The MANDALAY DISTRICT has an area of 2117 sq. m. and a population (1901) of 366,507, giving a density of 177 inhabitants to the square mile. About 600 sq. m. along the Irrawaddy river are flat land, nearly all cultivated. In the north and east there are some 1500 sq. m. of high hills and table-lands, forming geographically a portion of the Shan table-land. Here the fall to the plains averages 3000 to 4000 ft. in a distance of 10 m. This part of the district is well wooded and watered. The Maymyo subdivision has very fine plateaus of 3000 to 3600 ft. in height. The highest peaks are between 4000 and 5000 ft. above sea-level. The Irrawaddy, the Myit-ngè and the Madaya are the chief rivers. The last two come from the Shan States, and are navigable for between 20 and 30 m. There are many canals, most of which have fallen greatly into disrepair, and the Aungbinle, Nanda and Shwepyi lakes also supply water for cultivation. A systematic irrigation scheme has been undertaken by the government. The Sagyin hills near Madaya are noted for their alabaster; rubies are also found in small quantities. There are 335 sq. m. of forest reserves in the district, but there is little teak. The climate is dry and healthy. During May and June and till August strong winds prevail. The thermometer rises to about 107° in the shade in the hot weather, and the minimum in the month of December is about 55°. The rainfall is light, the average being under 30 in.
The DIVISION includes the districts of Mandalay, Bhamo, Myit-kyina, Katha and Ruby Mines, with a total area of 29,373 sq. m., and a population (1901) of 777,338, giving an average density of 30 inhabitants to the square mile. (J. G. Sc.)
MANDAMUS, WRIT OF, in English law, a high prerogative writ issuing from the High Court of Justice (named from the first word in the Latin form of the writ) containing a command in the name of the king, directed to inferior courts, corporations, or individuals, ordering them to do a specific act within the duty of their office, or which they are bound by statute to do, and performance whereof the applicant for the writ has a specific legal right to enforce. Direct orders from the sovereign to subjects commanding the performance of particular acts were common in early times, and to this class of orders _mandamus_ originally belonged. It became customary for the court of king's bench, in cases where a legal duty was established but no sufficient means existed for enforcing it, to order performance by this writ. Under the Judicature Acts and the _Crown Office Rules_, 1906 (r. 49), the powers of the court of king's bench as to the grant of the prerogative writ of mandamus are exercisable only in the king's bench division of the High Court.
