he was far from offering any objection to It. He was not, however, surprised that the noble marquis should be liberal on such an occasion, for he was well known to be so on all others—and, if his information were correct, he lived in a style the most costly and expensive. He believed the court would agree, that his hon. friend (Mr. Hume) was perfectly right when he stated, that while the proprietors were willing to give praise where it was due, they could not, in justice, place the Nepal war on a footing with the brilliant exploits of 1803-4, which were said to have saved our empire in India. If this were a true description of the campaigns of that day, it clearly shewed that our possessions were then threatened with much greater danger than any that could be supposed to arise from the efforts of the Nepalese government. Still it was highly necessary that the insults offered to the Company by that state, should be promptly repelled. Some people, and they appeared to be of the number, would take an ell when you only gave them an inch;—and, if the Nepalese had not been opposed in the first instance, their insolence and their confidence would have increased-other states would have imitated their example-and attacks would have multiplied on all sides. The learned gentleman who last spoke, had very properly stated, that, in considering the importance of a war, they were not merely to look to the number of forces brought into the field, but they were to take into the account all the circumstances connected with the contest. This was a very just statement. It was not the numbers which the enemy led to battle that constituted the greatness and magnitude of a war-no, it was the various ramifications into which it might extend-it was the unforeseen circumstances that might develop themselves in its progress which formed the most serious points of danger. He thought the Lord Mayor of the city deserved very great praise-and yet, some persons would ask, "What has he done? He has only dispersed a few ruffians who had got arms in their hands." But he would point out what an important service the Lord Mayor had really performed. He had preserved, to a great extent, the peace of an immense metropolis. Though an individual, who was expert at calculation, might, `in ordinary cases, arrive at a just conclusion; yet it would by no means do in considering the nature and complexion of a war. In that case, an infinite variety of circumstances were to be looked to. The nature of the country-the habits of the people their military skill-and many other points, which when a mere alculation of numbers was resorted to, pere left out of the question. He had

not been in India, but he understood the Nepal territory was mountainous; full of strong holds and almost inaccessible fastnesses. Now, it was a well-ascertained fact, that mountainous districts were always peopled by a strong, powerful, and hardy race of men. It was amidst mountain-fastnesses that liberty delighted to dwell. It was there that the power of the Company would one day be assailed in India. Let the court look to Italy, to Switzerland, to Spain-and they would perceive the truth of his position. What had given us so many glorious victories in Spain? the judicious use that was made of the strong holds in that country. The natural difficulties that presented themselves in Nepal, required the utmost courage and perseverance to overcome; and the officers who were employed on that service, exhibited, perhaps, as much ability, and deserved as well of their country, as those who met and defeated a numerous army on the plain. Although the dispatches were written in too florid a style, he thought the noble marquis, and those who acted under him, richly deserved the thanks of the court.

Mr. Hume begged leave to say a few words in explanation. The learned gentleman (Mr. Twiss) did not, he was sure, mean to misrepresent what he had said ; but, undoubtedly, he had been misunderstood by him. He stated, that the learned gentleman had placed his experience in competition with that of his learned friend (Mr. R. Jackson) who made the motion on the 20th of December; but of his own experience he had not said a word, He was not such an egotist as to speak of himself. In mentioning the comparison attempted to be drawn between the war in Nepal, and that in the Mysore, the learned gentleman had forgotten that he used the word "not." He decidedly said, that the comparison was not to be found in the resolution, but in the dispatches. He said this, because he wished the court and the public not to be led away by the idea, that the contest was of that mighty importance which the purport of the dispatches would induce people to believe. He should be extremely happy, if he could place his arguments in so contracted a space, and deliver them with so much force and effect, as the learned gentleman was in the habit of doing. But it was useless to complain, since individuals must submit to the faculties bestowed on them by heaven; and, if they could not express their sentiments in a few words, they must use many. (Hear! hear!) This he must say, before he sat down, that the comparison between a civil war in Scotland and a contest in India, was the most far-fetched and excessive stretch of comparison he ever heard of. He could assure the learn

while the others were braving the terrors of the field.

