—_- 
1808.} ~ 
of cattle perished. The injury sustained 
by the vineyards is incalculable. The 
whole village was so entirely filled with 
stones, that the labour of hundreds of 
people was required to clear them away. 
' EAST INDIES. 
The Rev. Dr. Bucuanan, who is now 
on his return to Europe, has lately visited 
Goa, for the purpose of making some 
enquiry into the present state of the In- 
guisition at that place. It appears that 
this tribunal, formerly so notorious for 
its sanguinary proceedings, instead of 
declining in power, as bas been supposed, 
with the parent Inauisition in Portugal, 
is still in operation, and that it exercises 
its authority. under circumstances which 
demand the immediate interference of 
the British government. . A progressive 
civilization has enlightened Europe and 
nearly abolished. its spiritual Inquisitions, 
but India remains in the darkuess and 
bondage of ignorance. ‘The inquisition 
of Goa extends its controul in a greater 
or-less degree to the extreme boundary 
of Hindostan, and materially affects the 
honour and character of the British gos 
veroment, and of the christian faith 
which that government professes. Goa 
is properly a city of churches, containing 
in its province a republic of priests, who 
have widely departed from the primitive 
discipline even of their own church. Dr, 
Buchanan’s visit has excited some alarm 
among them,.as they are. fully. sensible 
that their conduct in many instances, in 
doctrine and practice, would not bear a 
Scrutiny, There are in the archiepiscopal 
province of Goa uear three thousand 
priests, occupying upwards of two hun- 
dred. and fifty churches and chapels. 
This is the hierarchy which holds in 
ehains the Catholic church in the east, 
and whose power is silently increasing 
under the tranguil government of the 
Nglish, whose apathy or neglect suffers 
the Romish superstition to confirm its 
dominion with unceasing activity in every 
province of Hindostan, | This is the In- 
© dian community which Jooks out with 
anxiety for the arrival of Buonaparte, 
“the great restorer. of the Catholic 
chareh,” Qn this subject Dr. Buchanan 
1 addressed a letter written on the 
ot to the archbishop of Goa, metropo- | 
_litan of the East, in which be adverts to 
the facts he had witnessed, and to the 
formation he had received from the 
Tnguisitors themselves; aud he urges the 
archbishop to recommend to the court of 
Portagal to retrain from usurping any, 
longer a spiritual power in the British 
Literary and Phitosophical Intelligence. 
261 
states; and to endeavour to repair the 
injury done .to Christianity through the 
crimes and long duration of the Inquir 
sition, by the immediate abolition of that 
tribunal, » He is further requested to 
exert his own authority in reforming the 
abuses in the colleges at Goa for the 
education of the priesthood, in causing 
his priests to apply themselves to the 
study of the Holy Scriptures, and to cease 
from mixing the pure faith with Indian 
superstitions, and from preaching a cors 
rupt christianity to the subjects of the 
British government. ‘ 
The following interesting particulars, 
relative tothe present state of the cele- 
brated temple of Elephanta,are given in 
a letter from the Rev. Dr. Bucnanan, 
by whom that place was visited in Fe- 
bruary last, to W. T. Money, esq. of 
Bombay. ‘ When I visited the Ele- 
phanta (says Dr. B.), and compared it 
with the accounts of former travellers, I 
perceived that the cavern and. figures 
were ina state of progressive and rapid 
dilapidation ; and it seeins to me proba- 
ble, that when afew more pillars shal} 
have fallen in, the whole temple will he 
overwhelmed in the ruin of the superin- 
cumbent mountain. If [ may offer an 
opinion on the means of preservation 
which are practicable, I would suggest, 
that the dilapidated pillars be rebuilt 
entirely of hewn stone, in three blocks 
of vranite of the mountain, after the ori- 
ginal model; the decayed bases of the 
columns still standing to be cased with 
the same stone; and the broken limbs 
and features of the figures to be restored 
atter the authority of the drawings and 
descriptions of the earliest travellers; 
the year of the repair, and the motive of 
the undertaking, to be inscribed in deep | 
characters on the wall of the caverns 
the solid stone floer to be cleared of 
rubbish (in some places it is two feet 
deep), that the continuity of the rock with 
the bases of the columns may appear; 
the modern wall inclosing the front to be 
taken down to throw more light on the 
body of the place, and a railing substir 
tuted at a greater distance ; the figures to 
be frequently cleaned and dried with a 
cloth, which will have the effect of giv- 
Jng them a kind of enamel, and preserv= 
ing their surface from the corroding ef. 
feet of the moisture; means to be dee 
vised fur preserving the cave from inuny 
dation during the abnnal rains: steps to 
be cut in the rock for easy descent to the 
cavern, ofcold water ; the jungle in front 
of the cave, and aboutits edges, tobe 
8 cleared, 
