BURMA H.

TOUNGHO0 AND BASSEIN.

The latest intelligence from Burmah appears to have excited a somewhat unnecessary alarm. Some severe skirmishes have, it is true, occurred upon the frontier, but we perceive nothing in the very minute information which has reached us, to distinguish them from the conflicts to which we are accustomed in the northwest. There has been no general outbreak, no manifestation of popular hostility, no movement from Ava, and the loss of life, though doubtless to be regretted, has been in itself but trifling. On the morning of the 24th January, Major Allan, in command of a small force, including some Sikhs and Europeans, marched out from Tounghoo. He had been ordered, under instructions from the Governor-General, to mark the boundary of our new acquisitions, which will run about about thirty-seven miles to the northward of that city. The first day's day march was accomplished without even the appearance of opposition. On the following morning, however, as the force entered a broad glade in the forest, they were fired upon by a band of "dahmas," or robbers, posted in the jungle at a distance of about eighty yards. Two men of the Madras fusiliers, and a sowar were wounded, and the assailants made their escape. On the 27th, the attempt was renewed. The force was again fired upon, and Lieutenant Grant, of the fusiliers, had his right arm disabled by a musket-ball. In the course of the same day, the attack was explained. A letter was received from the headman of Nyeen Gyan, a place some forty miles across the border, coolly demanding the reason of Major Allan's proceedings. The boundary question, said the headman, with all the mendacity of a true Burmese, was under the consideration of the commissioner, and Major Allan's advance was totally uncalled for. This production received a reply, but as Major Allan neither delayed his march nor suspended his surveying operations, he was again attacked at a place called Tagarrah, between the great teak forest and the river. The enemy, in considerable force, had stretched themselves across the road, scarped the bank of a neighbouring nullah, and thrown up a strong breastwork. All was alike useless. Undeterred by a heavy fire, the men of the fusiliers sprung forward with the dash which has always distinguished that fine regiment; the Sikhs vied with the Europeans, the breastwork was turned, several of the enemy were bayoneted, and two jinjalls were taken. Captain Geils was the only officer wounded, with a corporal, a few men of the 60th, and one or two Sikhs. The instant the intelligence reached Tounghoo, two 24-pounder howitzers and 120 Europeans were hurried forward under Colonel Poole, and it was expected that they would arrive in time to prevent the possibility of another engagement. The country, however, is covered with morasses, the character of which may be comprehended from the fact, that at Kaylen, one of them is crossed by a bridge, 1310 yards long. The movement of artillery is, therefore, a task of extreme difficulty, but it is scarcely needed. We have to contend with enemies like those against whom Americans have been warring for years, and under circumstances almost precisely similar. We must resort to the weapon which has rendered the Americans victorious. In the teak forest and the swamp, the rifle is all-powerful, and a dozen marksmen will strike more terror than as many artillerists. The heavy fire of European regulars only barks the trees. These marauders, whether paid by Ava or actuated by patriotism, must feel that to approach within gunshot of Europeans is certain death, and we shall hear little more of these petty skirmishes. Politically, they are as important as mosquito bites, but they ought to be suppressed. They keep up a chronic irritation, distract officials from the duties of civil administration, spread causeless but injurious panics, and give to journals like the Rangoon Chronicle occasion for publishing legends, which in the colums of the Times are transmitted into history.

A slight outbreak, also, has occurred in the district of Bassein. The Governor-General, aware of the importance of the river of that name, issued orders during his recent visit to clear a space at its mouth for the site of a new city. Captain Fytche instantly proceeded to the spot, and was engaged in completing the survey, when intelligence reached Bassein of a movement in the Northern division of the district. It appears that immediately after his lordship had left the river, some chiefs with gold umbrellas, high-sounding titles, and a small armed retinue, appeared on the Northern frontier. They declared that the Governor-General had surrendered to them Bassein, and pointed to the absence of the gun-boats as a proof of their assertion. The people believed; every scoundrel in the neighbourhood flocked to chiefs who offered at least a chance of plunder, and the peasantry, half credulous, and half frightened, afforded them an unwilling assistance. Captain Fytche saw the necessity of instant action. Taking with him some thirty men of the 1st Madras Fusiliers, and double that number of

sepoys, he surprised and utterly defeated the main body of the rebels. From thirty to forty were left dead on the field, and so complete was the terror inspired by his energetic severity, that in a few days not an armed Burman could be found. Meanwhile, the Karens, as usual, lent their efficient aid. Koe Loe, the Karen leader, who armed on our behalf in the very beginning of the war, attacked and carried a strong entrenchment. Two other Karen chiefs displayed a similar zeal, and as our letters left Bassein, the head of one of the rebel leaders, slain by their followers, was carried into the town. Only one man still holds out with a small force. Captain Fytche is in active pursuit, and in a few days this rich district will be as quiet as it was before the emeute occurred. It will be observed that it arose from no discontent, and from no hostility to the British. Not a man would leave his rice-field until convinced that the country was surrendered, and the erection of the new city will soon extinguish this habit of political credulity. Meanwhile, Captain Fytche deserves credit alike for the energy which frustrated the efforts of the Burmese, and for the personal activity which makes the small force under his command almost ubiquitous.-Friend of India.

