'gift' of AswA DEVA (Asa-Devasa dánam). This legend is written inside the lid of the steatite vase.

"In my account of Mogaliputra's relics, I mentioned that the term Atevásino was found coupled with Púdaya in one of the inscriptions of No. 2 tope at Sanchi. It is as follows:

"PATI-BANASA BHICHHUNO PADAYASA ATEVASINO DANAM. "Gift of Prativarna, the Mendicant Priest, a Pándava of the race of Atri,'

"The inscriptions, which are found upon the rails, pillars, and coping-stones of the colonnaded enclosures at Sánchi, amount to about two hundred and forty. Some of them are, of course, but of little value; but the whole, taken together, are of considerable importance, as they record the names of cities and of races, and exhibit the language and alphabet of India at the time of Alexander and his successors. Every letter of the alphabet which James Prinsep found in the longer inscriptions, I have found in these short ones. Lastly, they prove most unmis. takeably the predominance of the Buddhist religion by the use of names and terms peculiar to that belief; and they establish the early existence of the Buddhist triad of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, by the frequent occurrence of such names as

"Budba Pálita

Dhama Pálita Dhama Rakhita

Sangha Pálita Sangha Rakhita

Budha Rakhita "A few of these inscriptions are partly obliterated; but I have copied and translated the whole, as I consider that every word of the language will lessen the difficulties of translating the longer inscriptions. A few specimens may be interesting :"No. 90 of my list. Upedadatasadánam. 'Gift of Upendradatta.'

"No. 62. Ujeniya Upedadatasa pajavataya Máyádataya dánam. 'Gift of MAYADATTA, the mother of UPENDRADATTA, of Ujain.' "No. 63. Ujeniya Upedadatasa Bhaginiya Himádataya dánam. 'Gift of Himádattá, the sister of Upendradatta, of Ujain.' "I cannot now attempt any description of the numerous basreliefs further than to state generally that they exhibit the adoration of topes, of bo-trees, and of wheels, processions escorting relic boxes, apparently after a successful campaign for their acquisition; ascetic life in the woods, where both the Srámanas and Srámanás (Σepivoi and Zeμvai) are represented in various acts of meditative abstraction, &c. These are the Gymnosophists of the Greeks; for I believe that the term Buddha (the 'wise') was literally translated by the Greeks, and that Sophists, Philosophers, and Gymnosophists, all equally mean 'Buddhist Priests.'"

Should any delay or irregularity occur in supplying this paper, a communication of the fact to the Publishers will insure a remedy.

ALLEN'S INDIAN MAIL, LONDON,

TUESDAY, February 3, 1852.

LITTLE more than forty years ago, when the country was shuddering at the dismal prospect of being entirely denuded of gold, he would have been reputed a madman, or rather a fool, who should have suggested the possibility of so prodigal a yield of the precious metal that the world would be, in such a brief interval, invaded by an opposite dread, that of being overwhelmed and smothered by it. Yet at the very time when gold was vanishing from our circulation; when an enormous premium was paid for light guineas; when paper was almost the only medium of commercial transactions, the standard metal having risen from 31. 17s. an ounce to 47. 12s.,—at this very time, gold was lying, as it were, broad-cast upon the surface soil of California, requiring little more than picking up, and was so abundant even in our own colony of New South Wales, that, at a later period, roads were made and bridges built

of this inestimable, indispensable ore, lurking in its native matrix.

No incident, amongst the many wonderful discoveries of science and the equally surprising efforts of art which characterize the present age, will affix to it a more permanent mark of distinction than this mighty treasure-trove. It is no South Sea Bubble or Mississippi Scheme, flatulent with ideal wealth; the gold fields are no creations of the fancy, which seems, in this instance, to have lagged behind reality; we have tangible evidence in the annual millions of bullion pouring from the Californian diggings, which seem again to be in a fair way of surrendering their attractions to the more startling revelations of those in Australia. The reports in the colonial papers are more than confirmed by the statements in private letters, which speak of "enormous masses of gold ore" in the Bathurst district; of 'quantities of pure gold which stagger all belief;" of "veins of nearly pure gold five or six inches thick," &c. A piece of ore, or clod, weighing 150 lbs., one-third of which was pure gold, was brought into Sydney, in September last, from the estate of a gentleman whose lands had been supplying gold ore, in mountain quartz, for making roads and building bridges. In short, a country supposed to be destitute of all metals, turns out to be a huge goldmine!

