Jan. 26, 1857.] YULE ON THE GEOGRAPHY OF BURMA. 271 



A selection of excellent photographs of Burmese buildings and 

 scenery, by Capt. Tripe, of the Madras army, was exhibited in 

 illustration of the paper. 



The President said the FelloAvs would agree with him in thinking tiais a 

 most valuable contribution. Captain Yule had brought before them a very 

 large, graphic, and at the same time, he presumed, a very exact view of this 

 country. Capt. Yule had examined considerable portions of the country, and had 

 combined together and collated, as he thought, with singular ability and 

 acumen, all the valuable documents of his precursors. He expressed in his 

 concluding paragraph, that it was much to the credit of the Burmese, with so 

 small a population, to have maintained their empire there, and he might add 

 that it was much to the credit of an eminent geographer present (Mr. Craw- 

 furd), that he should have made such a just estimate, so many years ago, as 

 to the population of the country. No person he knew had a higher opinion 

 of the talents displayed by Mr. Crawfurd in his work upon Ava, than Captain 

 Yule ; and it was gratifying to know that Mr. Crawfurd was present to testify 

 to the accuracy of the statements before them. Not only had Captain Yule 

 corrected a great number of erroneous views with respect to the longitude of 

 different tracts, and given the general features of the physical geography of 

 the country, but he had also given some very interesting comparative views of 

 the condition of those vast regions at different periods of history. Captain 

 Yule could have brought before them much more that would have been 

 amusing. There was on the table a portrait of his Majesty the King of 

 Burma, who received the English Mission eating " pawn," a substance which 

 his Majesty continually put into his mouth, and chewed so continuously that 

 it was difficult on the part of the Mission to understand what he addressed to 

 them. There was also a view of the celebrated white elephant, which had an 

 entire district assigned for his maintenance. Another view represented the 

 king, with his queen smoking a cheroot in her chair of state, and the British 

 Mission at a respectful distance. Captain Yule had called attention merely to 

 the great geographical features of this region, and to its history, and he 

 had done so with singular ability. He was very glad that his short absence 

 from his post in India, where he was actively employed, had enabled him to 

 communicate so much knowledge to the Eoyal Geographical Society. 



Mr. J. Crawfurd, f.r.g.s. — By the favour of the President he had had 

 the pleasure of reading Captain Yule's Eeport of the Mission to Burma. It 

 seemed to be printed, but not published. Why, he really did not know, for it 

 did great credit and great honour to everybody concerned — to the nobleman who 

 made such an excellent selection of persons to fulfil that mission, and above all 

 to Captain Yule, who was the principal writer of the volume, assisted by a very 

 able geologist, Mr. Oldham. That book ought to have been published. It 

 was public property ; the public had a right to have it : and he hoped it would 

 be published. Major Phayre and Captain Yule had gone over the ground, that 

 he went over himself thirty years ago. They had done great justice to all the 

 parties that went before them, to himself more than justice in most respects, 

 although he had a few trifling comments to make upon some portions of the 

 volume. He held in his hand a passage which, perhaps, they would permit 

 him to read : — " Mr. Crawfurd appears to have been rendered weary, hopeless, 

 and disgusted, by the arrogance and impracticability of the Burmese ministers, 

 and excepting on one point — the payment of indemnity money — made deplorable 

 concessions." Now, he was not aware that he made any concessions at all, 

 deplorable or otherwise. In his own humble opinion he maintained a meri- 

 torious amount of obstinacy. He yielded nothing, absolutely nothing. Very 

 great demands were made upon him. The Burmese negotiators demanded 



