Bassein District, 1908
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts.Many units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
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Bassein District
Physical aspects
District of the Irrawaddy Division, Lower Burma, lying between 15° 50' and 17° 30' N. and 94° 11' and 95° 28 E., with an area of 4, 127 square miles. It forms an irregular wedge-shaped strip of coast land and delta country, narrowing from north to south, in the extreme south-west corner of the Province. It is bounded on the north by Henzada and Sandoway Districts ; on the east by Ma-ubin and Myaungmya ; and on the south and west by the Bay of Bengal, which curves round its southern and western edges at the elbow formed by Pagoda Point. The District is divided into unequal parts by the Arakan Yoma, which enters Bassein at its asoects north-western corner, and runs down its western side at no great distance from the sea. The main portion lies to the east of this range, consisting of a flat alluvial plain, the northern end of which is rich rice land. Farther south, between the Ngawun and Daga rivers, it is flooded and poor. To the east of the Daga and southwards towards Bassein town the land is slightly higher and more fertile. To the west of the Ngawun, as far as the bifurcation of the Daga, the land is flooded and generally uncultivable. Below that point it is higher and of fair quality, while south of the town of Bassein it is typically deltaic, intersected by innumerable tidal creeks, marshy, and covered with mangrove jungle, with some stretches of rice land here and there. In the south the coast-line consists for the most part of a gently shelving sandy beach, backed by swampy forest land ; in the west beyond Pagoda Pf)int, where the hills enter the sea abruptly, the coast is rocky and difficult of approach. With the exception of the Arakan Yoma, which here is comparatively low, there is no high land in the District. The whole face of the country is intersected by tidal channels, but they are for the most part unimportant waterways. The principal river is the Ngawun (or Bassein), which, leaving the Irrawaddy a short distance above Henzada, pursues a course almost due south through the whole length of the District, till it falls into the sea at Hainggyi. Its chief tributaries are the Daga, joining it about 14 miles north of Bassein, and the Panmawadi, whose waters fall into it some 28 miles south of that town. The Bassein river has two mouths, but the eastern branch is silted up with sand and is useless for navigation. The western or main branch, on the other hand, is easily navigable by ocean-going vessels of a draught up to 2 7 feet, and is the main waterway to the town of Bassein.
Numerous stretches of water are found in the District ; but the one real lake, called the Inye, has a circumference of 7 miles, and averages 15 feet in depth in the dry season. It is situated in the Kyonpyaw township, about 4 miles from Kyonpyaw in the north-east of the District. Islands are plentiful in the lower reaches of the Bassein river ; but the only two deserving of special mention are Hainggyi or Negrais, near Pagoda Point, where the first British trading settlement in Burma was started, and Diamond Island, called by the Burmans Thamihla ('beautiful daughter'), a low wooded islet about a square mile in area at the very mouth of the river.
The soil of a portion of the northern part consists of the usual agglomeration of clay and silt deposit common to alluvial rice-growing plains. North of Bassein town and east of Ngaputaw considerable beds of laterite are met with, covered in places with sandy deposits. On the west coast a remarkable patch of calcareous sandstone occurs. The Nummulitic or eocene group of rocks is well developed ; in the Yoma and in the south these have been termed the Negrais beds. Subordinate to the sandstone an irregular bed of conglomerate occurs, which is, however, marked only near Ywatpa, where there is a so-called mud volcano. This is really only a small vent discharging marsh-gas, connected geologically, no doubt, with the mud volcanoes of Arakan. In the south, at Tonbo and Kyaukthinbaw, limestone of the very best quality is found. The supply is practically inexhaustible, the locality is convenient for working, and in consequence this area has been largely drawn on by the railway for ballasting the lately completed line from Rangoon to Bassein. Soapstone in small quantities is found in the Arakan Yoma, chiefly on the western slopes.
The botany of Bassein is similar to that of Hanthawaddy District. Large areas of mangrove swamp are found near the rivers, and inland are evergreen tropical forests. Palms of various kinds are common. The main varieties of timber trees are enumerated under the heading of Forests.
Tigers are scarce ; but elephants, sdmbar, bison, leopards, and bears are fairly common in the western tracts towards the Yoma. The rhinoceros is nearly extinct, being ruthlessly hunted for its blood, which is accounted a valuable curative medium by the Burmans, among whom it sells for its weight in silver. In the less-developed parts the smaller kinds of deer and also wild hog were plentiful, but are being rapidly exterminated with nets. Crocodiles are found in most of the tidal creeks, and there are rich turtle-beds to the south near the coast.
