ACCELERATION OF MAILS.

The following notice appears in the journals:

"It is hereby notified, for the information of the public, that, in furtherance of the measures which have been successfully adopted under this Presidency for accelerating communication to and fro, between Bombay and Calcutta, the Government of Bombay has made arrangements, to come into operation on the 1st October, for the conveyance of the mails by a horse-dawk between Poonah and Aurungabad. By this means, and by revised rules for the time of despatch from those Post-Offices, it is calculated that a whole day may be saved in the transit of the upward and downward mails between Calcutta and Bombay.

"G. J. SIDDONS, Post-Master General. "Gen. Post Office, 6th Sept. 1836."

STEAM COMMUNICATION.

Some days ago, the Chamber of Commerce applied to Government for information, whether the Hugh Lindsay would be employed, or what other arrangement would be made to keep up the communication with Suez. The answer given to the Chamber is, that Government have not at present made any arrangement, nor is it possible to state what arrangements will be made, for the transmission of mails by the route of the Red Sea in the ensuing season; but that, when any thing shall be settled on the subject, intimation thereof will be communicated to the public in every part of India.-Cour. Sept. 23.

THE BOTANIC GARDEN.

We have recently had opportunities to visit the Company's Botanic Garden, where we saw a small supply of the Otaheite cane, arrived in rather miserable plight, and about to be removed from their boxes into a plot of ground carefully manured with lime for the propagation of this species of cane. In addition to its vast treasures of former accumulation, the garden has recently acquired several plants of much commercial interest -the Soy, the Vanilla, and the Jalap,to which we may add a fine nursery of tea plants from China seed, and now the Otaheite cane. The soy is a dwarf species of bean, lately introduced by Dr. Wallich from the tea hills in Assam, where it was found in a wild state, and the fact is curious, since the same plant is also indigenous in the tea country of China. The Convolvulus Jalapa is a part of the contribution which the garden received from Lord Auckland on his arrival, and we were happy to see it in flower, as vigorous and healthy in appearance as in its native country-the acquisition of a foreign plant so exten

sively used in medicine is important, and the propagation of it is worthy of every encouragement. The Vanilla plants are also partly, but not exclusively, contributions of his Lordship, and though delicate, are sufficiently thriving and healthy to serve as a stock for propagating this fruit in more suitable situations, such as Ceylon, the Malabar Coast, but more particularly our settlements in the Straits.— Ibid. Sept. 29.

EFFECTS OF NATIVE IGNORANCE.

But

We have shewn in a former article, that improvement in the agriculture of Britain has doubled her produce and her revenue within the last sixty years. we find, on more carefully examining the subject, that it has done more. Only compare the seventeen millions, of which the revenue was known to consist in 1793, with the forty-six millions of 1833, and say from whence the almost triple increase has arisen, if not from the improvement in its agriculture in connexion with its manufactures and commerce. And is this fact known to the British Government of India, and the two facts that the soil of Bengal is far richer than that of Britain, while a far less portion of it is as yet brought into cultivation? What then prevents such improvement being attempted? Nothing but the ignorance which pervades the land, which has bereft the rich of feeling, and the poor of exertion, and almost of hope. The remarkable fact brought to light at the last meeting of the Agricultural Society, that not one copy of their Transactions had been called for by any native landholder, sufficiently demonstrates how dense is the cloud of ignorance enveloping them, which even their own interest cannot pierce. There can be but two ways in which that improvement of Indian Agriculture can be effected which would more than double its produce. The first is, through Europeans' owning and cultivating estates in India, an event surely not brought nearer by the difficulties and uncertainty attending the purchase of land. But if Europeans cannot be prevailed upon to vest any part of that wealth in land, which they may have acquired in India (the hope of capital being sent from Europe for this purpose, is still more distant), no hope remains of improving agriculture here, as it has been improved in Britain, but through native cultivation. Yet, taken as a mass, the natives are in such a state of ignorance as almost deprives them of the power of action. No duty then can be more incumbent on a paternal government, than the attempt to dispel this ignorance; and this is demanded of their British rulers as much by their own interest, as by their regard to

the welfare of their Indian subjects, Friend of India, Sept. 1.

