a town of Hindustan, on the coast of Corcan, in the province of Bejapoor, which was sacked by the Portuguese in 1509, but was afterwards re-taken by the natives. Its principal trade consists in pepper and salt. It is eighty miles south from Bombay. Long. 72. 53. E. Lat. 17. 45. N.

DACCA JELALPORE, an extensive and rich district in the eastern quarter of the province of Bengal, situated principally between the twenty-third and twenty-fourth degrees of north latitude. It is bounded on the north by Mymensingh, on the south by Tipperah and Backergunge, on the east by Tipperah, and on the west by Rajshahi and Jessore. Prior to the arrangement adopted in 1800, by which this province was separated from the Backergunge jurisdiction, it was one of the largest and most valuable in Bengal, stretching as far south as the sea, and reaching north to the Garrow Mountains. The country is divided into a great number of valuable zemindaries or estates, and is extremely productive in rice, being esteemed the granary of Bengal. It is intersected by the Ganges and Brahmaputra, two of the largest rivers in the world, which, with their branches crossing the country in all directions, form a complete inland navigation, every town and village having its canal or river; and the general mode of travelling or conveying goods being by water. By the confluence of these two great rivers rushing impetuously to the sea, great changes are often made in the boundaries of estates, the river encroaching on some parts and abandoning others. Hence it almost invariably happens that as much is gained on one side as is lost on the other by the operation of the current and the opposing tides; whilst repeated overflows, with rich deposits of mould washed down by the stream, give extraordinary fertility to the extensive inundated borders of the river. But notwithstanding this advantage, there is no district in Bengal where there is a greater quantity of waste land, the whole of which is claimed by individuals who, though they do not cultivate it themselves, always exact a recompense for the use of it from others. Rice is the great staple product of the land, of which the abundance and cheapness is extraordinary, being sold in years of plenty at the rate of 610 lbs. per rupee. Its other productions are betel nut; a species of cotton necessary to form the stripes of the finest muslins, for which the city of Dacca has long been celebrated; and also tobacco.

This province is distinguished for its various and extensive fabrics of cotton. It has manufactures of plain as well as flowered, striped, or chequered muslins; and the beautiful fabrics of Dacca surpass in fineness the produce of any other country. Yet the natives assert that the art has fallen off, and that when the Mogul court was in full splendour, pieces were made so fine that they could only be woven under water; and when spread on the grass could scarcely be distinguished from the morning dew. But the demand for these finer muslins has now fallen off so much, that many of the families who possess by hereditary instruction the art of making these fabrics, have desisted, on account of the difficulty which they experience in finding a market for them. In many parts of India the native fabrics are rivalled by the manufactures of Britain, which being chiefly the produce of machinery, can, after bearing the expense of a long voyage, be sold cheaper in India than the produce of domestic industry. Dimities of various kinds and patterns, and cloths resembling diaper and damask linen, are also made. The export of all these articles has, however, greatly decreased. This country is entirely alluvial, and in the rainy season is mostly overflowed, exhibiting the appearance of an inland sea, with towns and villages rising out of the water. The principal towns of this district are Dacca, Narraingunge, Sunergong, and Rajanagur. During the Mahommadan government this district was ruled by a deputy of the nabob, called the naib nazim. The last person who held the office was Jessarut Khan, who having been ordered by Cossim Ali Khan in the year 1763 to put all the English at Dacca to death, very humanely sent them under the protection of a trusty guard. to Calcutta, for which service he afterwards received a pension, which was continued to his descendants. The population is estimated at about one million, the majority of whom are Mahomedans.