The climate is rather relaxing, though the heat in summer is tempered to some extent by the strong sea-breezes which spring up in the after- noon. The mean of the maxinmm temperatures in the hotter months is generally about 95°, that of the minimum temperatures about 75°.
The rainfall is heavy, though, owing to the shelter afforded, by the Arakan Yoma, it is not to be compared in volume with what the adjoin- mg District of Sandoway receives. The annual average at the District head-quarters for the ten years ending 1904 has been 113 inches, while at the other recording stations it is highest at Ngaputaw in the south (129 inches), and lowest at Kyonpyaw in the north-east (88 inches).
The great cyclone of May 6, 1902, which affected the whole Burma coast, did some damage in the south and west of the District. Part of the central tract is inundated annually, but serious floods are not known.
History
Little is known of the early history of the District. Its Burmese name is Pathein, though how and when this was corrupted into Bassein is far from clear. In old Talaing histories the thirty- two cities of Bassein are mentioned in a. D. 625 as forming part of the newly established kingdom of Pegu. For many centuries after this Bassein was the scene of constant struggles between the Talaings and the Burmans. The port of Bassein has from early days been a trading centre of some importance. In 1687, after two unsuccessful attempts to obtain a footing on the Irrawaddy delta, the East India Company occupied Negrais, an island now known as Hainggyi, at the mouth of the Bassein river, and a trading settlement was established there. In 1757 the Company obtained from Alaung- paya, the king of Ava, who two years previously had seized Bassein from the Peguans, the permanent cession of Negrais and of a piece of land at Bassein, in return for aid promised against the enemies of the Burmans. On October 5, 1759, however, nearly all the Europeans in the settle- ment were treacherously murdered by the Burmese officials, on suspicion of having helped the Talaings (or Peguans) against Alaungpaya. The brick walls of the factory are still standing. Negotiations in 1801-2 to regain Negrais were fruitless ; and the British envoy was treated with characteristic insolence, the king of Ava, Bodawpaya, being then at the summit of his power. But in 1824, during the first Burmese War, Bassein was taken and held as a pledge by the British till the evacuation of Pegu in accordance with the terms of the Treaty of Yandabo. During the second Burmese War, in 1852, the town was stormed by the British troops, and finally occupied. Shortly after the annexation it was pro- posed to move the District head-quarters from Bassein to what was thought a more suitable site nearer the mouth of the Bassein river ; but the beginnings of the new civil station, which was to have been called Dalhousie, were wrecked by a cyclone in 1856-7, and the scheme was abandoned. Since 1854, when organized crime was checked by Major Fytche, the District has been quiet, except during the Bogale rebellion, which broke out simultaneously with the guerrilla war in Upper Burma (1806). The District as at present constituted has, so far as its external boundaries are concerned, been in existence since 1893, when a portion of its area was added to the newly created District of Myaungmya.
The most important shrines are the Shwemoktaw, the Mahabawdi, the Tagaung, and the Shwezigon pagodas in the town of Bassein itself ; the Shinthedat pagoda at Kanni ; the Dipayon pagoda at Mezali ; the Hmawdin pagoda on a sea-girt eminence at the southern- most extremity of the District.
Population
The population at the last four enumerations was as follows : (1872) 202,428, (i88i) 268,169, (1891) 320,973, and papulation. (1901) 391,427. The principal statistics of area and population in 1901 are shown in the following table: —
The growth of population has been rapid, amounting to 45 per cent, since 1872 ; but it is likely to be less marked in future, as the District is said to have fewer attractions for immigrants than the adjoining delta areas. Except in the Thabaung and Ngaputaw townships, where there are hilly tracts, the density is high. There are only two towns of over 5,000 inhabitants : Bassein, the head-quarters of the District, and Ngathainggyaung. The population is chiefly Buddhist (348,100, or 89 per cent.). Christians come next with 22,400; Hindus number 12,600, and Musalmans 6,400. Burmese is spoken by 287,300 persons and Karen by 84,100, a figure which indicates that nearly all the Karens use their own vernacular. Though Talaings are numerous, the Talaing language appears to be hardly spoken at all in Bassein, while in the neighbouring District of Myaungmya it is still the speech of one Talaing out of four.
