From MUKUNDRAE MUNEERAE, Esq., First Extra Assistant Political Agent, To H. M. BIRDWOOD, Esq, M.A.., Acting First Political Assistant. Wudwan, 6th October 1866. SIR,-With reference to the Resolution of Government in the General Department No. 1692, dated the 27th August last, a copy of which has been forwarded to me under your endorsement No. 205, dated 18th ultimo, I have the honour to inform you, on my making inquiries at Bujana and other places as regards any marks which would indicate a depression of the land in the Runn, everybody seemed to be quite amazed at the idea, which showed that persons in that locality were quite ignorant of the matter. The tides of the sea have never been known to have risen so high as to reach Bujana, and the creek at that place is wholly dry during the eight months of the year. The tides in the Runn are said to be the highest whenever there is strong wind blowing, and in the months of May and June they sometimes reach Jhinjoowara. The people there seemed to be of opinion that the tides depended more on the blowing of the wind than on any other cause. All along the Runn within our Division there are saltworks at different places, such as Patree, Odoo, Jhinjoowara, Futtepoor, and Unvurpoor. If the Government Mehtas employed on these works be directed to keep the required registers they will be able to perform the work more efficiently than any Mehtas employed by the Talookdars. Teekur is the only place within our Division where there are no such Saltwork Mehtas, and where I think it is necessary to have a similar register kept; but I have no doubt His Highness the Raj of Drangudra, within whose territory Teekur lies, will readily consent to entrust the work to one of his own men at that place. The Bujana Chief expressed to me his willingness to render every possible assistance in his power, but, as stated above, his assistance will not, I am of opinion, be required. From Captain C. B. LATOUCHE, 'No. 93 of 1867. Acting 4th Political Assistant, To Major R. H. KEATINGE, V.C., C.S.I., Political Agent in Kattyawar, Joonaghur. Camp Rajkote, 29th April 1867. SIR,-In continuance of the correspondence connected with the rising and sinking of the Runn, and in compliance with your private letter of 7th March, a second communication was addressed to the Thandar of Jhinjoowarra, who, in reply, states that the Runn does increase on the cultivated land, which gradually becomes covered with salt and sand. The information however obtained from him is very scanty, and I have been as yet quite unable to discover from any of the authorities of the villages in the neighbourhood of the Runn, to whom letters have been addressed on the subject, whether the sea water actually advances or not. They all seem to imagine that the water which lies on the Runn, especially after a heavy monsoon, is rainwater. I have put some further questions to them, and hope at a later period of the year to be able to furnish some more precise information from their replies, and the registers ordered to be furnished monthly by them. I have requested the Raja of Drangudra, chief of Bujana, and Thandar of Dussara, to note particularly any changes which may take place during the rains; as also on the two undermentioned points: 1st. Whether the water in the wells have been increasing or decreasing of late years during the dry season. 2nd. Whether the water in the wells during the monsoons has of late years become more brackish or not? I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servaut, C. B. LATOUCHE, Acting 4th Political Assistant.' 'EXTRACT paras. 18 to 28 of the Report by Lieut. J. H. LLOYD, Assistant Political Agent, on the separation of interests in the Border Villages held jointly between the States of Joonaghur and Porebunder. Position of Villages. NATURAL FEATURES AND SOILS. 18. The villages held jointly by Joonaghur and Porebunder occupy a position intermediate between the Khalsa territories of the two states. They comprise a tract of country lying nearly parallel to the western coast of Kattyawar, and removed from it only by a narrow strip of territory belonging to Porebunder. The River Bhadur. 19. From the foot of the Burda hills, which are situated a few miles to the north, the land has a gradual fall until it meets the river Bhadur, which, rising in the interior of Kattyawar, flows, in a westerly direction through the joint districts, and joins the sea at Nuvee, a Porebunder town on the coast. The Ghair. 20. To the south of the Bhadur the country exhibits a uniform low level, falling again at the extreme south, where it joins the Ghair, a low-lying district, which is under water for several months in the year. The Runn. 21. The joint districts as already mentioned are separated from the sea by a strip of Porebunder territory. Owing however to the Bhadur being tidal for some miles, and the lowness of its banks, a large amount of salt water finds its way over this intervening tract at every flow of the tide. During the rains, the flooding of the river, the high monsoon tides, and the bursting of the sea through the sand hills which line the coast, convert this tract of country into an extensive salt marsh or Runn, and may thus, as far as the ill-effects are concerned, be said to bring these joint districts into immediate proximity with the sea. Saltness of the District. 22. Owing to the prevailing low level of the country, together with the above proximity of the sea, one of the principal features of the district is its saltness. Salt water percolates from below, fills wells and streams, impregnates the soil, and occasionally appears as an efflorescence on the surface; and is, in short, the normal condition of the country, which, without counteracting influences, would soon become uninhabitable. Inundation of the Bhadur. 23. The yearly rains are of course one of the causes which fertilize the country. They sweeten the soil, and supply fresh water to the inhabitants; but, without other assistance, these beneficial results would be but temporary. 