1^6 KHASI HILLS. 



discovery was followed up by the finding of other beds of coal in various 

 places in the adjoining district^a/ 



Regarding this coal, the most important information referrincr to the 

 few succeeding years is to be found in the Reports of the proceedino's of 

 the Coal and Mineral Committee, published ia 1838-1846. 



Curing the years intervening between 1840 and 1844, a considerable 

 amount of coal was sent down from Cherra Poonjee, under the superin- 

 tendence of Colonel (then Major) Lister, the Political Agent for the Khasi 

 Hills, part of which was sent to Dinapore and the ujiper stations on the 

 Ganges, but the larger proportion was sent to Calcutta. 



In September 1844, the Government right in the coal-mines at Cherra 

 (which are held under a lease for ever from the Rajah of Cherra, dated 

 the 20th April 1840, at a stipulated royalty of one rupee for every 100 

 maunds excavated by Government, reserving at the same time the right 

 of all subjects of the Cherra Rajah to mine on their own account, which 

 " the Government are not to preveut" ) was transferred on the same terms 

 to Mr. Engledue, then the Agent in Calcutta for the Peninsular and 

 Oriental Company, the mines to be worked by him, either oh the part of 

 that Company, or on his own account. 



It appears that, from that time, the quantity of coal annually extracted 

 from these mines diminished considerably. In 1846, Colonel Lister 

 reported that "the mines subsequently to this transfer had not been 

 worked with that spirit which was expected from the correspondence 

 prior to their being granted ; and that only about one-half the 

 quantity which was formerly sent down from the Agency, had been sent 

 down during that season on the part of Mr. Engledue's Agents, while he 

 thought the cost, instead of being reduced, would be greater by some 30 

 per cent." 



These mines, having thus failed under Mr. Engledue's management, 

 were transferred to the Sylhet Coal Company, or to their representatives, 

 (a) Journal Asiatic Society Bengal, Vol. I., p. oCS, &c. 



