Upon the conclusion of this arrangement, the British troops immediately retrograded to Rangoon from whence, that wreck of a once fine army, which sickness and war had spared, was subsequently reembarked for Calcutta and Madras. continued his advance, meeting and paid down twenty-five lacs, with no opposition from the Bur- the first instalment under the mese, who concentrated their treaty. forces in a strong post at Pagammew, about one hundred and fifty miles from the capital. Here he arrived February 8th, and the next day had a general engagement with the Burmese, which ended in their total defeat; their works being taken by storm; and their troops driven from the town at the point of the bayonet. The victory was complete. On this occasion, the Burmese executed some bold manœuvres, planned with great judgment; and their signal discomfiture finished the war. Continuing his march, general Campbell arrived at Yandaboo, about forty-five miles distant from the capital, where he was met by the Burmese ministers, fully empowered to conclude a treaty, according to the proposed conditions. The king of Ava renounced all claims upon Assam, Cachar, and Jyntea; and engaged to recognize Gumbheer Singh as rajah of Munnipore. He ceded to the British government the whole of Arracan, including Ramree, Cheduba, and Sandowey; and, also, the provinces of Yeh, Tavoy, Mergui, and Tenasserim, with all their dependencies. Finally, he stipulated to pay a crore of rupees, (about a million sterling,) as an indemnity for the expenses of the company, Thus terminated the Burmese war, as every previous war in the East Indies had ended, in a large accession of valuable territory to the British empire. It may be, and it probable is, true, that the king of Ava conducted with unbecoming insolence, in his deportment towards the British. Certain it is, also, that difficulties in that quarter, had long been apprehended by the servants of the company. Still, nothing but the necessity of protecting their frontier, could justify them in a sudden declaration of war, for so slight a cause as the occupation of Shapuree by the Burmese, the title to which was fairly disputable. Indeed, some of the British journals are willing to admit, that this was little better than a pretext to repress the insolence of the Burmans, and acquire a new barrier on the eastward of Bengal. It is now generally agreed, that lord Amherst did not fairly appreciate the resources of the Bur mese, or the hazards of war with them. Had he done so, he certainly would have tried the effect of negotiation, before he hastily invaded the heart of a country, so insalubrious, and so easily defended by its warlike inhabitants. The war entailed a vast train of suffering upon the misguided Burmans; but was most destructive to the British themselves, shut up for two seasons in the midst of devouring pestilence, and incessantly harassed by a persevering enemy. Next to the Burmese war, no incident in the recent history of the East Indies, is more important than the disturbances in upper India, followed by the reduction of the strong fortress of Bhurtpore. This place had been thoroughly fortified by a former rajah; and being deemed impregnable by the natives in that quarter of India, was a sort of rallying point for the disaffected. In 1803, the rajah Runjeet Singh, acted in concert with Holkar, and openly defied the British. Lord Lake endeavored to reduce the city at that time; but was obliged to retreat, with some loss of reputation. Of course, it had ever since been regarded with an evil eye by the company's servants. An opportunity was of fered them to redeem their credit, on the following occasion. It seems that the rajah Bulder Singh, who died in October. 1825, left an heir, only seven years of age. Taking advantage of the young rajah's minority, his cousin forcibly usurped possession of the regency. He did this in open defiance of the British authority, and his followers committed many disorders in the neighborhood, which rendered the interposition of the company requisite. The usurper, Doorjun Sal, rejected all proposals of accommodation, and filled the neighboring chiefs with a spirit of turbulence and disorder. These events formed sufficient cause to call the British arms into action. Accordingly, in December, 1825, the commander-in-chief, lord Cambermere, marched against Bhurtpore with a large force, and after some skirmishes before the city, commenced the siege of it in form. This celebrated fortress, the ne plus ultra of lord Lake's progress many years before, was esteemed stronger than any yet attacked in India. Although well garrisoned and defended, it was taken by storm, January 18th, 1826, after a brave resistance. Doorjun Sal, his family and army, were made prisoners; and an immense booty fell into the hands of the captors, who effectually, and speedily restored peace in that quarter, formally establishing the young rajah. of various disturbances among the barbarous chiefs of northern India, as well as in the British In dia, we deem it unnecessary to relate the history, Wherever the British extended their influence, their superiority over the native inhabitants of the soil was generally apparent, and enabled them, of course, to increase their ascendency, and the limits of their empire. It was far otherwise with the king of the Netherlands' possessions in the Indian Archipelago. Their finances are represented as being much embarrassed; and rebellions were continually breaking out among the natives, which fully employed the military force of