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Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 19, p. 53.

ADMINISTRATION 53 in the hands of the Minister, although he is nominally assisted by a council the members of which are selected by himself. All written and verbal communications relative to political, fiscal, and judicial affairs are submitted to the Minister, Administration. who generally issues his orders thereon without consulting either the king or the council. No public money is expended without his know- ledge and sanction; all appointments, civil or military, are conferred by him; and all complaints regarding the conduct of public officials are brought to his notice and invariably meet with attention. For administrative purposes the country is divided into various dis- tricts. The most important of these are Ilam, Dhankuta, Gurkha, Palpa, and Doti in the Hills; and Naya Mulk, Butwal, Chitawan, and Murang in the Tarai. There are four governors for the Tarai, and two for the Hills, whose duties resemble more or less those of Com- missioners in British India : they have under them various officials, of whom the Subahs are the most important, each of these being in charge of a district. There are separate civil and criminal courts, but the distinction is not well marked, as disputed and difficult cases are sometimes trans- ferred from, the one to the other. The country is divided into judicial circles, lamini hacheris, of which there are sixteen for the Tarai and twenty-four for the Hills : each of these is in charge of a Deputy- Magistrate, called Biehari, while jurisdiction over. several districts is exercised by Dithas or Magistrates. All cases of serious crime must be submitted for the decision of the higher tribunals at the capital, and a final appeal can be made to the council over which the Minister presides. The old savage code of punishments, involving mutilations, &c., has long since been abolished. Crimes are divided into three classes, according as they affect the state, private persons or property, and caste. Murder and the killing of cows are punishable by death, but Brahmans and women are never punished capitally. The severest sentence for women is imprisonment for life with hard labour, and for Brahmans the same, with degradation from caste. There is singularly little crime in the country, for the Nepalese are very law-abiding. Of the revenue of Nepal it is impossible to speak with any degree of accuracy, as the finances are entirely controlled by the Minister and his chief treasurer. There can be no doubt, however, that during late years the revenue has considerably increased, and cannot now be far short of a crores of rupees per annum. But the sums actually realized at the public treasury cannot be taken as representing the real revenue of the country, since the greater portion of the civil and military establishments are paid by grants of land. The chief sources from which the revenue is obtained are the land revenue, customs dues, mines, forests, and the monopolies above mentioned.