THE THUGS.

"The Thug associations, which we are now engaged in suppressing, have been taught by those whom they revere as the expounders of the will of their Deity, that the murders they perpetrate are pleasing to her, provided they are perpetrated under certain restrictions, attended by certain observances, and preceded and followed by certain rites, sacrifices, and offerings. The deity who, according to their belief, guides and protects them, is ever manifesting her will by signs; and as long as they understand and observe these signs, they all consider themselves as acting in conformity to her will; and consequently fulfilling her wishes and designs. On all occasions and in all situations, they believe these signs to be available if sought after in a pure spirit of faith and with the prescribed observances; and as long as they are satisfied that they are truly interpreted and faithfully obeyed, they never feel any dread of punishment either in this world or the next."-Sleeman's Ra

maseeana.

The following is a brief summary of what has been effected for the suppression of thuggee. In nine years, more than 2,000 thugs have been arrested, 1,470 have been tried and convicted in 167 trials, for the murder of 947 persons. Of these 382 have been hanged, 909 transported, 77 imprisoned for life, 92 imprisoned for certain periods, and 21 acquitted. Besides these, 11 have escaped, 31 died before sentence, and near 250 have at different times been admitted King's evidences, and exempted from death or transportation-first, to secure the conviction of those already in custody; and, secondly, to aid in arresting their associates at large. In Malwa, Guzerat, Rajpootana, and Delhi, thuggee has been in a great measure suppressed. Great

progress has also been made in the Lower Doab, in Oude, Hydrabad, and the Deccan. In the Concan and Malabar, it appears never to have existed. But much yet remains to be done throughout the whole of Southern India, in the Carnatic, Mysore, and the Circars; also, in Gwalior and Bundlecund, in Orissa, Behar, and Bengal. Captain Sleeman anticipates the greatest difficulty in dealing with the river thugs of Bengal, who are supposed to be 300 strong, and who, he thinks, will probably defy the efforts of our government, without some special measures be sanctioned for their suppression. In the convictions on all the above trials, the Bhurtote, or strangler, has been invariably executed. As the Bhurtote is the most

experienced of the party, and must have given proofs of his judgment, courage and skill, before he is permitted to undertake the office, he is always an exceeding villain. The Shumseas, or those employed to hold the hands of the victim. are considered to be a lower order of villains, and with these the sentence has often been commuted to transportation.

The following draft of a proposed Act was read in Council for the first time on the 26th September:

"That whoever shall be proved to have belonged, either before or after the passing of this Act, to any gang of Thugs, either within or without the territories of the East-India Company, shall be punished with imprisonment for life; that every person accused of the offence made punishable by this Act, may be tried by any court which would have been competent to try him if his offence had been committed within the zillah where that court sits; and that no court shall, on a trial of any person accused of the offence made punishable by this Act, require any futwa from any law officer."

THE VERNACULAR LANGUAGES.

We are happy to learn from the Calcutta Courier, that in the Saugor and Nerbudda territory, under the auspices of the commissioner, the Hon. Mr. Shore, half the business of the public offices is now conducted in the vernacular languages and in the Nagree character, without changing a single officer. An uniform alphabet has been arranged, based on the Sungskrit alphabet, from which all superfluous letters have been rejected, and where varieties of form for the same letter exist, selecting that which is most simple and best known. This alphabet is to be adopted in all the courts and schools in those territories, and it is probable that the Board of Revenue for the Western Provinces will direct its adoption by the various officers subordinate to their anthority. The next point is to establish an uniform orthography, and for this purpose, with the help of an existing dietionary and of English and native scholars, Mr. Shore is arranging a vocabulary of 6,000 or 7,000 words in Nagree, which will be printed at Bombay.-Friend of India, Sept. 29.

PRINCE MIRZA SELEEM.

