APPENDIX.
APPENDIX A.
NARRATIVE OF AN EMBASSY FROM THE KING OF AVA TO THE KING OF COCHIN CHINA.
In the year 1823, the very one following our own Mission,the present King of Ava, who had just ascended the throne, sent an Embassy to the King of Cochin China, the circumstances and results of which are so illustrative of the character of the two Governments of Ava and Cochin China, but more particularly of the last, that I have deemed a succinct account of it worth appending to the present work.
The following brief explanation of the circumstances which led to the Burmese Mission, and of the manner in which the Narrative fell into my hands, and has been prepared, will be necessary.
In 1822, a certain Cochin Chinese petty chief, or inferior officer, who had once professed the Christian religion, but apostatized, represented to Chao Kun, the Governor of Kamboja, so frequently mentioned in my Journal, that a mine of wealth might be made by purchasing esculent swallows’ nests in Ava and sending them as a speculation for sale to China. Such was the trivial source of a Mission from Cochin China to Ava, and of that from Ava to Cochin China, which followed it. The Cochin Chinese Mission was undertaken solely on the authority of the Governor of Kamboja, and without the sanction of his Court. At first, a mere commercial speculation, and not a very judicious one, it assumed in the sequel somewhat of a political character, and the projector was placed at the head of this Mission. He proceeded to Rangoon by way of Penang, and in due course was conducted to the Court. His credentials not being considered here as altogether satisfactory, nor his explanations sufficiently clear, he was, according to Burmese custom, imprisoned and tortured for farther elucidation. It appears that his explanations, under this process, proved satisfactory; and the new King, at the time full of ambition, and meditating projects of conquest against Siam, resolved to take the opportunity of this Cochin Chinese emissary’s return, to send an Embassy to the Cochin Chinese monarch to entreat his assistance in the conquest and partition of Siam, which he denounced as a rebel province. As will be seen in the Narrative, the Burman Mission, although hospitably entertained, was not permitted to come to Court, and the King finally declined all political connexion with Ava. The Burmese Mission was sent back, at the expense of the Cochin Chinese Government, and the junks which brought it touched at Singapore. The Ambassadors were Mr. Gibson, a native of Madras, and the son of an Englishman, and two Burmese chiefs. Mr. Gibson was a person of much acuteness, and having resided many years in the Burman dominions, and held considerable offices under the government of that country, he was thoroughly versed in the Burmese language, and intimately acquainted with the manners and customs of the people. He was, besides, well acquainted with the Portuguese language, with the Hindostani, and with the Telinga ; which last may strictly be said to have been his mother tongue. Indeed, saving his acuteness and greater expansion of mind, he was rather a well-accomplished Burmese than an Englishman. While at Singapore, he handed to me his Journal for perusal, authorizing me to make such extracts as I thought proper. This gentleman was so imperfectly educated, that the original was replete with errors in grammar and orthography in every line ; and therefore the manuscript as he wrote it was not only unfit for transcription, but, in reality, nearly unintelligible without his own personal comments and explanations ; I therefore made an abstract of it, preserving, as far as was practicable, the writer’s own modes of expression.
The war with the Burmese having broken out during the stay of the Mission at Singapore, the Cochin Chinese junks which conveyed it were taken under our protection, and safely conducted from Penang to Tavoy. They had not been at this place above two or three days, when the place was captured by a British force. The Burman Ambassadors became prisoners of war, and the Cochin Chinese were sent back in safety to their own country. Mr. Gibson, the Ex-Ambassador of his Burmese Majesty, entered the British service as an interpreter, and, after a few months, died of the epidemic cholera, while our army was on its march to Prome.
NARRATIVE.
We left Rangoon in the beginning of January 1823, in an European-built vessel, and on the 26th February reached Penang, after touching on our way at Tavoy. While lying at Penang, on the 24th March, a Siamese junk, on fire, ran foul of the Mission ship, and burnt her.
There was hardly time to save the dispatches, jewels, and other presents for the Court of Cochin China.
Having made application to the Governor of Prince of Wales’s Island, a loan of 4000 dollars was given to me for a bill on the Myowun of Rangoon. [The return made for this piece of hospitality was the Myowun’s dishonouring Mr. Gibson’s draft, and trampling it under his feet. He made it, however, a pretext for levying a contribution on the town of Rangoon, as I afterwards satisfactorily ascertained, while in civil charge of the place.]
The Mission then took a passage in a Portuguese ship.
It finally sailed, on the 22d of April, from Prince of Wales’s Island, reached Malacca on the 2d of May, and Singapore on the 12th. On the 18th we left this last place, and on the 1st of June reached the anchorage of Vungtao, or that of Cape St. James in Kamboja.
On the 3rd the Mission reached the village of Canju. Four barges of ceremony came here to receive us from Saigun, to which place we proceeded on the 8th. Seven elephants were sent to the landing-place to receive us when we arrived ; and on the same day the governor sent hogs, poultry, fish, &c., with one hundred quans, as a present.
June 10.—The Mission received a visit from the Secretary of the Governor- General. He asked me if we had a copy of the letter from the Burman Government ;—why the Burmans, so powerful a people, were unable, after so many attempts, to conquer the Siamese ; and what benefit could arise from an alliance between the Burmans and Cochin Chinese, since they were at so great a distance from each other, and therefore not in a condition to act in concert. Finally, the Secretary demanded a translation of the Burman letter.
We replied, that a copy of the letter alluded to was unfortunately destroyed when the Mission ship was burnt at Prince of Wales’s Island ; but that when the letter itself was perused, all the objects of the Mission would be fully explained in it. We observed, that we did not consider the intercourse between the Burmans and Cochin Chinese a matter of any difficulty, since the one was in possession of take northern and the other of the southern extremity of the great river of Kamboja ; and if the Siamese, who occupied the centre, were conquered, every difficulty would be removed, and an easy intercourse carried on. In another quarter, the two nations, we said, were close to each other ; the tribe of the Lenjen, or Laolantao, being the only interruption to an immediate intercourse between the Burman province of Kiangounge and the kingdom of Tonquin.
We insisted that the Siamese were rebels, having been frequently conquered by the Burmans, and that their subjugation was a point on which his present Burman Majesty was resolved. He was pleased, therefore, to see the Cochin Chinese emissary, who had visited his country, and had taken that opportunity of requesting the assistance of the Cochin Chinese Government, by sending the present Mission ; while he had, at the same time, recalled his army in Martaban, to make preparation for the war.
On the same day, two French gentlemen paid the Mission a visit : they informed us that of the many French who were once in the country, two of the elder ones only survived, and that the whole French gentlemen in Cochin China were only five exclusive of missionaries. The present King had openly expressed a dislike to Europeans, and had forbid the open profession of the Christian religion. He has refused to admit the two Bishops into his presence, according to former usage; and when one of them lately presented himself, he insulted him, by offering him a piece of money as to a common beggar.
June 11.—A deputation of officers of rank waited on the Mission. They requested that the letter of the Burmese Government might be opened, which was done accordingly. They asked for a copy of the original, and that a translation of it might be made in the Siamese language.
