the Mahim sub-division, and thence shipped to Gogha. Traders are allowed to cut timber under a permit. When leave is given, twenty-five per cent of the fees are recovered at once, and an agreement made regarding the time for cutting and carrying away the timber. After the trees are cut, they are inspected by the mahalkari, the head sub-divisional revenue officer, and, when he is satisfied that the agreement has been properly carried out, the timber is allowed to be taken away. During the fair season, tolls or nakas are set at suitable points along the chief timber routes, and the cartmen's permits are examined. Including a charge of 6d. (as. 4 for marking, a cart of timber has to pay 6s. 9d. (Rs. 3-6), either for one trip or for as many trips as it can make during the eight months. In 1878 an attempt was made to introduce some system into the forest cuttings by fixing, in each year, the parts of the forest in which cutting may go on. The forest establishment, consisting of one inspector and two peons, is kept up only during the eight working months. In 1881 the forest receipts amounted to £8200 (Rs. 82,900) and the charges to £158 (Rs. 1580). The Domestic Animals are cows, buffaloes, bullocks, sheep, and horses. The cows vary in price from £1 to £2 10s. (Rs. 10-Rs. 25) and the he-buffaloes from £2 to £5 (Rs. 20-Rs.50). Of Wild Animals there are the Tiger, vagh, Felis tigris; the Panther, bibla, Felis pardus; the Bear, ashval, Ursus labiatus; the Hyaena, laras, Hyaena striata; the Fox, khokad or lokri, Vulpesbengalensis; the Jackal, kolha,Canis aureus; the sambhar, Rusa aristotelis; the Spotted Deer, chital, Axis maculatus; the Barking Deer, bhekar, Cervulus aureus; and the Wild Dog, kolsanda, Cuon rutilans.

Population.

According to the 1881 census the population was 48,556 of whom 47,964 were Hindus, 501 were Musalmans, and ninety-one were Christians, Parsis, and Others. Of the total number of 48,556 souls, 25,174 or 51.8 per cent were males and 23,382 or 48.1 per cent, were females. In 1881 there were 116 villages of which 102 had less than 1000 inhabitants, eleven had between 1000 and 2000, and three between 2000 and 3000. There were also 9375 houses of which 8307 were occupied and 1068 unoccupied. Of 48,556 the total population 41,095 (20,895 males, 20,200 females) or 84.63 per cent were early tribes. Of the early tribes 21,816 (11,135 males, 10,681 females) or 53.08 per cent of the whole were Varlis; 7671 (3873 males, 3798 females) Thakurs; 3246 (1659 males, 1587 females) Kathkaris or Kathodis, and 8362 (4228 males, 4134 females) other early tribes. Besides the early tribes there were 5943 (2941 males, 3002 females) Kolis, 4773 (2706 males, 2067 females) Kunbis, and 6869 (3891 males, 2978 females) other Hindus. The people especially the Varlis are poor. Their staple food is rice and nachni; their clothing is coarse and scanty. A few well-to-do families wear silver ornaments, and one or two wear gold ornaments. But the ornaments of most of the people are of brass and copper, and those of the poorest are of wood. They keep the same holidays as other Thana Hindus, and at their festivals reely indulge in liquor and flesh. The Kolis are of four divisions as, Raj Kolis, Mahadev Kolis, Malhar Kolis, and Dhor Kolis. The Raj Kolis are Mahadev Kolis, who have taken the name Raj Kolis because they are connected with the Chief. The Dhor Kolis are said to have been Raj or Malhar Kolis, who became Dhor or cattle eaters and married Kathkari girls, and so have fallen to the rank of Mhars and Kathkaris. The Thakurs, who are like Raj and Malhar Kolis in their habits and dress, are of two main divisions, Ma-Thakurs and Ka-Thakurs. Ma-Thakurs call a Brahman to their marriages; Ka-Thakurs call no Brahman. The Ka-Thakurs are said formerly to have called a Brahman and to have given up the practice, because at a wedding both the bride and the bridegroom died soon after the Brahman had finished the ceremony. This seems improbable as in other respects, such as visiting sacred shrines and bathing in sacred pools, the Ma-Thakurs are much better Hindus than the Ka-Thakurs. Of the origin of the two names Ma-Thakur and Ka-Thakur, the people seem to have no explanation. According to one story both speak a stammering Marathi, the Mas putting in a meaningless m and the Kas a meaningless k. The Kunbis, who are generally called Konkani Kunbis or Kunbis from the southern Konkan, are like the Marathas. In their habits and religion they resemble the Raj Kolis and are less wild than the Varlis and Kathodis. They are good husbandmen. The Varlis are strict Hindus like the Raj and Malhar Kolis, Thakurs, and Kunbis. They worship the ordinary gods, but do not call a Brahman to their marriages. They are idle and fond of wandering. They are poor husbandmen and almost penniless. The Kathkaris, or Kathodis as they are more often called, like the Dhor Kolis, eat cow's flesh and worship the tiger-god.

