1836.] lying north of the Tenasserim Provinces. 693 



authority over all ranks of the priesthood. The high-priest then asks the 

 Tso-boa if he will listen to his intercession in favor of criminals condemned to 

 death when it shall appear to him that the punishment is too severe for the 

 offence; to which he assents. On the return of the Tso-boa to the zayat he 

 called my interpreter and told him in a whisper the money I had given was too 

 little for distribution, and desired him to ask me for 13 rupees more; which I 

 immediately sent. In the meantime, an old priest invoked a blessing on all 

 present byname, amongst which I discovered my own ; and the Sea-dan who has 

 been raised by the votes of the priests for his strict observance of the precepts 

 of Budh, promulgated rules and ordinances for their guidance much stricter 

 than those which have been known here for some years, where the discipline has 

 been exceeding lax. Sent the interpreter to inquire how the Chow-Houa, 

 who had been ill, was, and to request Benya Patoon' 01 to call on me. The 

 former no better ; the latter promised to call in the morning. Benya Patoon 

 called on me this morning ; he is about 50 years of age, and an exceedingly 

 intelligent person, His father came originally from Pegu to Zimmay with about 

 3000 other Taliens on the destruction of that city by Alompra, A. D. 1757. 

 A short time after their arrival here, an army of Burmans encamped to the 

 northward with the intention of attacking Zimmay. The Taliens were promised 

 this, — if the\' beat off the enemies, they should henceforth live free of taxes. 

 They attacked them, and were successful, and for a time were well treated ; but 

 in three or four years, when gratitude began to cool, they were taxed without 

 mercy ; and on any expression of discontent, numbers were executed under pre- 

 tence of secret conspiracy. The Taliens in fear and disgust removed farther 

 northward to Keintheu under the Burmese ; — the Benya and some other young 

 men went afterwards to Ava, from whence he was sent to Keintheu on a royal 

 message, and with twenty-five others was caught by a slave-catching party, and 

 from this place sent to Bankok, where he soon came into favor with the king, 

 who raised him to his present rank, and sent him up here to look after the 

 Siamese interest at all the three towns. He gives a shocking account of the 

 brutal rapine, and destructive waste of human life in the petty border-warfare and 

 slave-catching incursions all along the frontiers, that has kept down population, 

 laid entirely waste many large towns, and retarded civilization and all the arts 

 of peaceful life in this unhappy country to a degree that could not be exceeded, 

 I should hope, in the annals of any portion of Africa. All of this has been 

 almost entirely put a stop to by our occupation of the provinces on the coast. 

 He gives a somewhat different version of the Cochin-Chinese war from any I 

 have heard. He said the Cochin-Chinese endeavoured to save the town of 

 Wentian 102 , Chandapoora or Lingen, when the Siamese attacked it seven years 

 ago. The Siamese would not attend to negotiations on the destruction of the 

 city when horrid cruelty appeared to have been perpetrated. One of the sons 

 of the king found his way to Hue. The King of Cochin-China 103 sent an ambas- 

 sador to Siam to say the prince had found his way to him ; but as he wished to 

 avoid a war, under certain conditions he would give him up. The Siamese 

 treacherously murdered his ambassador, saying he had given protection and 

 encouragement to rebels. The Cochin-Chinese, enraged at this piece of perfidyr 

 had commenced the war. The latest accounts said the Siamese had the best of 

 it, and were east of the Cambodia river. 

 4 x 