June 12.-—The Secretary of the Governor-General called to know what progress had been made in the translation. We informed him, that the translation demanded much care and scrutiny, as it was an affair of great moment, and it would take at least four or five days to finish it. He brought an invitation to us to be present at a fête that was to be celebrated in the palace. We accepted this invitation ; and then, for the first time, saw his Excellency the Governor-General, a man between fifty and sixty years of age, of small stature, but of great abilities, and reputed a good soldier. He is a native of the province of Mitho, and was educated as a page to the late King Gialong. He was with him when he was a refugee in Siam. His merits soon raised him to confidential employment and higher rank. He is much respected by all the officers of the Cochin Chinese Government, and dreaded by the Kambojans and Siamese.
At this fête we held a long conversation with the chief judge respecting the King of Ava and his country, and on the benefits that would result from an alliance between the Burmans and Cochin Chinese.
June 18.—On the 12th, the translation of the letter from the Burman Court into Siamese not having proved satisfactory, I undertook, with the assistance of the two French gentlemen, and a native Christian missionary, to make translations into the French and Latin languages. These translations were effected, and given in to-day, and with them a Burman copy of the original letter.
June 19.—The second governor gave to-day an entertainment to the Mission. Several Kambojan chiefs were present : these, as a mark of peculiar favour, are now allowed to wear the Cochin Chinese dress, and to ride in Cochin Chinese litters ; but the lower orders of the same people must appear in their native habit, which is nearly that of Siam.
Jime 20.—A Mandarin waited on the Mission, requesting to be allowed to take a muster of the dress and cap of ceremony of the Burman Ambassadors, for the purpose of being transmitted as a curiosity to his Majesty at Hue.
June 21.—The Mission had a visit from the First Minister of the King of Kamboja, and from the Governor of Kamboja, a Cochin Chinese. The Kambojans, on this occasion, expressed much dislike of the Siamese ; but I thought this dislike feigned to please the Cochin Chinese, as I am convinced that the Kambojans are at present much more oppressed than they were under the Siamese Government.
June 30.—The Mission was requested to appear at an audience, for the purpose of exhibiting the presents brought from the King of Ava for the King of Cochin China. These consisted of twenty ruby and as many sapphirerings; a gold seal and beads ; and a box containing four garments of silk cloth. The presents for the Governor-General himself, were ten muskets with bayonets, and a spy-glass, bought at Prince of Wales’s Island for the purpose. Much anxiety was expressed by the Cochin Chinese to see the presents : his Excellency the Governor-General asked whether the stones were real or counterfeit ; and whether, if the former, the mines were in the country of Ava. It was explained, that the stones were real gems, and that the mines were in the Burman territory, which possessed besides abundant mines of gold and silver. The Governor-General asked whether we were in earnest when we said the Burmese intended to make war on the Siamese ; and he added, that, in his opinion, there must also be a war between the English and Siamese, on account of the Raja of Queda, and the seizure of his country, I replied, that I had heard nothing of a war between the Siamese and English during my residence at Prince of Wales’s Island. The Governor-General farther asked, if the members of the Mission were acquainted with the contents of the letter that came to him from the Governor of Prince of Wales’s Island. We said we knew nothing of it, and supposed it contained nothing more than friendly and complimentary expressions. During this visit, the Governor-General was in excellent humour, and spoke of the events of the war between the Burmese and the Siamese, when he was a refugee in Siam, with the late King Gialong, in 1787.
July 1.—The members of the Mission, having got the permission of the Governor-General, paid a visit to the city of Saigun. We travelled on horseback; our course was by a broad high-road with an avenue of trees, and the people and houses were thick on both sides. About half-way we came to two buildings, the one consecrated to the memories of worthies of the military order, and the other to those of the civil rank : in these is deposited a written testimony of the merit of each individual. As a mark of respect and veneration to these buildings, every one that passes by them is compelled to dismount, and we did so accordingly.
The Mission alighted at Saigun, at a magnificent Chinese temple, dedicated to the god of seas and rivers, where we found a collation of teas and sweatmeats prepared for us. In the evening we dined with one of the principal Chinese merchants ; we were honoured with the company of Onghim, the Lord Judge, and Ong-tam-pit, the Treasurer. The former made very free with arrack, and became drunk. On our way back we met a temple of Boodh, containing one image of that deity seven feet high, and three others of four feet each.
July 3.—The Mission, by a command of his Excellency the Governor- General, took the letter from the Court of Ava to the palace. It was conducted with much ceremony, being carried in a gilt litter, accompanied by two hundred soldiers and many elephants.
July 4.—The original letter of the Burman Government, with the Latin, French, and Cochin Chinese translations of it, were this day dispatched to the capital. The letter of the Governor of Prince of Wales’s Island was sent at the same time, unopened. We were of opinion that the Governor-General did not open it, although addressed to himself, for fear of exciting a suspicion in the King and the other principal officers of the Government, that he was carrying on a secret correspondence with the British. The Governor’s Secretary, indeed, stated this particularly to myself.
July 5.-—We received to-day fifty quans more for our current expenses, and an order to remove to the house usually allotted to ambassadors, which had hitherto been under repair. The house which we had first occupied was required for an Inspector-General, who had come from the capital, deputed by the King, to make military arrangements, to examine into the provinces and cities in the lower part of the kingdom, to see that justice was administered, that the people were not oppressed, and, above all, that the Mandarins took no bribes, which is a capital offence.
July 6.—We paid a visit to his Excellency the Governor, who sent us to wait on the second Governor. Here we met the Kambojan Mandarins, on their way to Court, with offerings for the King. Many inferior Cochin Chinese also presented themselves to pay their respects to the second Governor, on their return from their tour of duty in superintending the cutting of a great canal between the river of Kamboja and Athien on the Gulf of Siam. The common salutation in Cochin China is to bow to the ground five times to the King, four times to persons next in rank to him, three times to persons in the third rank, twice to any other Mandarins, and once to all superior officers of lower dignity.
July 9.—I paid to-day a visit to the Secretary of his Excellency the Governor-General Ong-tan-hip ; we had a great deal of conversation on public matters, chiefly on the benefits that would result from an alliance between the two nations.
I observed that the King of Ava had many settlements towards the northern part of the Kamboja river, by the channel of which a great trade might be carried on between the two nations ; while, if a road were cut through "Lenjen" to Tonquin, an intercourse might be established in that quarter. I also dwelt on the circumstance of having the King of Queda as an ally, and the facilities which the King of Ava had for raising a naval force for the purpose of laying waste the sea-coast of the Siamese country, on account of the number of seafaring strangers residing in his territories.
The Secretary replied with candour : He said that his Excellency the Governor-General was well acquainted with the numbers of the Siamese forces, their discipline, and the Siamese mode of conducting war ; but that he was perfectly ignorant of the nature of the Burman army and their habits of warfare. He would therefore never undertake an important business of this description, without being made fully acquainted with the Burman nation and their military condition.
