APPENDIX. 
95 
King, on seeing the map, used the following expression: 
“ You have assigned the English too much territory.'” 
Mr. Gibson said that the map gave a correct representa¬ 
tion of the extent of the British dominions. The King 
answered, with evident feelings of dissatisfaction: 64 The 
territory of the strangers is unreasonably large.” This 
was before the conquest of Assam, and it was observed 
that this country would be a desirable acquisition to the 
Burmans. 
Q. Are you of opinion that the late war might have 
been avoided on the part of the British by negotiation? 
■— A. I am of opinion that war was ultimately inevitable, 
but might, perhaps, have been delayed for a short time, 
by the British Government yielding to all the demands of 
the Burmans, especially the restitution of the refugees. 
The next demand would have been for Chittagong and 
Dacca. 
Q. What reason have you for believing that Chitta¬ 
gong and Dacca would have been demanded ?— A . The 
Burmans considered that they had a good claim to them, 
as having once been dependencies of the kingdom of 
Aracan. I have heard this claim frequently urged, and, 
to the best of my recollection, on one occasion by the 
Prince of Sarawadi. The claim to these parts of the 
British dominions was so generally maintained by all classes 
of public officers, that if I had introduced the sub¬ 
ject, I might have heard it insisted upon every day of 
my life. 
Q. Did you ever see any royal proclamations, edicts, 
or other public documents of the Burman Government 
concerning the late war?— A. It is not generally the 
custom of the Burman Government to publish proclama¬ 
tions on such occasions. There was no declaration of war, 
which is also not customary. The people in general know 