What is to become of us in this strange calamity? Some provision can be made against an impending famine, a potato disease, or a terrible fall in the stocks; but here comes a fearful torrent of gold, from the effects of which, it is said, nothing can secure us. It is absurd to bury our money, in order to meet an evil day, as used to be done; better sell our gold whilst it is worth anything. Then, what shall we take in return for it? Bank-notes, unhappily, are re-convertible into gold, so that we shall be no better off by the exchange. We have before us the provoking fate of being impoverished by becoming too rich; like Midas, we run the risk of starvation in the midst of unbounded opulence.

These are the melancholy forebodings with which the auriferous intelligence from the modern Ophirs fills our torpid capitalists. That the sudden and extraordinary influx of this precious metal will produce important consequences in the commercial world, especially in those countries where gold is the standard of the circulation, no one can doubt. It is, however, by no means certain that these effects will be injurious, far less disastrous. Gold, like other commodities, derives its worth solely from its exchangeable value. The gold-finders, therefore, in order to realize their wealth, must exchange their metal, which they cannot eat or drink, for something else. The more gold they disinter, the larger amount of other articles they must buy with it. In this view of the case, the apparently redundant supply of gold will operate, in the first instance at least, as a stimulus to trade, creating a demand for the other products of labour, and consequently an additional fund of capital for the payment of wages. That, in process of time, should the supply of this precious ore continue to increase, it will derange the relations between the circulating medium and the prices of commodities, is extremely probable; but the operation will be slow and gradual, and it must be remembered that, in proportion as gold falls in its relative value, there will be less activity at the diggings, and the profits of ordinary commerce will allure men from

1

a pursuit which, at the best, has always hitherto been a precarious one.

These are, however, but crude speculations; the results of all great changes in the world's affairs have been seldom, if ever, correctly foreseen by the most discerning minds. We may safely assume that these stores of a highly-prized and a highly useful metal, so long concealed and so simultaneously disclosed, were not reposited in the earth for purposes inconsistent with the good of mankind. It is only an abuse of the precious ores that makes them irritamenta malorum rightly used, they administer to the exigencies and the conveniences of the human race, and we can see no reason why the commercial and financial arrangements of the civilized world, which has a common concern in this matter, should not adapt themselves to the change, without prejudice to the interests of any particular classes.

In contemplating the rapid progress of science and art, and the impulse given to discovery in the domain of pure physics, it is natural to indulge a wish that these material benefits may be followed by moral improvements amongst the masses of society. It is humiliating to think that, as the human family rises in the scale of intellectual greatness, and augments its acquisition of the means of happiness, it makes no corresponding advance in the path of social regeneration. Let us hope that, as we have gained so many victories over the elements, and have now the prospect of superabundant capital to furnish employment to labour, we shall soon behold symptoms of a beneficial change in those classes which feed our prisons and infect our social atmosphere, and hail the dawn of brighter days in the moral world.

Ir is not very unusual for Courts-Martial in India to miscarry in some way or other; but the Court at Cannanore, which tried the sepoys of the 39th regiment of Madras Native Infantry who ran away from a handful of Moplahs in August last, has rather distinguished itself in this respect. Ten men, including three native non-commissioned officers, were found guilty of having "misbehaved before a body of fanatics in arms, by shamefully retreating in disorder and panic before them, casting away their arms, and one of them (a havildar) his accoutrements and ammunition also." For these grave military offences, inferior only in degree to downright treachery, the Court sentenced the culprits to two years' imprisonment, the non-commissioned officers to be likewise reduced to the ranks,-a sentence utterly disproportioned to their guilt: the misbehaving before an enemy, and the casting away arms or ammunition in presence of an enemy, being each punishable in the Royal army with transportation. But the Court virtually mitigated even this lenient sentence, by recommending the prisoners to mercy, on the ground that "they were in such a position that they could neither use their bayonets, nor fire on the enemy, while drawn up in files." This apology, weak and futile as it is, turns out to be without any foundation. From the "Remarks" of the Commander-in-Chief, it appears that the detachment was formed for passing a causeway in its front, but that the men fled on the first intimation of the advance of the Moplahs, who, our readers will recollect, numbered about twenty, armed only with knives and spears, the sepoys consisting of sixty-five muskets.

