PROCEEDINGS

OF THE

ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY.

SATURDAY, JUNE 7TH, 1834.

A GENERAL Meeting of the Society was held this day; the Right Hon. CHARLES W. WILLIAMS WYNN, M.P., President, in the chair.

A great number of donations were laid on the table, among which were the following, viz. :—

From the Rev. Dr. Wiseman, C.M.R.A.S., a complete set of the Works of Fr. S. Bartolomeo; his own " Hora Syriaca," &c. From Major H. D. Robertson, a copy of the Shastri's game of "Heaven and Hell." From M. Sakakini, a System of Anatomy, in Arabic, for the use of the Medical School at Abu Zabel, in Egypt. From Padre Gonsalves, his " Diccionario China-Portuguez." From the Ritter Joseph von Hammer, his edition and translation of "The Rose and Nightingale," a Turkish poem, by Fazli. From Sri Bhavani Charana Sarma, Sri Narayana Charana Sarma, Mouluvee Ramdhun Sen, and Hukeem Abd-ool Mujeed, through James Atkinson, Esq., nineteen works, in various Oriental languages, published by those gentlemen at Calcutta. From Sir George Thomas Staunton, Bart., an ingeniously executed and elaborate model of the Pagoda Convent of Priests, &c. at Canton, assigned to Lords Macartney and Amherst for their residence when on. embassy to China; an original painting, by a Chinese artist, representing the court of justice held by the Chinese authorities in the hall of the British factory at Canton, on the 8th March, 1807, to investigate a charge of murder preferred against some seamen of the H.C.S. Neptune; and a lithographed fac-simile of the same. From Captain Elwon, of the Bombay Marine, two Cufic inscriptions on stone, and sixty-one specimens of minerals, lavas, &c. &c. from the islands and coasts of the Red Sea.

John Arrowsmith, Esq. F.R.G.S., and James Whatman, Esq., were elected resident members of the Society.

The reading of an Account of the Country of Sindh, with Remarks on the State of Society, Government, Manners, and Customs of the People, by the late Captain James M'Murdo, communicated by J. Bird, Esq. M.R.A.S., was commenced.

The meeting was then adjourned to the 21st.

SATURDAY, JUNE 21ST, 1834.

THE general Meeting was held this day; the Right Honourable Sir ALEXANDER JOHNSTON, V.P., in the chair.

Dr. Holt Yates and Lieut. George Le Grand Jacob, of the Bombay military establishment, were balloted for, and elected resident members of the Society. A letter from Ramaswami Mudeliar, Jághirdár of Siva Samudram, was read, in which he expressed his thanks for the honour conferred on him by the Society

in electing him a corresponding member, viewing it as a testimony of its approbation of his endeavours to improve the state of the island of Siva Samudram, and facilitate the approaches to it by the construction of two bridges across the river Caveri, &c., of which an account, written by himself, was inserted in the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. iii. p. 305.

The reading of Captain M'Murdo's Account of Sindh was resumed.

SATURDAY, JULY 5TH, 1834.

A GENERAL Meeting was held this day; the Right Hon. Sir A. JOHNSTON, V.P., in the chair.

Several donations were laid on the table, among which were the following, viz.:

From Major Charles Stewart, a very curious and valuable original painting, representing the Mogul emperor, Jehangir, and the principal personages of his court. This interesting record is supposed to have been the work of a celebrated artist, named Abd al Samad, and, from various circumstances, to have been executed about A.D. 1625. Major Stewart communicated several memoranda connected with the subject of the picture, and it is hoped that he may be induced to favour the Society with notices of the individuals whose portraits have been thus preserved.*

From Lieut. Alex. Burnes, F.R.S., a copy of the Narrative of his Journey from India to Bokhárá, Persia, &c., with the Map by Mr. J. Arrowsmith.

From the Right Hon. Sir A. Johnston, an Indian matchlock and powderflask, apparently very ancient; also an account of the different classes of Elephants, translated from the Singhalese; and an original drawing of the crater of Mount Merapi, a volcano in Java.

William Holt Yates, Esq. M.D., elected on the 21st of June, having made his payments and signed the obligation-book, was admitted a member of the Society.

