FRANCIS HAMILTON (ONCE BUCHANAN). iud 
has been employed on a Statistical S Serer 
Sh duda e n } survey oi distriets in the Lower Provinces, al:o drawings of the 
| و‎ , etc, menagerie at Barrackpore with the descriptions: of them, and to desire that 
you will take charge of these drawings until further orders.” я ге ша 
In tie margin of this letter is {һе following pencil uo'e by the Secretary to 
Government :— j 
* My dear Sir, This 
чы _ is the letter which I mentioned to you when you took away the drawings, that I 
would scnd you. | А | 
The acknowiedgment of their receipt by Waliich, dated 26th February 1814, is 
as follows :-~ 
«T beg leave to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 91st instant together with the 
accompanying descriptions ani seven hundred and forty-five drawings of Dr. Buchanan, which the 
Hon'ble the Vice-President has pleased to commit to my charge, viz.,— 
One hundred and forty-four drawings of fishes. 
Two hundred and thirty-one ditto of birds. 
Twenty drawings of other animals. 
Twenty-seven unfinished drawings. 
One hundred and thirty-eight drawings of plants. 
One hundred and forty-seven drawing of birds of the Barrackpore Menagerie. 
Thirty-eight drawings of other animals.” 
The most interesting feature of these letters is the fact that not only were the botanical 
drawings of which Buchanan was deprived sent to the Garden, but the zoological ones as 
well, Moreover, not only were the zoological drawings of the Bengal Survey sent, but those 
made at the menagerie at Barrackpore. The whole occurrence shows that no attempt was 
made to utilise the drawings in the manner recommended by His Excellency, and thet, 
altLough the duty of acting as their custodian was certainly imposed on the Superintendent 
of this Garden, there was no intention of making them permanently over to this institution, 
Further orders were not long delayed. On receipt of the despatch of 15th December 
1815, an order, dated 22nd June 1810, was sent to Hare, who had superseded Wallich as 
Superintendent, along with all the correspondence in the case, calling for a report from him 
on the subject and directing him—  . 
“to send the drawings in question to the public department for transmission to the Honourable Court 
of Directors, after having had copies made of such as may be useful for botanical purposes.” 
In submitting the report asked for, Hare suggested the advisability of his being 
permitted to copy the zoclogical as well as the botanical drawings before returning them 
to the Secretariat for transmission to England. The reply to this suggestion, which is dated 
July 17th, 1816, says that— a | e : 
* His Lordship in Council entirely approves of your retaining copies accordingly, and requests on their 
completion that you will cause the originals to be carefully packed up for transmission to the Honourable 
Court of Directors by the first fleet of the season." | 
From this point much obseurity exists as regards the fate of the drawings. The 
natural history collections which they illustrated went home with Buchanan in Ithe 
“ Marchioness of Ely” and the mistake in the despateh of December 15, 1815, which 
said that certain collections had been retained in Calcutta, was no doubt pointed ы. 
The note of 5th January 1815 by the Marquis of Tastings; which ces зас. 
1 There is по indication in Wallieh's or in Buehanan's letters that Wallich ever told Buchanan that the drawings 5 
were sent to the Botanie Garden, where {һе bulk of them were useless, the day after he had gone. Probably he did not —— 
desire to wound the feelings of his friend. 