Inquiries during the first management of the state (1859-1864) brought to light a curious form of vassalage, which was common in the establishment of most large Maratha families. There were about eighty state vassals, the bondsmen called dases and the bondswomen dasis. These people were said to be the offspring of women who had been found guilty of adultery, and in punishment had been made slaves of the state and their boys called das and their girls dasi. These vassals did service in the Chief's household and were supported at his expense. All children of a das and the sons of a dasi were free and had to provide for themselves, so that the number of vassals never became very large.

Agriculture.

Except in Malvada and Ganjad the soil is stony and unsuited for the better class of crops. From the hilly nature of the country most of the fields are uplands, or varkas, and over a good deal of the area the tillage system is dalhi, or sowing seed in wood ashes. The chief crops raised are rice, bhat, Oryza sativa ; nachni or nagli, Eleusine coracana; hemp, tag, Crotalaria juncea; and gram, Cicer arietinum, in the better class of soil in Malvada and Ganjad. Among the husbandmen Raj Kolis, Malhar Kolis, Thakurs, and Kunbis are fairly off, but Varlis, Dhor Kolis, and Kathkaris are very poor. There is no regular market. The state buys every year a quantity of tobacco for distribution during the rains to each landholder, and recovers the price at a fixed rate along with the instalments of land revenue. The wages of field labourers are very low, being 8s. (Rs. 4) a month; but the wages of craftsmen are high, being from 2S. to 3s. (Re. 1 -Rs. 1½) a day for a carpenter and a mason. In 1877, owing to the failure of crops, one-fourth of the assessment in the Ganjad and one-eighth in the Malvada sub-division were remitted. In 1876 the practice of fixing the market prices of articles, and, in 1877, the practice of exacting forced labour were stopped.

Trade.

In so wild and rugged a country communication is difficult. Eastward the Sahyadris can be crossed by laden bullocks and horses through the Chinchutara and Gonde passes to the north of, and through the Dhondmare and Shir passes to the south of, the high hill of Vatvad. These routes lie through Mokhada, and, owing to the hilly nature of the ground and the deep rocky banks of the Vagh river, the difficulties to traffic are very great. How great these obstacles are is shown by the fact that, except one or two in Mokhada town, there is not a cart in the Mokhada sub-division. Occasionally carts bring timber through the Talasari pass, and in this direction the produce of the state finds an outlet towards Peint, and Nagar Haveli in Dharampur. The westerly route, about thirty-five miles from Jawhar to the Dahanu railway station, crosses the Kasatvadi and Deng passes by a well-engineered and metalled road, built between 1872 aud 1874 by the public works department, during the minority of the present Chief at a cost of £9500 (Rs.95,000). The making of twenty-five miles of the road in Dahanu was begun and stopped until some arrangement could be concluded for taking off the heavy transit dues levied, in the detached Jawhar sub-division of Ganjad, on goods passing from the eastern or inland portion of Dahanu to the sea coast. The Chief proposed to forego all dues on traffic passing along the new road, provided Government made and repaired the road to the west of Talavali and forewent their right to levy tolls. This arrangement has been sanctioned. [Bom. Gov, Res. 4470 of the 19th September 1881, and India Gov. Letter 1096 of 2nd September 1881.]

