[1] See Dr E. Schafhäutl’s article on Musical Instruments, section 4 of Bericht der Beurtheilungscommission bei der Allg. deutschen Industrie-Ausstellung, 1854 (Munich, 1855), pp. 169-170; also Friedr. Zamminer, Die Musik und die Musikinstrumente in ihrer Beziehung zu den Gesetzen der Akustik (Giessen, 1855), p. 313.
[2] V.C. Mahillon, Eléments d’acoustique musicale et instrumentale (Bruxelles, 1874), p. 153.
[3] The bombardon is used in the military bands of Austria, but in those of Germany it has been superseded by a bass tuba differing slightly in form and construction from the bombardons and bass tubas used in England, France, Belgium and Austria.
BOMBAY CITY, the capital of Bombay Presidency, and the chief seaport of western India, situated in 18° 55′ N. and 72° 54′ E. The city stands on an island of the same name, which forms one of a group now connected by causeways with the mainland. The area is 22 sq. m.; and the population of the town and island (1901) 776,006 (estimate in 1906, 977,822). Bombay is the second most populous city in the Indian empire, having fallen behind Calcutta at the census of 1901. Its position on the side of India nearest to Europe, its advantages as a port and a railway centre, and its monopoly of the cotton industry, are counteracted by the fact that the region which it serves cannot vie with the valley of the Ganges in point of fertility and has no great waterway like the Ganges or Brahmaputra. Nevertheless Bombay pushes Calcutta hard for supremacy in point of population and commercial prosperity.
The Bombay Island, or, as it ought to be more correctly called, the Bombay Peninsula, stands out from a coast ennobled by lofty hills, and its harbour is studded by rocky islands and precipices, whose peaks rise to a great height. The approach from the sea discloses one of the finest panoramas in the world,—the only European analogy being the Bay of Naples. The island consists of a plain about 11 m. long by 3 broad, flanked by two parallel lines of low hills. A neck of land stretching towards the south-west forms the harbour on its eastern side, sheltering it from the force of the open sea, and enclosing an expanse of water from 5 to 7 m. wide. At the south-west of the island, Back Bay, a shallow basin rather more than 2 m. in breadth, runs inland for about 3 m. between the extreme points of the two ranges of hills. On a slightly raised strip of land between the head of Back Bay and the harbour is situated the fort, the nucleus of the city of Bombay. From this point the land slopes westward towards the central plain, a low-lying tract, which before the construction of the embankment known as the Hornby Vellard, used at high tide to be submerged by the sea. The town itself consists of well-built and unusually handsome native bazaars, and of spacious streets devoted to European commerce. In the native bazaar the houses rise three or four storeys in height, with elaborately carved pillars and front work. Some of the European hotels and commercial buildings are on the American scale, and have no rival in any other city of India. The Taj Mahal hotel, which was built by the Tata family in 1904, is the most palatial and modern hotel in India. The private houses of the European residents lie apart alike from the native and from the mercantile quarters of the town. As a rule, each is built in a large garden or compound; and although the style of architecture is less imposing than that of the stately residences in Calcutta, it is well suited to the climate, and has a beauty and comfort of its own. The favourite suburb is Malabar hill, a high ridge running out into the sea, and terraced to the top by handsome houses, which command one of the finest views, of its kind, in the world. Of recent years wealthy natives have been competing with Europeans for the possession of this desirable quarter. To the right of this ridge, looking towards the sea, runs another suburb known as Breach Candy, built close upon the beach and within the refreshing sound of the waves. To the left of Malabar hill lies Back Bay, with a promontory on its farther shore, which marks the site of the old Bombay Fort; its walls are demolished, and the area is chiefly devoted to mercantile buildings. Farther round the island, beyond the fort, is Mazagon Bay, commanding the harbour, and the centre of maritime activity. The defences of the port, remodelled and armed with the latest guns, consist of batteries on the islands in the harbour, in addition to which there are three large batteries on the mainland. There is also a torpedo-boat detachment stationed in the harbour.
No city in the world has a finer water-front than Bombay. The great line of public offices along the esplanade and facing Back Bay, which are in the Gothic style mixed with Saracenic, are not individually distinguished for architectural merit, but they have a cumulative effect of great dignity. The other most notable buildings in the city are the Victoria terminus of the Great Indian Peninsula railway and the Taj Mahal hotel. Towards the northern end of Malabar hill lie the Parsee Towers of Silence, where the Parsees expose their dead till the flesh is devoured by vultures, and then cast the bones into a well where they crumble into dust. The foundation-stone of a museum was laid by the prince of Wales in 1905.
Local Government.—The port of Bombay (including docks and warehouses) is managed by a port trust, the members of which are nominated by the government from among the commercial community. The municipal government of the city was framed by an act of the Bombay legislative council passed in 1888. The governing body consists of a municipal corporation and a town council. The corporation is composed of 72 members, of whom 16 are nominated by the government. Of the remainder, 36 are elected by the ratepayers, 16 by the justices of the peace, 2 by the senate of the university, and 2 by the chamber of commerce. The council, which forms the standing committee of the corporation, consists of 12 members, of whom 4 are nominated by the government and the rest elected by the corporation. The members of the corporation include Europeans, Hindus, Mahommedans and Parsees. The Bombay University was constituted in 1857 as an examining body, on the model of the university of London. The chief educational institutions in Bombay City are the government Elphinstone College, two missionary colleges (Wilson and St Xavier), the Grant medical college, the government law school, the Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy school of art, and the Victoria Jubilee technical institute.
Docks.—The dockyard, originally built in 1736, has a sea-face of nearly 700 yds. and an area of about 200 acres. There are five graving docks, three of which together make one large dock 648 ft. long, while the other two make a single dock 582 ft. long. There are also four building slips opposite the Apollo Bandar (landing-place) on the south-east side of the enclosure. The dockyard is lighted by electricity, so that work can be carried on by night as well as day. Bombay is the only important place near the sea in India where the rise of the tide is sufficient to permit docks on the largest scale. The highest spring tides here reach 17 ft., but the average is 14 ft. Prince’s dock, of which the foundation-stone was laid by the prince of Wales in 1875, was opened in 1879, and is 1460 ft. long by 1000 ft. broad, with a water area of 30 acres; while the Victoria dock, which was completed and opened in 1887-1888, has a water area of 25 acres. South of the Victoria dock, the foundation-stone of the Alexandra dock, the largest in India, was laid by the prince of Wales in 1905.