John Edye, Esq., of the Navy Surveyor's Office, Somerset House, and Robert Alexander, Esq., late member of council at Madras, were balloted for, and elected resident members of the Society.

The first part of Observations on Atmospherical Influence, in reference to Climate, &c., by Whitelaw Ainslie, Esq. M.D., was read.

Dr. Ainslie commences by quoting the recorded opinions of other writers, both ancient and modern, on this subject, and proceeds to examine the effects of climate on the physical and moral character of the human race; observing that, in hot countries, both the mental and corporeal faculties arrive at maturity sooner than in more temperate regions; while, at the same time, it may be doubted whether the causes of this more rapid expansion are not also conducive to more speedy decay.. The effects of heat on the children of Europeans born in India, and on half-castes, are next adverted to; and the author then develops the causes of change in national character acting independently of climate, illustrating his remarks by adducing the ancient and modern states of various nations. The next point treated, is a comparison of the climates of the old and new continents, with observations on the probable origin of the differences perceptible between them, which leads the author to speak of the various sanitary stations established in India. He concludes this section with some general reflections on the subject of climate, including considerations on the differences of colour in the human race.

Major Stewart has since favoured the Society with these Notices, and they appear in this number of the Journal.-ED.

The reading of the late Capt. M'Murdo's Account of Sindh, communicated by James Bird, Esq., was brought to a conclusion.*

Thanks were returned to Dr. Ainslie and Mr. Bird for their respective communications.

SATURDAY, JULY 19TH, 1834.

THE last General Meeting for the present Session was held this day; the Right Hon. CHAS. W. WILLIAMS WYNN, M.P., President, in the Chair.

Among the donations laid on the table were the following

From M. Adolph Erman, a copy of the first volume of his " Reise um die Erde durch Nord Asien und die beiden Oceane in den Jahren 1828, 1829, und 1830; with plates.

From the Royal Society of Literature, the second Part of Vol. II. of its Transactions.

From Mahárájá Kalí Krishna Bahadur, his Bengálí Translations of Dr. Johnson's Rasselas, and of a System of Polite Learning. Also his MS. account of Nágarkirtana; a public invocation of Hari by the Hindus, with a coloured drawing of the procession.

From Major William Yule, a lithographed fac-simile of a magnificent Indian gold coin or medal, struck by the Emperor Shah Jehán, and weighing seventy ounces. Major Yule has added translations of the inscriptions, and inscribed the whole to the Royal Asiatic Society.

From the Right Hon. Sir A. Johnston, two portraits, in water-colours, of Mira Sebbe Meestriar Sekadie Maricar, a Muhammedan physician to the court of Kandy, who possessed various privileges and exemptions derived from his ancestors, the first cloth-weavers introduced into Ceylon, to whom they were granted by the then King of Kandy, as evidenced by an ancient deed of gift, of which a transcript was presented to the Society by Sir A. Johnston.

Jonathan Birch, Esq. was balloted for, and elected a resident member of the Society.

An account of the Sect of Kaprías at Mhurr, by Robert Cotton Money, Esq., Bombay C. S., was read.

This sect, the origin of which, like that of most religious orders among the Hindús, is involved in much obscurity, derives its name from being devoted to the worship of Parvati, the consort of Siva, under her name of Kála Puri, or Kaya Puri. It claims for its founder Lalla Jus Rájá, an associate of Rámchunder, after his conquest of Ceylon, but who quitted him at Mhurr to establish this sect, by special order of the goddess. The constitution of the order is singular: it is limited in number to 120 or 130 members, who are bound by a solemn obligation to a life of celibacy, and on the death of any one of their number, he is replaced by a person taken from some Hindú caste; the age is immaterial, above eight or nine years. When the new brother is introduced, the tuft of hair on the crown of his head is cut off, and replaced by the peculiar cap of the order; various other ceremonies are also performed. The temple dedicated to their divinity in the town of Mhurr is of great antiquity and celebrity; and such is the importance attached to the favour of 'Asapura (the Cutch name of the goddess), that the raos of Cutch are not thought to be secure on their throne until they have visited this sacred shrine. The most productive villages in the neighbourhood belong to this sect; and more activity, comfort, and signs of opulence are to be discovered in them than in any other part of the Rao's dominions.