I informed him, that he might easily possess himself of this information, by sending back, along with the Mission, a faithful and intelligent person to report.
July 10.—We received fifty quans more for our current expenses, and some rice. Ongbo, our guardian, called upon us, and informed us that on the 12th eleven thieves were to be executed by means of his Excellency’s favourite elephant. On these occasions the criminal is tied to a stake, and the elephant runs down upon him and crushes him to death.
July 22.—We received thirty quans more for our current expenses.
July 31.—By invitation of his Excellency the Governor-General, we were present at a ceremony annually performed by him at Saigun, in honour of the memory of his mother-in-law. Such rites are common among the Chinese, but more so among the Cochin Chinese. We arrived in due time at a good house on the bank of one of the canals, which had been the residence of the deceased. Here we found the Governor, the Inspector-general, and a great many other persons of distinction. In the principal chamber or hall of the house, three altars were decorated. After the performance of the usual rites, a splendid entertainment was served to the guests. The Governor and Deputy-governor sat at one table, the members of the Burman Mission, with some Cochin Chinese Mandarins of distinction, and a Kambojan General, sat at another, and the inferior Mandarins at a third table. The retinue of his Excellency the Governor-General was on this occasion magnificent ; it consisted of sixty elephants, horses, litters, and a thousand men under arms and in regular uniforms. Everything glittered with gold, and was conducted without noise or disorder.
August 4.—A courier arrived from the capital, bringing a dispatch ; it summoned his Excellency to Court for a few months, provided his presence could be spared in the southern part of the kingdom.
August 10.—The Mission received one hundred and seventy-two quans, with rice for a month. Nothing remarkable occurred. Three or four thieves are executed every week. His Excellency is rigorous in the execution of justice, and permits no one to escape. He says, that wretches of this description are of no manner of use to the public, but, on the contrary, a burden. The Mandarin who
brought us up from Canju, has just been convicted of bribery and corruption: the Governor has confiscated his property, confined the persons of himself and his wife, and put the heavy Cangue, or wooden collar, about their necks. The Mandarin’s crime was withholding regular payment from the labourers engaged on the canal of Athien, and extorting money from the peasantry of the neighbouring villages. The amount taken did not exceed one thousand quans. In the evening, the Mission was invited to see the elephants exercise. In passing the market-place, we were told that three criminals had been executed there in the morning : their wooden collars were still lying on the ground. As soon as we had reached the southern side of the fort, the approach of his Excellency, mounted on his favourite elephant, was announced by the heralds. A mock fight was represented. The elephants, sixty in number, charged a fence made of fascines and branches of trees, and defended by a line of soldiers, discharging rockets and small-arms. The elephants broke through it and pursued those who defended it, until stopped by the riders. Good order and discipline were preserved, and the commands for advance and retreat given by trumpet and beat of drum.
Another species of mock-fight was afterwards exhibited. The elephants were made to attack, two and two, the effigy of a lion and tiger spitting fire, and accompanied by many soldiers discharging fire-arms. Very few of the elephants ventured to attack these objects, but, in spite of all the efforts of the riders, ran away. One of the conductors received twenty blows on the spot for not doing his duty. His Excellency allowed his favourite elephant to go through his exercise ; the animal knelt, inclined his head, and made us an obeisance. He is thirty-seven years old, and the Governor has had him twenty-five years.
After the amusements, we were treated with a collation, and the Governor held a long conference with us through the Portuguese interpreter, Antonio. He said he was going to Court entirely on our account ; to make ourselves in the mean time comfortable, and that matters would, in most respects, end according to our wishes, as his Majesty seldom acted in opposition to his advice. His Excellency asked whether it was probable there would be war between the English and Siamese, on account of the protection which the former gave to the King of Queda, under pretence that he was their ally, while, in fact, he was a subject and a tributary of Siam. I replied, that the English were too powerful a people for the Siamese to attempt any thing against. His Excellency said, that he supposed the English had an eye on Junk-Ceylon, Pulo, Lada, Quedah, and Perak ; which would render Penang the centre of a large trade, and that the Malay peninsula was now necessary to support Penang, as she had lost the trade of the Eastern Countries through means of Malacca. I answered, that this might probably be the case, for that the English were great politicians,—that they did nothing without a reason, and would never make war on the Siamese, unless the latter were the aggressors, but that they never put up with insults. His Excellency the Governor seemed very well informed respecting the results of the wars of the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, and particularly respecting the battle of Waterloo, and his death at St. Helena. He said, he lamented the misfortunes of that great man, and explained to the Mandarins who were round him, that the only fault he found in him, was his vast ambition. He added, that after bringing the world into confusion by long wars, he had finally done nothing for the good of the French nation. He ended his conversation by praising the British nation, but said, that they, too, were over ambitious.
August 28.—Nothing particular occurred since the 10th. The Mission had frequent reports of executions for theft and adultery. To-day we were informed of the arrival of the aunt of the King of Kamboja. This lady was the wife of a Siamese prince, who, after his deatli, and having no children, retired to her own country. She expressed a desire to have some conversation with our Siamese interpreter, and he went to her accordingly. This affair was misrepresented to the Governor ; and, in consequence, Ong-Bo, the guardian of the Mission, was severely reprimanded; an old Mandarin of inferior rank, attached to our Mission, was punished with the wooden collar; and Antonio, the Portuguese interpreter, received a hundred blows on the same account.
September l.—This day was fixed for his Excellency’s departure for the Court ; but the Second Governor, a man about ninety years of age, the only person who could be entrusted with the government, was taken seriously ill;
therefore his Excellency’s departure was delayed. It was necessary to send for a person, to relieve his Excellency, from Hue. On account of the discontent of the Kambojans, and the intrigues of the Siamese, there is no trusting the southern provinces without a person of energy to rule them.
At this time two horrid circumstances came to the notice of the Mission, which placed the rigorous and arbitrary character of the Governor-General in a strong point of view. One of the retinue appointed to proceed with him to Court, came to solicit from him, as a favour, that he would allow him to remain a few days behind, on account of the illness of his wife. The Governor became enraged at the proposal, ordered the applicant to be forthwith carried out to the gate and beheaded, which was done accordingly. Nearly at the same time, a native of Tonquin, employed in superintending the canal of Athien, appeared before his Excellency to pay his respects ; the Governor had heard something unfavourable of his conduct, and before he had finished the four customary prostrations, he ordered him to be led away and executed in the marketplace. One of the French gentlemen informed the Mission that all his countrymen were preparing to leave Cochin China immediately, as the present King is decidedly unfriendly to Europeans.
Sept. 9.—One hundred and seventy-two quans were sent to the Mission for their monthly expenses.
Sept. 21.—His Excellency the Governor-General visited Saigun to perform funeral rites at the tomb of his father and mother. Since the affair of the visit of the Siamese interpreter to the Kambojan princess, we were very strictly watched and spies placed over us.
