This island, which is the seat of government for the western part of India, is situated in Lat. 18° 57', Long. 72° 53'. Its length from north to south is eight miles, and its breadth about three. It is separated from the mainland by an arm of the sea, and forms, in conjunction with the adjacent islands of Salsette on the north, and Colaba with Old Woman's Island on the south, a large, commodious, and well-sheltered harbour. The two islands on the south, separated from Bombay and from each other by narrow channels, have been united by causeways, which are now entirely raised above the sea at high water. To the north Bombay is connected with Salsette also, by a causeway with an arched stone bridge; and, more recently, a second causeway has been thrown over the strait for the purposes of the Great India Peninsula railway. The islands thus linked together form a continuous breakwater, stretching for several miles from north to south. Near the southern extremity of Colaba Island stands the lighthouse, a building of circular form, rising from the sea to the height of 150 feet, and showing its light at the distance of twenty-one miles. Within the harbour, and about a mile from the city of Bombay, is Cross Island, N.E. of which, and at the distance of three miles, is Butcher Island. Abreast of the latter, but more to the eastward, lies the celebrated Island of Elephanta. Caranja Island, to the southward of Elephanta, on the east side of the harbour, and opposite its entrance, is of considerable extent, being four miles long and nearly two broad; it is covered with woods, and has little elevation with the exception of two remarkable hills called Great and Little Caranja Hills. Besides the above there are two small islands, Oondaree and Kundaree, lying at the entrance of the harbour.

The town of Bombay within the fort is nearly a mile in length, from the Apollo Gate to that of the Bazaar, and about a quarter of a mile broad in the widest part, from the custom-house across the Green to Church Gate, which is nearly in the centre between the Apollo and the Bazaar Gates. There are likewise two gates towards the sea, having commodious wharfs and cranes built out from each, with a landing-place for passengers. Between these gates is Bombay Castle, a regular quadrangle, built of hard and durable stone, and having the advantage, in one of the bastions, of a large reservoir of water. The fortifications are extensive, and they have been improved in proportion as the place has risen into greater importance from its increasing trade. They have received a considerable accession of strength from Dungansoe Hill, which commanded the town, having been included within the fort; and towards the sea they are extremely strong, the harbour being completely commanded by ranges of batteries placed one above another.

In the centre of the town is a large open space called the Green, around which are many large, well-built, and handsome houses. Here is also the church, which has an extremely neat and light appearance; and on the left of the Church Gate is the government-house, which is a showy edifice, but liable to the inconvenience of having the largest apartment in each floor a passage-room to the others. On the right of the Church Gate is the bazaar, which is crowded and populous. Here the native merchants reside; and at the entrance to the street stands the theatre, which is a handsome building. In the year 1803 this part of the town was greatly injured by a destructive fire, which destroyed nearly three-fourths of the bazaar, together with the barracks, custom-house, and many other public buildings, besides property of immense value belonging to native merchants. Another extensive conflagration occurred in 1845, when nearly 200 houses were destroyed. During its progress, information reached the police that one of the houses, the upper part of which was in flames, contained on the lower basement a number of barrels of gunpowder. A party of seamen had been drafted from the ships in the harbour to assist in arresting the progress of the fire; and these men, with the cool intrepidity which characterizes the sons of the ocean, forced their way into the burning premises, and actually succeeded in removing the entire quantity of powder, consisting of several thousand pounds in weight. A large and handsome church, intended as a monument to the British heroes who fell on the banks of the Sutlej, has been recently built on the island of Colaba, where the cantonments are situated. About a mile N.W. of the fort is the Black Town.