the Europeans. These disturbances were the most serious in the island of Java. Such was the nature of the country, that, although continually victorious in almost every engagement, the Dutch could not wholly subdue the insurgents, who, when beaten, dispersed into their fastnesses, which were impregnable to regular troops. Of course, the war made slow progress; the natives never failing to harass the Dutch, whenever a favorable occasion occurred. At the very latest accounts from Java, the affairs of the colony were in a most deplorable state; the Dutch being almost overmastered by the insurgents, who every day gathered greater boldness and strength from their own success, and the declining authority of the Europeans. To give a digested narrative of these incidents, or of the wars and political commotions among the inhabitants of other parts of Asia, would be impossible; and, if practicable, incapable of affording any valuable information. 1 CHAPTER XVI. AFRICA.-Arabs in Africa-Slave Trade--Ashantee Wars-Morocco-Barbary Powers-Egypt-Rise of Mohammed Ali-Conquers Arabia--Sennaar, &c.—Policy and Government of Mohammed Ali. In the recent history of Africa, there are several things, which occupy so prominent a place in our consideration, that we shall devote a chapter to them, although not all of purely a narrative character. Passing over the petty oppressions of lord Charles Somerset, the governor of the English colony, at the cape of Good Hope, which have excited much feeling in England, but are of no moment to Americans; we shall fix our attention upon the present state of the slave trade, and in connection with it, the wars of the Ashantees; and after briefly touching upon the history of the Moorish and Barbary states in Africa, conclude with an account of the new empire of Egypt, and its singular ruler. Next to the fertile, but now wasted regions of Greece, and the lesser Asia, no part of the world suffers more deplorably under the calamities of bad government, and vicious political institutions, than Africa. The religion of Mahomet seems, at least, in modern times, to wither the freshness, and destroy the prosperity of every land which it touches. Destructive as were the ravages of the northern barbarians, who subdued and dismembered the Roman empire; still the Gothic and Germanic nations appear to have possessed the seeds of civilization, which, in the happy climes of the south, gradually, produced the noble fruits of refinement, learning, humanity, and freedom. But the Saracens swept over the regions they conquered, like a blast from the desert. Save the short lived splendor of some of the eastern and western caliphs, the history of the Turkish and Arab governments is the history of obstinate bigotry, of incurable barbarism, of uncalculating tyranny, which destroys the subject on which it exercises authority. In Africa, countries, which once boasted all the riches of cultured life,-whose fertility made them the granary of Europe,—now scarcely afford scanty subsistence to a few wandering tribes. Cy rene is no more, and the maritime glory of Carthage has yielded place to here and there an aggregation of pirates, who live by licentious plunders of the Christians navigating the Mediterranean, or dwelling on its shores. From Egypt on the east, and Barbary on the north, the Arabs have penetrated into the interior of the vast continent, the great store-house of the negro slaves,-officina gentium,-who cultivate the soil of tropical America. To the Arabs, in the first instance, it is probable, the introduction of the pernicious traffic in black slaves, is to be ascribed. The indefatigable exertions of English travellers is beginning to lift the veil from extensive regions, which, at some future day, may be raised to a participation in the blessings of civilized existence, and of christianity. Europeans have now acquired a permanent footing at the cape, and on the western coast of Africa. By means of their colonies, the English can act upon the interior to advantage. And that point, it is beginning to be understood, is the true one to be aimed at, in order to accomplish their designs, which, if not disinterested, are certainly beneficial. They must subvert the power of the Mahometans, and introduce a better influence over the blacks, than that of the barbarous Arabs, in order to strike at the root of the slave trade. The United States and England have sincerely persevered in their exertions, to abolish this inhuman traffic. Our own law is severe against the slave trader; and our cruisers on the coast of Africa have been actively employed in honest exertions to arrest offenders. The efforts of England, also, have been remarkably exemplary, and mainly effected the many treaty stipulations, which denounce the traffic. The Spanish American states have, in this respect, been true to the principles of liberty which they profess :-having prohibited the slave trade, and readily entered into engagements for its suppression. But Brazil,--that government which stands alone in America, an hereditary monarchy in the midst of free states,-Brazil, which is now engaged in a war of invasion against Buenos Ayres, and violates so many principles of international law, in the mode of prosecuting it,--Brazil sanctions and protects the slave trade. The Portuguese are the only people, of all civilized nations, "who class the purchase of our fellow creatures among the ordinary modes of lawful commerce." As to Portugal herself, the parent country, now that Brazil is independent of her, she has no inte |