﻿PRELIMINARY 
  REMARKS. 
  15 
  

  

  Silurian 
  rocks 
  in 
  Pegu 
  is 
  difficult 
  to 
  say; 
  the 
  more 
  so 
  as 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  proofs 
  

   adduced 
  — 
  the 
  abundance 
  of 
  fish-remains 
  — 
  would 
  go 
  far 
  to 
  counterindicate 
  

   a 
  Silurian 
  age 
  for 
  the 
  beds 
  containing 
  them, 
  that 
  class 
  only 
  making 
  

   its 
  appearance 
  in 
  the 
  highest 
  strata 
  of 
  the 
  Silurian 
  period 
  ; 
  and 
  moreover, 
  

   the 
  fish-remains 
  in 
  Pegu 
  are 
  mainly 
  squaline 
  teeth, 
  a 
  family 
  which 
  would 
  

   seem 
  to 
  have 
  culminated 
  in 
  the 
  Tertiary 
  epoch. 
  It 
  may 
  seem 
  to 
  some 
  

   unnecessary 
  to 
  notice 
  such 
  errors 
  of 
  previous 
  writers 
  who 
  wrote 
  and 
  

   compiled 
  to 
  the 
  best 
  of 
  their 
  knowledge 
  ; 
  but 
  I 
  do 
  so 
  because 
  erroneous 
  

   statements 
  of 
  the 
  kind 
  I 
  have 
  mentioned 
  above 
  get 
  quoted 
  and 
  re-quoted 
  

   by 
  successive 
  writers, 
  an 
  instance 
  of 
  which 
  is 
  afforded 
  by 
  the 
  Adminis- 
  

   tration 
  Report 
  of 
  British 
  Burmah, 
  1868-69, 
  wherein 
  occurs 
  some 
  geolo- 
  

   gical 
  information 
  of 
  a 
  startling 
  character, 
  which 
  never 
  would 
  have 
  been 
  

   allowed 
  to 
  appear, 
  if 
  that 
  portion 
  of 
  it 
  had 
  been 
  submitted 
  to 
  any 
  

   qualified 
  person 
  for 
  revision, 
  as 
  where 
  the 
  islands 
  of 
  Arakan 
  are 
  stated 
  

   to 
  be 
  " 
  all 
  of 
  volcanic 
  formation," 
  a 
  sentence 
  which, 
  I 
  believe, 
  might 
  

   easily 
  be 
  made 
  to 
  tally 
  with 
  the 
  true 
  state 
  of 
  the 
  case 
  by 
  the 
  simple 
  

   substitution 
  of 
  the 
  word 
  " 
  none" 
  for 
  " 
  all." 
  

  

  Finally, 
  a 
  report 
  by 
  Captain 
  G. 
  A. 
  S 
  trover, 
  Political 
  Agent, 
  Man- 
  

   dalay, 
  dated 
  22nd 
  January 
  1873, 
  has 
  just 
  been 
  placed 
  in 
  my 
  hands, 
  

   containing 
  some 
  interesting 
  information 
  to 
  which 
  I 
  would 
  draw 
  attention. 
  

   Under 
  the 
  head 
  ' 
  gold' 
  occurs 
  the 
  following 
  statement, 
  which, 
  if 
  corro- 
  

   borated 
  by 
  future 
  exploration, 
  is 
  not 
  only 
  of 
  great 
  interest, 
  but 
  of 
  great 
  

   importance 
  commercially 
  likewise 
  : 
  — 
  <c 
  At 
  Thayet-pein-yua, 
  near 
  the 
  

   Myit-nyay 
  on 
  the 
  road 
  to 
  Pyoungshoo, 
  to 
  the 
  south-east 
  of 
  Mandalay, 
  

   the 
  gold 
  quartz 
  is 
  found 
  in 
  abundance, 
  the 
  reefs 
  cropping 
  up 
  from 
  the 
  

   ground, 
  and 
  there 
  is 
  reason 
  to 
  believe, 
  that 
  very 
  valuable 
  gold-mines 
  are 
  

   in 
  existence, 
  and 
  could 
  be 
  worked 
  and 
  developed 
  with 
  little 
  trouble. 
  A 
  

   Shan 
  lately 
  procured 
  from 
  here 
  a 
  piece 
  of 
  quartz 
  3^ 
  lbs. 
  in 
  weight 
  that 
  

   produced 
  exactly 
  2| 
  tickals 
  of 
  gold." 
  The 
  distance 
  of 
  Pyoungshoo 
  not 
  

   being 
  given, 
  I 
  can 
  only 
  infer 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  probably 
  the 
  place 
  called 
  in 
  Pem- 
  

   berton's 
  map 
  " 
  Neaungsheway," 
  80 
  miles 
  south-east 
  of 
  Mandalay, 
  a 
  

  

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