IN DO-CHINA. 



?0 



mttftlittd f North Arakan, Akyub T uiid Sandaway), and one fop Itaniri 

 and the adjacent island*. 



Topography. — Amkaii, the former capital, now 'known l*y the 

 name of WtvblMff, or "Old Town,'* stood some fifty miles dp a miiin 

 brunch of the Koladync in > fertile rice-growing district But, owing 

 to its unhealthy climate I he seat of government bus been transferred 

 to Akyab ut the mouth of the Koladync, which has become the chief 

 outlet for the trade of the country. Large quantities of rice are 

 shipped for Europe and India, and a considerable export trade is 

 nl»w carried on in timl>er, especially imnwood, much used for railway 

 sleepers in India. It is a cheerful place, with w-verat public build- 

 ing?, and btttjpd Erects lined with fine tree?. Since its occupation 

 by the English in 1827, Akyab, which the native* call Tttrtfmit, has 

 grown from mi obscure fishing village to a large and flourishing 

 town of over 30,000 inliabitanto. Further south art the nHialt 

 trading porta of Khyuk fijftftt (llamri;, ut the northern extremity 

 of Ramri MiuhI, and Jy'ffnduMty on the mainland below Clicdubu, 

 In till rjipilaL? ut di-tricts. 



There are no other noteworthy centres of population in Arakan, 

 which, notwithstanding the pP Q gKW made under British rule, still 

 -continues mostly under dense primaeval forest on the slopes of hills, 

 and in the luwlamU under water during the south-west monsoon. 

 At this pi riod almost the only dry road is the recently constructed 

 highway running from Sandowny across the hills to Prome in Pegu + 

 Being exposed to the full fury of the monsoon, with a rainfall never 

 under 1 'JO and often extending 210 inches Arakan, like the Assam 

 lowlands, must always depend on water as n chief means of com- 

 munication throughout all the low-lying districts* 



Physical Features.— In its physical conslEtittion, Tenasserim 

 ]WH<tit* in many respect.- a striking analogy with thi i nnrthi-rn 

 division of Araknn. It comprises the whole of the maritime region, 

 stretching from Pi'gu along the ea&t side of the Itoy uf Bengal for 

 seven degrees of 'latitude (17°— I0 a N.) southwards to the Isthmus of 

 Kra, It thus stands in the same geographical relation to Siam on 

 its eastern border that Arakan does to Bnrmah ; and as the Arakan 

 Yoma forms Ihe divide between the Imwaddy basin and the Bay of 

 Bengal, the Tena^erim coast range separates the streams flowing 

 east to the Menam from those flowing west to the same marine 

 basin. The Tenasserim water-parting, however, is less regular and 