Burmans numbered 271,800 in 1901; Karens, 85,300 (mostly Pwos) ; Arakanese, 6,300; Talaings, 4,700. There are 1,200 Chinese, only 280 of whom are females. More than half the Musalmans and nearly two- thirds of the Hindus live in Bassein town. The agricultural population in 1901 was returned at 259,100, or 66 per cent, of the total.
The large Christian population (more numerous than in any District of the Province except Toungoo) is chiefly due to the Karen converts of the American Baptist Mission, of whom 13,890 returned themselves as Baptists in 1901, and who also probably formed a large proportion of the 5,409 Christians who returned no denomination. Roman Catholics and Anglicans (principally natives) number more than 1,200 each. The total of native Christians was 22,000. The American Baptist Mission works among both the Karens and the Burmans. The Roman Catholics have three mission stations in the District.
Agriculture
The conditions of agriculture are generally uniform. The richest land lies to the north and north-east. In the north the soil is composed of a rich silt-impregnated loam, protected from inunda- tion by an extensive system of Government embank- ments, while in the north-east the land consists of new clearings of rich tree-jungle. The southern portion of the tract north of the Daga is liable to floods caused by the back-wash from the Ngawun. South of the Daga the land is slightly higher and consequently of poorer quality, but it falls rapidly south of the town of Bassein. The Ngaputaw town- ship, except for some high ground in the Thongwa circle, is flat and marshy, the soil is thin, and the surface of the land is intersected by tidal creeks. On the west bank of the Ngawun the lower levels are as a rule flooded, owing to the embankment on the east bank of that stream; and the ground gradually rises from the river to the hills, where cultivation is found only in minute patches on the gentler slopes, or in the valleys between the hill ranges. About 37 miles of the Ngawun embankment lie within the limits of the District. This work, with its continuation northward in Henzada, forms a raised embankment 151 miles in length, protecting from inundation about 1,600 square miles of country.
The methods of cultivation exhibit little variety in the different tracts. Ploughing is performed with a rough wooden plough, consisting of a transverse bar from 7 to 8 feet long, with seven, eight, or nine pointed wooden teeth fixed in it. This is drawn in every direction across the field, more or less frequently according to the quality of the soil. The rice is then ordinarily transplanted from the nurseries in which it has been raised. In the Ngaputaw township, however, the grain is generally sown broadcast, the soil here being poorer, and the cost of labour high. In the flooded portions of the District transplanting is not possible till October, and the success of the crop then altogether depends on the sufficiency or otherwise of the later rains.
The main agricultural statistics for 1903-4 are shown below, areas being in square miles ; —
In the same year 802 square miles were under rice kaukkyi). Mayin, or hot-season rice, is grown, but only to a small extent. Garden culti- vation covered 41 square miles, of which the plantain groves of the Kyonpyaw township on the banks of the Daga constitute about a third. The dani palm is cultivated in the Ngaputaw and Bassein townships on 2,100 acres, and tobacco on 2,700 acres in the Ngathainggyaung town- ship in the north of the District. The size of the average agricultural holding is about 18 acres.
No efforts are made by the husbandmen to improve the quality of the crop by selection of seed, or to increase the out-turn by artificial manuring, though some years ago the properties of basic slag as a fertilizer were tested. Nor is any improvement likely to occur so long as the Bassein milling firms refuse to give higher rates for better-class paddy. Experiments in the cultivation of tobacco have not found favour with the local agriculturists. Agricultural advances, generally for purchase of cattle or seed-grain, are eagerly taken up, especially in the Bassein subdivision, where cattle-disease is particularly rife. The yearly loss of cattle is enormous, and more stringent measures to eradi- cate disease are required. The total amount advanced in 1903-4 was Rs. 15,140.
The cattle of Bassein are of the common breeds of the country, and, except in the Ngathainggyaung subdivision, are only of ordinary quality. In the north, however, where the grazing facilities are good, the live-stock, and especially the bullocks, are above the average. Scarcely any Indian cattle are kept, except in Bassein and Ngathainggyaung towns. As is usually the case in the delta Districts, where land com- munications are not good, ponies are scarce and the local breed is of poor quality. Beasts imported from Prome and other breeding centres command high prices. Goats are few in number.
