Madura

The chief features of his work were its sections on the political and revenue of the district; and these have been freely utilized in the present volume. The early part of the former of them however has naturally been largely superseded by the discoveries due to the progress of epigraphy in recent years; and limites of space have necessitated the ruthless condensation of much of Mr. Nelson’s picturesque account of the Nayakkan dynasty in the latter part of the same section. Most of the rest of the book is new. It is arranged on the system followed in the other District Gazetteers of the new series now being brought out and statistical matter appears in a separate Appendix which is to be revised decennially after each census. Under instruction the volume does not deal with the Ramnad and Sivaganaga Zamindaris which are to be transferred to another district and treats the area which will be included in the proposed new Nilakkottai taluk as though this taluk were already in existence. The absence of statistics for this latter tract has however in some cases prevented the consistent carrying out of this method of referring to it.