"The British possessions in Burmah comprise about 100,000 square miles of territory, with 5,000,000 inhabitants; they include the former States of Tenasserim, Aracan, and Pegu, and these States are now the three provinces that constitute the Government of British Burmah. The first two have been occupied since 1824; Pegu was captured at that time, but afterward restored, and it remained in Burmese possession till the second war, in 1852. An American doctor, who was temporarily serving on an English gun-boat during the second war, says that the Burmese were very brave in many instances, but of course they were no match for the artillery and other warlike apparatus of the English.
BURMESE RIVER SCENE.
"But it seems that not all the bravery was genuine, for when this doctor went through the fortifications of Rangoon, after its capture, he found that the Burmese general who commanded the place had chained his gunners to the cannon, so that they could not run away. And furthermore, when the battle was going on, the wives and children of the officers and soldiers were penned up in the trenches, and ordered to lose their heads if the defence was not successful.
"Many of the cannon used in the defence of Rangoon were made of teak logs, hooped with iron; some did good service, but many of them burst after a few rounds, in consequence of being overloaded. The Burmese were at least two hundred years behind the times in making and using artillery; and they were not much better off with their war-boats, which were very narrow in proportion to their length, and made from the largest teak logs, hollowed out like the canoes of the Indians. They were rowed or paddled, and there were from fifty to one hundred rowers in each boat; the men kept time by singing a monotonous song, which had the word 'hah!' at the end of each line, and every time the 'hah!' was uttered the paddle was dipped into the water. The boats were propelled very swiftly by their crews, but the thin sides offered no resistance to the cannon of the English ships, and a single well-directed shot was enough to knock one of them to pieces.
"So much about the war, which did not last long when it was fairly begun. After peace was arranged, the English went to work to develop the country as much as possible, and to show the natives they had come there to stay. They made roads, introduced steamboats on the rivers, and a few years ago they began the construction of a railway which is intended to run to the frontier, and some time go on to the capital of the kingdom of Ava, which is the part of Burmah that remains under its native ruler.
"The country has been very prosperous since the English took possession of it; the population has doubled in consequence of immigration—some of it from China, and some from native Burmah; and the natives seem to understand very well the advantages of living under a government that does not oppress them. The principal product of the country is rice, and it is exported to England and other countries; Rangoon rice is not unknown in America, and sometimes there have been half a dozen ships loading at one time in this port for the United States. About 2,000,000 acres of land are devoted to the cultivation of rice, and a few hundred acres to indigo, tea, and mulberries. There are very few manufactures; with the exception of a small quantity of silks that are woven at Prome, and some lacquered ware, the country does not make much that the rest of the world cares for.
"Perhaps this information will be found a little dry to some of the boys at home, but if it is they can skip it. There's a good deal more I could say, but the hour is late and we must rest ourselves for to-morrow."