Excerpt from The Geography of British India, Political Physical<br><br>In the year 1862 I submitted to the late Earl of Elgin, soon after he had taken his seat as Viceroy and Governor General, a detailed statistical system for the uniform pre paration Of the annual Administration Reports ordered by Parliament in 1853, with a view to the taking of a Census Of all India in 1871, and the compilation Of an Imperial Gazetteer. Mr. Samuel Laing, who was at that time Indian Finance Minister, warmly supported the scheme. The Calcutta Statistical Committee was accordingly appointed and my system, adapted from that Of the International Statistical Congress, was carried into effect after three years Of Official discussion in India, and in the India Office when Sir Stafford Northcote was Secretary of State. Each Of the Twelve Provinces Of India, and many of the larger Of the Hundred and Fifty-three Ruling Native States, now render an account Of their stewardship to the Governor General in Council, and to the Secretary of State, for Parliament, according to this uniform scheme.<br><br>The population of the Provinces Of India were for the first time numbered about the end Of 1871 and beginning Of 1872, but not Simultaneously. It was not till February 1881 that India was ready for a synchronous Census Of all its peoples alike in the 239 Districts and in the 153 Ruling States. The preliminary total results are embodied in this volume, and are published in England for the first time. The detailed figures, in districts and towns, are given in the case of nearly all the Provinces and States. It was not thought desirable to delay the appearance Of the book for another year, when the details Of the North Western and Madras Provinces, and Of Mysore and some of the Native States, may be expected.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.