At a little before sunset, we changed the Ganges for the Bhauguretty river.
On the 3rd of June we were early off Sootee, on the right bank, and 210 miles from Calcutta. In 1757, when Suraj-ud-Dowlah, the Subahdar of Bengal, apprehended an attack from the English, and believed that their ships of war could proceed up the eastern branch of the Ganges to the northern point of the Cossimbazar island, and thence down the Bhauguretty to Moorshedabad, he commanded immense piles to be driven into the river at Sootee. By this act, the river has been rendered unnavigable for any vessels beyond boats, and even for these it is navigable only during the rainy season. The Subahdar remembered that Chandernagore, a French settlement, had been attacked on the 14th of March of the same year, and captured, by Admiral Watson and Colonel Clive, with line of battle ships, which cast anchor before it.
The river at times is not less than six miles broad at Sootee; during the rains, the steamers proceed down the Hoogly to Calcutta. At other seasons they go viâ the Bhauguretty and the Sunderbunds, or "the beautiful wilderness," where sportsmen may enjoy themselves by killing "a royal Bengal tiger," ten or twelve feet in length, from the head to the tip of the tail. The Sunderbunds consist of that part of the Delta of the Ganges, which is near the sea, and are in extent equal to the Principality of Wales. Salt is made here; and here also is found a boundless stock of timber, for boat building and other purposes.
About forty miles to the south of Mohungunge, at the head of the Bhauguretty, stands Bogwangola, a large inland trading town, eight miles N.E. of Moorshedabad. It is a great mart for grain. The town has a very poor appearance, being constructed entirely of bamboos, mats, and thatch; it has often been removed on account of the encroachment of the Ganges. It has more resemblance to a temporary fair, or an encampment, than to a town. The designation of town in Hindoostan, does not so much depend upon the nature of the buildings (for villages contain brick houses), as upon the rank of the public officer who superintends the general duties of the place, his rank depending on the extent of his charge. Bogwangola is a very stirring town; and the landing-place is always crowded with country boats of all sizes, and even with budgerows.
At about ten o'clock in the morning, we passed Jungepore, the site of one of the Company's principal silk factories, a portion of which is now conducted by private individuals; for since the loss of the Company's trading charter, their factories here and at other places, have been dismantled. Up to 1833, the East India Company, as is well known, held the monopoly of the trade in India and China; but the Government at home considering such a constitution of affairs incompatible with the position of a supreme legislative body, as well as injurious to the commercial and manufacturing interests, passed an act for the abolition of this monopoly, on the removal of what is commonly termed "the last charter of the East India Company, on the 25th of August, 1833." This act, as was expected, has already produced a vast change in the commercial relations of India. By throwing open the trade to private merchants, a greater stimulus has been given to individual enterprise and energy; and the market prices have been considerably lowered.
FOOTNOTES:
[103] Jer. xliv. 17.
[104] Vol. ii. p. 524.