The convicted runaways of the 43rd regiment, in the affair of 1849, were sentenced by the Court to seven years'

imprisonment, with hard labour, for which the Commanderin-Chief (Sir G. Berkeley) substituted dismissal from the service. General Armstrong has dismissed the offenders in the present case, having very properly declined to confirm the sentence, as being most incommensurate with the offence and obviously inappropriate, since it retains in the service men who, in abandoning their arms and flying in the face of "a paltry number of half-armed fanatics," have shown their unfitness for it, or that they had voluntarily renounced their character of soldiers.

In a former article, we attributed the cowardice exhibited by the Madras sepoys, upon the several occasions of misbehaviour before Moplahs, to an unconquerable superstitious dread of these fanatics. In thus accounting for their conduct, we intended in no degree to excuse it. To expose these men unnecessarily to so severe a trial, is, in our opinion, highly injudicious; but to admit such a plea in extenuation of such an offence would be ruinous to discipline. The Court-Martial does not, however, rest its recommendation to mercy upon this ground, but, on the contrary, expresses its assurance that "had the men been formed in line, facing the Moplahs, when both muskets and bayonets would have come into play, the men would have behaved gallantly!" It would be just as reasonable to adopt the suggestion of the old subadar, that the Moplahs are not an enemy, but thieves and robbers, and there is no honour in killing them."

66

NONE of the functions of our Government in the East are so embarrassing and difficult as those which bring it into immediate contact with the religious creeds of the people, ranging as they do through an infinite variety of strange doctrines, from Atheism to Pantheism. By compact, express or implied, with the nations that have submitted to our rule, they are entitled to toleration and protection in the free exercise of their religion. Policy herein coincides with justice; for the permanence of our authority over those subjugated nations, and the hope of reclaiming them from their errors, greatly depend upon a forbearance on our part from any proceeding calculated to shock their religious prejudices, which are highly sensitive, and, when excited, not easily soothed and pacified. The recent outbreak at Bombay, occasioned by apparently a very harmless act of a Parsee editor, but which the Mahomedans interpreted as an outrage upon their faith, is an indication of the fires that slumber beneath a treacherous surface throughout British India.

To many persons, who do not subscribe to the wild theory, that it is obligatory upon Christian governors to extinguish by violence all creeds but their own amongst their subjects, it doubtless appears an easy matter to pursue a middle course, leaving encouragement of superstition on one side, and persecution on the other. But between these two extremes there is sometimes a neutral ground, where the ruling authority has to find its way with no other lights than are afforded by its own good intention, and is liable to be suspected of leaning, through accident or design, to one or other of the obnoxious boundaries. The Government connection with temple property in the south of India, though entirely free from any taint of association with the degrading rites of Juggernath, which it tended to check

Last voi., p. 653.

and restrain, was, through a pardonable excess of zeal, denounced in this country, and the connection, much to the contentment of the priests of that idolatrous establishment, and greatly to the increase of its votaries, has been dissolved.

A similar crusade, upon a smaller scale, is in operation in Ceylon, where the "Buddhist Question" has for some time past been a topic of fierce controversy in the journals, as well as in private circles. Buddhism seems to present an impassive obstacle to the progress of Christianity in that island, and the honest indignation of the missionaries seeks to batter it down. Revolting descriptions are given of a creed which, uncorrupted by idolatrous practices with which it has no original association, is remarkably inoffensive, presenting externally many points of analogy with Romanist observances, whilst its moral code harmonizes with the Christian. The hostility of the enemies of Buddhism has been recently exasperated by an act of the Governor of Ceylon, transgressing, as they allege, the line of demarcation betwixt toleration and encouragement.

