116 REVENUE SURVEYS. 



the survey of Cachar, and with the nucleus of some men from the 

 "Western Soane party this was done. The operations in Cachar 

 had become necessary on account of the pending re-settlement of 

 the district, but owing to the old boundaries not having been 

 permanently marked they could not be identified on the ground. 

 Consequently a settlement establishment had to precede the pro- 

 fessional survey party, demarcate the mehal boundaries, and prepare 

 maps of the boundarios by aid of the compass and chain for 

 comparison with the maps of the cadastral survey. Under these 

 circumstances the out-turn was not large, and after a conference 

 at Shillohg it was decided that in future the professional basis of 

 the village boundaries of the cadastral maps should be continued 

 through the agency of a small professional detachment under the 

 orders of the Settlement Officer. 



In the Midnapur district a 4-inch survey muzawar was 

 progressing in 1876-77 under Mr. W. Lane, who retired early in 

 the season after a useful and lengthy service of nearly 40 years, 

 and was succeeded by Captain W. H. Wilkins. At the close of the 

 season a very small area in the jungle Mehal hills was all that 

 remained to complete the district, and this was assigned to 

 Mr. -T. Todd for the next year, the rest of the party being 

 reconstituted for a cadastral survey of the irrigable lands of Cuttack 

 in the vicinity of the Mahanadi river. The survey was undertaken 

 for the Irrigation Branch of the Public "Works Department to 

 facilitate the collection of canal water rates, and the entire expense 

 was defrayed by that Department. Captain D. C. Andrew was 

 placed in charge till he was invalided by a sun-stroke and succeeded 

 by Mr. E. C. Barrett. Operations were much delayed by the fact 

 that the demarcation had not been pushed forward and disputes 

 had not been adjusted in advance, but the survey was finished in 

 1879 s the greater part of the work being on the 32-inch scale. 



In November 1*79 a cadastral 16-inch survey of the Bassein 

 district of British Burma was started under the superintendence 

 of Major D. C. Andrew. The country is largely intersected with 

 creeks, all communication is necessarily carried on by water, and 

 boundary lines had to be very frequently cleared through dense 

 jungle. Major Steel, who had charge in the following season, 

 reported promisingly of the Burniau and Kareni surveyors, but 

 this favourable opinion was not endorsed by Majors Wilkins and 

 Hutchinson in the succeeding years, as they found them slower than 



