racle. We are told by Col. Sleeman, that the miracle generally performed, was the setting fire to the nearest house by means of dry ashes. Wonderful of course! but alas for the credulity and ignorant superstition of the bigoted Hindoos! the dry ashes were in reality gunpowder, which was thrown upon the thatch, and a concealed fuzce produced the desired effect. Such a miracle at once removed all hesitation, and opened the purse-strings of the hitherto unbelieving clowns. These Byragees are sad rascals, and yet, they are suffered to prowl about the country, devouring the substance of the people with perfect impunity, who shrink from exciting their ire, and freely give alms, rather than bring down upon themselves and their families a curse of unlimited duration. The very fact that their services are purchased to promote and abet crime, and that the disguise of a mendicant friar, is frequently assumed for the purpose of safely practising robbery, child-stealing and other evil designs, should operate powerfully in inducing Government to pass some stringent laws against the whole class. They should be brought under a new vagrant act. Their impudence is known to nearly every one who comes in contact with them. We recollect some few years ago the circumstance of three such rascals coming naked, drunk and howling into a Magistrate's court in the district of

They had no ostensible business, beyond perhaps a desire to excite the admiration of the numerous Hindoos present, by bearding the lion in his den. However they caught a Tartar; for the Magistrate after remonstrating with and advising them to leave the Cutcherry, to no purpose, committed them to prison, in default of paying a moderate fine, for a fortnight, on a charge of interrupting the proceedings of his court. The villains, raving and calling upon the people, either to rescue them or pay the fine, were borne along to prison, magná comitante catervá of awe-struck villagers, and not producing the amount required on the next day were "shaved" according to custom. We never heard that the Magistrate was visited with the severe displeasure of Vishnoo or any other Hindoo Deity in consequence of his act, and the present Lieutenant Governor knows, that the district alluded to is now a paying one, so we can only suppose that the Deities, if scandalised at all, must have been asleep at the time, and on awaking thought, it best to let byegones be bye

gones.

We have brought down our review of the progress of Dacoits to the year 1833. The evil still remained unchecked, and in 1837-38 we find the Magistrate of Agra, Mr. Mansel, reporting on the crime in his district, and recommending, as every one had done before him in Agra and elsewhere, that a special commission with large powers should be appointed for its repression-a Commissioner had been appointed in 1837 by Sir Charles Metcalfe, then Lieut. Governor of the North West Provinces, for the suppression of Dacoity. The Government of India, in the latter end of 1838, determined on uniting the Commissionerships both of Thuggee and Dacoity in one person, and Col. Sleeman took charge of the Office in 1839. The success of that Officer in exposing and destroying the secret Thuggee associations, warranted the determination of Lord Auckland, and the wisdom of the measure was soon made apparent. Col. Sleeman established his head quarters in Rohilcund, as being the most central posi tion for his operations, and his assistants were stationed at Jubulpore, Chupra, Agra, Moorshedabad, Meerut, Ajmere, Lucknow, Goruckpore, and Indore. These assistants were invested with the powers of Joint Magistrates, and concurrent jurisdiction in other districts. In the foreign states, they acted under the immediate orders of the Political Residents and Agents, and in the Company's dominions, under the judicial authorities in each district. Col. Sleeman went vigorously to work. In order to obtain the best information regarding the habits and resources of the people against him whom he had to act, he, with the sanction of Government, collected as many of the Budhuk dacoits as were found in the local jails, undersentence of imprisonment, or detained in default of lodging security for their good behaviour; a colony of them was formed near Moradabad, and was offered a free pardon and the means of subsistence, on condition that they recorded their own lives and the names of those parties and their leaders, who had taken a part in Dacoities committed by them. These records formed the ground work for a register of all the Budhuk Dacoits still at large, containing an account of the specific acts of Dacoity committed by each, with the names of those persons who could depose to them. The same measures were employed for the purpose of creating confidence, as in the Thuggee commission, and a very favorable amount of success attended the system. The narratives of Budhuks who turned approvers, were carefully tested; references were