Mr. Howorth said, that unwilling to disturb the unanimity with which the vote of thanks to the Marquis of Hastings had just passed, he had abstained from intruding himself upon the attention of the court; for although there were some expressions in the vote, that he could not pledge himself to, yet the principle, approving the skill with which the military operations in Nepal were planned, and the valour with which they were executed, had his cordial concurrence: but surely the hon. proprietors were not aware that resolutions which passed the House of Commons in 1782, afterwards embodied in the Act of 1724, re-enacted in 1793, and still aureycaled, forbid any further acquisition of territory in India. The government, therefore, which makes war for the acquisition of territory, offends against the law. The prevailing disease in the British governments in India was a rage for making war, the indulgence in which passion had nearly overwhelmed the chartered rights of the Company, and brought them under political control, and the perseverance in it would eventually destroy them.

Mr. Hume-"I would not, on any account, introduce a division into this court. If, therefore, Mr. Chairman, you think proper to adopt my motion, you may do so. If you think it had better be deferred, I hare no objection to postpone it."

The Chairman" I think, under all the circumstances, you had better withAraw the proposition.”

Motion withdrawn. The clerk then read the following resolution of the court of directors :

“ At a Court of Directors, held on Friday, the 6th of December, 1816.

"Resolved unanimously, That the East-India Company being desirous of conferring every mark of distinction upon the army serving in India, and of commemorating the services of those officers who signalized themselves by exemplary zeal, valour, and conduct in the field, the Court of Directors has determined to grant medals and badges for military services of distinguished merit; and that in the grant and distribution of such marks of distinction, the following regulations shall be strictly observed, and that they shall be extended to the officers of His Majesty's service, provided it shall meet with the sanction of His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, and that the Right Honourable the Commissioners for the Affairs of india be requested to obtain his Royal Highness's sanction.

"1st. That che medal orly shall be borne by each officer for such distinc

events which may be subsequently commemorated in like manner, each individual recommended to bear the distinction shall carry a gold clasp attached to the ribbon to which the medal is suspended, and inscribed with the name of the battle or siege to which it relates.

"3d. That upon a claim being admitted to a fourth mark of distinction, a cross shall be borne by each officer, with the names of the four battles or sieges respectively inscribed thereupon, and to be worn in substitution of the distinction previously granted to such individuals.

"4th. Upon each occasion of a similar nature that may occur, the clasp again be issued to those who hare a claim to the additional distinction, to be borne on the ribbon to which the cross is suspended, in the same manner as described in No. 2, of these regulations.

"The Court of Directors resolve, that the distribution of medals or badges for military service of distinguished merit shall be regulated as follows, viz.

"Ist. That no general officer, or other officer, shall be considered entitled to receive them, unless he has been personally and particularly engaged upon those occasions of great importance, in conmemoration of which such marks of distinction shall be bestowed.

"2d. That no officer shall be considered a candidate for the medal or badge, except under the special selection and report of the commander of the forces on the spot, as having merited the distinction by conspicuous services.

"3d. That the commander of the forces shall transmit to the commanderin-chief returns signed by himself, specifying the names and ranks of those officers whom he shall have selected as particularly deserving.

"The court of directors resolve, that in commemoration of the successful termination of the war against Nepal, and of the services of those officers who, present in action, have been specially mentioned by name in dispatches published in the Gazettes as having distinguished themselves, or in general orders published by the commander-in-chief or the government in India, shall enjoy the privilege of bearing badges of distinction, which shall be worn by the general officers suspended by a ribbon of the colour of the sash, with a blue edge, round the neck; and by such other officers as may have been specially recommended, attached by a ribbon of the same description to the button-hole of their uniform.

"The court of directors resolve, that those badges which would have been conferred upon the officers who fell, or have died since of their wounds, shall, as a token of respect for their memories, be transmitted to their respective families.” VOL. III. K

1 The Chairman said, these resolutions had been read to the court, in order to shew that the executive body were most desirous to confer every possible honour on their meritorious officers.

UNCLAIMED Dividends.