October 1.—The Mission received intelligence that a new Governor was on his way to relieve his Excellency, for the purpose of enabling him to proceed to Court.
Oct. 6.—Three junks arrived to-day from the capital, bringing five hundred thousand quans of treasure, for the construction and repair of forts, and the payment of the troops. The Mission received intelligence that, a few days before, a ship belonging to the King of Siam had been driven into the harbour of Cape St. James, having encountered a Typhoon on her way to China. The commander requested permission to repair the ship and to be exempted from the usual charges and duties. The last part of the request could not be granted, and therefore the commander resolved to take her to Singapore to repair her there. Another vessel arrived at the same place from England, and last from Hue : this brought several thousand muskets, which the King would not purchase because they were considered of inferior quality to the muskets imported by the French.[The arms referred to were old Flemish muskets.—(Crawfurd.)]
The commander brought a letter from Mr. Crawfurd, the new Resident at Singapore, and was very well received by his Excellency the Governor. The only news he brought was the death of Castlereagh, the Prime Minister of England. The members of the Mission were not permitted to see the English commander, and were now as closely watched as if they were confined in a gaol.
By this opportunity the Mission transmitted, through Captain Burney at Prince of Wales’s Island, a dispatch to the Government of Ava. One of the French gentlemen undertook to deliver it to the English commander.
Oct. 31.—The long expected arrival of the new Governor was to-day announced to the Mission. His journey from Hue took only nine days. His retinue and escort consisted of six hundred persons ; many of whom dropped behind, from the expedition with which he travelled.
The Mission about this time received intelligence that the Siamese Government, having come to the knowledge of the correspondence which is carrying on between Ava and Cochin China, has begun to fortify the city of Bangkok, and had doubled the chain, or bomb, which crossed the river Menam ; even the Chinese inhabitants, who are not usually called upon on such occasions, were employed upon these works.
We received a summons to-day to appear in the palace. The first object which struck us, as we passed on our way towards it, were two men in the Cangue, or wooden collar, so large that two persons were obliged to assist in carrying it when they moved : they were soldiers, and their crime was disobeying, and using abusive language towards their superior officers.
His Excellency informed us, that he was called to Hue on our business, and should be absent about three months. His successor, a man of about seventy years of age, an old and favourite servant of the late King, sat near him. The members of the Mission were recommended to his care. His Excellency observed, that the affairs of the Burman Mission would be dispatched as early as practicable, but that the business was of much consequence, and required minute consideration ; especially as the two nations had hitherto been entire strangers to each other, and a friendly intercourse was commenced between them, only now, for the first time.
After the audience, an entertainment was prepared for us, of which we partook in company with several of the Cochin Chinese and Kambojan Mandarins. His Excellency was on this occasion particularly complaisant, and condescended to sit near us and pay us compliments. We were entertained the whole day long vdth dramatic exhibitions. On this occasion, we saw at the audience eight persons, very poorly clad, and differing in features from all those about them. The Governor presented them each with a pair of trowsers and a shirt. His Excellency informed us they were the real aborigines of the country, before it was conquered by the Cochin Chinese, and that they were more numerous than the Cochin Chinese.
Nov. 18.—His Excellency yesterday gave over charge of the city and province to his successor, and all the officers of Government received orders to wait upon the latter, and pay their respects to him. The members of the Burrnan Mission also received an order to pay their respects, and accordingly waited upon the new Governor to-day ; a few soldiers only were in attendance. The Mandarins of the civil order were on the right hand, and those of the military on the left ; a neat repast was served, both to the members and their followers. Ong-Bo, our guardian, acted as master of the ceremonies, and through him we received an assurance of protection, and an offer of elephants and horses whenever we wished to go abroad.
Nov. 19.—This was the day fixed for his Excellency the Governor-General Tai-Kun’s departure. We waited on him at the place where he was to embark. About five in the afternoon he made his appearance, with a large train, two heralds announcing his approach. He was carried in a gilt litter with a double umbrella over him. A number of boats and people had gone off the day before, and about thirty galleys now attended him, with a retinue of about one thousand persons. He sent the members of the Mission a message, requesting them not to be uneasy, that he would return in three months, and settle every thing to their satisfaction. He appeared melancholy as he sat in his boat. In taking leave, his successor made four prostrations to him, as did all the other Mandarins. The whole party set off in good order, without the least noise or disorder whatever.
Nov. 23.—The galleys returned to-day from Baria, to which place they had conveyed his Excellency, and from whence he was to proceed by land to Hue. Ong-Kiam-Loto, commander of the artillery, on his return from accompanying his Excellency to Baria, was suddenly taken ill of the cholera morbus, and died at the age of sixty-five. He was placed -in a .coffin, well caulked and varnished, which was kept in his house. His family and relations, and every member of the corps of artillery, daily made prostrations before the body, according to custom.
A curious circumstance occurred just before his Excellency’s departure. The confinement of Ong-Quan-Tabaonhy and his wife was the result of an intrigue of Ong-Tan-Hiep, the secretary and favourite of his Excellency. This man had been brought up by the Governor from his infancy ; he was ambitious, able, and resentful ; and hated by every one in office, notwithstanding his being rich and powerful. All the Mandarins above him in rank waited upon him at his house — a matter which we had an opportunity of personally noticing, as his dwelling was close to our own residence. Not a day passed without his receiving some one present or another, which he sold again in a shop, kept by his people, close to his gate ; which answered the purpose well, as the house was in the market-place.
The cause of the hatred between this person and Ong-Quan-Tabaonhy was this:
-The latter had paid court to a rich and handsome widow, and, after emptying his purse ad nearly succeeded. The Secretary stepped in, and being a younger and better-looking person, and also the favourite of the Governor, he made her change her mind, and she would have nothing more to say to Ong-Quan-Tabaonhy. These persons were never friends afterwards, but each sought an opportunity to injure the other. The Secretary effectually succeeded in this, when, as already mentioned, he detected his rival in extorting money from the labourers on the canal of Athien. One day a handsome concubine belonging to Ong-Quan-Tabaonhy, by name Che-day, met the Secretary on the public road and spoke to him ; she told him she wished he would give her permission to come to his house, as she had something particular to communicate to him. He said she was welcome to come when she liked. She accordingly watched an opportunity, when she had ascertained that he was at home, and called upon him one evening at eight o’clock. She then requested to speak to him privately, and he conducted her into his own apartment, when she entreated him to assist in obtaining her lord’s release from confinement. A little after, the family heard her calling out "rape" and "murder". When they came to her assistance, she complained of having been ravished by the Secretary, when she had come to ask for the deliverance of her lord. She then rushed out into the street, crying out in the same manner, and showing every one a lock of the Secretary’s hair which she had cut off. In the morning she went to his Excellency the Governor, lamenting her fate, throwing the lock of hair down before him, and calling for justice. Knowing that the crime of adultery is punished by the laws with death, the Governor examined the matter, found it was a plot laid by her and her husband to ruin the Secretary, and ordered her to be punished with a hundred blows. This young woman was not above twenty years of age.