We regret to have to announce the death of Prince Mirza Seleem, the fourth son of the King of Delhi, at the age of 38, which event occurred here, in the palace, on Thursday last. This prince had, for some time past, suffered severely from a ghumbeer, or internal ulcer, near the knee-joint, which was lanced eight or ten

days ago, when a vast quantity of matter was discharged, but without affording him any relief or retarding the fatal progress of the disease. The death of Mirza Seleem will, doubtless, put an end to all those heart-burnings and squabbles which have so long disgraced the members of the Royal Family. From having been the favourite son, and we must add, the best and most princely, both in person and manners, of the House of Timour, Mirza Seleem's views to the Mogul Throne were seconded and encouraged by His Majesty. The circumstance gave rise, as was natural, to constant bickerings between the favoured son and the heir-apparent, which, extending to their partizans, made it a matter of no small difficulty to preserve peace and order in the palace. Delhi Gaz. Sept. 14.

In pursuance of a notice to the effect that the Secretary to the Bank of Bengal having made subscription in the book opened at the Accountant-General's office, for the additional capital of twenty lakhs of Sa. Rs. (ordered to be subscribed for by the Governor-General in Council, agreeably to the notice published in the Calcutta Gazette, and dated the 7th March, 1835), under powers from proprietors entitled to claim the whole amount of the said additional capital, which powers bind the said subscribing proprietors to abide the distribution that may be made by the proprietors at large, at a General Meeting to be held for the purpose, a General Meeting of Proprietors was held, on the 10th September, to determine upon the distribution of the new capital amongst the proprietors, and upon the steps to be taken to realize the amount; Mr. Cockerell in the chair.

The following resolutions were adopted:

"That subscription has been made of the entire amount of additional capital reAsiat.Journ. N. S. VOL.22, No.87.

quired by government on behalf of proprietors entitled to subscribe for the same, and that the subscribers are bound by the rules for distribution of this capital that may be passed at this meeting."

That the Proprietors do approve the Draft of Act published in the Gov. Gazette of the 7th inst., and in conformity with the tenor of its provisions, resolve that the proprietors be allowed to the Ist prox. to pay up, upon each share held by them respectively, the sum of 5,000 Sa. Rs., and that those proprietors on whose behalf claims have not been submitted up to this day, be allowed up to the same date to subscribe and pay in the same manner as those who have claimed."

"That if, contrary to expectation, any Proprietor of a share or shares shall not subscribe for his proportion of new stock, or having subscribed, shall not pay up the amount due thereon on or before the 1st prox., the equivalent for the share or shares of old stock, held by such proprietor shall be made up to him in shares of the new stock two shares of Company's Rs. 4000, and three-fourths of a share being given for each old share of 10,000 Sa. Rs. the difference in the value thereof, viz, the sum of 312-8, being made good to the bank from the dividend payable on the profits of the bank to the 30th of September next."

"That for the benefit of Proprietors absent from India, and of Trustees and others who for want of means or otherwise may not have taken the necessary steps to subscribe and pay up the proportion of new stock to which they are entitled, the known agents of such proprietors or the trustees, or any one of them, shall be allowed to subscribe and pay up on account of such shares, and to take debentures for the new stock in their own name as agents or trustees, and the bank shall register the transfers of such stock, on the application of such agent or trustee as the case may be."

This resolution was strongly opposed hy Mr. Mangles, and likewise by the Chairman; and the former proposed an amendment, to the effect that there was no necessity for the bank to make any provision in favour of those who might not provide funds to pay up their subscriptions. The votes were then taken upon this amendment, when the numbers appeared to be nearly equal; on a scrutiny, the original motion was carried by a majority of two.

The meeting was a very full one.

A further meeting took place on the 30th September, for the following object, viz. "The greater part of the meeting of the 10th inst. was taken by surprise at the unexpected proposition of Mr. H. T. Prinsep, and not having come prepared (X)

with proxies, by which description of votes the resolution was carried (the number of votes present in favour of Mr. Mangles' amendment being 18 to 9), the undersigned think it necessary for the protec tion of the interest of the bank, that the sense of a duly advertised meeting should be taken on the subject." This requisition was signed by Mr. R. H. Cockerell and twelve other proprietors. Mr. Dorin took the chair.