At Bombay the rise of the tides has been found sufficient to admit the construction of docks on a great scale. The highest spring tides rise to the height of seventeen feet, and the height of the ordinary tides is fourteen feet. In consequence of these natural advantages, the dry dock of Bombay has scarcely its equal for size and convenience; having three divisions, with a pair of strong gates to each, so that it is capable of receiving three ships of the line at a time. Near this dock is a convenient place to heave down several ships at once; and this operation is well executed, and with great expedition, by the Parsees, who are generally accounted excellent ship-carpenters. Here is a rope-walk, equal to any in England, with the single exception of the king's yard at Portsmouth, where cables and all sorts of lesser cordage are manufactured. It has also a covering to protect the workmen from the heat or inclemency of the weather. The dockyard is large and well contrived, having ample supplies of naval stores deposited in the warehouses, together with large quantities of timber for repairing and building ships, and forges for all kinds of smith-work. With these advantages Bombay claims a distinguished rank as a naval arsenal. Many merchant-ships of from 600 to 1300 tons, partly for the country trade and partly for the service of the East India Company, have been built in its docks, and, in beauty of construction, good workmanship, and durability, they have been considered superior to any other class of merchant-ships in the world. Some ships of the line, and several frigates for the British navy, have also been built at this port. Among them may be mentioned the Minden, a 74-gun ship launched in 1810; this was followed some years later by the Wellesley, also a 74-gun ship; and more recently the Mecanee, of 90 guns has been added to the list. These ships were all built of Mahabar teak, which is esteemed superior to any in India. The teak forests, from which supplies of wood are derived, lie along the western side of the Ghant Mountains, and other contiguous ridges to the north and east of Bassein; the numerous streams which descend from them affording water-carryage for the timber. The docks belong to the Company. They are entirely occupied by Parsees, who are esteemed remarkably skilful and assiduous. Bombay, thus possessing, in the skill of its workmen, the excellence of its timber, and the superiority of its docks, all that is necessary for a naval arsenal, is a station of the first importance to the British power in India.

From its position, Bombay commands an extensive commerce with the countries situated in the Persian and Arabian Gulfs. It also possesses much facility of commercial intercourse with different parts of the territories subject to the other presidencies of India, and it carries on a valuable trade with Europe, America, and China. The chief articles of export are cotton, cashmere shawls, wool, opium, coffee, pepper, ivory, and gums. The principal imports are British manufactures, raw silk from China, wine, beer, and tea. The foreign trade has more than doubled within the last twenty years; and its exports alone now amount to seven millions sterling. The value (in rupees) of the imports and exports to the United Kingdom has increased thus:

| Year | Imports | Exports | |--------|---------|---------| | 1813-14 | Rs. 926,980 | Rs. 3,051,543 | | 1823-24 | 5,571,313 | 5,953,859 | | 1833-34 | 9,042,390 | 10,184,735 | | 1843-44 | 24,335,718 | 17,046,748 | | 1852-53 | 29,319,750 | 29,385,955 |

The shipping that entered and cleared the port in 1852-53, was as follows:

| Type | Arrived | Departed | |---------------|---------|----------| | Square-rigged | 522 | 522 | | Country craft | 41,719 | 41,696 | | Total | 42,241 | 42,218 |

Population. According to the census of 1849 Bombay Island, with Colaba, contains a population of 566,119. This amount is inclusive of the military and also of the floating population of the harbour. More than one-half of the inhabitants are Hindus. The Mahometans somewhat exceed one-fifth of the entire population. Next in point of numbers are the Parsees. Many of this last-mentioned class are extensively engaged in commerce; they are the brokers and factors of Europeans, and share largely in most of the foreign speculations of European mercantile houses. They are a rich, industrious, and active body of men, who contribute greatly to the prosperity of the settlement. The Parsees are the descendants of the ancient fire-worshippers of Persia, who took refuge in Khorassan upon the conquest of that country by the Moslems in the seventh century. Their first appearance in India occurred about the year 768, and their earliest settlement was the island of Diu, on the south coast of the peninsula of Kattwar. From thence they migrated to Surat and Broach, and finally to Bombay. The various castes into which the total population of Bombay is distributed, and the proportion comprised in each, are thus particularized:

| Caste | Number | |-----------------------|--------| | Jains, Lingachs, or Boodhists | 1,902 | | Brahmins | 6,936 | | Hindus of other castes | 259,995 | | Musselmans | 124,153 | | Parsees | 114,698 | | Jews | 1,132 | | Native Christians | 7,456 | | Indo-Britons | 1,333 | | Indo-Portuguese | 5,417 | | Pure European | 5,088 | | Seeede, Negro, African | 889 | | Other castes | 7,118 | | **Total** | **566,119** |

