The great towns, Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Rangoon, continue to attract immigrants from all parts of Asia. The 1881 census showed the foreign residents to be, — Asiatics not natives of India, 540,989; British, 75,734 ; Europeans, 38,463 ; Africans, Americans, Australians, 6961.
The 540,989 Africans and Asiatics not natives of India comprised— Most of the Parsees are permanent residents, and portions of the others must also be so classed, but the numbers suffice to show the continuous stream of immigrant races.
On the other hand, several of the Kolarian and Dravidian races emigrate freely. Rangoon, Tavoy, Mergui, Malacca, Penang, and Singapore contain many of them ; and the more distant Mauritius, Bourbon, S. Africa, West Indies, and Central America have received numbers. From 1876-77 to 1880-81, the following 1876-77, . Left British India 10,036 Returned 4,485 1877-78, . 25,219 „ 4,400 1878-79, 22,092 „ 5,586 17,426 „ 7,185 . 16,794 ,, 7,061 Population.—The census' taken of India in 1881 has not yet (October 14, 1882) been checked. It a population of 252,541,210 in an area of 1,477,763 square miles. In these numbers, how ever, are included provinces are British proper, and also territories belonging to native princes and chiefs under treaty, subsidiary or other alliance, as here. shown :— Enumerations of the British territories had been previously made between the years 1866 and 1875, and the following is a comparative state ment of populations according to census of 1881 and the previous census :— Food and Ilaces.—Taking the populations and their means of subsistence, from the purely agri cultural point of view, the country, as a whole, is under-peopled. In certain districts in Bengal and the N.W. Provinces, there are more cultivators than the land actually requires; but in Assam, the Panjab, Sind, the Madras plateau, and Bunna,there are vast tracts of arable land unploughed. Even in portions of Bengal there are still reserves of virgin soil. The difficulty is to induce the population to distribute itself ; though several of the races of India, the Tamil, and Teling, and Dhangar, in particular, freely emigrate to remote countries.
The supremacy of British India, while it has brought peace within the borders and improved the salubrity of localities, has not been unattended with difficulties. The population, which was kept
down by the wars, pestilences, and famines of former times, has rapidly increased. In the ten years 1871 to 1881, the increase was 12,788,865, notwithstanding the occurrence of a severe famine, causing great loss of life in Mysore, in the Carnatic, in parts of Bombay, and in the N.W. Provinces. In the year 1789, one-third of the land lay unoccupied, but many jungle tracts and swamps have since been reclaimed. Some districts and provinces have become over-peopled ; the surplus of some of the races are emigrating to Ceylon, to the Malay countries, to the Mauritius, Bombay, Africa, South America, and the West Indies ; and the Govern ment of India is looking at sparsely - peopled Burma as a country to be filled. In Burma, Assam, Berar, and Siud, the increase was the greatest; but in the years 1876 and 1877, a severe famine, ' and consequent disease, occurred in parts of the Peninsula, which carried off numbers, and in the decade the decrease in the Bombay Prvaidesicy was per cent., in that of Madre*, per cent., and in klyaore, 1,130,987, or 17 per erns.
During the decline of the Moghul empire and the raiding expeditious of the Malirattas, several of thepredatery races were actively plundering; armed bands of daeoits made their attacks even on large towns; and the armed and disciplined bodies known as Pinilara, composed of all races, traversed the country, till they were finally swept away in the war of 1817-18-19.
But the greatest alteration in the martial habits of the people has occurred amongst the north-went frontier tribes, who had long been inured to war. When first, after the fall of the Sikh power, the British came in contact with the Pathan, Brahni, and Baluch races of the N.W. Frontier, not a year passed by without raids on the Indian terri tories, and armies were needed to repel them ; but these raids are now extremely rare, and the democratic Councils are ready to afford redress. Perhaps the most remarkable instance of civilising a border race has occurred with the Karen on the borders of British Burma, where the Baptist mis sionaries, and notably Dr. and Mrs. Mason, have done more to subdue and civilise that race than armies could have accomplished.