Mr. E. Macnaghten contended that the fourth resolution of the meeting of the 10th tended to establish a dangerous precedent and was illegal, and he quoted an opinion of Mr. Clarke to this effect; Mr. Clarke's principal objection to it resting upon certain words in the third clause of the old Bank Charter, providing that certificates for parts of a share "shall be assignable and transferable in the same manner as certificates for whole shares, and in no other manner;" and also a like expression in the third clause of the new charter, stating that "part shares and certificates thereof shall be assignable and transferable in like manner as certificates for whole shares and not otherwise soever." Mr. Macnaghten said that if this unlawful act were persevered in, he should take the remedy suggested by Mr. Clarke, and apply to the court for an injunction, whether he were joined by others or not in this course of proceeding. He concluded with moving the following resolution, seconded by Mr. Cockerell.

"That the fourth resolution carried by a majority of the meeting held on the 10th inst. be expunged from the books of the Bank, because it is directly subversive of one of the constitutional and most protective clauses of the Bank Charter, viz., the third, which directs that the shares shall be delivered to the proprietors or their attornies lawfully constituted, and shall be transferable and assignable by special endorsement on such certificates of the proprietors thereof respectively, their executors, administrators, and assigns, and in no other manner."

Mr. Prinsep remarked that the clause in the charter, so much dwelt upon in the opinion which had been read, had reference only to the registration and transfers of the old shares; but now the Bank was in a new position, the whole of the new stock having been subscribed for on account of the Proprietary, and the question arose merely how they should divide it. The resolution offered to the meeting went too far, for it impugned the former resolution, a resolution formally adopted by themselves and supported by the highest legal advice they could obtain, and since acted upon. -How then could they now be asked to expunge it as illegal?

Mr. H. T. Prinsep said that in bringing

forward the resolutions at the last meeting he had acted only as the mouth-piece of the Directors. To call it a surprise was most extraordinary, for the object of that meeting had been advertised for months before, and the Directors would have been wanting in their duty if they had not then come forward with some propositions matured.

Here Mr. Macnaghten, after consulting with Mr. Mangles, proposed a compromise, that the question should again be referred to the Advocate-general, to be argued before him by counsel; but Mr. H. T. Prinsep said they were well satisfied with the opinion that had been already given, and were not disposed to stultify their own acts in this manner.-Subscriptions had already been taken under resolutions legally passed from Mr. Fullarton, Mr. Colvin, and the government agent.

The resolution was put and negatived on a show of hands by 15 to 9, and with proxies, 72 to 47.

Mr. Mangles then moved the following resolution, which was seconded by Mr. E. Macnaghten.

"That it be referred to the advocategeneral, whether the fourth resolution of the 10th inst. be compatible with the charter of the bank, and consequently be legal, with reference more especially to clause 3 of that charter."

This, upon a show of hands, was negatived by 14 to 11, and with proxies, 70 to 53.

DIVIDENDS ON INSOLVENT ESTATES.

The following dividends were on Saturday declared in the Insolvent Court: estates of J. C. C. Sutherland, four per cent.; of N. Alexander, 2 per cent.Oriental Obs., Sept. 24.

EXPORT OF BENGAL COOLIES.

The remarkable traffic, which has lately sprung up since the abolition of slavery at Mauritius-the export of Bengal coolies to that island, under contracts of three, four, and five years, to work on the plantations,-is ample confirmation of the doubts we have expressed as to the relative capabilities of Bengal for the manufacture of sugar, in competition with that thriving colony. The number already gone, we hear, is not far short of four thousand; and the general behaviour of those now in the colony has given so much satisfaction to their employers, that the West India planters have begun to turn their attention to the same source for procuring field labourers, having found the wild project of supplying them from Ireland a miserable failure. Such a scheme, we are told, is actually entertained at this moment, and an order is in town to ship off a party of coolies to one of the WestIndia islands—Jamaica, we believe.