It has been often remarked that the people of India differ from Europeans, not only in race, in language, and in creed, but also in their manners and modes of thought. A striking illustration of the truth of the observation is afforded in the organization and existence to a very recent period of the great plundering confederacy of Bombay. This partnership, composed of upwards of forty individuals, and affording employment to between two and three hundred subordinates, had been established upwards of thirty years for the receipt of goods stolen from merchant-ships. The harbour was the principal scene of plunder, where the members of the gang were each day systematically distributed at the different quays, from which their boats and canoes were sent off to the loading and unloading ships. The plunder obtained was conveyed openly to the shore as though legally acquired, and thence transported to the partnership warehouses, where each morning it was brought to auction without any attempt at concealment. The books were kept with strict regularity, and the division of profits made with scrupulous honesty; two shares being invariably reserved to be distributed in charity. This successful perpetration of offences, though practised without interruption for a series of years, had been carried on without suspicion on the part of the European officers of the government; while the silence of the natives was secured either by the respect for caste, or by resort to intimidation. It was not till the year 1843 that the system was discovered, and those concerned in it brought to justice.

The Company's naval force at Bombay, including frigates, Naval iron steamers, and other craft, consists of forty-six vessels, and force to man this navy a regular establishment of officers and seamen is required. The western coast of India, from the shores of the Persian Gulf to Goa, was formerly infested by hordes of pirates, who were distinguished, particularly those in the northerly tracts, by courage, address, and habits of extreme ferocity. It was to protect the country trade against the depredations of these banditti, who had haunted those seas since the time of Alexander the Great, that the East India Company found it necessary to maintain an armed maritime force.

The military force of the presidency, composed of the Military regular troops of the Crown and Company, but exclusive of local and police corps, amounts to 41,426 men, of whom 10,244 are Europeans, and 31,182 natives. If the strength of the local and police corps be added, the aggregate will be swelled to 59,430. An augmentation of force being required, consequent upon the recent extension of the British dominions in India, another European regiment is about to be added to the infantry of this presidency. The principal divisions of the Bombay army are as follow:

| Presidency Garrison—Headquarters, Bombay | European | Native | Total | |------------------------------------------|----------|--------|-------| | Southern Division—Headquarters, Belgaum | 678 | 3,264 | 3,942 | | Poona Division—Headquarters, Poona | 1,399 | 8,117 | 9,516 | | Northern Division—Headquarters, Ahmedabad | 3,736 | 10,729 | 14,465| | Asseerghur fortress | 14 | 573 | 587 | | Aden force | 659 | 1,405 | 2,064 | | Sindh Division—Headquarters, Kurrahees | 2,461 | 12,964 | 15,425| | Rajpootana field force | 181 | 3,757 | 3,938 | | Deduct Madras troops | 10,504 | 2,637 | 13,141| | Deduct local and police corps | 10,297 | 40,133 | 50,430| | Total regular troops, Crown and Company's | 10,244 | 31,182 | 41,426|

Education.

A board of instruction presides over the government educational establishments of this presidency. These institutions consist of two principal classes. The first comprehends all the vernacular schools in which knowledge is communicated through the medium of the native languages. Under the second are ranked the institutions in which the higher branches of learning are taught through the medium of English. Various particulars connected with these seminaries are detailed in the following table.

| Expense | Teachers | Pupils | |---------|----------|--------| | English and mixed Instruction | | | | Elphinstone Institutions—College | 30 | 42 | | Schools (two) | 520 | | Branch schools (two) | 8 | 404 | | Grant Medical College | 6 | 27 | | Poona school | 2 | 169 | | Ahmednagar school | 1 | 52 | | Sarat school | 9 | 290 | | Ahmedabad school | 2 | 29 | | Broach school | 1 | 67 | | Ruttanaghyerry school | 1 | 51 | | Dharwar school | 2 | 40 | | Poona Sanscrit College | ... | 305 | | Total | 62 | 2,066 |

Vernacular Instruction.

| No. of Schools | |----------------| | Presidency | 7 | | First Division | 133 | | Second Division | 37 | | Third Division | 56 | | Total | 233 |

In 1827 a supreme court of justice was established at Bombay, constituted under letters-patent from the crown, under powers granted by act of parliament. It consists of a chief justice and one puisne judge, from whose decision an appeal lies to the queen in council. The modes of procedure in this court are assimilated to those of the courts at Westminster; but its jurisdiction is restricted to the city of Bombay, except in regard to British subjects.

