---

Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 24, p. 80.

8o TWENTY-FOUR PARGANAS also been projected for draining the area protected by the embank- ments. A lighthouse is situated on Sâgar Island. The suburbs of Calcutta are policed by a force under the orders of the Commissioner of Police, Calcutta. His jurisdiction embraces the Cossipore-Chitpur, Maniktala, and part of the Garden Reach municipal areas, as well as the fringe east and south of the Lower Circular Road and Tolly's Nullah, which is within the Calcutta municipality but under the authority of the Magistrate of the Twenty-four Parganas. The suburbs are divided into two divisions, the northern and southern, each under a Superintendent. The suburban force consisted in 1903, in addition to the Superintendents, of 68 officers, 633 constables, and 7 boatmen. Outside the suburbs, the District contains 26 police stations and 9 outposts, as well as 37 town outposts, 3 mill outposts, 3 cantonment outposts, and one beat-house. The town outposts are manned partly by police constables, and partly by town chaukidirs. The District Superintendent is provided with a steam-launch, and 7 police boats patrol the waterways. The force consists of a District Superintendent, an Assistant Superintendent, 8 inspectors, 71 sub-inspectors (including one European), 127 head constables, 1,019 constables, and 148 town chaukiddrs. A special force of 15 head constables is employed for nine months in the dry season, to accompany the officers of the Salt depart- ment on searches. The rural police number 350 daffaddrs and 3,423 chaukiddrs ; and the District is divided into 349 Unions, each of which is manned by a daffaddr and from 7 to 13 chaukiddrs. The ALIPORE District and Central jail has accommodation for 1,837 prisoners, and a District jail at BARASAT for 130 prisoners; subsidiary jails at Diamond Harbour and Basirhât each hold 12 prisoners, while that at Barrackpore holds 14. A reformatory school at Alipore pro- vides accommodation for 226 boys. Education is more advanced than in most Bengal Districts. In 1901, 11•2 per cent. of the population (20•2 males and 1•3 females) could read and write. The number of pupils under instruction increased from 52,000 in 1883-4 to 68,138 in 1892--3 and 73,021 in 19oo-r. In 1903-4 79,860 boys and 7,727 girls were at school, being respectively 42.5 and 5•2 per cent. of the children of school-going age. The number of educational institutions, public and private, in that year was 1,953, comprising 125 secondary, 1,788 primary, and 40 special schools. The expenditure on education was 3•86 lakhs, of which Rs. 52,000 was met from Provincial revenues, Rs. 6o,ooo from District funds, Rs. 11,ooo from municipal funds, and 1•97 lakhs from fees. In 1903 the District contained 36 dispensaries, of which 12 had accommodation for 195 in-patients. The cases of 184,000 out-patients and 3,404 in-patients were treated in 1903, and 12,017 operations were