So novel a description of commerce demands some special regulation. At Mauritius it is under the restriction of licenses, which must be previously obtained by persons desiring to import coolies from India. But this is not enough: the treatment of the people on the passage, and the number of persons which a vessel should be allowed to carry, are matters much more liable to abuse, and much more urgently requiring regulation, than the power of the planters to tyrannize over the poor fellows, that power being checked by the interest of the planters themselves, as well as by the general protection of the laws. If something of this kind be not done, we may have instances of human cargoes in the ratio of three and four persons to the ton, stowed as thickly as are the poor Africans in Brazil slave-ships.-Cour., Sept. 27.

It appears from some official records to which we have had access, that, in September 1834, a ship called the Agnes was the first vessel engaged to take labourers from this port to the Mauritius, and the number reported to have been taken on board is thirty-six. Since that time, to the end of August last, sixteen vessels have been similarly engaged, but, strange to say, the total number of labourers shipped, according to the police records, is only 1362, though it is within our own knowledge that two vessels, the Nerbudda and the Juliana, sailed hence a few days ago, having on board upwards of 700 coolies. The incompleteness of the police records appears strange, and this singularity is not diminished by a statement that the Sir John Rae Reid had but twenty labourers on board, whereas it is notorious that upwards of ten times that number crowded the vessel's deck when she left Calcutta. The fact of this concealment of the number of labourer passengers, would of itself lead one to infer that, in the opinion of the commanders of the vessels, they had taken a greater number on board than was consistent with the health of the people, or the safety of the ship. It requires no great stretch of imagination to picture the misery of some four hundred of those poor creatures, crowded on the deck of a vessel of 500 tons burthen, and exposed to dangers of which, perhaps, few of them have ever heard before.

We understand the coolies ship themselves, under an engagement that they are to receive, when they arrive at the Mauritius, per month, twenty-five seers of rice; two and a half seers of doll; one

"The Sir John Rae Reid, which left this port a day or two ago for the Mauritius, with two hundred coolies on board, grounded on Saturday off Fultah, and immediately went on her beam ends,

in which position she remained about ten minutes. Thirty or forty coolies were washed overboard, of whom thirteen were unfortunately lost."-Englishman, Sept. 26.

of oil; two and a half of fish; one of tobacco, and one and a half of salt. The wages are: the sirdars seven; the mates six; and the labourers five rupees per mensem; and, yearly, they are allowed one blanket and eight yards of coarse cloth. It is also said they are paid six months in advance on going on board, and that, as indeed is very probable, after the receipt of the money, they are not permitted to leave the vessel. We are not about to say that these terms are not fulfilled, but we may state that there have been complaints, possibly without foundation, that labourers have been taken to the Mauritius, who, when they went on board the vessel in the Hooghly, had not an intention of proceeding thither.

In conclusion we can but express our hope that the subject may receive from the proper authorities that attention which every friend of humanity will consider it deserves.-Englishman, Sept. 29.

THE ARMENIANS.

The Armenian, inhabitants have addressed a memorial to the Government, in which they set forth that they are of the ancient Armenian race, which has long ceased to be any where a nation, and was the foremost to appreciate the benefits of British government in the East; that the resort of Armenians to the British settlements in this and other parts of India was coeval with the establishment of those settlements; that the first important firman of the imperial court of Delhi to the English company, was procured by the agency of an Armenian, and the connexion, thus begun with a sense of mutual obligation, was cemented by an instrument of solemn compact, in the nature of a treaty, between Coja Phanoos Calendar, an eminent individual of the Armenian race, and the Governor and Company of Merchants of England, trading to the East-Indies, bearing date the 22d June 1688, and ratified under the hands of the governor and directors, and common seal of the company; that they are possessed of large personal property, and also of large property in houses and lands, within the limits of Calcutta itself, and also in Talooks and Zemindaries in several of the Zillahs and districts of this presidency; and that, of this property, a part is the fruit of their personal acquisition, but the greater portion has been derived to them from fathers or forefathers, by whose industry it was acquired; that since the date of the above compact, in the year 1688, Armenians have, without restriction or question, purchased, enjoyed, and transmitted, real property within the British territories and settlements, never doubting their legal right so to do; that recent decisions and discus