The Madras troops occupy Rangoon, Tonghoo, Moulmein; the Bengal troops occupy Naminyan, Thayet Myoo, and furnish one European corps for Moulmein.

The Madras sappers are detached to Naminyan and Thayet Myoo, and the Bengal irregular cavalry to Tonghoo, Naminyan, and Thayet Myoo.

The Rangoon force detaches to Pegu two companies of European infantry, five companies of Native infantry, one-third of a company of reserve artillery.

The Tonghoo force detaches to Thuygeen, the same strength as that sent from Rangoon to Pegu.

The Moulmein force detaches to Bassein one European company of infantry, four Native companies of infantry, one-third of a company of reserve artillery; to Sitang the same strength, and one company of Native infantry each to Tavoy and Mergui.

The forces, as above, appear well distributed and in commanding positions, enabling them to cover the country and guard against invasion from any quarter, and yet each detachment is

sufficiently strong to resist any force the Burmese can bring against it, so that, provided the measures ordered by the Governor General be taken, for opening up the country by forming roads and canals and using rivers, to connect the different parts of it, and to facilitate communication with the troops by land and by water, we may consider our recent acquisitions in Burmah secured against all the efforts that the despicable Government of Ava can make for their molestation.

GENERAL D'ORGONI.-General D'Orgoni (to whom the familiar title of Captain still adheres) left in the Fire Queen this morning for Calcutta. From thence it is believed to be the intention of the old chap to proceed to France, if the Governor-General is merciful enough to allow him. If we are not much disappointed, his presence in Calcutta will create much more sensation than it did here, and in France he will become a lion. It is said to be the intention of the General to return to Umerapoora. We suppose it will be the policy of our government to prevent his doing so; but unless those who try to prevent him are as cunning as himself, he will give them the slip.-Ibid. February 4.

DACOITS. A gang of 200 dacoits or patriots, as they are termed, are infesting the south portion of the Dalla district, in consequence of which four companies of the Pegu light infantry marched inland, while a strong armed party in five boats, under the MyoOuk and Goung, of Dalla, proceeded to the Bassein Creek on Monday last to scour them off, and afford protection to the villages infested.-Ibid. February 11.

BLOCKADE OF the River.-For the last two or three days rumours have been prevalent to the effect that the river above Meahday is under a state of blockade by the Burmese by an army of 4,000 men. We believe the authorities here have not as yet received any authentic information on the subject. We give the above as cheaply as we obtained it.-Rangoon Chronicle, Feb. 8.

THE "NEMESIS."-There must be something on the board, for we notice the workmen in the dockyard have been at work night and day on the H.C.'s steamer Nemesis, in order to prepare her for sea. She was to leave this for Bassein this morning, but we shall place no credence in the report until we see her fairly on the start. We know of our own knowledge that a detachment of the 19th M.N.I. were ordered to embark on this vessel on Tuesday last, two p.m., and it has been put off to two p.m. day after day. About twenty tons of gunpowder had been sent down, and the commander very properly refused take it in, whilst red-hot rivets were being driven in every moment. We are not aware where the locum tenens of this power may be at present, but we hear it is knocking about "somewhere," and we think the sooner it is placed in a safe keeping," the better for the towns-people. -Rangoon Chronicle, Feb. 18.

DEATH OF MR. GEORGE GREIG.-It is with much regret we have to report the death of Mr. George Greig, superintendent of the coal department at Donabew, by drowning, on the 7th instant. The deceased was stepping from the steamer on to the flat, when unfortunately his foot slipped and he was precipitated into the water. The steamer immediately had her boats manned, but of no avail, as the deceased was never seen to rise. The body was found at Yandoon three days after the melancholy occurrence, when it was forwarded on to Donabew for interment.-Ibid.

BENGAL.

THE HOLY VEHME IN SINGAPORE.