Export and transit dues on British goods are levied in thirty-two places in Jawhar. Almost no article escapes untaxed. The rates on grain vary from 1s. 4½d. to 1s. 6d. (annas 11-12) a bullock cart; the rates on cattle are 1s. 3d. (annas 10) a head, those on timber from 6d. to 1s. (annas 4-8) a cart, and those on liquor, hides, and moha, from 9d. to 3s. (annas 6-Rs. 1½) a bullock cart. A high line of hills runs parallel to the sea coast from opposite Sanjan to the south of Dahanu, and the roads across these hills pass through Jamshet, Karadoho, or Aine in the Ganjad sub-division. All timber and grain from the east of Dahanu have to pass one of these tolls on their way to Savta near Dahanu or to the railway. The heavy dues formerly gave rise to many complaints and much correspondence, especially from the forest department. The yearly average exports of grain have been roughly calculated at 1500 to 2000 khandis, and the average annual receipts from export duties at £400 (Rs. 4000), a very heavy demand which seriously cripples the trade of the state.

History.

Up to the first Muhammadan invasion of the Deccan (1294) the greater part of the northern Konkan was held by Koli and Varli chiefs. Jawhar was held by a Varli chief and from him it passed to a Koli named Paupera. According to the Kolis' story, Paupera who was apparently called Jayaba, had a small mud fort at Mukne near the Tal pass. Once when visiting a shrine at Pimpri, he was blessed by five Koli mendicants and saluted as the ruler of Jawhar. Paupera thereupon collected a body of Kolis, marched northwards, and was acknowledged by the people of Peint and Dharampur. He went to Surat and as far north as Kathiawar where he remained for seven years. On his return from Kathiawar he went to Jawhar and asked the Varli chief to give him as much land as the hide of a bullock could cover. The Varli chief agreed, but when the hide was cut into fine shreds or strips, it enclosed the whole of the Varli chief's possessions. Gambhirgad about twelve miles north-west of Jawhar and the country round were given to the Varli chief, and Paupera became the sole master of Jawhar. [Captain Mackintosh in Bom, Geog. Soc. I. 239-240. The mention of Ankola, apparently Ankola in north Kanara, was thought (see above p. 440 note 5) to show that Jayaba the ferryman, or Koli who defeated the nephew of the Gauri chief and founded a dynasty, belonged to central or south Konkan and not to Thana. According to the story the Gauri Raja is said to have ruled at Nasik and Trimbak and to have been the brother of Ram Raja the chief of Daulatabad. His nephew is said to have governed the Konkan below the Sahyadris. Jayaba defeated him, became master of the Konkan, and attempted to spread his power in the Deecan but was checked by the Musalmans. The facts that Ram Raja, the Yadav chief of Devgiri or Daulatabad had a viceroy in Thana about 1500 (1286-1292); that in the early part of the fourteenth century, the Musalman hold of the Konkan was very weak; and that Jayaba's son was acknowledged an independent chief in 1343, make it probable that the Jayaba, the ferryman, mentioned in the Mackenzie Manuscripts (Wilson's Edition, I. cvi.) is the founder of the Jawhar family. The mention of Ankola on the extreme south of the Konkan is perhaps to be explained by the fact (Fleet's Kanarese Dynasties, 74) that Ram Raja held the whole of the Konkan as far south as Mysor.;]

Paupera had two sons, Nemshah and Holkarrav. [Bom. Gov. Sel. XXVI, 14.] Nemshah the elder succeeded to the chiefship on Jayaba's death, and, about the middle of the fourteenth century (1343), was given the title of Shah and recognized by the Delhi Emperor as chief of a tract of land containing about twenty-two forts and yielding a revenue of £90,000 (Rs. 9,00,000). [Aitchison's Treaties, IV. (1876), 321.] So important was this in the history of Jawhar that the 5th of June 1343, the day on which Nemshah received the title of Shah from the Delhi Emperor, was made the beginning of a new era. This era which at present (1882) is 540 is still used in public documents. In the fifteenth century, during the time of their highest prosperity, the territories of the Ahmadabad kings stretched as far south as Nagothna and Chaul, and they probably held most of the sea coast, though they did not interfere with the inland parts of Jawhar. By the middle of the sixteenth century Jawhar limits were straitened by the advance of the Portuguese, who, besides their coast possessions, held the strong hill of Asheri and had several stockaded forts in the inland parts of north Thana. They had constant quarrels and made several treaties with the chief of the Kolis, whose followers they describe as causing much mischief, jumping like monkeys from tree to tree. [DaCunha's Bassein, 257.] About this, time the Koli chiefs seem to have held the wild north-east apparently as far south as about Bhiwndi and the hill-fort of Mahuli. Besides these the Kolis had three leading towns, Tavar to the north of Daman, Vazen perhaps Vasind, and Darila apparently Dheri near Umbargaon a large town of stone and tiled houses. [Nairne's Konkan, 45.] In the decay of Portuguese power (1600-1650) the Kolis regained their importance. The Moghal generals, to whom mountain warfare was hateful, were glad to secure the alliance of the Jawhar Kolis. At the close of the seventeenth century (1690), with the help of the Musalmans, the Jawhar chief marched over the north Konkan with 4000 soldiers, plundering the Portuguese villages and churches. About the beginning of the eighteenth century, except the sea coast, the Jawhar rulers held the whole of the north Konkan from Bassein to Daman, as well as some districts as far south as Bhiwndi. [Bom. Gov. Sel. XXVI. 15.] Their lauds were strengthened by ten forts, and they enjoyed a yearly revenue of about £35,000 (Rs. 3,50,000), chiefly from transit duties.

