42 Sir Charles Elliott — BemarJcs on Kusi River. [Feb. 



easterly direction. However, tlie course of the Kusi river has been 

 receiving the attention of Grovernment and of the Public Works Depart- 

 ment, and I wish that the Secretary, Mr. Odling, had been here this 

 evening to give the meeting the benefit of his knowledge and experience. 

 A special engineer was deputed during the past rainy season to study 

 the river. His investigation is at present incomplete. The river Kusi 

 commences to spill at Bedra in N"epaul. No material change is reported 

 to have occurred in its course since the year 1889, when the main 

 stream came over from the western side of the river, a little north 

 of the place mentioned. The stream, at present, is on the eastern side 

 of the bed, and there are no indications of any immediate change. Some 

 caution is necessary in expressing an opinion as to the future, as it is 

 commonly said that the only certain theory about the river Kusi is 

 that it will behave in a way totally dilferent from what has been 

 predicted. There is a heavy spill on the eastern bank of the river 

 which does considerable damage, large areas of land, mostly how- 

 ever in Nepaulese territory, having been thrown oat of cultivation 

 during the last five years. It seems that it is mainly the land owners 

 in the district who are apprehensive ; the railway engineers enter- 

 tain no fears on the subject. Still if any measures could be suggested 

 which would commend themselves to experts as undoubtedly tending 

 to secure the district of Purneah against the possible vagaries of the 

 river at a reasonable expense, the Government would be glad to do what 

 it could. It is hardly necessary to say that, as in all similar cases, the 

 objects of the promoters of embankment schemes are, in themselves, so 

 good, that it is impossible not to sympathize with them. The advantages 

 resulting from an embankment are usually immediate and obvious. 

 But there is scarcely a case, in Bengal at least, where it has not hap- 

 pened that in the course of years the difficulties and not unfrequently 

 dangers caused by embankments have become so great that their 

 removal has become a question of discussion. In the case of the Da- 

 moodah and Goomti rivers this step became a pressing necessity and 

 has been carried out. At the same time it must be remembered that 

 changes in the course of a river arise from the most trivial causes, 

 such as the occurrence of a snag in the stream, or its meeting a slightly 

 harder bed of clay or hunkar,'' 



4. Cri Dharma Marjgala :— a distant echo of the Lalita Vistara, — By 

 Pandit Haraprasad 9astrI, M.A. 



The paper will be published in the Journal, Part I. 