We have frequently alluded to the existence of secret societies among the Chinese inhabitants of Singapore. These societies, or Hoeys as they are called, enlist nearly all the Chinese of the settlement into their brotherhoods, and exercise among themselves a secret and irresponsible authority. The institution and its effects are alike dreaded and disliked by the European inhabitants of Singapore, and the local journals have frequently called upon the Legislature to put them down with the strong hand. So long as -the societies were really secret, their objects unknown, and their organization only matter of conjecture, we resisted these demands, as an unjust interference with customs, of which as nothing definite was known, so nothing appeared to call for intervention. The societies, we knew, were proscribed in China, and created excessive irritation in California. Still, the ideas of the Manchow dynasty were not necessarily those of the British Government, and the angry Americans appeared to know just as little as the doubtful Europeans of Singapore. The police, however, have discovered the nest of one of these societies, and have found, translated, and published the secret oath, and we are bound to retract our previous opinion. We never remember to have perused a more singular document, or one which indicated more clearly the exis

tence of a dangerous invisible authority. The oath seems to enunciate all the principles of all the secret societies of Europe. Laws, which the members of the Holy Vehme would have considered cruel, are enacted to support principles of social morality, of which Freemasons boast the exclusive possession. Mazzini's followers, as depicted in the Times, could hardly appeal more readily to the dagger, and the Plymouth Brethren could hardly enunciate ideas more in harmony with Christian communism. The society is called that of the Hong. It is, we believe, one of the strongest, if not the strongest in Singapore, and its members subscribe to six-and-thirty oaths. They are intended obviously to meet every contingency which could possibly create disunion in the brotherhood, and are drawn up with a minuteness which speaks of high administrative ability. The neophyte swears to reverence his parents, to abstain from gambling, and to avoid injuring any of the brotherhood in person, property, or honour. He must not abuse one of the brethren, he must not betray him, he must render him assistance if he is in any strait, must give him alms if he is in want, or clothes to pledge, if too poor to lend him aid in specie. Nay, so minute are the provisions for securing unity, that the members are specially prohibited from boasting, or from repeating to one another the ill-natured sayings of a third. In short, the oath contains in its thirty-six clauses, a code of social morality, which would be valuable anywhere, and perhaps not altogether useless in Indian society. Nevertheless, we fear, we must pronounce the society alike illegal and mischievous. In the first place, the breach of any one of these most important philanthropic rules is punishable with death. Sometimes the death denounced, is simply a prediction of the doom which Heaven will inflict upon the criminal. Thus the member who speaks disrespectfully of his parents will be "killed with ten thousand knives, or else be struck dead by lightning." The member who does not "conduct himself with sincerity, faithfulness, and in a righteous manner, blood will flow from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, and he will die." This is a mere anathema maranatha, of importance only as far as it indicates the ideas, which have gained ground among the people who believe these maledictions. In some of the other clauses, however, actual and immediate death is denounced against offenders, and the offence for which they are to be thus visited, is obedience to the law, Thus, if a member turns informer for money, and " any of the brethren from inquiries shall learn that any of the brethren have committed this offence, they shall seize them, and kill them.' Ag in, "if any other persons attempt to take the property of which any of the brethren is possessed, or has charge, and we know it, we must inform the other brethren, and call on them to render him assistance. If there be any unjust person who will not obey these laws, he will be murdered." Here we have the Hoey stepping beyond the limits of the society, and declaring war on the external world. The rule would, if observed, compel the society to slaughter a bailiff sent to estreat the property of a member. Lastly, and we quote this entire, the thirtieth oath strikes directly at the very foundation of society. The Hoey practically arrogates to itself the right to slay any one, who has ever in any way brought a member of the society into a court of law :—

"If any of the brethren who have entered the gate of Hong are aware that any one who wishes to become a member of the family, has ever taken any reward to point out any of the brethren who were accused of having committed any crime, or has caused any of the brethren to be arrested for any offence-any one of the brethren who knows that he has done so, must at once inform the other brethren so that he may be arrested and revenge taken for the former injury; none must allow him to escape; and if there be any person who is friendly disposed towards him, and who allows him to escape-or if there be any unjust person, who knows that such person is in the place (at the meeting), and does not inform the brethren, or who dare himself allow the man to escape, he will one day be killed with a knife. If any of the brethren know of it, they must seize both (the aggressor and conniver), and kill them both."