December 1.—The Mission received accounts of a famine having taken place in the northern part of the kingdom, which occasioned the death of many of the poor ; it was caused by an unusual inundation of the sea, which had destroyed the greater part of the crops in some districts. A few days ago, a person was beheaded for flogging his wife, who had died after the punishment, although it was supposed not in consequence thereof.
The Government was at this time employed in strengthening the ramparts of the fort of Yadentain [The Fortress of Saigun.--(Crawfurd.)] with hewn stones brought from the hills near old Dongnai. A thousand soldiers were occupied on this work day and night.
Dec. 19.—On the 18th, two junks departed for Singapore pore, and another to-day, by which the Mission addressed a petition to his Majesty the King of Ava, reporting the progress of the Mission.
The brother of the deceased Commander of Artillery had gone to Athien, on the Gulf of Siam, to bring the remains of his brother's wife from some village in that neighbourhood. He returned, bringing two coffins instead of one, and these, with the body of the deceased Commander of Artillery, were now buried together.
Dec. 28.—This was the birth-day of the King’s mother, and the town was in consequence illuminated for three nights. An express arrived from the Government, calling Monsieur Diard, the French physician, to Court.
January 3, 1824.—Four junks arrived from China, bringing one thousand three hundred passengers. These pay six dollars each for their passage. After their arrival, they settle and spread themselves in various parts of the country, going as far as the town of Kamboja.
Jan. 6.—The Mission received one hundred and seventy-two quans, and rice from Government for their monthly expenses. We were informed of a certain medicinal wood, called by the missionaries Akila [Agila, or eagle-wood.—(Crawfurd.)] the best of which is found in the province of Quinhon, and tried its effects upon two of our attendants ill with fluxes : they were both effectually cured in a short time. The Cochin Chinese informed us they used the same remedy in cholera morbus. About this time we observed the soldiers exercised in rowing : this was on shore, in a place made for the express purpose.
Jan. 16.—Another junk arrived from China with four hundred passengers. These Chinese emigrants are settled throughout the country, along the borders of the rivers : their whole baggage, when they arrive, consists of a coarse mat, and a small bundle of old clothes full of patches. Thousands of these persons go yearly also to Siam and the Straits of Malacca.
Jan. 30.—Nothing was heard of the business of the Mission down to this time, nor indeed did the members expect to get any account of it until the holidays were over. This was the last day of the Cochin Chinese year, and the shops being only open in the morning, the people were busy in laying in provisions for the next four days, when there would be no market. Before every house there was erected a tall rod, on which was suspended betel and tobacco, as an offering to the gods.
Jan. 31 .-—This was the first day of the year. The people left off all manner of work, and tricked themselves out in their gala-dresses, going from house to house to visit each other. At every house was laid out a small table, containing sweatmeats and a lighted taper, which was an offering to the memory of their ancestors. The people, of all ages and descriptions, were seen gaming in every part of the town ; and day and night were heard squibs, crackers, and other descriptions of fire-works. On the seventh of the moon, those who can afford it visit their nearest friends and relations and make them presents. In the evening, the tall staff, with the offering of betel and tobacco, is struck. The table with the offering to ancestors is also uncovered, and the contents distributed amongst the nearest elderly relations of the party. Before this is done, however, the inmates of the house and all the visitors prostrate themselves before it. The Cochin Chinese eat of every description of animal food, without distinction, and do not object to dogs, cats, rats, alligators, &c.
Feb. 13.—We were informed, through different channels, that an order had arrived from the Court to prepare a vessel to carry us back to Ava.
Feb. 14.—To-day the arrival of Ong-Tan-Hiep, the Secretary, with a dispatch from the Court, was aunounced to the Mission. He came overland in twelve days. We now got some information regarding our own particular business.
Feb. 18.—This was the seventeenth day of the moon, and the termination of the holidays. A salute of three guns was fired from the rampart of the fort, which was followed by a discharge of muskets and crackers from the houses of the town. The whole troops were drawn out, and, with drums beating, and colours flying, they marched with much ceremony round the glacis of the fort. After this they proceeded to the river-side, where three galleys were lying prepared, from which salutes were fired, and returned with a discharge of muskets as before. The galleys then sailed about the river in procession, accompanied by a great number of small boats, ornamented with little flags, banners, lanterns, and spears.
About seven o’clock in the morning, a royal order from the King was conveyed from the house of Ong-Tan-Hiep to the Governor’s in the fort with much ceremony, on a gilt stage ; six elephants followed in procession, and many of the principal Mandarins attended. The new Governor appeared in a splendid military dress, having the emblem of a lion on his robe. As far as concerned the interests of the Burman Mission, we learned that three Mandarins and a Secretary, with seventy persons as an escort, were directed to accompany us back to Ava. The names of these Mandarins were, Ong-Kin, Ong-Kian, Bie Young, and the Secretary Ong-Tri-Bohe. Ong-Kin was by descent a Chinese ; his father was the chief of a gang of Chinese pirates who assisted the late King in reconquering his country. He entered into the King’s service at Pulo Condore, and was created commodore of the pirate fleet, which he had brought from the coast of China. These people, when the war was over, received a settlement on the left bank of the river, where they or their descendants still exist to the number of three or four hundred, receiving regular pay and rations from the Government, and being ready for service when called upon.
Feb. 19.—To-day we paid a visit to the Governor, and were informed that a vessel was preparing to convey us back to our native country.
Feb. 22.—We received accounts, that the persons constituting the deputation which was to return with us had received an accession of rank, and that a person of superior dignity was expected from the capital with a letter and presents to his Burman Majesty.
Feb. 25.—A fire broke out to-day in the market-place, close to the Secretary's dwelling ; the Governor himself appeared on the spot to assist in extinguishing it. In consequence of the exertions that were made, and the vicinity of the place to the river, two houses only were destroyed.
Feb. 26.—Coe-Doe-Lam [This was the Cochin Chinese emissary who had gone to Ava, and whom I have mentioned in the introduction to the Narrative.—(C.)] arrived from the capital, and by him the Mission had certain intelligence that the Governor-General would not return to the southern provinces before the month of May, and until he had assisted in the celebration of the nuptials of his nephew Cadoa with the sister of his Majesty, and daughter of the late King. He stated that his Excellency, on his arrival, had recommended the opening of the public granaries ; and that rice, in consequence, had fallen in price to half a quan a basket. The scarcity had occasioned a revolt in Tonquin, and the rebels there would not lay down their arms until they had a personal conference with the Governor.
Feb. 27.—Another fire broke out close to the house occupied by the Mission, which by great activity was soon extinguished.
