liquor, and was with difficulty recovered by the application of blisters and hot cataplasms.

Many, many others could be specified, who were frequently carried home in this shocking state, after a debauch at the canteen, who ruined their constitutions through it, and brought on fatal diseases, or died in a straight waistcoat, placed on them during a fit of temporary madness, or of "the horrors,” as they style it.

All these men had been addicted to liquor when issued on the old system, and had often been far gone in a beastly state of inebriety; but never to such an extent as after the opening of the canteens. To prevent, if possible, the recurrence of these dreadful scenes, no man was allowed to receive more than two drams in the evening, in addition to that served out after parade: but this regulation was easily evaded. Men, who had no intention of drinking, procured the liquor they were allowed to receive with money furnished by those who had already had their quota, and then transferred it: thus to them drunkenness was far from being checked.

It is true, that the admission of liquor into the barracks was partially prevented; but the ingenuity of the men led them to adopt many measures to baffle the operation of the orders: bladders hid in the cap or boot, pots with false bottoms, and other receptacles, were used for carrying the liquor past the sentries at the canteen-doors, while the bugles of the trumpeters were neverfailing utensils for smuggling. The liquor thus brought into the barracks was sold at the rate of six drams for the rupee, but, being insufficient to meet the demand, and higher-priced than at the canteen, the men resorted there to guzzle (we can use no other term), with all the edacity possible, as much liquor as the limited hours of the canteen would admit.

While liquor can be had at the canteens or other shops, the sale or transfer of drams in the barracks never can be successfully opposed: while the men have money, they will, in spite of the most rigid orders, find means of procuring spirituous liquors-unless something else, that they would like as well, is easily procurable. Strict as have been the precautions, and severe the punishments of those who were detected in their attempts to carry liquor from the canteen, it did not prevent a recurrence of these attempts in a different shape. The only resource now universally allowed to exist is, to lead the men into the habits of sobriety; but that can be achieved only by hopes of reward; dread of punishment never will secure it.

How, then, can inebriety be checked? Temperance societies may do much ; but human nature is frail :—the sternest resolve may be set aside by some unexpected contingency. It is not only necessary to encourage sobriety, but it is equally imperative that breaches of it should be prevented. "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil," saith the prayer; and well would it be for some of our much-lauded philanthropists, if the divine precept were kept a little more in mind. Confirmed habits cannot be arbitrarily broken through on the instant. Strong minds might triumph over animal inclinations; but it is not among the class that forms the staple of our soldiery that this can be constantly looked for and depended on: the command of our passions and desires is an acquirement; it is not inherent in the human frame. To ensure sobriety in the soldier, excess of spirituous liquors should be removed from his vicinity, and a moderate supply of generous malt liquor substituted in their room; which, we think, might be done. At no very distant period, good wholesome beer was selling at Cawnpore, we know, for six rupees the dozen bottles, and we have heard for less. This was an article of traffic with the

shop-keepers, who sought a profit on their goods; government could afford to strike off the profit in their vending. During a part of 1835, good beer was to be procured from the native dealers in Calcutta, at the rate of four annas the quart bottle; and we confidently affirm that nineteen soldiers out of twenty, or even a greater proportion, would prefer the quart of beer to the dram of arrack they purchased at the same price. Here, then, is what we consider a solution of the reputed dificulty of abolishing the issue of ration-liquor. We would. substitute a pint of draught beer at the dinner-hour for the arrack. But even this end could not be brought about by a stroke of Harlequin's wand, or the promulgation of a general order; it requires time to mature it, and these are the means we suggest to arrive at the point.

Abolish all canteens; and allow no liquor-shops within four miles of a barrack occupied by Europeans; revert to the old system of commissariat; permit no man, on any pretence, to take liquor from the tub; gradually reduce the size of the dram-cups; pay the men regularly for the liquor not drawn; and then commence the system of substituting malt-liquor, on which government, as we said before, should make no profit.