It appears that, in 1847, the local government, in obedience to instructions from home, withdrew entirely from "all participation in the outward practices of Buddhism;" amongst other things, it relinquished the custody of the "Tooth of Buddha," the supposed palladium of the State, as well as of the faith,-an act which is said to have created so much discontent amongst the influential classes of Singalese, that it has been reckoned amongst the causes of the late insurrection. The instructions were carried into execution so scrupulously, that the late Governor refused to sign the commissions appointing the high priests of Wihares (principal temples), and the Basnaike Nilemes, or lay chiefs of Dewales, which had been previously considered essential to their validity. These appointments are merely civil instruments, investing the holders with a legal tenure, as trustees, in property of which they are the undoubted owners, and the continued possession of which was guaranteed to them by solemn compacts on the subjection of the country to British rule. In consequence of this refusal, the representatives of the temples were disqualified from carrying processes into the civil courts against those who disputed the legal claims of those establishments, or who sought to defraud them; in other words, a grievous civil ́and secular loss was inflicted upon them, in direct violation of the convention of 1815, which promised "protection to the Buddhist religion."

Here, it was evident, the Government had suffered the balance to incline too much one way; to avoid the appearance of encouraging Buddhism, it was really, though unintentionally, persecuting it. Sir George Anderson, seeing the matter in this light, did not hesitate to rectify an act of undesigned injustice, and resumed the practice of signing the civil deeds, called commissions. This equitable proceeding on the part of the Government has provoked a violent outcry in the island; the journals are stuffed with letters and leaders stigmatizing the act as nothing less than patronizing Atheism, and the clergy of the diocese of Colombo, with the archdeacon at their head, have memorialized the bishop upon the subject, urging him to join them in a petition to the Crown, praying for " an absolute severance of the Government of Ceylon from the idolatrous abominations of the country."

temple trustees might be removed by other measures; that the signature of a Government officer to any document by which the priests are authorized to hold temple property makes it to be regarded as a Government act, and the document becomes a powerful instrument of persuading the people that Buddhism is directly sanctioned by their rulers; that it is not only inconsistent in a Christian Government, but also unwise, to maintain even the slightest connection with a religion which denies the existence of a Creator, and keeps in bondage the minds of the people; that the resumption of the practice will encourage the hopes and stimulate the efforts of the priests to attempt the recovery of other abolished practices; and that the return to a system deliberately abandoned as wrong implies greater guilt than the original support of it.

The bishop, concurring in the "general principles" expressed in the memorial, declined to accede to it. He observes, in his reply, that the act complained of partakes in no respect of a religious character; that to security in their unquestioned rights all the subjects of the British Government, Christians or heathens, lay or clerical, are alike entitled, and to deprive them, or even allow them to be deprived of it, from the want of legal protection, pledged as the Government is to secure that protection to them, would amount to a breach of good faith; and "to represent, therefore, so simple an act of justice to helpless claimants, though of a different creed, as in any sense a religious act, is a misrepresentation of its true merits."

Few, we think, who take a right view of the obligations contracted by the British Government towards its subjects in the East, will dissent from the conclusions of Bishop Chapman, who is entitled to great credit for his frank and candid avowal of sentiments so liberal, though so little in accordance with those of his over-zealous clergy.

CORRESPONDENCE.

TO THE EDITOR OF ALLEN'S INDIAN MAIL.

SIR,-In the Englishman overland summary, received by a recent mail, there is some account of a very desultory and unsatisfactory meeting of certain of the members of the Bengal Military Fund in Calcutta, in which the old war-cry of the insolvency of the Fund, and the insufficiency of the present rates of subscription of the members, was loudly reiterated and insisted upon. Of course, such speechification, though well understood on the spot, and taken there at its real value,-does mischief elsewhere. We have heard of whole coteries of ladies in Europe being alarmed for the continuance of their pensions, and of military gentlemen at the clubs being agitated at the idea of being called upon for increased contributions.