These rules are not mere vague denunciations. The brethren do assist one another, do refuse evidence, do impede the law, and, if Singapore rumour may be trusted, do carry their sentences occasionally into effect. The only rules as to the observance of which there is any doubt, are those which advocate justice and morality. It is evident that such a society, banded together for such purposes, is one of those which regular governments regard with especial dread. Not to speak of the governments of the Continent, whose position in many respects is analagous to our own, even English law punishes the illegal oath of a trades union. And the Hong Society is a trades union, with more than the ferocity which in evil times sometimes actuates those bodies. The union may order an assassination, "to strike a salutary terror." The Hoey orders it as the orthodox retribution for assisting at an arrest. The justice of putting down such societies is sufficiently obvious, and it is doubtful whether a legislative suppression, would

not also be expedient. It is open to question whether a direct violation of the laws of political morality can ever be committed with impunity, and it is committed when an imperium in imperio is allowed to inflict death at its own discretion, for offences of which neither Divine or human law has any cognizance. These societies may yet be as politically dangerous to ourselves, as they have been to the Manchow dynasty. The English law against illegal oaths is, we should imagine, sufficiently strong for their suppression. If it is not, we would hold the Hoey responsible for the life of every man, whose death is obviously the expiation for some offence against their secret and irresponsible tribunal.— Friend of India.

MR. DANBY SEYMOUR.

The "perfect man" is with philosophers a favourite subject of discussion. We feel greatly inclined to speculate upon the qualifications of the "perfect Indian traveller." Without entering into any long investigation, we may fairly believe that such a being, in his endeavours to ascertain the true condition of the country, would divest himself at once of his European ideas, would distrust at first his own conclusions, would watch anxiously to provide against wilful deception, and would feel some slight degree of thankfulness to those who pointed out an imposition. In short, he would have nothing in common with Mr. Danby Seymour. That gentleman considers that a rapid tour through a section of a presidency, enables him to pronounce a positive opinion on the connection between the European officials and the native masses. He not only took no precaution against being deceived, but adopted a measure which could but have deception for its result. He is not only not grateful to us for our quiet warning as to the imposition practised on him, but he accuses us of injustice and want of generosity. At a meeting in his honour at the house of Mr. Juggernath Sunkersett at Bombay.

"He noticed the strictures upon his conduct in the Friend of India, to which he intended to reply, but could not do so for want of time. He had nothing to do with the editor's opinions, but his statements of facts were both unfounded and untrue. He never in his travels in the Madras Presidency mentioned the government to the natives, nor did he offer to obtain redress for the grievances of the people. He contented himself with inquiring minutely into the condition and affairs of the ryots, and the mode in which they paid their taxes, a proceeding which the hon. gentleman contended he had a perfect right to adopt, whether as a member of parliament or a private traveller. The references made by the Friend to the native gentlemen who travelled with him were unjust and ungenerous, and while they were with him, their conduct elicited his warmest approbation."

Had Mr. Seymour been able to deny our facts, his refutation would have occupied two lines, and cost him ten minutes of his leisure. If, on the other hand, he had to prepare a reply which would extenuate without denying, that task might have occupied a sophistical intellect, and an unready pen for an entire hour. The excuse of want of time is inadmissible, and the present statement is no denial at all. We never accused him of offering natives to obtain redress for private grievances. On the contrary, we distinctly exonerated him from that charge, the more carefully, as Mr. Seymour never communicated with the people, except through an interpreter. What we said was, that his companions, the native and the East-Indian clerk, did pread abroad tales of his mission and his power. He says this is "unjust and ungenerous.' In other words, our authority, who cannot have been ignorant of the facts, is wrong, and Mr. Seymour, whose information can be derived only from the very personages accused, is right. The great subject of our complaint, the existence of the picture, is not noticed at all. Denied it could not be. We put it to the candour of even the Madras Athenæum, whether it is possible, that this journal should have any political motive for misrepresenting Mr. Danby Seymour. He was believed to have arrived at conclusions adverse to the present Government of the Madras Presidency. We have condemned that Government for years. believed to be hostile to the ryotwaree. The system has no more earnest antagonist than the Friend of India. As for personal motives, we leave the exposure of that absurdity to the minds which alone are capable of such insinuations.-Friend of India.

WATER IN THE VICINITY OF AGRA.

He was

For several years past, the attention of the inhabitants of the districts around Agra, has been directed to a singular phenomenon. The wells are drying up. The means of irrigation which are the life of the district, are becoming more and more difficult of attainment, and indeed, so remarkable is the subsidence of the water, that able inquirers begin to suspect, that a geological upheaval of the entire district is now in progress. The water appears universally to have receded some thirteen

"