Fed. 28.—Monsieur Diard arrived from the capital, and the members of the Mission were informed that the presents for his Burman Majesty were coming overland. Monsieur Diard was appointed by the Cochin Chinese Court to accompany the Burman Mission, and showed the Ambassadors the mandate of the King to that effect, under the seal of the Mandarin of Strangers. He also stated that he had been expressly called to Court, and he related the whole circumstances of the transaction respecting our Mission, as it had taken place. He stated that the Mandarin of Strangers had made a speech in the Great Council against the Burman alliance, asserting that it would alarm the Siamese, and make an unfavourable change in their sentiments towards the Cochin Chinese nation. The King demanded to know whether his counsellors were afraid to enter into this new alliance ; and observed, that one thing was quite certain,— that the Burmans were the avowed enemies of the Siamese. His Excellency the Governor-General Tai-Kun and the two French Mandarins, Vanier and Cheneaux, spoke in favour of the Burman alliance. They said, that the Burmans were the inveterate enemies of the Siamese, and that through them the Cochin Chinese might again become possessed of the fruitful Kambodian province of Bantaibang, and so a free commerce, favourable to both sides, might be established. The results of this debate were adverse to a connexion with the Burmese, although I am unable to explain the cause of so unfavourable a determination in the mind of the Cochin Chinese King. Upon the whole, however, I am inclined to ascribe this conduct to the extravagant conceit of the Cochin Chinese nation ; who firmly believe themselves, and the Chinese from whom they are descended, to be the only civilized people in the world, and all other nations savage and barbarous. As to the Siamese, the King of Cochin China thinks he could conquer them in an instant if he desired it. There is not a person of sense about the Court or Government except the Governor-General Tai-Kun, who often smiles at the absurdities of the rest, and has even hinted to the King the extravagance of his pretensions,—since he is, in fact, no more than a tributary of the Emperor of China.
March 4.—The war-junk intended to convey us to our own country was this day launched.
March 6.—The Mission received to-day five hundred and sixteen quans, and one hundred and forty-one baskets of rice, reckoned to be three months’ stock of provision for the voyage. We were requested to repair next morning to the fort, for the purpose of viewing the letter and presents to his Majesty of Ava.
March 7.—At daylight the members of the Mission repaired to the fort on foot, ushered by a Mandarin of the civil order. We missed upon this occasion our old guardian, Ong-Bo ; and making inquiry, found he had been dismissed from his office. In the front part of the hall of audience, we found the letter to the King of Ava, laid out on a table, and the presents arranged to the left of it. Within the hall, four tapers were burning. The Mandarins of the military order were in one line on the right hand, and the civilians in another on the left. All were standing up, and in their dresses of ceremony. Shortly after, the Governor made his appearance, and took his place on the right-hand side ; next to him stood an elderly Mandarin, said to be the General-in-chief of the Army of Lower Cochin China ; the rest followed according to their ranks. At the head of the left or civil side was Ong-ho-baing, the Treasurer ; Ong-kim, the First Judge, came next; then the comptroller. The Secretary was only fourth in rank.
The music began to play, and heralds on both sides having given the signal, the whole of the Mandarins advanced to the centre of the hall, and made five prostrations to the throne, as if the King himself had been sitting on it. The Mandarins who were to accompany the Burman Mission then made their prostrations. The members of the Burman Mission were then ordered to advance and bow five times jn a similar manner, which they did. The King’s orders respecting the Mission were then explained to them, the presents to his Burman Majesty were enumerated, and the gifts conferred upon each member of the Mission, individually, were stated. After this ceremony, we were conducted to the house of the Governor, where we had a long conference respecting the affairs of the Mission, and particularly concerning what related to our return. We now retired, accompanied by the King’s letter and presents, which were conveyed with much state, and deposited in the hall of the house where we resided. The gifts intended for the individuals of the Mission were then distributed according to their ranks.
March 10.—To-day we proceeded to the fort and delivered the presents of his Burman Majesty. The Mandarins received them with great respect, in a standing posture.
March 12.—The members of the Burman Mission, according to custom, repaired this day to the palace to return thanks for the gifts which the King had condescended to confer upon them. We appeared, on this occasion, in dresses bestowed upon us by his Cochin Chinese Majesty, and the courtiers and ourselves performed the same ceremonies and prostrations as on the 7th. After this was over, the Governor entertained us at his house, and amused us with Cochin Chinese plays. We then finally took leave.
March 12.—On the 12th and 13th of March the presents and baggage were put on board.
On the night of the 13th and the morning of the 14th two fires broke out.
In the evening of the last day we embarked, and dropped down the river with the ebb-tide.
On the 15th and 16th the crew were engaged in cutting firewood for the voyage.
On the 17th we reached the village of Kanju.
On the 18th and 19th the crew were occupied in watering.
On the 20th we again dropped down.
On the 21st we anchored off Kauro.
Here we continued till the 24th ; the Cochin Chinese insisting, that although the wind was fair, the period was, according to their astrology, unlucky. On this last day a foul wind came on, and at night we weighed with the land breeze, but anchored again off Cape St. James ; the Cochin Chinese officers alleging that it was necessary to make a report of their progress to the Government.
On the 26th, a dispatch-boat arrived from Saigun to know what had become of us. While we lay here, three trading junks for Singapore passed us.
We finally sailed on the 30th, lost sight of Cape St. James on the 31st, and this day got sight of Pulo Condore.
April 9.—This day we safely reached Singapore, after a voyage of ten days from Cape St. James, and twenty-six from Saigun. Here we were informed that there was a war between the English and Burmans.
ABSTRACT OF NOTES APPENDED TO MR. GIBSON’s JOURNAL.
(GEOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.)—To the northward of the great river of Kamboja, called, in the Burman language, Meh-koan-mit, the King of Ava has many settlements, but particularly Kiang-ung-gi and Kiang-si. From these an easy communication by water might be established with the southern provinces of Cochin China, and a great trade conducted between the two nations.
From Kiang-ung-gi to Tonquin, called by the Burmans Kio-pagan, there would also be an easy communication, if a good road were cut. The nation called by the Cochin Chinese Lao-lan-tao, and by the Burmans Len-jen, will prove the only obstacle to this intercourse. These barbarous people lie to the eastern side of the great river of Kamboja, and, being in alliance with the Siamese, obstruct the intercourse between the two kingdoms.
From the royal city of Ava, in a right line due east to the river of Kamboja, is a distance of no more than one hundred geographical leagues. Twenty days’ journey would conduct a traveller to Kiang-ung-gi. From Kiang-ung-gi, through Lao-lan-tao and Sandapuri, to Bak-tin, or Kachao, the capital of Tonquin, the distance is only seventy leagues; about one-third part of which only is in possession of the tribe Lao-lan-tao. From the range of mountains which separate the Lao-lan-tao and the dominions of Cochin China, the great river of Tonquin has its source.
The proper Cochin Chinese are descendants of the Tonquinese, who in times not very remote extended their conquests to the south. The Cochin Chinese territories at present seldom exceed beyond ten and fifteen leagues from the coast, being generally bounded to the west by Lao, or Kamboja. The aboriginal race, which inhabited from the province of Quinhone to Cape St. James, were called Loi. These are still confined to the mountains as a distinct race, doing homage to the King of Cochin China. Their chief lives at a place called Phan-ri, about ten leagues from the sea-coast. These people still profess the Hindu religion, and abundant relics of Hinduism are scattered over the country, in the form of temples, images, and inscriptions. This is the country called by the Chinese, and in our own charts, "Champa."
