42 Sir Charles Elliott— Remarks on Kusi River. [Feb. 
easterly direction. However, the course of the Kusi river has been 
receiving the attention of Government and of the Public Works Depart¬ 
ment, and I wish that the Secretary, Mr. Odling, had been here this 
evening to give the meeting the benefit of his knowledge and experience. 
A special engineer was deputed during the past rainy season to study 
the river. His investigation is at present incomplete. The river Kusi 
commences to spill at Bedra in Nepaul. Ho material change is reported 
to have occurred in its course since the year 1889, when the main 
stream came over from the western side of the river, a little north 
of the place mentioned. The stream, at present, is on the eastern side 
of the bed, and there are no indications of any immediate change. Some 
caution is necessary in expressing an opinion as to the future, as it is 
commonly said that the only certain theory about the river Kusi is 
that it will behave in a way totally different from what has been 
predicted. There is a heavy spill on the eastern bank of the river 
which does considerable damage, large areas of land, mostly how¬ 
ever in Nepaulese territory, having been thrown out of cultivation 
during the last five years. It seems that it is mainly the land owners 
in the district who are apprehensive; the railway engineers enter¬ 
tain no fears on the subject. Still if any measures could be suggested 
which would commend themselves to experts as undoubtedly tending 
to secure the district of Purneah against the possible vagaries of the 
river at a reasonable expense, the Government would be glad to do what 
it could. It is hardly necessary to say that, as in all similar cases, the 
objects of the promoters of embankment schemes are, in themselves, so 
good, that it is impossible not to sympathize with them. The advantages 
resulting from an embankment are usually immediate and obvious. 
But there is scarcely a case, in Bengal at least, where it lias not hap¬ 
pened that in the course of years the difficulties and not unfrequently 
dangers caused by embankments have become so great that their 
removal has become a question of discussion. In the case of the Da- 
moodah and Goomti rivers this step became a pressing necessity and 
has been carried out. At the same time it must be remembered that 
changes in the course of a river arise from the most trivial causes, 
such as the occurrence of a snag in the stream, or its meeting a slightly 
harder bed of clay or kunkar .” 
4. Crl Dharma Maggala :—a distant echo of the Lalita Vistara,—By 
Pandit Haraprasad f astrI, M.A. 
The paper will be published in the Journal, Part I. 