Facilities of communication, so important to the prosperity of commerce, agriculture, and manufactures, as well as to railways, essential to social improvements, are for the most part rare in India. In the Bombay territories government has made considerable efforts to effect beneficial changes in this respect, but the difficulties are many, various, and sometimes almost insurmountable. The great expense of constructing roads of materials calculated for durability, with drains, bridges, and other appurtenances essential to their completeness, and of maintaining them in a state of efficiency, is but one among those difficulties. Another is the character of the country to be traversed; roads, in many cases connecting places of some importance, have in the intermediate space to pass through a tract of country little if at all removed from the character of a desert. A further, and in a great degree a peculiar difficulty arises from the frequent deficiency of water. The construction of roads in the hot climate of Bombay is useless unless water can be found for the consumption of the beasts of burden, and this has frequently to be provided by additional works, involving an increased outlay. If to these sources of difficulty and expense be added that arising from the rugged and mountainous character of a large part of the country; the feeling likely to be excited will be that of surprise that so much should have been effected. The grand obstacle, after leaving the coast, is the range of mountains known as the Western Ghauts, the principal passes in which are at present the Tull and the Bhore Ghaut, traversed by what may be termed two radical roads, connecting the port of Bombay with the interior. A railway from the city of Bombay, traversing the country in a northerly direction, and intended to effect a junction with the Calcutta and Delhi trunk line, is now under construction, and has been opened as far as Tannah. A branch line from this will connect the cotton districts of the valley of Berar with the port of shipment on the western coast; while another in a south-eastern direction, via Poonah and Bellary, is projected, to facilitate communication with Madras.

History. Bombay Island appears to have been first occupied by the Portuguese about the year 1530, having been previously dependent on the ruler of Guzerat. In 1661 it was ceded by the crown of Portugal in full sovereignty to Charles the Second of England, by the treaty of marriage concluded with that power when he espoused the Infanta; and shortly after it was transferred by royal grant to the East India Company. In process of time it superseded in importance the factory at Surat, and became the principal British settlement on the western coast. Aurungzebe, emperor of Delhi, invaded the island in 1688 and laid siege to the town, but was prevailed upon to withdraw his troops upon the receipt of a sum of money.

The extension of the British dominions on the western side of India was both slow and subject to frequent checks. Previously to the year 1775 the possessions of the East India Company in this quarter of the empire were limited to the island of Bombay, the harbour of Bankote, with Port Victoria, and the factories of Ahmedabad, Broach, and Surat. In the year last-mentioned, Salsette and the adjacent islands were obtained by treaty with the Peishwa. About the same period various acquisitions were made in Guzerat, but these, after a brief occupation by their new masters, again reverted to the Mahrattas. It was not till the close of the eighteenth century that the company obtained the grant of the city and territory of Surat, nor until the commencement of the nineteenth, that the district of Broach became permanently a British possession. By the treaty of Baroda in 1805, portions of the collectories of Ahmedabad and Kaira were ceded by the Guicowar, as were the ports of Malwan, Vingora, and some others, by the rajas of Kolapore and Sa-wunt Warree. These, however, in the aggregate constitute but a fragment of the territory now comprised within the presidency, the great bulk of which is of still more recent acquisition. One vast accession took place in 1818, upon the downfall of the Peishwa, when the possessions of that potentate were incorporated with the Company's dominions. Since that period the limits of the British empire on the side of Western India have been still further extended by the annexation of Sinde, and the transfer to the Company of the Angrias territories, and the principality of Sattara. The first of these became subject to British rule by the results of war; the latter two lapsed to the paramount power upon the failure of heirs to their last native rulers.