The province of Dong-nai was originally peopled by the race called Moi, now confined to the mountains, and said to be more numerous than the Cochin Chinese. These people follow the Buddhist religion, and not the Hindu.
To the west of Cape St. James, and as far as the latitude of 14°, is the proper country of Kamboja. North of it lies the kingdom of Lao.
From Athien to Tung-yai on the sea-coast, the people are said to be called Kom. I suspect this to be a mistake, and that Kom is only another name for the Kambojans.
Kamboja is called by the natives Namvuam, and in Sanscrit, or Bali, Maha Notkorlorot Kamer, and by the Cochin Chinese Komen.
In the tenth century they were a powerful people. Dong-nai, Phan-ran, and Siam being then tributary to them ; but shortly after this they began to decline, and Siam threw off their yoke, and became an independent kingdom.
The Tonquinese and Cochin Chinese are the same people and speak the same language. In ancient times, the King of Tonquin appointed a Governor-General to the northern provinces, extending to Quin-hone, whose residence was at Hué. This person, the ancestor of the present race of kings, rebelled,-dethroned, and decapitated the King of Tonquin, seizing his kingdom.
The victorious usurper was acknowledged by the Chinese, to whom he declared himself nominally tributary, according to custom. In time, he and his successors conquered from the Kambojans the provinces of Quin-hone, Nhatrang, Phan-ran, and Phu-yen, known to the Chinese by the general appellation of Champa. These countries were inhabited by the race Loi, who professed the Hindu religion, and are now confined to the mountains by the oppression of the Cochin Chinese.
More recently, the Cochin Chinese conquered the province of Dong-nai, and planted colonies of their countrymen at Que-douc, Sa-dek, Mitho, Camao, Saigun, Dountain, and many other places.
The country from Sa-dek to Athien has recently been converted into a Cochin Chinese province, by the appellation of Ya-din-tain.
The present King of Kamboja, whose name is Luang-hang-tek, resides at a new city, called Kalompé, which at present contains no more than five thousand inhabitants. The old city, Pong-luang, is fifteen miles distant from it.
The original inhabitants of Dong-nai, called Moi, as well as those of Champa, called Loi, were driven into the mountains by the oppression of the Cochin Chinese.
When the father of the present King of Kamboja died, he was an infant of six years of age. When he grew up, he had quarrels with two of his brothers, who fled to Siam : while fearing the effect of their intrigues at that Court, he sought refuge at Ya-din-tain. Tai-kun, the present Governor, marched to his assistance with thirty thousand men.
He met the Siamese army on their way to take possession of Calompe. A conference took place, and a peace was concluded, by which it was agreed that Kamboja, as heretofore, should remain tributary to Cochin China ; and the rich province of Bantaibang remain with the Siamese, the great lake of that name being the boundary between them. The Kambojans are greatly oppressed by the Cochin Chinese. The King can do nothing without the consent of the Governor-General at Saigun.
(SAIGUN.)—The fort of Yadin-tain was built by M. Olivia. In form it is a quadrangle, of one-fifth of a Burman league to a side. It has eight gates, two on each side, which are of masonry, but the ramparts are of earth. It has a ditch and a hornwork, and two canals are cut from the river which reach near to it : by these, which are full at flood, there is a communication with the river, affording facility for conveying goods and provisions. I estimate the population of Yadin-tain, Saigun, and Bawghue at sixty thousand inhabitants, one-fifth of which are Chinese.
This is the residence of the Chinese merchants, where there are Chinese goods always for sale, and where are collected the articles of exportation for the Chinese market. The place is intersected with many canals communicating with the main river, and boats come up and unload cargoes at the merchants’ doors. From hence there is a communication by water with the great river of Kamboja.
(DONG-NAI.)—Dong-nai was the old capital of the province when the Kambojans were in possession of the country. It was then a place of considerable size and trade, but is at present in a very decayed state. The Cochin Chinese, when they conquered the country, removed the seat of government to Saigun, which was more conveniently situated for shipping, and they called the new city and province Ya-din-tain.
(CANAL OF HATIAN.)—-About 1820, a canal was commenced from Que-douc, on the western shore of the great river, to Athien, on the coast of the Gulf of Siam. Twenty thousand Cochin Chinese and ten thousand Kambojans were employed upon this work : it is from two to three fathoms deep. The workmen were paid at the rate of six quans per month, and it cost the Government four hundred thousand quans. No provision was made for supplying the workmen with water, so that ten thousand of them perished from thirst, hard labour, or disease. The object of this great undertaking, was to open an easy intercourse with Kamboja and Siam, by which the boats and war-galleys might convey troops without the necessity of undertaking the precarious voyage round the Cape of Kamboja.
(ELEPHANTS.)—Every Kambojan chief formerly made a trade of breeding elephants, which are sold by them to the Cochin Chinese and Siamese. Good ones fetched from fifty to one hundred quans. They are very plentiful in the upper country, at Pontai and Lao, but the present Cochin Chinese Government allows but ten quans for each elephant, which has put a stop to rearing them.
(MALAYS.)—There are a number of Malays settled on the eastern coast of the Gulf of Siam ; these are emigrants from Tringano and Patani.
(CHRISTIANS.)—I was informed by Father Francis, a Neapolitan missionary residing at Saigun, that at Cheguam, between the fort of Ya-din-tain and the town of Saigun, where he himself resided, there are twelve hundred Christians. In the province of Ya-din-tain there are in all about twenty-five thousand Christians, and a hundred churches. The pastors are three European and ten native missionaries. During the lifetime of the late King and of the Bishop of Adran, the Christian religion was much respected. It is still openly professed in the lower part of the kingdom, where the Christians have the protection and encouragetment of the Governor-General Tai-kun. They are, however, every where so poor and miserable that they have little time to attend to their religious duties. At a place called Lang, is the tomb of the Bishop of Adran. Fifty families were assigned by the late King to watch it, who are still exempted from all other duty on this account.
(BUDDHIST RELIGION.)—Between Yadin-tain and Saigun is a temple of Buddha, containing one image of that deity seven feet high, and three others of four feet each, in a sitting posture. I held conversation with the Bonzes attached to this temple, who seemed to be very ignorant; for they could tell nothing of the propagation of their religion in Cochin China, but that it had come from the western country. Behind the temple is another building, containing the names of deceased Bonzes : this was held in great veneration.
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# APPENDIX.
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## APPENDIX A.
## NARRATIVE OF AN EMBASSY FROM THE KING OF AVA TO THE KING OF COCHIN CHINA.
In the year 1823, the very one following our own Mission,the present King of Ava, who had just ascended the throne, sent an Embassy to the King of Cochin China, the circumstances and results of which are so illustrative of the character of the two Governments of Ava and Cochin China, but more particularly of the last, that I have deemed a succinct account of it worth appending to the present work.
