1821.] Researches and Discoveries of M. L, Delatour . 
30$ 
principles of magnetism ; and although 
we cannot deny that fire, whether ge¬ 
nerated by the action of sulphur, bi¬ 
tumen and nitre, may have been actu¬ 
ally employed in the formation of our 
globe, in dividing and disrupting the 
different strata when formed ; yet that 
affords no solid objection to the rapid 
construction of these vast bodies by 
chemical laws, ordained by the will of 
the Creator; and which in part we 
have been allowed to discover in all 
fulminating powders, as well as gun¬ 
powder, and this alone should check 
our scepticism on the head of time being 
necessary to the production of what to 
our ignorance seems great effects, even 
when produced by that eternal and ce¬ 
lestial being to whom time, as we un¬ 
derstand it, may be as nothing! For 
man, therefore, to surmise that because 
the Almighty Creator has willed both 
him and all living things to be des¬ 
tined to a slow growth, encreasing till 
a period determined, and by means of 
a pabulum which has been provided for 
all created living things, that therefore 
the frame work and nice adjustment of 
our planetary system, must aiso have 
been produced by a slower progress than 
the revelation of the holy scriptures 
warrants, argues, I cannot but think, 
great want of observation of the visible 
powers of nature, or great impiety to 
nature’s God. And while I see no uti¬ 
lity in such conjectures, I cannot but 
apprehend the greatest evil from their 
adoption by high authorities ; for if we 
dispute for a moment the veracity of 
the sacred communication to mankind, 
through Moses, on such grounds we 
may easily glide into doubts of the re¬ 
velation of God’s will, through the 
records of our Redeemer, and so fall 
into that unhappy state of mind which 
tends to make man of all creatures the 
most miserable—a state of wretched 
Universal scepticism, which makes his 
reason a curse, for which science has 
-no remedy—-discovery no consolation, 
Which makes society a terror to him, 
and him a terror to society ; palls even 
the pleasure of existence, and ulti¬ 
mately leaves its proud victim nothing 
to repose on but the apathy of a Hume 
-—the rage of a Voltaire, or the misan¬ 
thropy of the soi-disant philosopher 
of the Alps. G. Cumberland. 
P.S. In what I have here written, I 
disclaim any intention of imputing im¬ 
proper motives to the amiable, but per¬ 
haps, too candid author of the lecture, 
Monthly Mag. No. 360. 
my sole object being to correct what I 
conceive to be a dangerous concession. 
For the Monthly Magazine. 
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHES and DIS¬ 
COVERIES of M. L. DELATOUR, A«- 
turalist to the French Icing , in India. 
Extracted from a Letter , dated Cot- 
talam , June 18,1820. 
I HAVE been near three months tra¬ 
versing the south of the Peninsula. 
Among other parts, I visited the king¬ 
dom of Tanjore, where the lands are 
rich from cultivation and from the ferti¬ 
lizing inundations of the river Colram. 
It is one of the most productive coun¬ 
tries in the’peninsula,and well peopled; 
the villages stand thick and are of con¬ 
siderable extent; the bazars or mar¬ 
kets are well supplied, and the people 
live pretty much at their ease. The 
principal article for exportation is rice, 
wherewith they supply the Isle of Cey¬ 
lon and the markets of Pondicherry and 
Madras; they export it also to the 
Isles of France and Bourbon ; the ports 
are Karikal, Nagoor and Trinquebar. 
The English resident, Colonel Black** 
burn, presented me to the rajah, who 
gave me a kind reception. The edu¬ 
cation of this prince was superin¬ 
tended by an European; much of his 
time is devoted to scientific studies, 
especially chemistry and mechanics. 
From Tanjore I repaired into the 
country of Tondimene, a wild territory 
covered with wood and waste ground; 
I spent some time in it. It is perhaps 
the only region in India subject to Bri¬ 
tish influence, where the chief lias no 
tribute to pay, and retains the govern¬ 
ment of his territory in a kind of inde¬ 
pendence. The resident of Tanjore has 
a superintending power, but it is rarely 
shewn or exerted, as this little sove¬ 
reign is not rich* nor is his country well 
peopled. 
Formerly the inhabitants were ad¬ 
dicted to robbing and pillaging, and 
the name coleris , whereby they are 
known, signifies robbers in their lan¬ 
guage* The young rajah, to whom I 
had a recommendation from Colonel 
Blackburn , and who received me very 
graciously, has put a stop to those pre¬ 
datory practices, so that travelling is 
no longer dangerous ; it is well, how¬ 
ever, Jto be armed and on one’s guard. In 
this country I added to my collections 
a number of new articles in zoology 
and botany. 
At length I visited the district of 
2 Q Madura, 
