B I R 



♦ioTi^ than the Birmans. The feafons are regular, and the 

 extremes of heat and cold are fcldom experienced ; at Icaft, 

 the duration of that intcnfc heat, which immediately pre- 

 cedes the commencement of the rainy ftafon, is fo^ fliort, 

 that the iiiconrenience of it is very little felt. The lorefts, 

 however, like fome other woody and uncultivated parts of 

 India, are extremely pcftifcrous ; and an inhabitant of the 

 champa'gn country coniidcrs a journey thither as inevitable 

 deftruclion. The' wood-cutters, who are a particular clals 

 of men, born and bred in the hills, are faid to be unhealthy, 

 and feldom attain longevity. . . 



The /V/ of the fonthern provinces of the Birman empire is 

 remarkLiSly fertile, and produces as luxuriant crops of nee as 

 arc to be found in the fincll parts of Bengal. Towards the 

 noilh the face of the counti7 is irregular and mountainous ; 

 but the plains and vallits, particularly near the river, are e;> 

 ccedingly fruitful; they vicld good wheat and the various 

 kinds of fmall grain which grow in Hindoftan, together 

 with mod of the efculcnt legumes and vegetables of India, 

 Sugar-canes, tobacco of a fupcrior quality, indigo, cotton, 

 and the difRrcr.t tropical fruits, in perfeaion, are all indi- 

 genous products of this country. Belides the teak-tree, 

 which grows in many parts of the Birmau empire, as well to 

 the north of Uuimerapoora, as in the fouthern country, 

 there is almoft everv dcfcription of timber that is known in 

 India. The kingdom of Ava abounds in minerals ; iix days 

 journey from Bamoo, which is a province near the frontiers 

 of China, there are mines of gold and lilver, called" Ba- 

 douem ;" there are alfo mints of gold, filvtr, rubies, and 

 fapphires, at picfcnt open on a mountain near the Keenduem, 

 called " Woobolootaun ;" but the moft valuable, and thofe 

 which produce the finell jewels, are in the vicinity of the ca- 

 pital, nearly oppofite to Keoum-meoum. Precious Hones 

 are found in fevtr.d other parts of the empire. The inferior 

 minerals, fuch as contain iron, tin, lead, antimony, arfenic, 

 fulphur, &c. occur in great abundance : amber, of a con- 

 fidence unufually pure and pellucid, is dug up in large quan- 

 tities near the river : gold likeivife is difcovered in the fandy 

 beds of ilreams which defeend from the mountain-:. Between 

 the Keenduem and the Irrawaddy, to the northward, there 

 is a fmall river called " Shoe Lien Kioup," or the llream of 

 golden fand. Although the Ava empire produces no dia- 

 monds and emeralds, it affords amethyfts, garnets, very 

 beautiful chryfolites, jafper, loadllone, and marble : the 

 quarries of the latter he a few miles from Ummerapoora ; 

 and it is equal in quality to the fiuell marble of Italy, and 

 admits of a polilh that renders it almoft tranfparent. The 

 fale of marble is prohibited ; but great quantities arc con- 

 fumed in the manufafture of the images of Gaudmn, which 

 are fabricated in the city and diftrift of Chagain ; however, 

 the exportation of thefc marble divinities out of the kingdom 

 is llriclly forbidden. 



The commerce of the Birman empire is very confiderable. 

 An cxteniive trade is carried on between the capital and Yu- 

 nan in China. The principal article of expprt from Ava is 

 cotton, of which, it is faid, there are two kind's, one of a 

 brown colour, of which nankeens are made, the other white, 

 like the cotton of India. This commodity is tranfpoited up 

 the Irrawaddy in large boats as far as Bamoo, where it is bar- 

 tered at the common " jee," or mart, with Chinefe mer- 

 chants, and conveyed by the latter, pan'y by land, and 

 partly by water, into the Chinefe dominion'. Amber, ivo- 

 ry, precious ftones, beetle nut, and the edible nefts brought 

 from the callern arciiip<.lair<>, are alfo articles of commerce ; 