Later on, in the eighteenth century, the Jawhar chief had to meet a more formidable foe than the Portuguese. Their successes between 1739 and 1760 threw into the hands of the Marathas not only the Portuguese coast tracts, but great part of the southern districts of Jawhar. The Jawhar chief became dependent on the Marathas. The Peshwa levied the. babti and sardeshmukhi cesses, employed the chief and his troops, more than once attached the state to punish the chief for not putting down Koli raids, and levied a yearly tribute or nazar of £100 (Rs. 1000). [ Peshwa's State Diaries for 1725,1729, 1738, 1758, 1760, 1766, 1770, 1772, and 1774, quoted by Col. Etheridge, Alienation Settlement Officer, 16th September 1865.] In 1742, on the death of Vikramshah, one of his widows, Sai Kuvarbai, was allowed by the Peshwa to adopt a son. Shortly after, the other widow Mohan-kuvarbai succeeded in effecting the death of the adopted son, and the Peshwa assumed the management of the state. The state was again attach in 1758, and a third time in 1761. [Peshwa's State Diaries for 1758, 1760, and 1762, in Col. Etheridge's Report quoted above.] In 1782 an arrangement was made with the Peshwa, under which the Jawhar chief was allowed to keep territory yielding a yearly revenue of from £1500 to £2000 (Rs.l5,000-Rs.20,000). In 1798, on the death of Patangshah II. the Peshwa allowed his son Vikramshah III. to succeed, but made him agree to manage his affairs in submission to the Peshwa's government, to pay a succession fee of £300 (Rs. 3000), and to be subject to the supervision of the mamlatdar of Trimbak. [ Peshwa's State Diary for 1798, quoted by Col. Etheridge as above.] In 1805, in consequence of a Bhil outbreak near Ramnagar, the Peshwa sent a force and ordered the Jawhar chief to place himself under the orders of his officers. [Peshwa's State Diaries for 1805 as above.] Vikramshah III. died without heirs in 1821, but shortly after his death a son named Patangshah was born. The succession was disputed by the widows of two brothers of the late chief. To prevent disorder the Collector of the north Konkan went to Jawhar and installed the posthumous child as Patangshah III. During his minority the management of the state was entrusted to Patangshah's mother Sagunabai, and a joint yearly allowance of £200 (Rs. 2000) was fixed for the maintenance of the other two widows and their sons. The succession fee due to the British Government was, without affecting its future payment, remitted as a favour. In 1835 there were eighty-three villages and a yearly state revenue of £1000 (Rs. 10,000) of which £600 (Rs. 6000) were from transit and excise duties and £400 (Rs. 4000) from land revenue. In succession to Patangshah III., who died without heirs at Bombay in 1865 (11th June), his widow adopted Narayanrav grandson of Madhavrav, Patangshah III.'s uncle. This Narayanrav called Vikramshah IV. died on the 23rd July 1865. It seems that before the disposal of Narayanrav's body his young widow Lakshmibai, at the advice of Gopikabai his mother and guardian, adopted as her son Malharrav the present Chief, who was then about ten years. As is shown in the accompanying family tree, he was the son of one Madhavrav, a descendant of Lavjirav, a brother of Krishnashah the ninth chief.