We know that the soldiery are partial to malt-liquors; a Mr. Bohle, at Meerut, formerly attempted to brew beer, and partly succeeded; but from some cause it was sad stuff; yet this beer, sold at four annas the quart, was drunk by many men in preference to arrack! This fact speaks for itself; it shews that even bad beer will detach men from spirits ;-what would not good beer accomplish? There is also commonly sold, by native manufacturers, a liquid that they call beer,-a vile compound of ginger, jaggree, and sour toddy, the quality of which may be appreciated by merely stating the price-it is sold at the rate of two pice the quart bottle. The beverage is deleterious, and its admission into barracks often prohibited: yet still it is used, because it is easily procured. Even the men themselves have occasionally attempted to brew beer; but, although they were sometimes successful, they generally failed, from want of funds to purchase good materials and necessary utensils.*

From the East-India United Service Journal, for April.

THE LATE CAFFRE WAR.

TO THE EDITOR.

SIR:-As a confirmation of the just reasoning of Lord Glenelg, with reference to the real causes of the late Caffre War, I send you the following extract from the South African Advertizer :—

"In the course of a trial that took place lately in Caffreland, it was stated, that to seize the cattle of a chief, under any pretence, was, according to Caffre custom, a declaration of war. This throws light on the commencement of the late war, which broke out immediately after the seizure of Tyali's cattle by Lieut. Sutton. This also shows the importance of studying the customs of our neighbours."

I am, Sir,

Your humble Servant,

P.

MR. TAYLOR'S ORIENTAL HISTORICAL MANUSCRIPTS.*

MR. TAYLOR's second volume of translated Tamil MSS. consists of the following pieces.

The first, under the title of "History of the Carnataca Governors who ruled over the Pandiya Mandalam," comprises an account of the ancestry and political history of the celebrated Tirumali Naicker, better known as Trimul Naig, of Madura; of which it is unnecessary to say more than that the whole of the " History" was given in this Journal ten years back;† and we cannot help remarking, that the coincidence of expression in the two translations is so striking, that we are almost justified in asserting that Mr. Taylor must have had this version before him at the time when he executed his own. If not, we can only say it is one of the most miraculous instances of correspondence between independent translations of oriental works ever known or heard of.

The next piece is entitled "The Pandion Chronicle, Supplementary Manuscript, and Carnataca Dynasty, Connected;" which is an attempt to produce a consecutive series of native history of this portion of India.

Whilst Mr. Taylor was translating these manuscripts at Madras, Professor Wilson was employed at home in drawing up a fuller account of the Pandya kingdom than he had given in his Introduction to the Descriptive Catalogue of the Mackenzie Collection. This valuable paper was read before the Royal Asiatic Society during its last sessions, and is printed in its Journal for October, under the title of "Historical Sketch of the Kingdom of Pandya." The principal authorities which Mr. Wilson has followed, are various native works in the Mackenzie Collection. We naturally instituted a comparison between the sketch and Mr. Taylor's history, and we have found such an utter discordancy between them, especially with reference to the important point of chronology, that our faith must be withdrawn from one or the other. There is every reason to believe, moreover, that these antagonistical views of Pándyan history have been derived from the same works; for Mr. Wilson, in a Supplementary Note to his Sketch, written after Mr. Taylor's translations had come under his notice, observes: "the chief of them (the manuscripts), the Madura Sthala Purana, is clearly the same as one of my authorities, the Madura Purana; and it seems likely that the Pandion Chronicle, and the History of the Karnataca Governors of Madura, which are also among Mr. Taylor's translations, may be identifiable with documents in the Mackenzie Collection, of which I have made use."

Our confidence, therefore, must rest not on the native works themselves, but on the competency of the writers to decide upon their merits and pretensions, and, in short, on their respective ability to make a judicious use of the materials.

* Oriental Historical Manuscripts, in the Tamil Language, Translated; with Annotations. By WILLIAM TAYLOR, Missionary. In Two Vols. Vol. 11. Madras, 1835.

+ See Asiat. Journ. (O. S.) Vol. xxiii, p. 665; Vol. xxiii, p. 9.

Now Mr. Wilson, it is true, is not a Tamil scholar; but he can avail himself of, and has resorted to, the assistance of able Tamilists. On the other hand, Mr. Wilson is profoundly versed in Sanscrit literature, and possesses the higher and indispensable attributes of general learning and critical knowledge, in both which Mr. Taylor appears to be deficient, and which deficiency is poorly compensated by a familiarity with the Tamil language. The one is an historian; the other a translator.

