must be ascribed the merit of weaving and dying. A Birmah is seldom any thing else than a government servant, a soldier, boatman, husbandman, or labourer. They break in their cattle very well, but their arts of husbandry are very rude; their plough is nothing more than a large wooden rake, on which the ploughman stands and drives the oxen or buffaloes that draw it. The grain is committed to the soil, and the crop is generally left to chance to make its way up with the spontaneous growth, except when in the ear, when a good deal of dexterity is used in defending it from the birds. In the culture of tobacco, Cossoomba, and some other articles, they are more careful; but husbandry, as well as every thing else, seems to be on the decline. Inclosureswere once very general, and artificial reservoirs for water constructed in many places.

POPULATION. This is a question very difficult to be determined any where, but more especially in a country so deficient in system as the Birmah empire; inquiries of this kind were also very delicate for a person in my situation to make. I have not, however, been deficient in inquiry, and shall now offer the little I have collected, but without vouching for its authenticity.

There are three stages of society in which man varies his habitation; in the earliest, or mere savage state depending on the spontaneous productions of nature for support, he generally crowds to the margin of the sea, the banks of lakes and rivers; hence navigators have so often erred in es. timating the population of the

islands and coasts, which they have cursorily viewed. As numbers increase, and other resources become necessary, men apply themselves to raising herds, or tilling the soil, and gradually recede from the banks of rivers, &c. to the interior; a second visitant forms nice conjectures: in the third and last stage, when commerce is introduced, the banks of navigable rivers, &c. are again frequented, and towns raised by the super-flux of society; and a third visitant of the same country will speculate on the new appearance of things, and condemn his predecessors, without being a jot nigher the truth himself.

The Birmah nation has advanced to this last stage of society. The Era Wuddey is the high road of the country, and the most fertile tracts of land are to be found on its banks and islands. A traveller passing and repassing to and from the capital, who has no opportunity of making incursions inland, would form very erroneous conclusions of the population of the country, were he to draw his inferences merely from the seas. I at first fell into this error myself, as I observe by some remarks in my diary on my way up the river. Wemust, therefore, have recourse to other data: scanty as they are, they may tend to throw some light on the subject.

The question of population, I understand, has been often agitated at the Birmah court, and four millions stated as the population of the Birmah territory; and I have reason to believe it is pretty near the truth, rather more than less. One of the town-clerks of Amerapoorah told my informant,

that there were fifty thousand houses at Amerapoorah, including the suburbs and adjoining hamlets. I think this is an exaggerated account, because I know that Yanghong, the first place of trade in the Birmah dominions, and more populous than any other for its size, contains only 5000 taxable houses; and Amerapoorah, in its most extended sum, does not appear to me more than four or five times as large. I have visited most parts of both cities, and think my estimate of their comparative size near the truth. Birmah houses are only of one story, and spread a good deal of surface; their cities, &c. are also crowded with many religious buildings, and the houses of all those employed under government are surrounded by courtyards, so that both these take up a great deal of room. As the taxes are levied on houses, a greater number of people are crowded under one roof, than is usual in single storied houses in other countries, I shall therefore allow seven persons to one house; and rating the houses of Amerapoorah at 25,000, it will make the population of the capital 175,000 souls men, women, and children. The residence of a court, however despotic, has many attractions; it therefore serves in some measure as a criterion to judge of the population of the country. But even supposing the above stated number of inhabitants doubled, it would argue but a small population in the Birmah dominions.

A second data is the number of cities, towns, and villages in the Birmah dominions, conquered countries inclusive. It is said that his majesty, desirous of informaVOL. LIII.

tion on this subject, some years ago ordered that every city, town, or village, should send one soldier for the Birmah army, and that when they were mustered at Amerapoorah there appeared to be 8000 men. Supposing this statement correct, and it is more likely to be exaggerated than diminished, we must have a regard to local circumstances, before we can apply it as a data. In England and Wales I think there are about 1,200 cities, towns, and villages, and the population of both countries is rated at about seven millions, more or less; but it must be remembered, that, from the security derived from our happy government the face of the country is scattered over with habitations; besides, the flourishing state of our commerce has crowded our cities and towns with inhabitants. The case is far different with the Birmah dominions; its immense wilds are inhabited by savage hordes, or ferocious animals hostile to the civilized inhabitants. Oppression is ever on the watch to seize the unprotected peasants; and anarchy and lawless rapine stalk at large throughout the land. The inhabitants, therefore, are compelled to unite in societies for their mutual protection.