At the time of Malharrav's adoption the state was attached, and the mamlatdar of Dahanu was for a time placed in charge. When the adoption was sanctioned, the management of the state was entrusted to the Rani Gopikabai, on condition that a succession fee of £2000 (Rs. 20,000) was paid and that the young Chief should be taught English and be sent to the Poona High School; that not more than half of the state income should be spent; that an officer should be chosen to manage the state, who could not be dismissed without the approval of the British Government; and that provision should be made for the administration of civil and criminal justice. On these terms the young Chief was invested 'at Poona on the 29th October 1866, and installed in Jawhar on the 28th March 1867. The average of six years' receipts between 1859-60 and 1864-65 showed a yearly revenue of £10,125 (Rs. 1,01,250), and on the 29th April 1866 a credit balance of £12,475 (Rs. 1,24,750). The expenses of the establishment were reduced, so that the expenditure was not more than one-half of the revenue. Schools were opened; important roads were made through the Kasatvadi and Dheng passes, at a cost of £9500 (Rs. 95,000); and wells dug and the water-supply improved.

In 1869 an enquiry by the late Mr. Havelock, C.S., showed that the Jawhar accounts were carelessly kept, and confused, if not falsified. The manager Kuvarji Shapurji was tried, and, though acquitted of criminal conduct, was found incompetent, and replaced in March 1870 by Mr. Jaisingrav Angria. Mr. Jaising was succeeded by Mr. Shivram Nilkant, who remained in charge till the young Chief came of age in 1877. The young Chief, with a suitable establishment, went to Poona and studied under a private tutor. In 1874 he was married to a daughter of Mahad Khan Patil of the village of Kalusta, near Igatpuri in Nasik. The marriage took place at Jawhar on the 20th April 1874, in the presence of the Political Agent Mr. J. W. Robertson. On the 28th 'March 1875 the Rani regent Gopikabai died, and the direct management of the state was assumed by the Collector and Political Agent. [Gov. Res. 2332 13th April 1875.] In December 1875 the Chief was withdrawn from the Poona High School, and for a time attended the Poona Judge's Court that he might learn how the business of a British Court was carried on. At the end of May 1876 he was allowed to take a share in the management of the state, and on the 22nd January 1877 he assumed complete charge. [Gov. Res. 7127. 8th December 1876] The Chief, who is (1882) twenty-eight years old and has a son, enjoys second class jurisdiction, which, according to Government Resolution 670 of the 5th of February 1877, gives him power to carry out capital sentences in the case of his own subjects only. Otherwise he has full jurisdiction over native British subjects committing crimes in his territory, subject to the advice of the Political Agent, should there be ground for his intervention. Except the succession fee, the Chief pays no tribute to the British Government. He has no military force. Adoption is allowed only by the sanction of Government, and in matters of succession the family follows the rule of primogeniture.

Sixteen chiefs seem to have ruled over Jawhar. The names of the first eight are (l) Paupera or Jayaba, (2) Nemshah I. or Dhulbarav, (3) Bhimshah, (4) Mahamadshah, (5) Krishnashah I. adopted son of Mahamadshah, (6) Nemshah II., (7) Vikramshah I., and (8) Patangshah I. The names of the remaining eight riders are shown in the following family tree:

Land.

For administrative purposes the lands of the state are distributed over the three divisions or mahals, of Malvada, Kariyat-Haveli, and Ganjad, each in charge of an officer styled mahalkari, whose monthly pay is £2 10s. (Rs. 25). These officers perform civil criminal police registration and forest duties under the minister or Karbhari, whose monthly pay is £10 (Rs.100). They supervise the collection of the land revenue made by the village accountants talatis, the village headmen patils, and the forest inspectors. They also examine their accounts and records, submit periodical reports and returns to the minister, and carry out his orders.

The land is held to belong to the state, but so long as the holder pays his rent he cannot be ousted. The holders of land are the actual husbandmen. There is no class of big landlords or middlemen. The land tenure varies in different parts of the state. In Kariyat-Haveli land is measured and assessed by the plough or nangar. Under this system a rough estimate of the tillage area is framed from the number of bullocks and he-buffaloes employed by each landholder, a pair being considered to represent a plough. The cattle are counted in July and August by village headmen and accountants, and the assessment is levied at rates varying from 10s. to 16s. (Rs. 5-Rs. 8) a plough. In the Malvada division the assessment is based on the supposed productiveness of the soil.

