974 Dr. Heifer's Third Report [Dec. 



Extent of Tenasserim. — The Tenasserim Provinces consist of a part 

 of Martaban (now Province Amherst, formerly belonging to Pegu) and 

 the districts of Ye, Tavoy, Mergui, and Tenasserim. 



Motives for occupying Tenasserim. — There seems to have been no 

 secondary motive for retaining these provinces, beyond their affording 

 facilities to command the bay of Bengal ; they could not have then 

 held out any other apparent, known allurement. 



Present relations with Burmah. — The misapplied generosity of 

 the British, left their Burmah foes in possession of the most produc- 

 tive and important part of the empire. This generosity has been 

 misconstrued into weakness, or inability to retain the conquest ; which 

 prevailing opinion has acquired greater strength since the usurpation 

 of the present ruler, and this opinion, strengthened by the peaceable 

 policy of the British Indian Government in this quarter, is the 

 reason of the insolence of the present ruler of Burmah. 



Formerly prevailing opinion of the Burmah power. — Formerly 

 when all intercourse with Burmah was either cut off entirely to Euro- 

 peans, or when the notices of the embassies of the British govern- 

 ment sent to Ava could be but imperfect, on account of their always 

 proceeding the same way by water, up the Irrawaddy to the capital, 

 the power and population, the resources and abilities of this empire 

 were greatly exaggerated. 



Now corrected. — Since that time, our knowledge of it has greatly 

 increased ; the war laid the lower country open to investigation ; and 

 since the conclusion of the treaty of Yandaboo, several able British 

 gentlemen have traversed the empire in different directions, and the 

 conclusion drawn from personal experience has been, that Burmah 

 could only rank in political importance with second rate Indian pow- 

 ers. It was found out, that the population formerly estimated at 17 

 millions of inhabitants, could not be reckoned at more than 3 or 4 mil- 

 lions scattered over a wide extent of country — that part of the popula- 

 tion was tributary to the ruler — that, if that prince, be inclined to hosti- 

 lities, he can but raise a kind of temporary militia, not exceeding at the 

 utmost, 70 or 80,000 men — that a permanent disciplined soldiery does 

 not exist — that great part of this militia must be in a sad plight after a 

 few months* campaign, placed opposite a disciplined army, commanded 

 by Europeans, on account of want of ammunition, clothing, food, &c. 

 &c. — that most of these men are peasants, driven from their homes by 

 force to fight the enemy — that few of them know even to handle their 

 arms — and that none of them are able to fight a British Indian army 

 in the open field. 