 in return for which the Birmans procure raw and wrought 

 lilks, velvets, gold leaf, prefervcs, paper, and fome utenfils 

 cf hardware. The commerce between the capital and the 



B I R 



fouthern parts of the empire is facilitated by t\\t noble river 

 that waters the country. Several thoufand boats are annu- 

 ally employed in trairfporting rice from the lower provinces 

 to Ummerapoora and the norihern diftrids. Salt, and giia- 

 pee, a kind of filh-fauce ufcd with rice, are alfo articles of 

 internal commerce. Articles of foreign importation are 

 moftly conveyed up the Irrawaddy ; and fome few are in- 

 troduced by way of Arracan. See Arracan. Among 

 the at tides of foreign trade, which have found their way into 

 the Birman country, nothing is held in higher ellimation 

 than the European glafs-ware imported into Rangoon iiom 

 the Britilh fettlements in India. The Birmans are fo fenli- 

 ble of the advantages of commerce, and fo defirous of im- 

 proving it, and of thus increafing population, which they 

 confider as much more elTential to the ilreugth of a (late than 

 the extent of its territory, that they have of late yeaiv tole- 

 rated all fcfts. Pagans and Jews, MufTulmen and Chrillians, 

 the difciples of Confucius^ and the worlhippers of fire, 

 and invited ftrangers of every nation to refurt to their 

 ports; and being themfelves free from thofe prejudices 

 of cail, which (hackle their Indian neighbours, they 

 have permitted foreigners to intermarry and fettle among 

 them. The children of ftrangers, whatever be the fed to 

 which they belong, born of a Birman woman, equally be- 

 come fubjefts of the ftate, and are entitled to the fame pro- 

 tcdion and privileges, as if they had fprung from a line of 

 Birman ancellry. To Britifh India commercial ir.tercourfe 

 with that part of the Birman empire called Pegu is of great 

 importance. This intercll involves three diftinft objects ; 

 that of fecuring from this quarter regular fupplies of timber 

 for (hip-building ; that of introducing into the country as 

 many of our manufactures as its conlumption may require, 

 and of endeavouring to explore a mart in the fouth-we[l do- 

 minions of China, by means of the great river Ava ; and 

 that of guarding with vigilance againft every incroachment 

 or advance, which may be made by foreign nations to divert 

 the trade into other channels, and to obtain a permanent 

 fettlement in a country fo contiguous to the capital of our 

 pofTeffions. The teak timber for the conftruflion of our 

 (hips in that part of the world is an article peculiarly inter- 

 efting in a political and commercial point of view. Some of 

 the fineft merchant (hips at Calcutta have been lately built of 

 this timber. Madras is alfo fupplledfrom Rangoon with timber 

 for all the common purpofcs of domcllic ufe ; and even Bom- 

 bay, although the coaft of Bombay is its piincipal ftorchoufe, 

 finds it worth while annually to import a large quantity of 

 planks from Pegu. It is alfo of importance, not only to 

 promote the exportation of timber from the maritime towns 

 of Pegu, but to difcouragc the building of (hips in the Ran- 

 goon river, in which the Einnans are maki g rapid progrefs. 

 Nafonal fecurity and commercial advantage demand peculiar 

 attention to both thcfe circumftancea. The imports into 

 Rangoon from the Britifti fettlements, in the year 1794-5, 

 amounted, it is faid, to more than 12 lacks of rupees, or 

 about 135,0001. ; and thefe confitted chiefly of coarfe piece 

 goods, glaf;!, hadware, and broad cloth ; and the returns 

 ■ft-ere made almoft wholly in timber. The maritime parts of 

 this great empire are commodious for fliipping, and better 

 fituated for Indian commerce than thofe of any other power. 

 Great Britain pofltffes the weftern fide of tlie bay of Ben- 

 gal ; tite government of Ava, the eallem. From the mouth, 

 of the Ganges to cape Comorin, the whole range of our 

 continental ten-itory, there is not a fingle harbour capable of 

 affording fhelter to a vcflll of 500 tons burthen ; but A^va 

 comprehends, within her extent of coaft, three excellent 

 ports ; Negrais, the moil ftciire harbour in the bay ; Ran- 

 goon, and Mergui, eacli of which is equally convenient and 

 8- much 