It

A loss of more than 8,000 wells in a single division is a matter of serious importance, more especially in a territory where a drought at once extinguishes the cultivation, on which two-thirds of its inhabitants depend. These figures which represent so vast a decrease, do not represent the incessant effort of the cultivators to contend with the deficiency. In the same division, 29,743 new wells have been constructed, and 34,646 "laos;" old wells have been repeatedly deepened, and thousands of wells not returned as useless, contain but a reduced supply of water. In Agra, even these exertions have apparently failed. Notwithstanding the efforts of the cultivators, the encouragement of the officials, and the direct temptation held out by the system of "tuccavee advances, the gross number has diminished, and the presence of some general disturbing cause has become painfully evident. affects also the surface waters. In Mynpoorie, the "Eesan Nudde," which contained up to 1837 a great body of water, even in the hot season, is now dry within two months after the rains.. The ancient aqueducts and canals of Cawnpore have ceased to be of use. In Banda, tanks once always full, have become gradually disused, and though this may be attributed-partially to neglect, it chimes in strangely with other acknowledged facts. The cotton and salt trade of the Jumna stopped in 1850 for want of water; and it is a question which Lieut. Garforth might answer, whether the volume of water in the Ganges itself has not decreased. Whether, for instance, the flats below Ghazeepore, rich with the spoils of steamers, are not bocoming worse every year, not from their upheaval, but from the subsidence of the waters.

Facts like these, well understood in the north-west, have attracted the attention of the Board of Revenue, and inquiries have been addressed to various officers, whose experience might enable then to assign a cause, and a remedy, for so menacing a fact. The result, we believe, is not very satisfactory. Throughout the Agra division, the fact of the sinking of the water is at once acknowledged. It has sunk, and with it the inclination of the people to construct wells of the depth which is now considered necessary. The cause of the subsidence, however, is as yet undiscovered. The native opinion remains unchangeable. They declare that the famine drought of 1837, which undoubtedly affected the wells, has ever since been succeeded by diminished rains. The springs, unfed from above, have receded, and with them the chances of successful irrigation. Others, again, hold that the gradual denudation of the country has had the effect of decreasing the amount of rain, and the argument is in accordance with facts repeatedly observed in newly settled countries. A third party, again, hold that as the decrease is more especially observable along the line of the Jumna, it may have been created by the drain of water for the Jumna canals; but Colonel Cautley considers it a proven fact that those canals have not diminished the supply. Others believe that the drain of water for the new ravines cut for irrigation itself, is the proximate cause; and lastly, the suggestion of a general upheaval is considered to deserve investigation. Whatever be the cause, diminished rain or increased irrigation, the Jumna canals, or a geological change, the fact remains. There is less moisture in the soil of the Agra presidency than there was ten years ago, the gradual decrease is still in progress, and the risk attendant upon droughts is indefinitely increased. The remedy must be left to engineers, but the inquiry is one which will demand and receive the most earnest attention, alike of science and the Government.-Friend of India.

IMPROVEMENT of the GANGES. The report on the operations for the improvement of the Ganges, from Revelgunge to Allahabad, extends over the greater put of three years. It contains, however, few facts of interest. The expenditure of the department amounts to about Rs. 18,000 a year, and the results are exceedingly unsatisfactory. All that engineering skill can do for the river has been done by Lieutenant Garforth, but the improvement effected is almost nil. The river

still follows its own sweet will, fills up a channel one day and opens it the next, sweeps away a bank, or covers a rock with sand, without warning as without remedy. Lieutenant Garforth has tried every experiment he could invent, or discover recorded in scientific works. He has striven to improve the banks, has tried facines, and made experiments, on German authority, with brushwood; has constructed great wooden rakes, and has used the galIvanic battery with considerable effect; and the river takes its own course still, as it has done since it fell from the curls of Siva, and will do when steam has been superseded by electricity. The utmost he can accomplish is, to prevent it from becoming worse, and to remove single obstacles which impede the steamers. Even in this attempt he is opposed. Like the Cornwall coast men, the Zemindars have a sympathy with wrecks, and instead of condensing long lists of futile experiments, we prefer making an extract from his account of the wreckers of Ghazeepore

"Sunken boats have been destroyed in the same manner as the trees, after saving as much as possible, by the use of gunpowder; great jealousy of our interference has been shown, and three complaints against the establishment laid before magistrates; latterly orders were issued that no one should approach a sunken boat containing goods, or render assistance, without previous reference; it is evident that we are interfering with what has hitherto been considered the right of some one; I have not yet been able to ascertain how wrecked property was disposed of; in a case in the Ghazipoor district, where one of my moonshies made inquiries quietly, but did not interfere, it seemed that the zemindar received a large percentage, the police a small portion, and the owner was permitted to remove the remainder when these fines was paid; in another case in Shahabad, a cargo of stones was saved by the establishment, and the wrecked boat blown up; a complaint was laid by the owner that some of the stones had been purloined, the case was dismissed by the magistrate; here the zemindar did not, openly, interfere in another case in Ghazipoor, a thanadar complained of a pilot who had begun to remove a boat; the pilot was ordered to desist; after six weeks no attempt had been made by the owner, or others, to save the boat, which had partially buried itself, and obstructed the channel, it was therefore blown up. I hope to collect much more information on this important subject; what I have at present is not satisfactory."-Friend of India.

