428 Voyage of the Novara. 



because the beach, being utterly unprovided with any artificial 

 appliances, is left in its natural state — that is to say, covered 

 with fine sand, which lies so level that the depth is only nine 

 fathoms tv^o miles out at sea ! Singular to say, no steps have 

 to this day been taken to carry out the proposition, made many 

 long years ago, of remedying this difliculty in reaching land, by 

 the construction of a mole or pier, although three or four plans 

 have already been presented by distinguished engineers. The 

 last and most feasible scheme, and the most likely to be put 

 in execution, consists in constructing a mole 1000 feet in 

 length and 60 feet in breadth, to be erected upon iron piles driven 

 into the sand, and with a cross-piece at the seaward extremity 

 — the mole construction resembling the letter T. On either 

 side of the mole, tramways will be laid down to facilitate the 

 transport of goods that have been discharged. The entire cost 

 of this undertaking would be about £100,000 — an entirely 

 disproportionate, and, indeed, insignificant amount, when one 

 takes into consideration the important consequences which 

 must result to trade and passenger traffic on the completion of 

 this erection. 



The earliest British settlement was at Armegon, about 36 

 miles north of Pulicat (or about 78 miles N. by W. of Madras). 

 The cession of a piece of land by the native Rajah of 

 Besnayor induced the president of the old factory at Ar- 

 megon, Mr. Francis Day, to abandon the latter, and in the 

 year 1639, the Fort of St. George was erected at the newly- 

 selected station, where formerly stood the little Hindoo 



