are getting fast, and young China dashes along in his buggy, and discarding mild opium, quaff's brandy pawnee to an extent that makes you fear he will some day cut off his tail and let his hair grow a fearful sight for several generations, or perhaps worse, take to washing, like the dirty Hindoos, instead of polishing his brown smiling physiognomy, and then till by repeated efforts he has got off all the layers, how fearfully dirty he will look!

But there are hopes yet. They still read Confucius, do not rashly alter, and besides it keeps them so warm and comfortable in the cold weather, and pigs and Chinamen like to be comfortable. The wise man's mind is easy when he is entirely comfortable, said the sage, "being happy,why should you repine." So long as they gain nothing, not even respectability, by giving way to ridiculous and troublesome conventionalisms, why should they; and as for the tail it is so convenient; do you want to ropesend one of your workmen, what so handy; or to dust the table, or to clean your boots, or hang yourself, what so convenient. It will take much convulsion, much brandy pawnee, to make them sacrifice their tails.

In the meantime they prosper; their physical energy and their mental capacity fit them for superintendence, and as foremen they are always in demand. A Chinese carpenter works as neatly as, and far more cheaply than, an Englishman, and calculating that he gets only the same amount, if he is two or twenty days, works quickly to finish his job. Regular Yankees, the land of dollars is their only country, except indeed in paper, and they as willingly work for the tea-growers in the Himalayas as our cousins do for Russia. Peace to them both, why shouldn't they, are we not all brothers? Did not Confucius say, all within the four seas are the sons of the emperor? Are we not all crying out for an universal language and a general fusion, and persons of the same color to be allowed to marry, and an immediate abrogation of all the rules of that old conventionalism? Nature lets every one shave his head and shiver.

The wise man, when unable to say more, is silent. The lamp, burnt down, goes out. Unable to write more, the flowery scholar lays down his pencil.

ART. V.-1. Statistical and Geographical Report on the 24Pergunnahs Districts. BY MAJOR RALPH SMYTH. Calcutta. 1857.

2. Report on the Calcutta and South-Eastern Railway from Calcutta to the River Mutlah. BY JAMES A. LONGRIDGE. London. 1857.

3. The Mutlah as an Auxiliary Port to Calcutta, its Progress and Prospects. Calcutta. 1858.

PUBL

UBLIC attention has been recently turned to the Soonderbuns-those vast tracts of forest land, to their numberless rivers, and to their rich and varied soil. Since Calcutta has been the metropolis of India, the inland trade of the country, for several months in the year, has found its way to Calcutta through the intricate passages of the Soonderbuns. Its tidal rivers and creeks are alike known to the boatmen of the clinker-built crafts of Behar and the far North-west, and the mangees of Dacca, Sylhet, and Chittagong. Cultivation too has of late made rapid strides into the hitherto dense forest, now being reclaimed from the tiger and rhinoceros, which have held undisputed possession of them for centuries. The purchase of land on the Mutlah by the Government, for the foundation of a new city, which we observe has already been named in two maps as "Canning Town," the disposal by Government officers of building sites; the appointment of a "superintendent of the port and town of Mutlah;" the deputation of custom house officers and of pilots to that river; the certainty that parts of the Soonderbuns will be cotton-producing districts, and the high prices which allotments of land have recently realized at public sales, all serve to shew that a short account of the Soonderbuns will not be uninteresting.

Every map of India, published since Major Rennell compiled his atlas, shews the Soonderbuns most conspicuously. We are all familiar with that patch of green at the "mouths of the Ganges," intersected by numberless rivers; and we have all wondered how such dense forests have stood on the seacoast of a country, correctly reckoned to be the most populous in the world; and how it comes to pass, that the teeming millions of Bengal have not long ago converted its jungle wastes into productive rice fields.

We believe it is generally allowed, that the flat plains of Bengal are alluvial formations;-that the sea once washed the hills of Singbhoom, Burrahbhoom, Beerbhoom, Rajmahal, the Garrows, Cherrah and Jyntea, and that the land has gradually

gained on the sea. Excavations and borings have established the fact, that at the depth of twenty or thirty feet below the present surface, the debris of ancient forests are found embedded in the earth, with shells similar to those now found on the shores of the bay. What we see at present going on in the Soonderbuns and on the sea margin, has been going on for ages. Those extensive sands or shoals are gradually covered with mould; the silt washed down in the rivers gradually raises their levels; shrubs and trees take root and flourish; generations of these decay, until their level is sufficiently raised, and in course of time, a dark forest stands in the place once covered by the sea; lastly man comes in, cuts down the forest, and by means of embankments and damming up water-courses, renders the soil habitable, and permanently occupies the land gained from the waters.