The grazing is ample, and no difficulties are encountered in feeding stock. The grazing-grounds are, however, largely devoid of shade, and this fact and the badness of the water-supply in the hot season are the principal causes of disease. The total area of grazing-ground actually reserved is 104,852 acres, and the total number of cattle in 1903-4 was 153,700, showing about three-fourths of an acre per head of stock.
Fisheries
Numerous fresh-water fisheries exist, a full account of which will be found in a report by Major Maxwell, published in 1904. They lie for the most part in the north-east of the District. The most important fishery is the Inye Lake in the Kyonpyaw township, the lease of which fetches about Rs. 28,000 annually. Of turtles, both the loggerhead and the green variety are plentiful along the southern coast. The most valuable bank is that at Diamond Island, from which Major Maxwell estimates an out-turn of one and three-quarter millions of turtles' eggs annually, valued at more than a quarter of a lakh. The District fishery revenue amounted to 2 9 lakhs in 1903-4.
The forests present two types. The first is found along both slopes of the Yoma, and is evergreen, interspersed with patches of bamboo. On the western slope it has been greatly overworked in the past, and steps are being taken to ' reserve ' large portions. This tract contains pytngado, pyi?ima, and about thirty other kinds of timber, and provides large quantities of canes and bamboos used in the fisheries all over the delta and for building. The second type of forest is marshy and tidal, and contains various species of mangrove, kanazo, and other inferior woods, used mainly for fuel. Owing to unrestrained clearing of forest in the north-east, fuel will probably be scarce before long in that quarter. The area of protected and ' reserved ' forests is 208 square miles, and that of unprotected but 'reserved' forests 76 square miles. The forest receipts in 1903-4 amounted to a lakh.
The only minerals are pottery clay, laterite, limestone, and sandstone, and they are of little commercial importance. The requirements of the newly constructed railway have brought about a temporary development of the limestone and sandstone industry ; but, this demand satisfied, the further working of these mineral resources is likely to stop. Laterite is worked in a spasmodic fashion to meet the requirements of the Public Works department or the Bassein municipality, and pottery clay is collected by the pot-makers of Sinobo and Kwinlya ; but there is no systematic working of minerals.
Trade and Communications
A little gold and silver work is done in Bassein, but it is ordinarily of poor quality. The best-known hand industries are pot-making and the manufacture of umbrellas. Glazed pottery is made principally at Sinobo near Bassein, and at Kwinlya below Ngathainggyaung. The Bassein umbrella is made of paper or pith, and is generally decorated with elaborate hand-painted floral designs. The country salt, known as kymsa, is used largely in the making commun^icattons. of ngapi, pressed fish or salted fish paste, which is extensively manufactured in the District. From 30 to 40 parts of salt are mixed with 100 parts of fish to make this. A full description of the methods of manufacture is given in the fishery report referred to above, which enumerates eighteen kinds of ngapi, all made in different ways and all bearing different names. It is customary in some cases for the bark of the ondon-ixee (Tetranthera latirifolia) to be pounded up and mixed with the ngapi, its object being to prevent decrease of weight through shrinkage.
The principal factories of Bassein are the rice-mills, of which there are eight, five owned by British firms and three by German. Another, managed by a foreign firm, is in process of construction, and a few minor concerns are the property of residents of Bassein. The rice turned out is of the kind known as ' cargo rice,' i. e. one-fifth of the husk is left on the milled product.
Saw-mills are the only other factories of importance, the most im- portant being one owned by the Sgaw-Karen Baptist Mission. The number of logs sawn in it in 1901 was 4,500, but the completion of the railway and the consequent demand for sleepers has considerably increased the output since then. Pyingado is the principal timber dealt with in the mills. Salt is obtained in the Ngaputaw township by concentration under solar heat, and then by boiling.
The maritime export trade of Bassein is practically confined to rice, which is grown in the District and milled in the town into ' cargo rice ' prior to export to Europe. In 1903-4 the exports of rice were 152,000 tons, valued at 104 lakhs. The total imports by sea in the same year were valued at only Rs. 1,35,000. Owing to the absence in most of the mills of plant for the production of ' white rice,' the exports to India are insignificant. Ordinarily the most important oversea imports are salt, coal, and coco-nuts. Salt comes mainly from Europe, coal from Calcutta, and coco-nuts from Madras or the Straits. A brisk trade in general merchandise is carried on by river steamers with Rangoon and other delta towns. The imports are piece-goods, hardware, and the like ; and the exports are ngapi and other local products. The bulk of the petty trade is still in the hands of the Burmans, but natives of India and Chinamen also do a large and growing business.
