238 Mission to the Court of Siam. [No. 99. 



On matters of business little was done. With reference to my 

 returning here, he observed I might do as I pleased ; to tell me 

 not to come back, would not be friendly, and to tell me to do 

 so would not be proper. I complained again of the detention 

 of my letters, contrary to the custom of civilized countries, 

 at Camboorie ; he excused the act on the ground that the 

 customs of the Siamese and English differed; the Mya-won 

 dared not allow them to come on without reporting it to the 

 ministers. I said I had no wish to infringe any of their cus- 

 toms, but requested that whilst I was here, as they knew the 

 people with letters having a pass from the Commissioner of 

 Tenasserim must be coming to me, and that the letters were for 

 the information of the ministers, that he would give orders that 

 they should not again be stopped. 



March 1st. — A dispatch arrived last night from the Governor 

 of Songora, reporting that the Malays were within two miles 

 of that place with 3000 men, and begging immediate assis- 

 tance. The Rajah of Ligore though he promised on his depar- 

 ture from this immediately to recover Queda and put a stop 

 to all the disturbance on the peninsula, has not yet left Ligore, 

 and as even Siamese report gives him no more than three 

 thousand men, the truth probably is, he has not half that num- 

 ber yet assembled. 



March 2nd. — Radsithee and Coon-Sit called this evening. 



March 4th. — The Praklang sent to tell me that the Taung- 

 thoos I left at Neamgben are at Camboorie, and wished to know 

 whether I intended them to come on here ; I told Piadadie to 

 tell him they were merchants, and ought never to have been 

 stopped, and begged they might be allowed immediately to 

 come on if they wished it, as this is a direct infringement of the 

 treaty. I hope I shall now be able to put an end quietly to these 

 absurd stoppages of our people at Camboorie on my next visit. 



March 6th. — Sent to the Praklang to beg he would allow 

 me to see him for a few minutes to enable me to answer my letters 

 and dispatch the messengers to Maulmain, who have now been 

 most unexpectedly, and much to my annoyance, detained eleven 

 days. As this was the day till which I was requested to wait, on 

 my last message to him, I was much disappointed about four 



