914 Asiatic Society. [No 142. 



Read the following papers, detailing the progress which had been made 

 since the Meeting of September, in carrying into effect the Society's reso- 

 lution to address Government on the subject of the new Volcanic Island 

 and Copper Ore deposit near Cheduba. 



Memorandum by the Geological and Mineralogical Curator, as requested by the Society. 



At the September Meeting of the Society was read the following letter of Captain 

 D. Williams, Assistant Commissioner, Arracan :— 



No. 182*. 



My dear Sir, — The Soogree, or head revenue officer on the Island of " Regaing," 

 or "Flat Island," has just made a report, of which the enclosed is a translation, that 

 on the 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th of last month, a Volcano broke out in the sea, a 

 little distance South of " False Island/' and a new Island was formed. 



On reference to a chart of Arracan, you will see that " False Island" is East of 

 " Flat Island," and the latter is South of " Round Island," whence I obtained the 

 Copper Ore I lately sent to the Asiatic Society ; the groupe is situated on the S. E. 

 shore of the Island of Chedooba. I consider the subject of sufficient interest to 

 report on to the Society, especially as regards its vicinity to the Island where the 

 Copper Ore was found. Yours, &c. 



Ramree, August 9, 1843. (Signed) D. Williams. 



P. S. I have sent for specimens of the new formation. 



2. A notice of the Copper Ore alluded to will be found in our Proceedings for the 

 month of April, but I may briefly state here, by way of connecting the facts for consi- 

 deration, that in March Captain Williams sent us up some very pure specimens of 

 rolled native (virgin) Copper, and a ring manufactured from them by a native artist, 

 which he stated had been found on Flat Island. 



I wrote for more of it, as also for information as to the site, and specimens of the 

 matrix, &c. before reporting on the subject to Government, and Captain Williams 

 in reply sent me a quantity of gravel and shells from the sea shore, without a 

 trace of the ore amongst it,* which the native discoverers had brought to him as a 

 sample of the bed or place where the ore was found. I thought this very 

 suspicious, and that it was probable that the natives having found out the value 

 of the Copper ore, were now concealing the spot from Captain Williams, and 

 wrote again to him, urging him if possible, to send a person in some degree qua- 

 H6ed to give us a plain common-sense account of the place where this rich ore was 

 obtained, upon which I could found a recommendation to Government, in my report, 

 to have the place properly examined, as there could be no doubt of the value of the 

 ore ; but that the quantity and expense of obtaining it were the next and most im- 

 portant considerations. I also mentioned it to Captain Brown and Mr. Howe, the 



* Some more Copper was also sent separately, and these specimens were of a different kind of 

 Copper ore from those first sent.— H. P. 