The order also states that the warrant officers of the commissariat department will be, in all respects, on the same footing with those in the ordnance department, and the allowance of the noncommissioned officers will also remain the same. Warrant officers appointed to executive charges will be required to furnish security, namely, the deputy commissary, assistant commissary, and deputy-assistant commissary, to the extent of Rs. 1,000, and conductors Rs. 500 each.

The above is an exceedingly good arrangement, because although causing no alteration in the numerical strength of the non-commissioned staff of the department, it increases the number of the higher and more desirable appointments, and thus holds out a very powerful stimulus to energy and uprightness, which cannot produce other than beneficial results to all parties concerned. Comparing the new scale with that hitherto obtained, we perceive there is a decrease in the number of serjeants from fifty-five to forty; but, on the other hand, the number of sub-conductors has been increased from four to twelve, of conductors from three to eight, and there are besides a deputy-commissary and assistantcommissary, which are entirely new appointments. The former, we believe, will draw Rs. 431-12, and the latter Rs. 351-5 per mensem. Thus not only is the number of the more desirable grades increased, but there is also a fair gradation established, by which promotion is accelerated. This arrangement will entail an increased outlay of about Rs. 1,800 per mensem; but this is a mere trifle compared with the efficiency and saving that will result from more general European supervision. Indeed, if we remember right, the late commissariat commissioners pointed out very forcibly, that European non-commissioned officers were employed to a much larger extent, and with great advantage, in the Madras and Bombay commissariat, and they were of opinion that the plan might be followed with advantage in Bengal.

The new arrangements will raise the non-commissioned staff of the commissariat in the scale of position, and surely where so high salaries are in prospect as those of the deputy commissary and assistant commissary, it may be relied upon that those expecting

to attain them will not be wanting to render themselves deserving of the promotion by constant and close attention to their duties. The present liberal measure has, we believe, been suggested and strongly recommended to the Government by the commissarygeneral, who is entitled to acknowledgments on the part of the whole non-commissioned staff of the department for the boon which the new order confers upon a very deserving and useful class of public servants. It is gratifying to observe that, while reform is being introduced throughout the department, the individual merits of the several classes are not overlooked. The commissary-general has certainly shown his determination to enforce the strict observance of his orders, but he has likewise proved that while having a careful eye to the interests of Government he is not insensible to those of the officers and establishments placed under his control. Both officers and office establishments can bear witness of the manner in which their services have been acknowledged, and another instance is now afforded by the encouragement held out to the noncommissioned staff.- Hurkaru.

There is iron in Nagpore. The great territory which has just lapsed to the British Government, and adds to the empire a state of which even an American might be proud, is as rich in minerals as in cotton. Both resources were neglected by the native government, and both require European capital and energy for their full development. About eighty miles to the south-east of the capital is a place called Wyragurh, and about eleven miles from this, almost on the bank of the Wyn Gunga, stretches an iron district. In its centre, for some 250 feet, rises a low hill, called by the natives Khandeshwar, the upper half of which is a perpendicular mass of rock. The entire "mass, with a basis of quartz, is richly laden with iron," while at the bottom of the ascent huge masses of iron ore are lying about untouched, unworked, and apparently unnoticed. Upon the slope of this hill, amidst the jungle which covers a gradual ascent, are the mines opened by the natives. They are rather "diggings" than mines, mere surface excavations, like those in which the earliest settlers in California found their gold. Never deeper than five feet, they are entirely without system, and commenced wherever the workmen fancy that the metalliferous rock appears most easily friable. Large pieces are rejected. However rich or accessible they may be, they are carefully avoided, for the wretched native tools employed would be ruined in the effort to divide them. Even these diggings are not regularly worked. Men visit the hills as they please, quarry a few fragments of the small size preferred, break them into still smaller pieces, and carry them to their villages. Of these, the most important is Trijwaree, where there are twenty-three furnaces, the neighbouring villages supporting forty-seven more. In all, the same process is pursued. The furnaces are of earth, charcoal is the only fuel employed, no "flux" is heard of, and cold and hot blasts have never entered into the imaginations of the cultivators, oilmen, and fishers who betake themselves to the trade. The profit is as wretched as the process. Each furnace produces on an average every day a lump of cast iron called a Kotie," and weighing about a maund. This is cut in two, while red hot, with hatchets, and the halves are thrown into a smaller furnace to be refined. They are then divided once more, still with the hatchets, and handed over to the blacksmith to be hammered into bars. From two maunds of the unwrought iron, as it issues from the first furnace, one maund of malleable iron is ultimately produced, which sells at Trijwaree for 11 Nagpore rupees, or a little more than one Company's rupee. Eight annas, therefore, is the amount daily produced by each furnace, the cost of charcoal and some other expenses is about three annas, and the remaining five annas forms the wages of the two or three workmen attendant on the furnace. Be it remembered, these are the statements of the miners themselves, who have every inducement to diminish their income, and exaggerate their outlay. It may be observed, also, that with these wretched tools, without capital, without machinery, without a flux, without the means of erecting a good furnace, and with their utter neglect of the best ores, the wretched miners of Khandeshwar can still turn out seventy tons of iron a month. The extent of the supply we cannot ascertain, but it appeared to our informants almost inexhaustible. Nor is this all. At Meytapore, twenty miles nearer Nagpore, twenty-five furnaces are supplied with iron dug from a great plain covered with red earth. The ore is scarcely so perfect as that of Khandeshwar, but it is found only two feet from the surface. At Lohara, and in the soubah of Bandara, 125 more furnaces are known to be in work, and the whole, though ruder in construction than those which Tubal Cain must have employed, more than supply the necessities of Nagpore. Neither fuel or flux are wanting. Round Khandeshwar, for hundreds of miles, the jungle is inex

