1841.] Report on the Island of Chedooba. 433 



desire to improve, and especial desire to learn English, the simpler, 

 and more honest and moral character of the Chedooba scholar, would 

 give to him the preference, for filling those grades of employment in 

 the public offices open to him ; while the grateful reflection would not 

 be wanting, of affording a valuable means at once of improvement, and of 

 the maintenance in fact from contamination, of a character high and rare, 

 to perhaps the most interesting community under the Government of 

 British India. 



Division VI. 



Geology. 



The Geology of Chedooba presents characters of so much general in- 

 terest, that any report on this Island might be looked on as imperfect, 

 in which the subject was wholly omitted. 



But as it is intended in a separate notice to give such details, accom- 

 panied with specimens, as may render the subject capable of investiga- 

 tion, by those able and interested in the science ; the present one will 

 be here confined to a mere statement of the general features exhibited. 

 The elevation, out of the sea, of large tracts of land by effect of volcanic 

 action, has in more modern times been noted as occurring on the coast of 

 Chili in South America, and in the territory of Cutch in this country. In 

 the former case some doubt has been thrown both on the fact itself, as 

 well as its amount; and the circumstance of a similar phenomenon 

 having taken place within the memory of man, not only throughout the 

 coasts of Chedooba, but extending over all the shoals and islands from 

 the Terribles, off the north end of Ramree, to Foul Island, will be held a 

 not unwelcome addition to the evidence yet gleaned of the occurrence of 

 such extensive changes of level in the present day. The above are the 

 limits of the survey on which the ' Childers' has been employed, over every 

 part of which the evidences of this elevation were seen, and in many 

 places accurately measured, and it includes the whole of that irregular 

 collection of Islands and shoals, which, projecting far into the Bay of Ben- 

 gal, yet maintain the general direction of the main land coast near it. 



But these limits are not to betaken as those which bound the elevation, 

 which, with little doubt, from similarity of formation, will be found to 

 extend north and south and east, over all these parts of Arracan, so 

 peculiarly marked by the intersection of deep narrow, salt water creeks 

 from Akyab, even perhaps as far south as Cape Negrais. 



The line which was under observation is about 100 miles in length, 

 varying from 20 miles in width, to that of a mere patch, according as 



