TO THE COURT OF AYA. 
25 9 
of almost any burthen, and the ingress'and egress 
are perfectly safe at all times. The river of Tavoy 
contains a good harbour, at about the distance of 
ten miles from its entrance; but above that, and 
to the town, it is shallow, and the navigation in¬ 
tricate, being unfit for vessels of large burthen, 
and not very easy even for small craft. As parts 
of commerce, the greatest inconvenience attend¬ 
ing Tavoy and Mergui, arises from the chain of 
islands skirting the whole coast before them. 
These, during the finest part of the year, make 
calms and light winds very prevalent, so that the 
navigation becomes in consequence extremely te¬ 
dious and precarious, unless for steam vessels. 
The harbour of Amherst, formed as already des¬ 
cribed by the promontory, which lies at the east¬ 
ern entrance of the Martaban river, is not liable 
to this disadvantage. Its inconvenience consists 
in the narrowness of the navigable channel into 
it, and this channel crossing the tide. During 
the six fine months of the year, however, ingress 
and egress are perfectly safe and easy; and in the 
boisterous season, many vessels of burthen have 
frequented it without meeting with any serious 
accident, so that in all probability experience will 
show that the objections to it are rather in theory 
than practice. Both in respect to safety and ex¬ 
pedition, it is at all events far superior to the ports 
of London and Calcutta, or even of Liverpool. 
Its great advantages, however, are its immediate 
s 2 
