MADRAS

MADRAS, a city of Hindustan, and the capital and seat of government of the presidency of the same name, is situated on the coast of Coromandel, on the western shore of the Bay of Bengal. The English possessed no fixed establishment here until A.D. 1639, when they received a grant from the Hindu dynasty of Bijanapur, then reigning at Chandergherry, permitting the erection of a fort. In consequence of this permission, Mr Day, the chief of the factory at Armegon, proceeded with great alacrity to the construction of a fortress, which was soon surrounded by a town; and this town he allowed to retain its Indian appellation, but the fort he named Fort George. The territory granted along with it extended 5 miles along the shore, and 1 mile inland. The fort is an irregular polygon, somewhat in the form of a semicircle, of which the sea-face is nearly a diameter, and presenting a front on that side of 500 yards. Towards the land, the fort presents a double line of fortifications, both bomb-proof. The sea-face is armed with heavy guns. Within the inclosure are the barracks, which are said to be capable of affording accommodation for 1000 men. Attached to the barracks is a bazaar for the supply of the troops; the other buildings within the fort are,—the old church, the exchange, and various government offices. A wide esplanade separates the fort from the Black Town of Madras. The latter is inhabited chiefly by natives. There are three broad streets running N. and S., and dividing the town into four nearly equal parts. These streets are well built, and contain many houses with upper storeys and terraced roofs. On the beach, parallel with these streets, is a line of public offices, including the supreme court, the Marine Board office, the custom-house, and the offices and storerooms of the principal European merchants. These are well finished buildings. In conspicuous situations in the town are the male and female orphan schools. The other buildings of note are,—the gaol of the supreme court, the mint, the Roman Catholic cathedral, the Church Mission chapel, the Armenian church, Trinity chapel, the general hospital, and medical school. Various suburbs, or divisions, have gradually grown up around the old town and are now included within the city. These are Royapooram, on the N. of the Black Town; Vepery, including Pursewakkum, situate to the W.; Chintadrapetta, separated from Vepery by the River Koom; Poodoopetta and Egmore, lying W. of Chintadrapetta; and Triplicane with St Thome, situate to the S. of the fort. The accession of these divisions has imparted an irregular shape to the city of Madras, the circumference of which is stated to be about 12 miles. The population has been estimated at 720,000. Triplicane is divided from the fort by the River Koom. About a mile from its mouth, this river divaricates, forming two nearly equal branches, the left, or more northern of which flows by the fort, while the right takes a direction first S., and subsequently S.E. The two branches meet each other about 300 yards from the sea, and inclose an island three-quarters of a mile in length, and of half that in breadth, laid out with roads, and ornamented in the centre by a statue of Sir Thomas Munro. On the bank of the right branch of the river are the government gardens. Government House is large and handsome; the floors, the walls, and the pillars, are of the most beautiful chunam of different colours, almost equal in splendour to marble itself. The roads are a great ornament to the place, being broad, and shaded on each side by a noble avenue of trees. Chepak Garden, the residence of the last Nawab of the Carnatic, is situate S.E. of Government Garden; and between it and the sea is a mosque of some architectural excellence, the only Mussulman place of worship of any importance in the city. The principal church belonging to the English establishment is that of St

Madras. George, situate in Royapetta. It is said to be very beautiful. St Andrew's church, built for the use of the members of the Church of Scotland, is in the southern part of the Vepery division. It has been regarded as a fine specimen of architecture and engineering skill; but Bishop Heber thought the form injudicious with a view to hearing. It was finished in 1820, at a cost of about £20,000. The European residents live in garden-houses, or villas, situate in compounds, or distinct inclosures, dispersed throughout the suburbs, and about the neighbourhood of the city, extending from 3 to 4 miles inland. These are generally of two storeys, constructed in a pleasing light style of architecture, terraced with porticos and verandahs supported by pillars.

In Lord Valentia's account of Madras, it is observed, that it would probably have been difficult to find a worse place for a capital than that chosen for Madras, on the extreme point of a coast where the current is most rapid, and where a tremendous surf breaks even in the finest weather. But the original error of fixing on this for the site of a great capital cannot now be recalled, the expense of removal to a more convenient spot would be so great. Owing to the exposed situation of Madras, it affords no secure anchorage; and there is always a great difficulty in landing from vessels, which generally moor in 9 fathoms, with the flag-staff W.N.W., about 2 miles from the shore. Any ship's boat that should attempt to cross the surf would inevitably perish; and, accordingly, the boats from ships anchor outside the broken water, and wait for the country boats to carry the passengers safely to the shore. These boats are of a particular construction, being built of soft wood, with flat bottoms. They are sewed together, and have not a nail in their whole construction, so that they are very light and pliable, and are borne many yards through the surf without injury, as they yield to the waves like leather. These boats require to be guided by seamen of experience and tried skill; and it is an extremely critical operation to conduct them through the surf. When they come within its influence, the cockswain stands up, and, under great agitation, marks time with his voice and his foot, whilst the rowers work their oars backwards until overtaken by the swell, which, curling up in its approach to the shore, sweeps the boat along with fearful violence. The rowers now ply every oar forward with their utmost vigour, to prevent the wave from carrying back the boat with its receding swell; and by a few successive surfs the boat is at length dashed high and dry on the shore. A species of floating machine, called a catamaran, formed of two or three light logs of wood, 8 or 10 feet in length, lashed together with a small piece of wood inserted between them, to serve as a stem-piece, is employed by the fishermen and lower classes of natives to carry them through the breakers. On these they go out to fish, or to carry letters, or small quantities of refreshments to ship, when no boats can venture out. They secure the letters in a pointed cap, where they cannot be damaged; and when the men happen to be washed off by the surf, they regain the catamarans by swimming, unless when they are attacked by a shark. The dexterous navigators of these frail vessels, who distinguish themselves by saving persons in danger, or by their care in conveying papers through the surf in dangerous weather, are rewarded with medals. European passengers, when they land at Madras, being ignorant of the language, manners, and customs of the country, necessarily rely on the natives for help; and accordingly passengers landing at Madras are immediately surrounded by numerous servants of all kinds, called dobashies, eager for employment. They undertake to transact for the Europeans all their necessary business, to buy all that is wanted, and to procure servants, tradesmen, palanquins, and the like.