The question is certainly a rather alarming one; but I can assure your readers, who take an interest in the subject, that there is no ground at all for either of the contingencies apprehended. Mr. Neison, the able actuary, who in 1849 so thoroughly sifted the affairs of the Fund, has again been referred to on certain points of supposed difficulty; and I have authority for stating that, on further and fuller investigation, he has adhered wholly to his former opinion, and has even adduced several sources of benefit to the Fund which he had not taken into account in his former report. He is thoroughly convinced of the soundness of the institution.

Without professing to be an actuary, in the case of a public association like the Bengal Military Fund, where the rules and rates of subscription are published in all the East-India Directories, no great stretch of amateur calculation is required to arrive at a pretty safe solution, or, at all events, to form an idea whether the means of the Fund and its income from subscribers are sufficient to provide for its stipends to widows, and the other outlay it incurs.

that, assuming his age to be 19 when he goes to India, the tables of mortality for that climate have fixed his " expectation of life" at about 30 years. It is not impossible he may marry at the usual average age, say from 25 to 30,-as estimated from the data and numerous facts which have been published on the late inquiry. Taking these grounds, there is no difficulty in finding that every officer, one with another, so situated, must pay into the Fund during his "expectation of life" a sum not less than £1,650, as improved at compound interest at the rate of 8 per cent. allowed by the Government to the institution.

Let us further suppose a hundred officers so paying, and that each had married, as assumed. It will be found by the same tables of mortality that, of the hundred ladies, only seventy wives can have survived their husbands, and that the sum applicable to each lady, to meet her annuity, will stand at no less an amount than £2,357.

Under the circumstances assumed, the pension for the widow would be £205. 6s. 3d.; or, if entitled to a higher grade of pension, a corresponding and higher contribution must have been paid by her late husband, who, if a lieutenant-colonel, must perforce have left £2,800 at interest at 8 per cent. (secured by the Indian Government), to meet an annuity of £273. 15s. I therefore fearlessly ask if there is a single assurance office in London which, on such terms, would not gladly undertake to pay these pensions to ladies who, although beyond the age of 40, do some times remarry, and thus surrender their pension?

The same kind of calculation may be applied to all the circumstances generally of the married members of the Fund, and will show that all subscribers contribute on the average amply sufficient to meet the claims of their widows. It is unnecessary to touch upon the unmarried classes, further than to say that they pay considerably more than they can beneficially receive from the institution, and therefore must materially aid and sup. port its general stability. In a word, the result of the present little investigation, strengthened as it is by the mature opinion of one of the first actuaries in Europe, entitles me to affirm that the late meeting in Calcutta was altogether inconsiderate in its alarm, and uncalled-for in its public observations.

TO THE EDITOR OF ALLEN'S INDIAN MAIL. SIR,-Permit me to offer a few remarks on the correspondence that has recently appeared in your paper between a Mahomedan Moonshee and a Madras Civilian. It appears to me that the gentlemen differ more from misapprehension of each other's statements, than from any material error on either side. I do not happen to have by me the Moonshee's letter, as my copy of the Mail goes in due time to the country; but the impression on my mind is, that he simply said, or meant to say, that the Hindustani is the language most extensively spoken and understood, more or less perfectly, throughout the Indian empire, taken as a whole. If this, and no more, be his meaning, I have no hesitation in agreeing with him. Again, if I recollect rightly, the assertion of "A Civilian" amounts to this, that Hindustani is not spoken in the Madras presidency. Now this will not stand the test of daily experience. I will, in fairness to the Civilian, believe that he meant to say, "that in no district of the Madras presidency is the Hindustani a vernacular language," in which case he would be quite correct; but to say that Hindustani is not spoken or understood in Madras, is a satire on the rulers of that presidency. Why, in your very last Mail, I see no fewer than nine young gentlemen's names in the Madras army who have passed their examinations in Hindustani. Now, if Hindustani be not spoken or understood in Madras, what malicious motive can induce the authorities there to make their young officers learn it, and pass an examination in it?