Mr. Lowndes-" Before the court withdraws, I beg leave to ask a question respecting the unclaimed dividends. I am a sufferer by their not being paid regularly. I received a dividend, lately, which had not been paid for twelve years and a half before. Who, I should be glad to know, had the benefit of it during that time? I should like to be informed, what gentlemen have the candle-ends and cheese-parings of the poor proprietors, who receive only four and a half per cent. for their money? The Company owe me 401. interest on this very money. I say it is due to the widows and orphans of those who have property embarked in India stock, that they should be informed what regulation is made respecting the

payment of unclaimed dividends. Whenever I came to the house, I asked for this dividend, which was so long due to me, but I could not get it. Why was not my dividend forthcoming? It is not a matter of slight importance, that individuals should have their dividends paid twelve years after they became due."

The Chairman could not answer the question of the hon. proprietor.

Mr. Lowndes-" I never mince matters. I ask again, what gentlemen in this company have the benefit of the interest accruing on unclaimed dividends ?" A Proprietor answered-" Nobody.” Mr. Lowndes "That Mr. Nobody is a person who does a great deal of mischief, and receives a great deal of good. As I have not received any answer to my question, I shall, on a future day, move for an account of the sum due on unclaimed dividends."

The court then adjourned.

EARLY on Monday morning, May 1, a very smart shock of an earthquake took place at Penang, about twenty minutes before three o'clock. It appears to have been chiefly confined to the northern and central parts of the island, proceeding in a north-western direction. Its continuance was about fifteen or twenty seconds; the motion excited universal alarm, most persons being suddenly awakened out of their sleep, and impressed with the idea of their houses being attempted by thieves, from the violent agitation of the venetians in the doors and windows; in some houses the furniture also was a good deal moved. The shock was distinctly felt in the residence of the Hon. the Governor, on the Great Hill, and by the families occupying the bangalows in its vicinity. Excepting the general alarm and cracking and fall of the plaster work in a few dwellings, we have not heard that any mischief occurred.

It deserves to be mentioned, that several persons on board the brig Helen, at sea, about one hundred miles distant from the island, experienced the sensation of a shock on the night of the 31st ult. and two following nights; nor will this, upon reflection excite much surprise, since it is evident that the motion communicated to a vessel by the simultanous agitation of the water when affected by an earthquake, will be very different from that which is produced by an undulation by ordinary causes.-Penang Gazette.

His Majesty the Emperor of Delhi is preparing to construct a magnificent monument to the memory of the late queen mother, Nuwab Koodseen Begum.

The north westers have lately been very heavy in Bengal, the stream of the Ganges is reported to have been strewed with dead bodies and wrecks of the river craft; the Company's stables at Ghazepoor were blown down in one hurricane, and some lives were lost.

The Alpheus has brought to England a box containing a part of the basso relievo of the Palace of Persepolis, for Sir G. Ousley; and a box for Mr. Morier, containing bricks from the walls of Babylon. They were conveyed to Bombay by Mr. Sharpe, who was surgeon to Sir Gore Ousley's embassy. A beautiful Arabian horse, from Bombay, for Lord Harrington, and a tortoise of an immense size, are also ou board. The Alpheus also brings a portrait of the Duke of Wellington, an admirable likeness, painted in Bengal when the gallant leader bore the rank of Lieutenant-colonel. Mr. Farquhar, Governor of the Mauritius, sends it home.

It is asserted on authority of high credibility, that the Minden, of 74 guns, had fewer splinters than any other ship engaged in the glorious conflict at Algiers. She was built of teak at Bombay, and we believe is the first armed vessel constructed for our navy beyond the limits of the British islands.

Letters from the Levant state, that the famous Hanoverian traveller, Steetzen, who was bringing from Asia Minor treasures in botany and natural history, has been assassinated in the environs of Mora. Eight camels laden with the products of his indefatigable researches, tempted the cupidity of an Arab chief, who cut his throat, although the unfortunate traveller had a passport from Iman Fina, who governs these countries.

