1840.] Map attached to Report of the Coal Committee. 583 



That there is no possibility for the Siamese to benefit by this coal 

 field, even supposing that it belongs to them, is almost certain ; 

 for they have no water communication to the place ; but the coal, 

 if ever required, must be transported by a land route, and I presume 

 over hills, though of what magnitude, I will not venture to surmise. 



That it may not be supposed that I speak from information alone, I 

 beg to observe, that I proceeded myself by water to within 8 or 9 

 miles of the spot, where finding the stream too shallow to admit even of 

 small bamboo rafts ascending it, I continued my journey by land to the 

 old Siamese town of Thain Khan, standing on the stream we had 

 quitted, and from thence to the coal site, crossing many small nullahs 

 on the way, which discharge themselves into the Thain Khan river, on 

 the banks of which the coal is found. This stream appears to come 

 from some distance beyond this locality, for our subjects from Mergui 

 annually proceed up it beyond that spot for the distance of two days' 

 journey, to cut the Karamet, or the bastard sandal wood (which is an 

 article of commerce), and which they bring down on rafts, when the 

 stream is swollen by the rains, without any question from the Siamese. 



No boundary has been fixed on this frontier. At the close of the 

 Burmese war, the British considered themselves as having a right 

 either to what properly belonged to Pegue or Burmah, or what those 

 incorporated nations held at the time of the rupture with us, and 

 was wrested by us from them, or was included within the districts 

 ceded to us. It is well known that a considerable space intervened 

 between, the two countries having become depopulated by the constant 

 aggressions of either party, and which was left unoccupied from 

 motives of safety and convenience. * 



That this is not the only point in which incorrect geographical 

 information has misled us into wrong conclusions as to defined boundary 

 marks, will be seen on a reference to the note attached to the Map 

 of Dr. Richardson's route from Bankok to Zimmay, published in the 

 97th No. of the Journal, we have to the north and west of Moulmain 

 considered the Thoung Yeen river as the line of demarcation, and 

 when this line is lost at the source of that river, a range of mountains 

 supplies its place, and which is supposed (for I may safely say no part 

 of the line from the 14th degree of Lat. downwards has been examnied) 

 to continue in an unbroken line to the southern extremity of our 