Madras, when seen from the sea, presents a striking appearance, the fortifications of Fort St George being within

a few yards of the shore; and, at a distance, minarets and pagodas are seen mixed with trees and gardens. The public offices and storehouses are fine buildings, with colonnades to the upper storeys, supported on arched bases, covered with beautiful shell-mortar from Madras, which is hard, smooth, and polished. These being near the beach, which is always crowded, form interesting objects. At a distance, the low, flat, sandy shores extending to the N. and S., and the small hills that are seen inland, give an appearance of barrenness, which, however, improves on a closer inspection. Madras is surrounded by a level country, which in general exhibits a naked, brown, dusty plain, with few villages to enliven the scene, or any other objects to relieve the eye, except a range of abrupt detached hills to the S. The huts of the natives are covered with tiles, and are fully superior in their appearance to those in Bengal; and in the inns and choultries, also, which are common on the roads, travellers experience greater attention.

Madras being the seat of the government of the presidency, the governor, members of council, and public functionaries reside here, as do also the judges of the supreme court. The chief establishments of every department of the government are here, and there are various local establishments. Among these may be mentioned the police-office, the court for the recovery of small debts, the government savings-bank, the bank of Madras, and various insurance offices. Madras is the seat of an episcopal see. In addition to the principal church (St George's) there are about eight English churches and chapels of the United Church of England and Ireland. In the Scottish church of St Andrew, already mentioned, the worship is conducted by ministers in communion with the Established Church of Scotland, of whom two are chaplains in the service of the Company. The seceding body from the Established Scottish Church, calling itself the "Free Protestant Church of Scotland," maintain public worship in the hall of the Free Church Mission Institution. The Romanists have a bishop, or vicar-apostolic. The Wesleyans have five chapels, the Baptists two, the Independents one, and the American Mission two. Measures have been recently taken for the introduction of a new scheme of state education throughout India, in the benefits of which the city of Madras will largely participate. There is an agricultural and horticultural society, of which the governor is the patron. The Madras Literary Society enjoys the same distinguished patronage, and now adds to its title that of the "Auxiliary of the Royal Asiatic Society." About nine or ten newspapers are published at Madras, some of these three times a week, some twice, and some once only.

In 1744 Madras was besieged by the French from the Mauritius under M. de la Bourdonnais. The town was taken on the 10th of September, and was ransomed for £440,000, exclusive of plunder, which amounted to £200,000 more. All the British inhabitants were afterwards compelled to abandon the place. Madras was restored at the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, and evacuated by the French in August 1749, when it was found in a very improved condition, the bastions and batteries having been greatly enlarged and strengthened. The defences of the town were still, however, inferior to those of Fort St David, where the East India Company ordered the presidency to continue. Madras was again besieged in 1758 by the French under M. Lally. The siege commenced on the 17th of December, and was prosecuted with vigour till the 17th of February 1759, when the French were obliged precipitately to raise it. This was the last and most memorable siege which Madras ever sustained. The garrison consisted of 1758 European troops, 2200 Sepoys, and 150 European inhabitants. The besieging force consisted of 3500 Europeans, 2000 Sepoys, and 2000 native and European cavalry. Since this period Madras has never been assailed by an enemy, though nearly

approached by Hyder's cavalry in 1781, when they descended from the mountains to ravage the plains of the Carnatic. The population of the city of Madras, including the suburbs, has been estimated, as above observed, at 720,000. Lat. 13. 5., Long. 80. 21.

The presidency of Fort George, or of Madras, comprehends nearly the whole of India S. of the Krishna River, and also that large portion of the Deccan, the Northern Circars. Within these boundaries there are several native states. The rest of the country is under the immediate jurisdiction of the governor and council of Madras, and, for the collection of the revenue and the administration of justice, is divided into districts. The names of these, with their respective areas and amount of population, are set forth in the following tabular statement:—

The native states of Travancore and Cochin, and the hill zemindaries adjoining the British district of Vizagapatam are also under political and military management of this presidency. Mysore, though under the political management of the government of India, is subject, for all military purposes, to the jurisdiction of the Madras presidency, by the territories of which it is indeed almost completely surrounded. Their respective areas are stated as follows:—

And if to these aggregates be added the area and population of the territory of the Company in this presidency, the total area will amount to 183,892 square miles, and the total population to 27,515,368.

(Further particulars connected with the Madras presidency will be found under the article HINDUSTAN, and also under the names of the various provinces and districts into which the presidency is divided.) (E. T.)