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haustible, while food is so cheap, that labour can be obtained at rates to which even those current in Bengal appear excessive. No flux can be found near the mine, but within three miles runs a broad river, and along the banks of some of its feeders the common kunkur, or limestone, an excellent material for the purpose, is distributed in abundance. The Wyn Gunga is navigable for several months in the year, and if the improvements suggested by Col. Cotton were introduced, the water communication down the Wyn Gunga and Godavery would be perfect. Of all the iron districts, of which we have as yet received and account, Khandeshwar appears to be by far the most promising.

It has been pointed out to us that Mr. Oldham, the company's geologist, in his remarks upon the iron districts of Beerbhoom, has adduced facts which prove that profitable manufacture of iron in India is almost impossible. We think that far too wide an interpretation has been placed upon the views which that gentleman considered it necessary to adduce. His arguments were published at a period when English iron was much cheaper than it is at present, and scarcely half the price it will reach in Calcutta during an European war. Secondly, we question if he desires to extend the application of his calculation, beyond the districts he had personally surveyed. He calculates, if we understand him correctly, that while the production of a ton of pig iron in England would cost 21. 28. 10, in Beerbhoom it would cost only 21. 18. 10. In order, however, to erect furnaces capable of supplying the Indian demand, it would be necessary to expend 36,000l., and when waste, and charges for repair are taken into the account, there would remain from the proceeds about 1,6877., or less than five per cent. Therefore says M. Oldham,

"It appears, most obviously and clearly to result from these considerations that, under existing conditions, the manufacture of iron, on any efficient scale, and on the European system, cannot be undertaken in this district. with certain prospect of such a return as would justify the great outlay required.”

This calculation, however, is based upon the supposition that the iron is to sell for £5 a ton, and that the average profit on that quantity shall be exactly one shilling. The Railway Company would now be too happy to pay seven pounds, and the difference upsets all Mr. Oldham's calculations at a stroke. Moreover, many of the sources of expense existing in Bheerbhoom would not exist in Khandeshwar. In the latter territory, there is fuel, and cheap fuel. There is labour, and cheap labour. The "flux" which is to cost in Beerbhoom twenty-seven shillings a ton, could not cost a tithe of that sum in Khandeshwar. There is a great river upon which to convey the iron produced, and the ore is confined to two soubahs never fifty miles from the stream. Should the Government of India be true at once to its own interests and its own responsibilities, and erase the native tyranny, Nagpore may yet become what nature intended it to be, the South Wales of the Indian empire.-Friend of India.

INQUIRIES INTO THE SALT MONOPOLY. Mr. Plowden, a member of the Board of Revenue, and late officiating secretary to the Government of India in the Home Department, has been deputed on a mission to Madras and Bombay, for the purpose of making certain inquiries connected with the salt department of the East-India Company.