Their towns and villages in general are little more than a straggling row of huts along the strand, or a double row lining a road of communication. The whole of these 8000 cities &c. do not average more than 150 or 200 houses each; taking the largest statement, or 200, it will make the number of houses in the Birmah dominions 1,600,000: and, at seven persons to a house, 20

of the town's appearance. At the different gates he has erected, under the direction of a Dutch engi neer, something like fortifications. But should they ever chance to be attacked, these decorations of Mynheer will be found only like the pasteboard batteries of a theatre. In the neighbourhood of the city, however, he has built several small castles, which promise to afford better protection.

At the upper end of the town stands the castle of the Gaspa, built by the Spaniards when they had possession of the country. This fort commands the town, and in case of necessity, would keep it in complete subjection.

The port of Tunis is at the Go letta or entrance from the sea into the lake. As no river, nor even rivulet, runs into the lake of Tunis, the evaporation is supplied by a current at the Goletta from the

sea.

At the Goletta, there are two forts of considerable strength, built by the Spaniards during the reign of Charles V. They are in a tolerable state of repair. Several fine guns are to be seen in them, particularly a large one for throw ing stone-shot, and a gun of exquisite workmanship, which was plundered from the arsenal of Leghorn by the French, and sold by one of Bonaparte's commissaries to an agent of the Bey of Tunis, about seven years ago.

It was at one time the intention of the Bey to drain the lake, which is daily filling up by the filth of the city, which runs into it. For this purpose, he sent for several engineers from Holland. The intention was to drain the lake, and form a channel of sufficient depth

to bring vessels of burthen up to the town, where a handsome port was to be formed, fitted to contain not only merchant vessels, but also the ships of war belonging to the prince. Many obstacles, however, arose to prevent the execution of this princely design. The draining of the lake might create bad air, and the country, which had just been scourged by the pestilence, might again be visited by disease. The engineers were also of opinion, that ten years would be

necessary to complete the work, with the labour of ten thousand slaves, and the cost of no small sum of money besides materials.

The plan was for these reasons abandoned, and the Bey contented himself with forming a small port at the Goletta. Into this, vessels of a small draught of water can enter through a handsome canal of stone, in which there is at all times fifteen feet of water.

This being the situation of the port of Tunis, the ships of the Bey make use of Porto Farina as safer, and more commodious. Vessels loading or unloading at Tunis, lie off in the roads, in between five and seven fathoms water with, fine anchorage, and are served by large lighters, to transport their cargoes. These lighters, named sandals, drawing little water, even navigate in the lake, and bring their loads to its borders below the city. Ships wishing to avail themselves of the port of the Goletta can enter on paying a due of three Spanish dollars a day; but very few choose to lay themselves under so heavy a tax.

It is said that the French at one period offered to form the port which the Bey wished, provided

11,200,000 persons in the whole of the Birmah dominions; a very scanty population indeed for so extended a territory. And its very extension operates against its ever proving an adequate resource either for defence or revenue; for in truth not one half of this population can be said to be in a state of solid allegiance; and from the remainder a very large proportion must be deducted for females, old men, and infants.

The proportion of women to men has been stated to me as 10 to 6, and 4 to 1; and this enormous disproportion of the sexes has been accounted for by the incessant state of warfare in which the Birmah nation has been engaged by the restless ambition of its sovereigns, particularly those of the present dynasty. That it does not proceed from a natural cause, I have pretty well ascertained; for on the strictest inquiry I do not find that the births offemales exceed that of the males beyond the usual proportion: but, admitting that the proportion does not exceed 3 to 1, and stating the effective population of the Birmah dominions at six millions, it will leave only 1,500,000 males; from these must be deducted all those under 15 years of age and above 50, according to the common rules of political arithmetic; there will then remain one fourth, or 375,000 men capable of bearing arms, supposing that the whole of the country was to rise in a mass, according to the modern phrase; but this experience has proved to be an impossibility: I am therefore induced to credit what I have often heard asserted, that his present majesty would find it extre