made to the authorities of the place in which the Dacoities were said to have been committed, and the approvers felt the obligation they were under of speaking the truth, since a falsehood was sure of detection, and a recommittal to jail certain. Some of these narratives are most interesting, and detail an amount of crime and a love of their profession amongst the Dacoits, which would astonish the sharpest detectives in the French or Austrian Police. One man described, with marvellous accuracy, forty-nine Dacoities in which he had borne no mean part, during a period of twenty-five years. The records of some of these Dacoities had been lost in the public Offices of the district in which they occurred; in other places, again, no report of the robberies had been made to the Magistrate, but the Budhuks' account was nevertheless fully verified--on being sent to some town or village, named in his narrative, he pointed out the houses which had been attacked and plundered. Parties acquainted with the circumstance, then came forward to add their evidence in corroboration. We have mentioned the deep-seated love of their profession amongst the Dacoits, and we will give one instance from the depositions of approvers, which must serve for all. Captain Ramsay asked of a Dacoit named Runjeet, who had been in prison for 10 years, "I suppose after "this long imprisonment, you would have abandoned the "trade of a Dacoit and turned an honest man? Answer"(shaking his head and laughing) No, no, that would never do, why should I become an honest man-work hard all "day in the sun, rain, and all weathers, and earn what? "some five or six pice a day! We Dacoits lead very agreeable "and comfortable lives! When from home, which is only

.

during the cold season, we march some 14 or 16 miles a "day, for perhaps a couple of months, or say, four, at the out"side-commit a Dacoity and bring home money sufficient to keep us for a year, or perhaps two. When at home we amuse ourselves by shooting, and visiting our friends, or in any way most agreeable, eat when we please and sleep "when we please-can, what you call an honest man, (a "bhulla admee) do that?"

"Question.--Do you recollect any of your fraternity ever "having abandoned the profession, and become honest ?" "Answer. No--no one ever did, I am certain of it; after "having been arrested, on our release, we frequently take "lands to make it appear, we have left off Dacoity, but we "never do so in reality. It is only done as a feint, and to "enable our Zemindars to screen us."

G

This worthy commenced a life of robbery at sixteen years of age! Ex uno disce omnes! No doubt, Dacoits did prefer their own to any other profession; they had plenty of cash to spend; hours employed in hunting and visiting their friends, perhaps in flirting with their married acquaintances, (for Budhuk ladies were not confined to the zenana very rigorously) could not fail to pass pleasantly. The other "agreeabilities" in the evening, finished the day, after true oriental fashion, with dancing women and music. Fancy men able to indulge in such luxuries, being content to dig for their livelihood!" A Budhuk," says one rascal, "cannot live upon five or six Rupees a month like a Government servant!" Each member of the band was allowed as many partners of the opposite sex, as he could provide for. They mostly had three or four each, the chief sometimes being married to at least seven ladies. In stirring times the women were a source of profit, if fruitful, for they and their children shared in the spoil of each dacoity. If a woman brought forth a child in the morning of the day on which an expedition returned to camp, that child became entitled to its share. These were some of the advantages of a Budhuk's life, which we can readily believe, he would not lightly abandon.

The pursuit against the Oude gangs was systematically, and briskly continued from 1839 to 1844, with the aids of the Lucknow and Nepaul authorities, when the last surviving band in the Turrace surrendered to Major Ludlow, with their women and children. The operations, however, of Col. Sleeman and his assistants, were not confined to Oude; but were carried on with vigour in Gwalior, Rajpootana, Goozerat and Malwa, and over the whole North Western Porvinces. No time was allowed the Dacoits, when separated, to reunite, which they certainly would have done, according to custom, had the opportunity been permitted them. In 1839 there were 75 Budhuk leaders, south of the Jumna, and the aggregate number of followers was 1625. North of the Jumna there were 46 leaders and 1445 followers. The general result of the operations, under Col. Sleeman's system, against the Dacoits, will be ascertained from the following tabular statement, which contrasts favorably with that given a few pages back

Tabular Statement of the result of the trials which have taken place in different places, since the operations were commenced, from 1839 to 1847.

To which we may add, in the same form, the result of the trials in 1848.

5 24 81 217 31 1 1 50 17 317

Up to 1847 the large number of five hundred and twenty-six Budhuk Dacoits had received the conditional pardon granted by Col. Sleeman, under sanction of government, dated 27th of June and 29th of July 1839. This is the conditional pardon to which we have alluded, as the means of inducing the Dacoits to record their own lives, and the names of their leaders and confederates. The approvers pleaded guilty before the Court, when placed on their trial, and sentence was recorded against them, but its execution was deferred.