Oct. 1845.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society . ciii 



who have perished in their exertions to forward, in common with the 

 Asiatic Society, the high task and duty of every liberal, right-mind- 

 ed, and educated Englishman in this country — the task and the 

 duty of aiding in every way to give to the British power in India, 

 for the great ends which it has yet under Providence to accomplish, 

 those means and that stability which can only be found and assured for it 

 by the one great essential to the right exercise of the power of every 

 foreign government — an intimate knowledge of the country and of the 

 people over which it rules. 



Read the following letter from Capt. Phayre, Bengal Native Infantry, 

 Assistant to the Commissioner of Arracan. 



My dear Torrens, — I have just arrived here from Sandoway,and as Latter is here and 

 I am anxious to have the advantage of comparing* along* with him all the various Ara- 

 kanese coins, will you kindly put those you have of mine on a wax-cloth package, and 

 send them by dawk banghy bearing postage to my address at this place. Latter is 

 working away gloriously and will produce many a fine paper on Boodhism — he has made 

 wonderful progress since I last saw him. The Society's Journal will, I hope, receive 

 many contributions from him. Pray don't forget the coins, and believe me, 



Very truly your's, 



A. P. Phayre. 

 Akyab, Sept. 25th, 1845. 



I know not if you recollect an English translation of a part of the Dhammathat you 

 once sent to Major Williams down here ; if you can forward it to me I can now compare 

 it with an original I possess. 



The Secretary noted with infinite regret that these coins had shared 

 the fate of our collection, and he was requested to inform Capt. Phayre 

 accordingly. 



Read the following letter from the Zoological Curator : — 



To H. Torrens, Esq. Vice-President and Secretary, Asiatic Society. 



Sir, — Among the Rodentia of Captain Mutton's Afghanistan collection, is a small 

 animal which I described long ago in the Society's Journal by the name Georhychus 

 fuscocapellus, placing it thus among the Lemmings ; but now that we have specimens of 

 the true Scandinavian Lemming in the collection, I find that the Afghan species can no 

 longer be admitted exactly into the same genus, and am under the necessity of esta- 

 blishing a new one for its reception. 



Under these circumstances, I write to request that Mr. Hendrie be employed to figure 

 this animal and its skull, as was done with the Caprologus, and that on the second or skull- 

 plate, I may also have represented certain crania of Scindian and Afghan Hedgehogs which 

 it is desirable should be figured. 



An extra copy of the last No. of the Journal has been forwarded to Major Jenkins, 

 containing the figures and description of Caprologus ; and with respect to the additional 



