TO THE COURT OF AVA. 
171 
assists ; half a tical for an oar for the boat that con¬ 
veys the contribution to the capital; half a tical 
for the house of the provincial collector; half a 
tical for his personal expenses; one tical for the 
Myo-thu-gyi of the township ; and half a tical for 
his writer. This makes a total contribution of 
eighteen ticals ; but there was contributed in kind, 
for the use of the King, a vis of wax, and ten 
baskets of rice in the husk, which might be worth, 
together, about six ticals; making the whole con¬ 
tribution twenty-four. In the two districts of Bas- 
sein and Pantano already named, the number of 
Karyen families was estimated at two thousand, 
but the number assessed to the tax was only one 
thousand five hundred. The real amount of tax, 
therefore, paid by the Karyens, would be thirty- 
six thousand ticals per annum, or at the rate of 
eighteen ticals or forty-five shillings per family; 
and six persons being supposed to each family, at 
the rate of seven shillings and sixpence per head ; 
which is fifty per cent, higher than the average 
rate of taxation in the British provinces in Hin_ 
dostan, and not much short of double the amount 
contributed directly by the more civilized and in¬ 
dustrious Burmans and Talains. It is obvious, 
from this fact, that under a system of taxation, in 
any respect moderate or judicious, the amount of 
the Burman revenue might be rendered very con¬ 
siderable. It would appear, that from the two 
above-mentioned provinces, of which the money- 