The plain fact is this: Hindustani, in its various dialects, is vernacular from Patna to the Sutlej; along the main stream of the Ganges and its numerous tributaries to the east and west. Circumstances have contributed to make it the "Lingua Franca" of the whole of our native troops throughout the three presidencies. It is also more or less known by the more respectable inhabitants in every town in the empire, particularly such as hold official situations, and those who have travelled in pursuit of traffic. Many of the Madras troops, as is well known, come from the southern parts of the Bengal presidency, particularly Berar, &c. The Hindustani is very extensively known and spoken in the Nizam's territories, being the court language of that kingdom. It is spoken and understood by Musalmans everywhere, even in provinces where it is not vernacular. It is the naval tongue of the lascars, from the mouth of the Ganges to that of the Red Sea.

From this it clearly follows, that, if a young man has a

prospect of going to India in a year or two, either in the civil, medical, military, or naval service of the East-India Company, he cannot possibly fix on any Indian language so certain of being useful to him as Hindustani. I know, from long expe rience, that there is no earthly difficulty, far less impossibility, in acquiring such a knowledge of it as will suffice for all useful purposes, in this country, to be followed by a few months' colloquial practice in India. As for knowing it idiomatically, in the sense spoken of by the Moonshee, it is not to be expected. But in that sense I will venture to say that no native of India ever did or ever will know English, unless he be brought here when very young. I am, Sir, &c. &c.

The Moonshee declares that he never in his life met, either in India or in England, with an Englishman who could correctly read, write, or speak any of the languages current in India. Now his means of observation have either been very limited, or he is injuring his cause by trying to prove too much. I can point out to him the names of many Englishmen, in the three presidencies of India, whose attainments in the native languages currently spoken in their respective localities would no doubt surprise him, and perhaps induce him to modify an assertion which more intimate inquiry would prove to be unfounded.

It is not difficult to perceive that the Moonshee's experience is confined to one presidency. Though he may have visited Madras or Bombay, as his port of departure from India, he evidently has little acquaintance with those divisions of the country. By writing of our Indian empire under the title of "Hindoostan," he leaves his readers erroneously to infer that "Hindoostanee" is the general language of India; or, as you express it, "the easiest and commonest medium of communication with the people." I need scarcely remind the Moonshee that his own countrymen apply the name of Hindoostan only to the north-western provinces of the Bengal presidency. But he must permit me to inform him, that the Oordoo, or Hindoostanee, is almost invariably styled, by the natives who speak it in the southern peninsula of India, "Moosulmânee bát,”that is, "the language of the Mahomedans,"-thereby clearly pointing out its origin, and proving that it is not the language of India in an extended sense. In the Mahratta, Teloogoo, and Tamul (languages spoken by millions of Hindoo inhabitants of the presidencies of Madras and Bombay, and of the states of Nagpore and Hyderabad), the Hindoostanee is in like manner designated "the language of the Mahomedans."

It would, therefore, have been useful had the Moonshee told us what provinces of India he referred to, when he called Hindoostanee the "language of the land," inasmuch as it is quite possible to travel many hundreds of miles through the heart of the peninsula, from the Nerbudda to Cape Comorin, without ever hearing Hindoostanee spoken by the people of the country, merely by avoiding the military and civil stations on the route. Is the Moonshee aware that there are districts in India in which the Mahomedans themselves prefer using the vernacular of the Hindoo population, both in writing and speaking, rather than avail themselves of the Hindoostanee?

The Moonshee writes of the Hindoostanee as though it were everywhere written and spoken after the pattern of the classbooks used in the College of Fort William; whereas those persons who have had experience of that language, as spoken in the three presidencies and in the native states of Central India, must be aware that it differs extremely in various localities. Being formed by an union of the languages of the court and the camp, Hindoostanee, as spoken by natives of the country, is always found to be greatly corrupted by the introduction, not only of words, but of idioms, taken from the predominant language of the province or territory in which it may be used. This is the case to an extent little understood by some, who indulge in strictures upon the relative knowledge of Hindoostanee possessed by Company's servants in Madras and Bengal.

