356 Biographical shetch of Col. 31ackenzie. [Oct, 



la?) pa, referoncf^ TTd'rrht be made with ease to any sub- 

 ject that had ever ocv-'iiried the dehberations and or- 

 ders of governn^.ent. 1 here is reason to believe the 

 Miscella7?ea, consisting of eiglit volumes, were lost ; at 

 least they could not be found on inquiry since the re- 

 duction of Java. 



2. The reports of the committee of archives, trans- 

 lations of which, it is believed, have been sent to India, 

 will fully explain the number and description. Colonel 

 Mackenzie, confining himself more particularly to the 

 geographical and hydrographical parts, has only brought 

 copies of the reports relating to them, and of the regis- 

 ter of reports and memoirs from the dependencies, par- 

 ticularly as regards India. 



3. Memoirs or Reports i?i succession of the Gover- 

 nors and Directors of the Dependencies in India. — It 

 may be proper here to notice, that in the course of in- 

 spection of the archives and library of the late govern- 

 ment, he casually lighted on a series of memoirs or re- 

 ports of the Dutch governors and directors in Koroman- 

 del from 1612 to 1771, carried regularly on from one 

 governor or director to another. One of the most ma- 

 terial to us is a collection or register of all treaties, con- 

 tracts, parvjdnas, and grants between the Dutch go- 

 vernment and the native powers of the south of India ; 

 a copy* of this volume was taken, as it was conceived 

 to be useful in fixing dates, facts, privileges, and claims. 

 The other volumes, besides the instructions of the first 

 governors, give a view of the nature of the commerce, 

 and concise views of the political state of the different 

 countries at the time, though not all equally interesting ; 

 — as the memoirs or reports of the governors or direc- 



* This is one of the works translated at Serampore since Janu- 

 ary last, and sent to government April 1816. 