To illustrate these remarks, we may adduce as an example, one of the manuscripts translated by Mr. Taylor, termed by him "Supplementary Manuscript," and upon which he sets a high value. With reference to this work, Mr. Wilson 66 says: I place no great reliance on any of the manuscripts which profess to record the ancient history of the Peninsula, especially in periods of remote antiquity, but there are greater sobriety, consistency, and air of likelihood, in some than in others; and in those of the best description, there is a general conformity with each other, or with classical Hindu tradition, which indicates their being compiled with some conscientiousness and care. The Supplementary Manuscript' possesses no such characteristics; it is exceedingly jejune and incoherent." He then shews its incongruity with other authorities. When it comes to refer to events happening towards the close of our fourteenth century, Mr. Wilson observes, "we first meet with an agreement with other and more detailed accounts; here, then, we may admit some approach to accuracy; but for all that precedes, the Supplementary Manuscript' is worthless."

6

The fact seems to be, that Mr. Taylor attaches a value to all the Tamil MSS. without discrimination; but, unless some degree of judgment and critical discernment accompany and direct translation, it is an office not only useless but cumbersome to science.

Next follow translations of the Mirtanjeya MSS., which are somewhat different or more enlarged versions of the incidents recorded in the first piece, "History of the Carnataca Governors." Then follow "Accounts of Tirumali Naicker and his Buildings;" "The Arrangement of the Palace of Tirumali Naicker, and Notices of some of his feudal Chieftains;" "Record of the Affairs of the Carnataca Governors," after Tirumali Naicker had gone to Vaicontha," and other little pieces connected with the later history of Madura, none of which appear to be of material value as historical documents, even if they could be relied on.

One of the anecdotes of Ranga Kistna Naicker, "the Affair of the Mogul's Slipper," is worth citing.

The Tamil author states that the Padshah (Mogul), in those days, was accustomed to send his slipper, as a farmana (or royal mandate), to the dependent states (this Pandiya-desam alone excepted), on an elephant, in charge of two nabobs, at the head of a large body of troops, the slipper being fanned by chowries, screened by umbrellas, and accompanied by banners, kettle-drums, &c. The king of each country was expected to meet the symbol at the head of their retainers, escort it to their court, place it on their thrones, and do homage before it; at the same time delivering their quota of tribute to the Mogul's sirdars. Upon an occasion, the slipper-bearing nabobs set their faces

from the Deccan to Pandiya-desam, and halted on the borders, whence they sent chobdars, with an inayitthu-nameh (authoritative message) to Trichinopoly, to inform Raja Ranga Kistna Naicker of the arrival of the imperial mandate. The king, being young, was ignorant of the meaning of this ceremony; but when informed by his sirdars, he was angry. He dismissed the chobdars civilly, telling them that his health was not good, and despatching Dulakarten, messengers of his own, with the same plea, he directed them to decoy the nabobs to the city. The Dalakarten, accordingly, allured them first to Samiyaveram, on the other bank of the Coleroon, then to the vicinity of Trichinopoly, where, alleging that the king was sick in a palanquin, within the fort, they got the nabobs and the imperial slipper within the gate, and thence into the hall of the throne.

Meanwhile, the Raja had invested himself with all the paraphernalia of his dignity, surrounded by his friends and officers, and seated on his throne, received the angry nabobs, chafing at the insults offered to their slipper and themselves. Seeing that the king paid no respect either to the Padshah's farmana or to them, they pushed aside the persons who stood in their way, and insolently offered to thrust the slipper into the king's hands. Ranga Naicker told them to lay it on the ground; the nobles refused to do so, upon which the Raja, with a loud voice, called for whips and rattans. Thereupon, in some alarm, the nabobs put down the slipper; upon which the king coolly placed his foot in it, observing, "How comes it that your Padshah, like a fool, sends me furniture for one foot only? Go back and bring the other slipper." The exasperated envoys, losing all patience at this, replying angrily, the king ordered them to be driven out of the city. Their troops began hostilities, but the Rajah's army routed them, and the Padshah, when he heard of this unexpected occurrence, apprehending that other princes would treat his farmana in the same way, discontinued the degraded ceremony.]

In the Appendix are given translations of some apophthegms, from a poem "condescendingly made by Athivira-rama-Pandion," the observance of which will preserve a party from want. These sayings are, with few exceptions, barren and puerile.

Upon the whole, we fear that oriental scholars will not award to Mr. Taylor such a degree of reputation as will repay him for the toil of translating these manuscripts, which, as it appear to us, throw but little steady light upon Hindu history.