Certain areas of land, locally known as mudka or muda and thoka, are measured and their outturn ascertained, and, with these as a standard, the assessment on other areas and classes of land is fixed. The assessment on each mudka varies from £1 4s. to £4 (Rs. 12-Rs.40), and the assessment on each thoka from 2s. to £1 (Re. 1-Rs. 10). A third system of defining the areas of land, similar to that adopted by the survey department, is in force in the Ganjad division. Under this system, which is known as bighavni, the assessment rates vary from 4s. to 11s. 6d. (Rs. 2-Rs. 5¾) a bigha or-three-quarters of an acre. The upland or varkas area is measured every year and assessed at 3s. (Rs. 1½) a bigha. In 1878 it was determined to introduce into the whole of Jawhar the system of revenue survey in force in the neighbouring Thana villages. The rates were not reduced, but the mode of assessment was improved and leases on favourable terms were granted. The work of measuring is now in progress.

Justice.

Thirty years ago (1854) justice was very imperfectly administered. In civil cases, when the dispute was about a debt, the parties were brought into court, and, when the claim appeared just, the debtor was warned to pay. If he refused to pay, his property was sometimes attached or himself imprisoned, but, as a rule, nothing was done to enforce payment. When the debtor paid, the state took a share and handed over the rest to the creditor. In criminal matters light offences were punished with fines levied by subordinate officers, from whose decisions an appeal lay to the Chief, who investigated the matter, but kept no record of his proceedings. In cases of adultery a fine varying from £3 10s. to £10 (Rs. 35-Rs.100) was imposed on the parties concerned. In default of payment the woman was kept by the Chief as a bondswoman. Persons convicted of witchcraft were fined, and, in default of payment, had their nose and tongue cut off. Only in cases of murder and gang-robbery were written depositions taken. Sentences of fine, imprisonment, whipping, or the stocks, were finally passed according to the Chiefs discretion. During the, Political Agent's management of the state (1865-1877) four civil courts were established. Of these the courts of the mahalkaris of Kariyat-Haveli and Malvada were authorised to dispose of suits of less than £20 (Rs.200). Claims over that amount and appeals from the mahalkaris decisions were heard in the minister's court. The fourth court, that of the Political Agent, exercised the powers of the High Court. In 1878 a new mahakaris court was established in the Ganjad sub-division, with the same powers as the courts in other sub-divisions. In 1879 the court in each mahal was abolished, and an itinerant, judge was appointed. There are thus three courts, the intierant judge's and karbharis courts for original and the Chief's court for appellate suits. In judicial proceedings the Penal Code and Acts IX. of 1859 and X. of 1872, modified by certain local practices and usages, are generally followed. A fee of 12½ per cent (2 as. in the rupee) is levied as a stamp duty on all plaints. In 1881, of 133 cases including arrears, two were disposed of by the karbhari and ninety-four by the circuit judge. The average length of time taken to dispose of a case was both in the karbharis; court and m the circuit judge's court two months. Only one appeal was disposed of in the Chief's court. In 1881 there were too applications for the execution of decrees, of which 107 were disposed of. Civil prisoners are confined in a separate room attached to the criminal jail.

Registration.

In 1872, registration was introduced based on the principles of the Indian Registration Act, the minister being appointed registrar and the mahalkaris sub-registrars. In 1881, nineteen documents were registered, transferring property of the value of £405 (Rs. 4050). The registration fee is a half per cent; and the whole receipts amounted to £3 16s. (Rs. 38). Under the management of the Political Agent five criminal courts were established. Three of these were the courts of mahalkaris, invested with the powers of third class magistrates, the fourth was the minister's court with the powers of a second class magistrate and power to commit cases beyond his jurisdiction to the Political Agent, the fifth was the court of the Political Agent, who exercised the powers of a sessions judge and heard appeals from the decisions of subordinate magistrates. Since the Chief has assumed charge of the state, he decides first class magisterial and sessions cases, and hears appeals.