As it seems to us a matter of interest, we may state that the Court of Directors have called for an inquiry into the salt monopoly of India, in order to see whether some alteration cannot be devised, whereby the manufacture of salt may be entirely taken out of the hands of Government. Our readers will of course have it fresh in their memory, that Sir John Pakington drew the attention of Parliament, in the discussion on the India bill, to the salt monopoly. We believe that the impression that the Court of Directors are jealous to preserve this branch of trade in their hands is erroneous. Far from this, as we are assured, the Court would be very happy to get rid of it, if they could do so without injuring the revenue of the country. With this feeling they have directed the present commission, which Mr. Plowden has undertaken, to be issued, in order that a report may be made to them as to whether, and in what manner, the trade may be taken out of their hands and transferred to the commercial community. In visiting Madras and Bombay, and, on his return, in examining the returns made in Bengal to the Board of Revenue, we believe, the object in view is for Mr. Plowden to inquire whether it would be practicable to abolish the present system and establish in its stead an excise upon salt, contracting with private individuals for its manufacture. It is obvious that this plan would be much to the advantage of the Government, and it would also be agreeable to the wishes of the Nantwich and Droitwich speculators, who of course have but one object in view in agitating this question. If an excise upon salt is established, they cannot complain, because they will then be enabled to enter the market upon an even footing with other traders. It will

remain for them to see whether they will be able to compete with the manufacturers of salt in India. Even at the cost rates to Government, we question whether this would be possible; but it must be borne in mind, that if the manufacture is transferred to private speculators, the cost involved will be naturally less than what Government pays. We imagine that the cost per maund of manufacture to Government cannot well be reckoned at less than two to three annas above the cost prices of private manufacturers. When private individuals engage in the trade, the salaries of a host officials and a perfect army of retainers will be done away with, such persons not being at all necessary to Jones, Brown, or Robinson, in their small manufactories, where they will superintend affairs for themselves. There can be little doubt that this subject will be again brought before the attention of Parliament. We believe Sir John Pakington is quite prepared to urge it upon public attention; and we apprehend that the Court of Directors must have foreseen some such movement in ordering the present commission, which, it is to be hoped, will supply them with satisfactory material for answering the demands of the Droitwich faction. Whatever may be the nature of Mr. Plowden's report, we feel little doubt that some such measure will be adopted as that which we have denoted; and it cannot but be regarded with satisfaction, should it be so, as recognising the impolicy of Government trading on its own account. The whole character of the Government of India is now changed, and it is only fitting that the principle of traffic, which has been heretofore its very nature, should likewise determine. The empire of India must daily less and less be considered as in the hands of a company of merchants. It was a mercantile speculation-a joint-stock company. The late bill has made it almost cease to be so; the former charter struck the first blow at the system; and whenever the next step is taken by Parliament, it admits of little doubt that the last traces will be washed off the slate, and India will become purely a political branch of the Government of England.--Hurkáru.

THE EAST-INDIAN RAILWAY.

It always affords us pleasure to bring before the notice of our readers the progress of the East-Indian Railway. Judging from recent observations, we think we may safely state that the first section of 120 miles, from Calcutta to Raneegunge, may be considered in a fair way towards completion. The portion from Calcutta to Hooghly is now completed, and quite ready for the reception of traffic. The engines and carriages, however, as we are informed, have but lately been shipped in England, and though now on their way out, will not, in all probability, arrive here before the end of July. This, of course, must delay the opening, a subject which we have almost grown weary of alluding to.

Beyond Hooghly, the works, though not in a forward state, are progressing favourably. The embankments are in a great measure completed, though in many places the bridges are only just beginning to have their foundations put in. Approaching Burdwan, the aspect changes. Here all is life and activity. The Burdwan viaduct, numbering some 300 arches, swarms with artificers and labourers. On the morning our informant happened to pass by, he encountered a continuous stream of people proceeding to their work, and was perfectly astonished at the num. bers employed. There appears little doubt that the Burdwan viaduct will be completed before the next rains set in. The foundations appeared all set in, the piers all up, and about thirty of the arches turned. The Bankah bridge was also showing visible signs of progress. The abutments and piers are completed, and the iron girders placed across one of the openings. A very short time ought to complete this work. Beyond Burdwan, and towards Raneegunge, the whole of the works are, with one or two exceptions, in a very forward state. From the energy and activity now displayed, we may almost venture to expect that this portion of the railway will be completed by about next August. We would therefore urge upon the railway company the necessity of redoubling their exertions to push on those portions that are so very backward, especially near Punduah, as this will retard the opening of the first section of the line to Raneegunge, which otherwise might be opened for traffic simultaneously throughout. -Englishman, March 3.

THE NECESSITY OF A CENSUS FOR BENGAL. If anything were required to demonstrate the necessity of a central statistical bureau for India, it would be found in our utter ignorance of the population of Bengal. The province is the oldest of our possessions. For three-quarters of a century it has been governed by British officers, the greater portion has been surveyed, and the whole has been either taxed, or specially exempted from taxation. Yet at this moment the only mode of obtaining an approximate idea of its population is, to compare a series of