298 [Assembly 



The Kingdom of Assam, lying upon the eastern frontier of India, 

 between Lat. 25 and 2S° N. is now under the sway of the British 

 sceptre. In 1834, a project originated in London to introduce the 

 cultivation of the Tea Plant into that Kingdom. The northern 

 section of the Kingdom being a broken and hilly country, was wisely 

 selected as the most favorable location for the experiment. A joint 

 stock company was organized in London with a large capital, and 

 the secretary of the company, Mr. Gordon dispatched to China in 

 1835, to reconnoitre the Tea-growing districts, and collect such in- 

 formation as might forward aid facilitate the operations of the 

 company. His success was partial, arising from the natural jeal- 

 ousy of the Chinese, and the difficulty encountered in penetrating 

 the interior of the country. The information, however, which he 

 gained, very important and very minutely recorded, was transmitted 

 to Muttuck, in Assam, with the view of forming establishments for 

 the cultivation of the Tea Plant. Singular as it may appear, it was 

 now discovered that the Tea Plant was indigenous to Assam, grew 

 naturally upon the hills and mountains, as evergreens do upon our 

 hills and mountains, and only required cultivation, to equal the 

 growth of China. Samples of the Tea grown in Assam, were for- 

 warded to London from time to time, (which I might have seen, 

 as I was then residing in that city, and personally acquainted with 

 some of the gentlemen concerned in the undertaking, and certainly 

 should have seen, had I felt the same interest in the matter then, 

 that I now feel,) in order to test the quality, and by exhibiting the 

 product itself, to disarm opposition, and strengthen support. 



So late as 1847, twelve packages of Tea containing, 533 pounds 

 of black and 266 of green, were shipped to the directors of the East 

 India Company the produce of Kumsoon, Assam, to have the value 

 of this new article from India tested in the English market. The 

 English Tea Company of Assam, has prosecuted the cultivation, 

 with a zeal and perseverance, characteristic of the people. It is 

 now regarded as one of the most important enterprises connected 

 with British India. A steam saw-mill was early established, and a 

 steamboat provided. The former to prepare the chests and boxes 

 for packing, the latter for navigating the river Mingan, for trans- 

 porting the Tea to the shipping posts of India.* 



The Friend of India, for March 12, 1840, remarks, speaking of 

 the prosperity and extension of the labors of the company, " that no 

 fewer than 1733 laborers have been sent to Assam from various 



• Chinese Repository, vol. 9, p. 112, 