The Bassein-Henzada-Letpadan railway, opened to traffic in 1903, passes through the District for 66 miles and taps the centre of it. The principal stations are Daga, Athok, Yegyi, and Zayathla. The railway is already very popular with passengers, though it has so far at racted little goods traffic, and all the paddy still comes by river to be milled at Bassein.
In the south of the District, where communication is almost entirely by water, the roads are chiefly in the immediate neighbourhood of Bassein town. The total length of metalled roads outside the town is 42 miles, 31/2 of which are kept up from Provincial and 53/2 from Dis- trict cess or other Local funds. The total length of unmetalled roads is 53 miles, 24 being maintained from Provincial and 29 from Local funds. The principal roads are : the Bassein-Shwemyindin road, the Bassein-Henzada road, and the Bassein-Shanywa road. In the Nga- thainggyaung subdivision the main highways are from Ngathainggyaung to Ataung (via Kyonpyaw), from Yegyi to Inma (via Athok\ and from Inma to Kyonpyaw. In the north the embankments constructed by Government about thirty years ago to prevent the flooding of low-lying areas afford a convenient means of communication during the rains. The Ngawun and Daga rivers are navigable practically throughout the District. No sea-going lines of passenger steamers call at the port of Bassein ; but the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company runs steamers from Bassein three times a week to Rangoon via Myaungmya, Wakema, and Ma-ubin, and to Kyonpyaw, daily to Myaungmya, and twice a week to Ngathainggyaung, and in the rains onwards to Henzada. The south is served by private launches. The District east of the Yoma contains scarcely a single village of any size which is not supplied with some form of steamer service. Native boats, large and small, ply on all the inland waters, and numerous ferries are maintained.
Administration
The District is divided into two subdivisions, with head-quarters at Bassein and Ngathainggyaung. Each subdivision has three townships.
The Bassein subdivision comprises the Bassein, Tha- Baung, and Ngaputaw townships; and the Ngathamg- gyaung subdivision comprises the Ngathainggyaung, Kyonpyaw, and Kyaunggon townships. Bassein is the head-quarters of the Bassein- Myaungmya Forest division, under a Deputy-Conservator of forests ; and the Port Officer, Bassein, is collector of customs.
The District Judge exercises jurisdiction also over Henzada District, and the Bassein Small Cause Court judge is at the same time the judge of the Bassein township court. Two other judges relieve the township officers of the Ngathainggyaung, Kyaunggon, and Kyonpyaw townships of all civil work and have Small Cause Court jurisdiction locally ; but in the remaining two townships the township officers are judges in their respective courts.
Criminal justice is administered in the usual way by the executive officers. District, subdivisional, and township. In addition, a special magistrate has recently been appointed to exercise criminal juris- diction within the limits of the Ngathainggyaung and Bassein sub- divisions. Sessions cases are tried by the Divisional Judge, Bassein Division.
Criminal work is heavy. Cattle-thefts are frequent, as also are robberies. Deterrent sentences have somewhat reduced the criminal use of the knife, but it is still unfortunately common. They have also had the effect of causing bullies to substitute for knives clubs, which in practice are nearly as dangerous. Gambling, with its lamentable predisposition to crime, is very prevalent in all parts of the District ; and drunkenness cannot be called rare, although strenuous endeavours have been made in the past to reduce the faciUties for drinking.
During the first two years (1852-3) of the British occupation, the Burmese tax on cattle was continued by the new rulers, and an impost of Rs. 10 was levied on every pair of buffaloes or bullocks used for ploughing; but no land tax was then demanded of the people. In 1854 surveyors were brought down from Arakan, the different circles were measured and a scale of revenue rates was fixed, though it is not precisely known on what principles they were calculated. These rates were systematically and methodically revised in 1861, crop-cuttings being made and local prices considered. A summary enhancement of 25 per cent, was made in 1879 ; but during this and the following years a detailed cadastral survey was undertaken, and regular settlement operations at once followed (1879-83) over the whole District, except the Ngaputaw township, the maximum rate per acre sanctioned being Rs. 3-4-0, and the minimum 12 annas. Portions of the Ngathaing- gyaung and Kyonpyaw townships were dealt with in 1883-4 and 1884-5, and the Ngaputaw township was regularly settled during the season 1901-2. The settlement of 1879-83 was revised between the years 1897-9, the result being an enhancement in the Bassein subdivision of 20 per cent, and in the Ngathainggyaung subdivision of 48 per cent. The maximum rate on rice land now in force is Rs. 4 and the minimum 12 annas, the average being Rs. 2-4-0. The maximum on mixed gardens is Rs. 3 per acre and the minimum Rs. 2-8-0, the average being Rs. 2-12-0. Betel-vines are taxed at Rs. 5 to Rs. 10 per acre, dani palms at Rs. 4 to Rs. 5, and miscellaneous cultivation at rates varying from Rs. 1-8-0 to Rs. 2-8-0.
