I may here pause for one moment to remark on the great value of the Assembly as regards any new measure like the one just alluded to, for it often happens that from the scarcity of newspapers, and the inability of the poorer ryots to purchase them, measures of great value are not taken advantage of, or only are so after a long delay.  Now an assembly like that of Mysore provides an excellent means for distributing information on all Government matters, and in one part of his address the Dewan particularly requested the representatives from two important districts to explain fully to the people certain matters, the particulars of which I cannot, for want of space, give here.

The Dewan then went into the interesting subject of Forests, and it was satisfactory to notice the progress that had been made in planting, and that sandal wood had year after year been yielding an increased revenue.  The transition from forests to elephants was natural, and during the year 70 had been caught.  Some died after capture and others were liberated.  Of the 44 retained, 41, of which 14 were tuskers, were sold for 50,705 rupees.  Having fully discussed the elephants, the Dewan turned next to education, and here he was able to record marked progress in every direction, and especially in female instruction.  There were now 97 girls’ schools in the province, and an important change had been made as regards their immediate supervision, which was now exercised by local committees.  “The committees,” said the Dewan, “have been given large powers of management, and the initiative rests, in almost all cases, with them, subject to the approval of Government.”  The object of this of course was to interest the people in the subject, and the Dewan observed that “Female education cannot become firmly established in the country until the people begin to look upon the education of their girls, whether children or adults, as necessary, and as obligatory as that of their boys.  The Government have thought that the best way of securing this result in the infancy of female education is to leave as much as possible to the intelligent and sympathetic guidance of local committees.”  After alluding to the results of the archaeological survey, and dwelling on the fact that during the past year 1,500 inscriptions were secured, some of which were of great value and interest, the Dewan then took up the subject of excise, and went into the reforms he proposed to institute as regards that department.  The census of Feb. 26th, 1891, was next alluded to, and by this it appeared that, including the civil and military’ station of Bangalore, the population returned was 4,943,079 as compared with 4,183,188 in 1881, and 5,055,412 in 1871.  The increase during the last decade was thus very considerable, but Mysore has still some progress to make before it can bring up its numbers to the census return of 1871, nearly a million of persons having been swept away in the disastrous famine of 1876-77.  The municipal elections