Thanks were ordered to be returned to Mr. Money for this communication.

* Inserted in the present volume of the Journal, vide

p. 223.

The Narrative of a Journey to Senna from Mocha, by Robt. Finlay, Esq., assistant-surgeon to the Mocha residency, was read.

Mr. Finlay's journey was performed in the months of August, September, and October, 1823, leaving Mocha on the evening of the 4th of August. His object was to visit the Imam professionally, having been sent for by his highness for that purpose. The first part of the paper is occupied with an itinerary of his route; he then gives some account of the city of Senna, which is situated at the foot of the mountain of Nukkum. It has a mud wall twenty feet in height, with three gates and many small turrets; its extent outside the wall is about three miles; the Bostáni Sultan, or garden in which the Imám resides, is on the south-west of the city, and is of considerable extent; it contains a small menagerie, consisting of two very fine large African lions, some tigers, leopards, and tiger-cats. The palaces are large buildings, of four or five stories in height; the most recent was then finishing, with glass windows. The best land in the neighbourhood of Senna is on the north side, where the water runs after supplying the town. Where the fields are well supplied with water, they will yield two good crops in the year; and when in clover, it will cut every two months. The fields are generally three years in grain, and are then sown with clover, which remains five or six years. The soil is sometimes manured with ashes; many good fields are lying waste. From this subject the author proceeds to sketch the history of the Imams, and to give some account of the then possessor of that dignity, with an explanation of the constitution and government of Senna. Mr. Finlay, in the next place, describes the character and appearance of the population; their manufactures and commerce, and the revenues and military establishment of the Imám; concluding with an account of the author's return to Mocha. Thanks were returned to Mr. Finlay for his communication.

The meetings of the Society were then adjourned over the vacation to the 6th of December.

PROCEEDINGS

OF

The Oriental Translation Fund.

SINCE the publication of the preceding Number of this Journal, the Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland has held its fifth General Meeting, at which his Grace the Duke of Richmond, K.G., presided.

The Report of the committee having been subsequently printed and widely circulated, it will be sufficient to give in this place a concise summary of its most important features, as follows:

After adverting to the honours conferred by his Majesty on Sir Charles Wilkins and Sir Graves Haughton, and explaining the reason why no meeting of the subscribers was held in 1833, the Report goes on to say:

"During the short period of its existence, the committee has been enabled to publish a considerable number of translations and editions of works in the Oriental languages, and to lay the foundation for a still more extensive activity. In the first four years no less than thirty volumes were produced; and in half that period, since June 1832, fourteen works have been, or are now, ready for delivery, making a total of forty-six volumes; whilst the remaining portions of such as were delivered incomplete, and many other interesting translations, have been undertaken, some of which are now laid upon the table, and others in a state of great forwardness."

It then adverts to the superior value of the works now selected for publication, and notices those recently published and in course of preparation, in detail, We select a few of the more important, viz. :

"Mirkhond's History of the early Kings of Persia,' by Mr. Shea, is an important addition to Oriental historical literature, as it exhibits a connected view of the Oriental version of a period of ancient history which we are accustomed to receive exclusively on classical evidence. To what degree the old traditions preserved by Mirkhond may be founded on truth; how far his accounts agree with the testimony of the contemporary Greek historians; and whether it is likely that any data from the Royal Records' kept at the ancient Persian court, which are referred to by Ctesias, and were seemingly known to Firdusi, may have found their way into the works of Mirkhond, these are problems yet deserving the renewed attention of the friends of historical study."

"The Description of the Burmese Empire,' translated from the Italian MS. of the Rev. Father Sangermano, by Dr. Tandy, besides its own value, becomes doubly interesting from our recent connexion with that empire.

The Committee cannot here omit to notice the handsome conduct of the possessors of this MS., the Barnabite Fathers at Rome, in transferring it to the Society, and declining any compensation further than a wish to have an Italian translation printed at the same time as the English, and requesting 100 copies for their own library. The sale of the remainder of this Italian edition will in some degree cover the expense incurred by the Institution.

The reception of this work will doubtless be enhanced from its being the first specimen printed under the superintendence of our active and intelligent Branch Committee at Rome."

VOL. 1.

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