The tax on salt is Rs. 2-3-6 per 100 viss (365 lb.) turned out. The system of raising the salt revenue by a tax on output was introduced in 1902 as an experiment, the arrangement previously in force having been to tax the cauldrons employed in boiling. After a brief strike the salt-makers acquiesced in this method of assessment. For the realiza- tion of the tax a staff of two inspectors and two assistant inspectors is employed.
The land revenue was 12-8 lakhs in 1900-1 and 13.8 lakhs in 1903-4. Comparative figures cannot be given for earlier years, owing to the modifications that have taken place during the interval in the District boundaries, but it may be pointed out that the land revenue raised from an area larger than the present District was 27/4 lakhs in 1886. The total revenue from all sources was 35-9 lakhs in 1900-1 and 29-3 lakhs in 1903-4.
The District cess fund, administered by the Deputy-Commissioner for the provision of roads, &c., is maintained by a 10 per cent, levy on the land revenue. Its income in 1903-4 was Rs. 1,65,000, and the chief item of expenditure was Rs. 52,000 on public works. Bassein and Ngathainggvaung with Daunggyi are the only municipalities.
South of Cape Negrais, in 15° 42' N. and 94° 17' E., is the Alguada reef, on which a lighthouse was built in 1865. The structure is of granite, stands 144 feet high, and till 1902 exhibited a first-class catadioptric light visible at 20 miles. In 1902 a new light of 97,000 candle-power, visible 18 miles, was substituted for the old one.
The police are under a Superintendent, assisted by three Assistant Superintendents, in charge of the Ngathainggyaung and Bassein sub- divisions and the town of Bassein respectively. The force consists of 3 inspectors, 2 chief head constables, 9 head constables, and 369 sergeants and constables, distributed in 20 police stations and outposts. The military police, who belong to the Toungoo battalion, number 199, and are posted as follows : 90 at Bassein, 34 at Ngathainggyaung, and the remainder at outlying township head-quarters.
The Central jail at Bassein has accommodation for 1,271 prisoners, and had an average daily population in 1903 of 730. The principal industry is mat-making, and the mats are taken as fast as they can be turned out for the shipping which visits Bassein. Furniture is also manufactured and is sold locally.
The percentage of literate persons in 1901 was 41 in the case of males and 7-5 in the case of females, or 25 for both sexes together. The number of pupils at school has increased from 8,630 in 1 880-1 to 11,019 in 1890-1, and to 11,531 in 1903-4. In the last year the District contained 19 secondary, 218 primary, 6 special, and 230 elementary (private) schools, with 8,908 male and 2,623 female pupils. The principal educational institution is the Bassein municipal high school, in which instruction is given up to the ninth standard. The expenditure on education in 1903-4 amounted to Rs. 68,600, of which municipalities contributed Rs. 16,700, the cess fund Rs. 14,500, and the Government Rs. 10,400, while Rs. 16,300 was collected in fees and Rs. 10,700 in subscriptions.
There are two hospitals, with accommodation for 75 in-patients. In 1903 the number of cases treated was 24,853, including 1.389 in- patients, and 1,135 operations were performed. The income amounted to Rs. 20,300, the two municipalities contributing Rs. 14,500, private subscriptions Rs. 2,300, and Local funds Rs. 2,500, A dispensary is about to be built at Kyaunggon.
Vaccination is compulsory only in the towns of Bassein and Ngathainggyaung, but progress in vaccination during recent years has been fair. In 1903-4 the number of persons successfully vaccinated was 16,320, representing 42 per 1,000 of population.
[J. Mackenna, Settlement Reports (1899-1900 and 1903) ; Major F. D. Maxwell, Report on Inland and Sea Fisheries (1904) ; B. Samuel- son, History of Embankments, Henzada Divisiofi (1899).]
