1 MARCH 1873, Page 3

The new Census of Bengal, which shows the total population

of that great province to exceed sixty millions, reveals some curious facts as to the occupation of the adult males. There are, excluding Assam, 11,692,000 males engaged in agriculture, no less than 218,742 in the public service—though Bengal is scarcely garrisoned—and only 2,216,969 artisans and manufac- turers. Eleven-thirteenths of the people of Bengal, in fact, depend directly upon the soil, are affected by the land tax, by all ceases upon rent, by every change of tenure, by the seasons, and by any alteration in the rainfall. Bengal, although it has so many manufactures, must be regarded as an agricultural State, a fact we too often forget in our legislation.