It is a fact which must not be concealed, that Hindoostanee is much less cultivated by the natives of India than the observations of the Moonshee lead us to suppose; and I have met many native Government officials in all three přesidencies who knew it only colloquially. When the use of Persian was abolished in the judicial courts of Upper and Central India, it was not at all unusual to find that the Serishtahdars and other Aumlah, who could express themselves in flowery Persian, enriched with Arabic phrase, were very much at a loss, both in

orthography and construction, when compelled to write roobekaries and depositions in Hindoostanee, as I could easily prove. The reason is obvious: Hindoostanee possesses no literature of its own; the works extant in the language are not original, but generally translations from the Persian; and it is only fair to add, that for these translations we are indebted to the liberality of the East-India Company, and the labour and research of its servants in India, who compiled the only grammars and dictionaries to be found in the language.

Hindoostanee is, moreover, a language in which no Mahomedan of rank or education will correspond, unless he is compelled to do so by Government. He prefers to communicate his ideas in Persian, which he acquires as the basis of a liberal education. To this must be added a fact not yet noticed, that natives of India, of all degrees, consider it more dignified to employ a scribe, than to indite their own correspondence. Consequently, every chieftain keeps a mootsuddee, who conducts his correspondence, the principal contenting himself with attaching his final mark (sōâd) to the letters which are despatched, and placing his seal upon the envelope. Such is their prejudice in favour of Persian, that I know many instances of native chiefs who did not conceal their dissatisfaction when addressed by letter in the Hindoostanee language, which they considered to be the "chelnee zuban," and unadapted to the correspondence of persons of rank. It may be supposed, therefore, that their astonishment was extreme when they were informed that the use of Persian had been interdicted.

Although I agree with the Moonshee in opinion, that the native languages are much less studied than they ought to be, I deny the existence of such general ignorance on the part of the Company's servants as he asserts. The affairs of the country would be at a stand-still were that the case. It would not be difficult to cite much more ludicrous examples of error than those he has brought forward in corroboration, and he has not been very happy in his selection. I cannot say much for the Hindoostanee of his sepoys, who, when they could not understand the interpreter on parade, remarked," Sahib ne girja keea;" neither can I commend the Moonshee's translation of the phrase. I have interpreted to sepoys of all three presidencies, and have had long acquaintance with Bengal sepoys; but the phrase is quite new, and I think only proves that the men who used it were no great proficients in Hindoostanee.

Khooda and Russool are proper names most ordinarily borne by Mahomedans, and it is not very extraordinary that a young civilian should be so little acquainted with the Mahomedan confession of faith as to mistake "God" and "the Prophet" for the names of a defendant's witnesses. But the Moonshee is hypercritical when he animadverts on the civilian's translation of the sentence," I have made a mistake." The word "mistake," in Hindoostanee, is as often used with an active as a passive verb, as a reference to authorities that have issued from the press under the patronage of the Indian Government will prove. I can assure the Moonsbee that the form of expression which he condemns is in common use in a Mahomedan city, the inhabitants of which consider that they speak the purest Hindoostanee current in India.

It is impossible to deny that the native youth, educated in the colleges of Calcutta, learn to read, write, and speak the English language as fluently as Englishmen. They do so under extraordinary advantages. They commence at an early age; their minds are entirely devoted to the attainment of that one object; they have uninterrupted opportunities of hearing English spoken by educated persons; and they have access to the noblest literature in the world. But how different is the case of the cadet or young civilian in this country! In addition to the other branches of a liberal education, he can devote but little time to the attainment of Oriental learning; he must content himself with occasional lessons from a professor or moonshee, and has no opportunity of hearing the language spoken till he gets out to India, and is called upon to perform other duties. Any measures that will facilitate the attainment of a knowledge of the native languages, by the Court's nominees, in England or in India, will be an incalculable boon. Colloquial proficiency I consider of more importance than a knowledge of reading and writing; but, unfortunately, more attention is paid to the latter than the former. Young men pass examinations from books, but never learn to speak the language.

There is a struggle going on between English and Hindoostanee, and the natives of India are, without doubt, making more rapid advances in the former than we are doing in the latter. They are respectively the languages of the conquerors of the country, and if we retain India long enough, it is not improbable that English will drive Hindoostanee out of the field. I am, Sir, yours obediently, London, 28th Jan. 1852. AN OLD MULL.