We insert the two following articles for the information of our readers in India:

A Dublin practitioner states, that he has seen the symptoms of hydrophobia checked by the tourniquet, in the case of a girl bitten in the foot; Dr. Stokes applied a tourniquet to her thigh, and the symptoms instantly subsided. The effect seems to favour the plan of bleeding and deliquium, which idea originated with a medical gentleman in India.

M. Dobereiner has published on the continent a new process for extracting borium from borax. After melting the borax and reducing it to a fine powder, one tenth of its weight of lampblack is added; this mixture is put into a gunbarrel, one end of which is closed, and to the other is affixed a tube for receiving the gas: the gun-barrel is then kept at a white heat during two hours. Much gaseous oxide of carbon is disengaged. When the process is finished there remains a compact mass of a blackish grey colour, which is reduced to powder, and after being washed several times with boiling water, and once with hydrochloric acid, yields a pulverulent greenish black substance, similar to borium.

Mr. Stark, a canon of Augsburgh, conceives that he has discovered a vast cavity in the sun, 4 minutes 36 seconds from its eastern edge, and 15 m. 7 s. from its southeru. He computes the diameter of this abyss to be three times more than the diameter of the earth. Two black spaces are discovered in it, which he supposes to be hollows: they are separated by a luminous space; the largest at one extremity appears to terminate in a point, and is very wide and crenated at the other. Several asperities are discovered between this abyss and the eastern edge of the sun, with six black spots above and four beJow.

The Magazine for the Sciences, &c. published at Amsterdam, in a late number, endeavours to prove, from new documents that are very authentic, that we have been mistaken in attributing either to Vespasius or Columbus the discovery of America, which the Dutchman will insist upon we owe to Martin Behens, a native of Nuremberg, in Franconia. He was a most learned geographer, astronomer, and navigator. He sailed in 1459 with a vessel equipped by the orders of

Isabella, daughter of John II. king of Portugal, who was at that time governess of Burgundy and Flanders. He first discovered Fayal, with the adjacent islands, called the Azores, which bore for a long time the name of the Isles of the Flemings. He inhabited for twenty years that city, where he established a colony of Flemings. Eight years before the expedition of Columbus, in 1484, he secretly applied to John II. who equipped a dotilla to give him all kinds of succours. Behens first discovered the Brazils, penetrated as far as the Straits of Magellan, and visited the country inhabited by the Patagonians. He made a map of his discoveries, delivered it to the king, and sent a copy of it to Nuremberg, his native city, where it is still preserved in the archives of the city. It was after the inspection of this map that Columbus undertook his expedition. -Journal de la Belgique, Dec. 5.

Dr. Remusat, member of the French Institute, and professor of Chinese and Mandchow Tartar in the Royal French College, lately published, "Le Livre des Récompenses et des Peines," translated from the Chinese, with extremely interesing notes; and M. Molinier, one of his pupils, intends publishing the Chinese' text, with a literal translation and grammatical remarks.

Dr. Remusat is also printing an edition of the Tchoung Young of Confusius in Chinese, Mandchow Tartar, Latin, and French; a Supplement to the Dictionnaire Chinois Français et Latin, publié par M. de Guignes, and Recherches sur les Langues Tartares, and intends translating the Tao te king Lao tsen's Systém of morals.

Dr. John Taylor, of the Hon. Company's medical establishment at Bombay, has lately published at that presidency a translation from the original Sanskrit of the Lilabati, a treatise on Arithmetic and Geometry, by the celebrated Bhaskara Acharya.

Proposals are issued at Bombay, for publishing by subscription, the Desater, with the ancient Persian translations and commentary; and a glossary of the ancient Persian words, by Mullna Firuz bin Mullna Kau's. To which will be added an English translation. The Desâtêr is one of the most singular books that has appeared in the East. It professes to be a collection of the writings of the different Persian prophets, being fifteen in number, from the time of Mohâbâd to the time of the fifth Sâssam, of whom Zurduth, whom, following the Greeks, we call Zoroaster, was the thirteenth, and the fifth Sassan the last. This Sassan lived in the time of Khusrow Parvez, who was contemporary with the Emperor Heraclius, and died only nine years before the destruction of the ancient Persian monarchy.