352 He-port on a Route across [No. 4, 



rectness of the survey of the Pakchan (hereto annexed) said to have 

 been executed by an Officer of the " Ganges" Steamer, which some 

 fifteen years ago, was employed in conveying Captain Durand on an 

 expedition up this river to settle a boundary question. Anchored 

 for the night ; arrived next day at noon on board the " Nemesis." 



15|. On the route from Krau to Tsoompeon we were struck 

 with a remarkable change of geological features. We had observed, 

 as we emerged on the plains of Tsoompeon, very marked looking 

 abrupt hills, which, being accustomed to such in the limestone Islands 

 of the Mergui Archipelago, we concluded were of the same group, 

 but on closer examination they turned out to be sedimentary 

 rocks of either the secondary or primary series, Captain Forlong 

 inclines to think the latter, and to be closely allied to the old red 

 sandstone group, the dip was N. E. by N. "We were unable to collect 

 specimens worthy of being forwarded. All the Islands of the gulf, 

 that we could see, seemed of the same formation, worn into smooth 

 rounded tops, but with perpendicular sides, some of the layers were as 

 fine as thread, although generally half an inch thick,* all abounded 

 in pebbles, and what Captain Forlong believes to be minute fossils. 

 The rocks across the pass were mostly a quartzose sandstone. 



16. It seemed, from our survey of the route, so manifest that 

 a communication might be established with little comparative ex- 

 pense across this narrow neck of land, thus connecting the Bay of 

 Bengal with the China sea by a route which would avoid the long, 

 dangerous, and circuitous passage by the Straits of Malacca, that 

 we thought it worth while to enter into a few calculations by which 

 might be shown in figures the comparative advantages of the two 

 routes. The following is the result, one which, to our minds, 

 makes a further examination of the Isthmus of Krau worthy of 

 immediate consideration by our Government in communication 

 with that of Siam, as likely to prove of advantage to each, and 

 of enormous value to commerce and the travelling world in general. 

 It would relieve the commercial world to a great extent of the 

 enormous steam charges which keep up the prices of the goods which 

 form the staples of trade between Europe, India and China, and 

 which render travelling almost prohibited, and it would open up 

 a new and interesting country to the geologist and the botanist, 

 [* Sic ex conject, The copy received has £ "thick. Eds.] 