TO THE EDITOR OF ALLEN'S INDIAN MAIL. SIR, Is it not reasonable to suppose that the holders of loan notes in India would be entitled in equity to demand from the Crown payment of such notes, in the event of a change taking place in the Government of India, in the same way as the East India Company itself could, in terms of the charter act, demand redemption of the dividend? The holders of loan notes may have perfect confidence in such securities, chargeable as they are upon the revenues of India, as long as the East India Company exercises its present functions; but, under another state of things, they might be inclined to withdraw from such investment, and the securities themselves might fall considerably in value.

What the territorial debt of India may be, I am not prepared to say within a few millions; but this, together with the twelve millions that would have to be paid to the proprietors of stock, and the home bond debt, would form a considerable amount for our Government to provide for, after a transfer of management to a department of state, which might, in all probability, prove an utter failure. I am, Sir, your obedient servant. B. W.

City, Jan. 31, 1852.

LORD BROUGHTON retires from the Board of Control, and Mr. Fox MAULE takes his place. Solve senescentem. He has left some heavy work to his successor in the construction of the new bill for the government of India. That work devolves on a man whose long habits of business, strong sense, and genial temper particularly qualify him for it. The Indian charter being about to lapse, something was necessary to be done, and Lord JOHN has given the work to the best man for the purpose he could find in the existing Cabinet.-Times.

GOVERNOR OF THE CAPE.-Downing Street, Jan. 20.- The Queen has been pleased to appoint Major-General the Hon. George Cathcart to be Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over the settlement of the Cape of Good Hope and its dependencies, and to be her Majesty's High Commissioner for the settling and adjustment of the affairs of the territories adjacent or contiguous to the eastern and north-eastern frontier of the said settlement.-London Gaz.

CHARLES HENRY DARLING, Esq., is appointed LieutenantGovernor of the Settlement of the Cape of Good Hope and its dependencies.-London Gazette, Jan. 27.

THE REV. SAMUEL W. STEEDMAN, chaplain to the troops at Hongkong, is appointed to the colonial chaplaincy of that island, in the room of the Rev. Vincent John Stanton, resigned.— Observer.

MR. CHARLES HENRY STEWART is appointed Deputy Queen's Advocate at Ceylon. - Ibid.

THE AUSTRALIAN STEAM COMPANY (vid the Cape of Good Hope) have announced that their first iron auxiliary steamer, of 1,500 tons registry and 300 horses power, will be ready to start for Port Phillip, Adelaide, and Sidney, early in April.

AN IRON VESSEL, called the Three Bells, just arrived from Australia via Calcutta, furnishes a very satisfactory proof that the objection against the use of iron in the Indian Seas, on account of the impossibility of preventing it from fouling, can be effectually overcome. The Three Bells was coated with the protective paint which has lately been brought into use, and she has returned, it is said, without any barnacles and with less fouling than many coppered vessels coming off a voyage from Calcutta only. This vessel was built at Dumbarton for the Australian trade, but her first trip was to the St. Lawrence, on which occasion she made the passage from Quebec to Glasgow in fifteen days and eleven hours. She is 730 tons, old measurement, and her hold is divided into five water-tight compartments. Her time from Calcutta was 111 days. FAREWELL DINNER TO MR. PEACOCK.. The bar of the Home Circuit gave a farewell dinner on the 17th January, at the Albion, Aldersgate Street, to Mr. Peacock, on his appointment as legal member of the Supreme Council of the Indian Government. Mr. Serjeant Channell, as leader of the circuit, presided; and among the gentlemen present were-Mr. Baron Platt, Sir Frederick Thesiger, Mr. Serjeant Shee, Mr. Montagu Chambers, Q.C., Mr. E. James, Q.C., Mr. Bramwell, Q.C. Mr. Bodkin, the Hon. R. Denman, Mr. Serjeant Gaselee, Mr. Petersdorf, Mr. Locke, and about fifty other members of the circuit.

INDIA COTTON from the new experimental grounds continues to come forward, and the India Company have ordered their agent to forward 781 bales for sale at Manchester, chiefly raised from New Orleans' seed in the collectorates of Dharwar and Kandeish.-Times' Manchester Letter.

BRITISH SHIPPING.-It appears now to be pretty well ascertained that the best built English clippers, especially those of