24. The event upon which the welfare of the northern portion of these districts greatly depends, is the annual inundation of the Bhadur and its tributaries, by which the country on both banks is flooded for several miles. This may happen once, twice, or even three times during the monsoon; and the vast volume of water thus thrown on the land sinks to a great depth, displacing the salt and thoroughly sweetening the soil for cultivation, besides filling tanks, wells, and streams with fresh water. 25. The constant antagonism between fresh and salt water in these districts is a most curious feature, and serves to show what the condition of the country would be if by any means the yearly flooding of the river were to be averted. The fresh water poured over the country by this means not only allows crops to be cultivated during the rainy season, but the streams and nullas retain their sweetness long enough to allow cold weather crops to be raised by irrigation. With the commencement of hot weather however evaporation takes place, and as the heat increases, the salt water again begins to percolate from below, and rapidly re-asserts itself until cultivation is stopped by the streams becoming first brackish, and finally salt. The villages situated nearest the coast are the first to feel the effects, but it gradually extends to those more inland, until, by the middle of the hot weather, the greater part of the district has relapsed into its normal condition of saltness, and great difficulty is frequently experienced by the inhabitants in obtaining a supply of water for household purposes. If the district were dependent on the rain-fall alone this difficulty would become serious, at the same time the gross produce of the land would be considerably diminished. Banks of the Bhadur. Effects of the Inundation. 26. It must not be considered however that the inundation of the Bhadur is without ill effect. Like all rivers liable to violent floods, and flowing through level plains, the Bhadur is the cause of much mischief. The fields along its banks are yearly more or less encroached upon, to the great loss of their cultivators; and occasionally the river will quit its bed and cut a new channel for itself, engulfing in its progress valuable lands, and completely ruining the owners. Again, the effects of the inundation upon the surrounding country are most capricious. Sometimes, when the flood subsides, large quantities of alluvial soil are found deposited over the surface to the great advantage of cultivation, and barren spots are suddenly converted into fertile fields; at other times, the violence of the flood is so great that the deposit of many preceding floods is in a moment swept entirely away, and the thriving cultivator finds himself reduced to the ownership of a barren waste: again, these floods, by taking place at unexpected and unseasonable times, occasionally inflict considerable loss by damaging growing crops. 27. Thus, for good and for evil, the inundation of the Bhadur is yearly awaited by the people of these districts; but whilst the damage it commits is partial, the benefit is great and general. 28. To the south of these joint districts is another curious feature in the shape of a tract of country, already alluded to as the Ghair. The extensive sand-hills which line The Ghair. the coast protect this portion of the district from any irruption of the sea; but the level of the country is so low, that throughout the monsoon months it is more or less under water, and cultivation is chiefly carried on in the cold weather, after the water has subsided, and in the hot weather by means of irrigation."" 11. And the following from James Burgess, Esq., F.R.G.S., M.R.A.S.: "To H. MORLAND, Esq, F.R.G.S., Honorary Secretary, Bombay Geographical Society. SIR, I beg leave to call your attention and that of the Bombay Geographical Society to a matter in which the Society might lend valuable aid to the cause of Science. The inextricable confusion in which neglect and indifference have involved the spellings of Indian names of places, render it often a matter of difficulty for a stranger to India to find the place he wants either on a map or in a Gazetteer. Every one seems to have a way of spelling of his own. Ramnagar is spelt about eleven different ways in Thornton's Gazetteer, and the prefix Fateh is spelt eleven ways, all wrong; garh is spelt ghur in one line, gurh in another, and gur in a third; "pur" is spelt poor, pore, pour, par, pora, &c. A few months ago I met with Peenee Put in a newspaper, and could only guess that Panipat was meant. Kanhpur is the city of Krishna,-in one author it is Cunpoor, in another Caunpoor, and in Orme Cawnpore,-apparently intended for "Khanpur"-a Musalman,-in place of a Hindu name,and scores of instances of the same kind, whereby the etymology is completely disguised by the mis-spelling, might be adduced by one acquainted with the country. But From this multiplicity of spellings, certain forms become for a while fashionable, and then give place to others: thus, thirty years ago, our best maps had Cashmeer, Curachee, Baroche, Boglipour, Nassuck, Mow, Churapoonjie, Rutnageeree, Thenkaushee, Paulytanna, &c. All these names are now altered, more or less, most of them for the better. a spirit of reform is getting abroad in this matter, and if slowly, is yet surely working its way. The last edition of Elphinstone's History, by my friend Professor E. B. Cowell, has greatly improved the spellings, and the students of that excellent work may be expected to some extent to adopt the orthography they will there become familiar with. Dr. Keith Johnstone in his "Royal Atlas" has also adopted a large number of improved spellings, and other authors are following in the same track: even in some of our school-books reform is visible. The difficulty Geographers find, however, is to discover, among the multiplicity of disguised forms, what the true spelling is; and out of India it is next to impossible to know how many an Indian name ought to be spelt. Even in a Marathi Geography I have found English nicknames and mis-spellings transliterated into the Vernacular, so that we seem even in some danger of losing the correct names altogether. Now it has occurred to me that the Geographical Society of Bombay, or a Committee of it, would be able to get up a good list of the names of Indian towns, rivers, &c., which might be in many ways extremely useful. It would probably be impossible for the Society to |