It is a subject of wonder to many, that traces of habitation are to be found in the midst of the forest, and several unsuccessful attempts have been made to account for the mystery. We believe it is easily explained. We would draw attention to the changes which have taken place in the country between the Hoogly river and the mouths of the Ganges and Megnah. Careful observation will shew, that several large branches of the Ganges have dried up. As observed by Lyell in his account of the Delta of the Ganges, "on the sea-coast, there are eight openings, each of which has evidently at some ancient period served in its turn as the principal channel of discharge." These eight openings commence east of the Hoogly river, and are to be traced in succession to the present mouth of the Ganges and Megna. It is evident, the principal channel of discharge" has gradually moved east ward. This observation is borne out by the appearance of the country in the districts of Kishnagur, Jessore, and some parts of Backergunge. We find several insulated lakes which the natives call jheels, and which have no apparent connection with either the Ganges to the north, or the Bay of Bengal to the south. We also see a series of deep hollows, succeeding each other in a direction nearly parallel with the course of the Ganges. The tradition amongst the natives respecting these appearances is, that they once formed the beds of large rivers, through which the traffic of the country passed. These observations and traditions are supported by the appearance of the country during the rains. In this season of the year, these isolated hollows are connected, and the country is found to drain itself through them, and their communication with the Ganges, in some instances, is restored. It is evident then, that at some distant time, these

rivers were the channels through which the surplus waters of the Ganges were conveyed to the sea.

To judge of the effect which these great discharges of fresh water had on the western Soonderbuns, we have only to observe their present effect on the eastern Soonderbuns. There we find habitation and cultivation extend to the margin of the sea; man inhabits the country to the shores of the Bay of Bengal. The islands of Bara, and Chota Bass-deah, Dokin Shabazpore, Hattea, and Sundeep, are proofs sufficient of this observation. The volume of fresh water is so large, that the salt water is confined in those parts to the Bay itself. The rivers and creeks have fresh water at certain seasons of the year to the sea board. As remarked by Lyell, "in those rivers when periodically swollen by tropical rains, the velocity of the stream counteracts the tidal current, so that, except very near the sea, the ebb and flow become insensible. During the flood season therefore, the Ganges almost assumes the character of a river entering a lake or inland sea; the movements of the ocean being subordinate to the force of the river, or only slightly disturbing its operations; so great is the quantity of mud and sand poured by the Ganges into the gulf in the flood season, that the sea only recovers its transparency at the distance of sixty miles from the coast." With the Bengallee, we find, cultivation follows the course of fresh water; so long as the water is "meeta" or sweet, the indolent native will squat on the banks, plant his fruit-trees, raise his Bheeta or homestead, and dig his tank. This is also borne out by the fact, that grantees in the eastern Soonderbuns find it easier to procure tenants to occupy clearings, than the grantees in the western parts. We believe therefore, that at the period when the fresh waters of the Ganges found their way into the Bay of Bengal, through the western Soonderbuns, cultivation extended to its shores : and as the heads of the rivers silted and became dry, and the flow and ebb of the sea, and consequently salt water, extended further north, the country subject to its influence became deserted and jungle sprang up, until it gradually assumed the character of the Soonderbuns. This appears to us a natural and simple solution of the mystery attached to the traces of habitation found in the midst of the jungles. This will be still more evident, when we consider the character of the Bengallee ryots, whose proverbial indolence unfits them for contending against any great difficulties. The presence of salt water in parts of the country where it was formerly unknown, interferes so completely with their habits, that in place of modifying their system of agriculture to the altered state of things, they

deserted their homesteads; and the dense forest we now see gradually sprang up on the very sites that had been the abodes of men.

Thus we find in Major Rennell's Atlas, published in 1781, a number of villages is shewn on the east bank of the Kaburtuk, and south of the Coirah rivers. The same villages are shewn in Morrison's map of 1811. We observe however, that when Mr. Dampier, Commissioner of the Soonderbuns, was deputed to mark off the forest boundary, he found that these villages were deserted; and in his proceedings dated the 3rd of February, 1829, he states "that some of the villages had been deserted twelve, ten, eight, and some so recently as three years; and in a journey of three hours along the river, he had seen but two hundred beegahs of land, under cultivation with ten or twelve houses." He ascertained from the neighbouring inhabitants," that the cause of this desertion was the salt water." The country now is perfect forest, and hardly distinguishable from the oldest Soonderbuns. The revenue survey last year found it impossible to penetrate the jungles to lay down the old forest boundary. In this tract of land amounting to about 8,400 acres, we find fruit trees, tanks, and other signs of habitation. We learn from the tradition of the natives, that the Kaburtuk river ceased to be a sweet water river, within the last thirty or forty years. The two branches of the river shewn in Rennell's map, the one joining the Jelinghee, and the other the Ganges near Commercolly, are now dry; and the waters which used to flow through them have found an outlet through the Goraie river into the Bulissur. Thus we find that the silting of the head of the river was followed by the desertion of the country. As the influence of the tides prevailed, the salt water found its way further north; and we find it is only as far as the influence of salt water is felt, that the country has become a desert, and trees peculiar to the Soonderbuns forest have sprung up. Further south, we observe the same changes to have taken place, only at an anterior period, and there the traces of habitation are neither so recent nor so numerous. most places, there is an absence of fruit trees, but the more permanent marks of habitation are still to be found. In lot No. 211 of Hodges' map, we find the ruins of a palace and a fort, and the evident traces of a large and populous town. In lot No. 165, Major Smyth has already described the remains of the old city of Goomghur, and ancient Jessore. The tradition respecting Rajah Pertab Auditia, in connection with the city, is now a matter of Indian history.

In

These facts sufficiently illustrate our theory. A glance at