In 1881, 195 criminal cases of which 174 were original and twenty-one were appeal were disposed of. The people are orderly and free from crime. Robbery, insult, assault, house-trespass, theft, hurt, mischief, and misappropriation of property are the most usual forms of crime.

Police.

Up to 1875-76 the state police force comprised only six constables and one head constable, who were posted in the town of Jawhar, and occasionally told off on duty to otter places. In that year the police force was increased by the addition of one chief constable and six constables. At present (1881) the state police is twenty-one strong, and is maintained at a monthly cost of £17 (Rs. 170). In 1881, of 248, the total number of persons arrested, 158 were convicted; and of the property of £21 14s. (Rs. 217), alleged to have been stolen, £20 8s. (Re. 204) or 94 per cent were recovered. There are no mounted police.

Jail.

The jail is under the charge of an officer called thanedar. It is in a healthy position near the Chief's residence. It has room for about fifty prisoners, who are employed in keeping the town clean and in in-door work. The health of the convicts is attended to by a native medical practitioner belonging to the state. In 1881 there were ninety-two convicts on the jail roll and the jail charges amounted to £53 (Rs. 530). There are no jail receipts.

Revenue.

Excluding £34,428 (Rs. 3,44,280) invested in Government securities, the state revenue amounted in 1880-81 to £9010 (Rs. 90,100), of which £2435 (Rs. 24,350) or 27 per cent of the whole were from land, £2784 (Rs. 27,840) from forests, £2191 (Rs. 21,910) from excise, £535 (Rs. 5350) from transit duties, and £1065 (Rs. 10,650) from other sources. The total charges amounted to £6520 (Rs. 65,200), of which £1526 (Rs. 15,260) were spent on establishments, £762 (Rs. 7620) on public works, £304 (Rs. 3040) on medicine and education, and £3928 (Rs. 39,280) on miscellaneous accounts. The excise revenue is under the exclusive management of the British Government, to whom, in 1880, the chief sold his revenue for five years at a yearly sum of £3200 (Rs. 32,000).

Instruction

In 1879 four primary schools were supported by the state. In 1881 the number of schools rose to six. Of these one at the town of Jawhar, which teaches English up to the second standard, is held in a large school-house lately built by the Chief. In 1881 it was attended by 116 pupils Brahmans, Prabhus, Vanis, Sonars, Shimpis, Parits, Marathas, Kolis, and Musalmans, and had an average monthly attendance of seventy-nine pupils. The other five schools, at Malavda, Kurja, Deheri, Nyahale-Khurd, and Alavde, had 172 pupils and a monthly attendance of 105 pupils. According to the 1872 census the number of persons able to read and write was 208.

Health.

Until 1878 there was no dispensary. The Chief employed a native medical practitioner who occasionally dispensed European medicines. In 1878 a dispensary was opened in Jawhar in a building made by the Chief. In 1881 it was attended by 1133 persons, of whom fifteen were in-door patients. The cases treated wore malarial fever, bronchitis, dysentery, and diarrhoea. In 1879 the vaccinator, who is paid £24 (Rs. 210) a year, with the help of a peon on £7 4s. (Rs. 72) a year, performed 2050 operations, all of which were successful. The average number of births and deaths registered during the five years ending 1879 was 237 births and 219 deaths; the returns are very incomplete.

JAWHAR.

Jawhar, the capital of the state, is a growing place of about two hundred houses. It is built on either side of a broad street, which runs north and south between two deep gorges, on a tableland about 1000 feet above the sea. The place is healthy and free from excessive heat. The water supply is at present scanty, but the Chief is considering a plan for making a reservoir and bringing the water into the town by pipes. Within the last few years the Chief has done much for Jawhar. He has built a large public office, school-house, and dispensary, and, by free grants of timber, has induced the townspeople to rebuild their houses in a much better style than formerly. The only remains are near the Chief's residence, the ruins of a large palace and music-room or nagarkhana, which were built by Krishnashah about 1750, and destroyed by fire in 1822. On the same tableland as the present town is old Jawhar. There is now nothing to mark the site of the old town. In 1881 a stone step well was found completely hidden in the ground. The only place of interest in the state is said to be the ruined fort of Bhopatgad, about ten miles south-east of Jawhar.