The following brief explanation of the circumstances which led to the Burmese Mission, and of the manner in which the Narrative fell into my hands, and has been prepared, will be necessary.
In 1822, a certain Cochin Chinese petty chief, or inferior officer, who had once professed the Christian religion, but apostatized, represented to Chao Kun, the Governor of Kamboja, so frequently mentioned in my Journal, that a mine of wealth might be made by purchasing esculent swallows’ nests in Ava and sending them as a speculation for sale to China. Such was the trivial source of a Mission from Cochin China to Ava, and of that from Ava to Cochin China, which followed it. The Cochin Chinese Mission was undertaken solely on the authority of the Governor of Kamboja, and without the sanction of his Court. At first, a mere commercial speculation, and not a very judicious one, it assumed in the sequel somewhat of a political character, and the projector was placed at the head of this Mission. He proceeded to Rangoon by way of Penang, and in due course was conducted to the Court. His credentials not being considered here as altogether satisfactory, nor his explanations sufficiently clear, he was, according to Burmese custom, imprisoned and tortured for farther elucidation. It appears that his explanations, under this process, proved satisfactory; and the new King, at the time full of ambition, and meditating projects of conquest against Siam, resolved to take the opportunity of this Cochin Chinese emissary’s return, to send an Embassy to the Cochin Chinese monarch to entreat his assistance in the conquest and partition of Siam, which he denounced as a rebel province. As will be seen in the Narrative, the Burman Mission, although hospitably entertained, was not permitted to come to Court, and the King finally declined all political connexion with Ava. The Burmese Mission was sent back, at the expense of the Cochin Chinese Government, and the junks which brought it touched at Singapore. The Ambassadors were Mr. Gibson, a native of Madras, and the son of an Englishman, and two Burmese chiefs. Mr. Gibson was a person of much acuteness, and having resided many years in the Burman dominions, and held considerable offices under the government of that country, he was thoroughly versed in the Burmese language, and intimately acquainted with the manners and customs of the people. He was, besides, well acquainted with the Portuguese language, with the Hindostani, and with the Telinga ; which last may strictly be said to have been his mother tongue. Indeed, saving his acuteness and greater expansion of mind, he was rather a well-accomplished Burmese than an Englishman. While at Singapore, he handed to me his Journal for perusal, authorizing me to make such extracts as I thought proper. This gentleman was so imperfectly educated, that the original was replete with errors in grammar and orthography in every line ; and therefore the manuscript as he wrote it was not only unfit for transcription, but, in reality, nearly unintelligible without his own personal comments and explanations ; I therefore made an abstract of it, preserving, as far as was practicable, the writer’s own modes of expression.
The war with the Burmese having broken out during the stay of the Mission at Singapore, the Cochin Chinese junks which conveyed it were taken under our protection, and safely conducted from Penang to Tavoy. They had not been at this place above two or three days, when the place was captured by a British force. The Burman Ambassadors became prisoners of war, and the Cochin Chinese were sent back in safety to their own country. Mr. Gibson, the Ex-Ambassador of his Burmese Majesty, entered the British service as an interpreter, and, after a few months, died of the epidemic cholera, while our army was on its march to Prome.
## NARRATIVE.
We left Rangoon in the beginning of January 1823, in an European-built vessel, and on the 26th February reached Penang, after touching on our way at Tavoy. While lying at Penang, on the 24th March, a Siamese junk, on fire, ran foul of the Mission ship, and burnt her.
There was hardly time to save the dispatches, jewels, and other presents for the Court of Cochin China.
Having made application to the Governor of Prince of Wales’s Island, a loan of 4000 dollars was given to me for a bill on the Myowun of Rangoon. [The return made for this piece of hospitality was the Myowun’s dishonouring Mr. Gibson’s draft, and trampling it under his feet. He made it, however, a pretext for levying a contribution on the town of Rangoon, as I afterwards satisfactorily ascertained, while in civil charge of the place.]
The Mission then took a passage in a Portuguese ship.
It finally sailed, on the 22d of April, from Prince of Wales’s Island, reached Malacca on the 2d of May, and Singapore on the 12th. On the 18th we left this last place, and on the 1st of June reached the anchorage of Vungtao, or that of Cape St. James in Kamboja.
On the 3rd the Mission reached the village of Canju. Four barges of ceremony came here to receive us from Saigun, to which place we proceeded on the 8th. Seven elephants were sent to the landing-place to receive us when we arrived ; and on the same day the governor sent hogs, poultry, fish, &c., with one hundred quans, as a present.
June 10.—The Mission received a visit from the Secretary of the Governor- General. He asked me if we had a copy of the letter from the Burman Government ;—why the Burmans, so powerful a people, were unable, after so many attempts, to conquer the Siamese ; and what benefit could arise from an alliance between the Burmans and Cochin Chinese, since they were at so great a distance from each other, and therefore not in a condition to act in concert. Finally, the Secretary demanded a translation of the Burman letter.
We replied, that a copy of the letter alluded to was unfortunately destroyed when the Mission ship was burnt at Prince of Wales’s Island ; but that when the letter itself was perused, all the objects of the Mission would be fully explained in it. We observed, that we did not consider the intercourse between the Burmans and Cochin Chinese a matter of any difficulty, since the one was in possession of take northern and the other of the southern extremity of the great river of Kamboja ; and if the Siamese, who occupied the centre, were conquered, every difficulty would be removed, and an easy intercourse carried on. In another quarter, the two nations, we said, were close to each other ; the tribe of the Lenjen, or Laolantao, being the only interruption to an immediate intercourse between the Burman province of Kiangounge and the kingdom of Tonquin.
We insisted that the Siamese were rebels, having been frequently conquered by the Burmans, and that their subjugation was a point on which his present Burman Majesty was resolved. He was pleased, therefore, to see the Cochin Chinese emissary, who had visited his country, and had taken that opportunity of requesting the assistance of the Cochin Chinese Government, by sending the present Mission ; while he had, at the same time, recalled his army in Martaban, to make preparation for the war.
On the same day, two French gentlemen paid the Mission a visit : they informed us that of the many French who were once in the country, two of the elder ones only survived, and that the whole French gentlemen in Cochin China were only five exclusive of missionaries. The present King had openly expressed a dislike to Europeans, and had forbid the open profession of the Christian religion. He has refused to admit the two Bishops into his presence, according to former usage; and when one of them lately presented himself, he insulted him, by offering him a piece of money as to a common beggar.
June 11.—A deputation of officers of rank waited on the Mission. They requested that the letter of the Burmese Government might be opened, which was done accordingly. They asked for a copy of the original, and that a translation of it might be made in the Siamese language.
June 12.-—The Secretary of the Governor-General called to know what progress had been made in the translation. We informed him, that the translation demanded much care and scrutiny, as it was an affair of great moment, and it would take at least four or five days to finish it. He brought an invitation to us to be present at a fête that was to be celebrated in the palace. We accepted this invitation ; and then, for the first time, saw his Excellency the Governor-General, a man between fifty and sixty years of age, of small stature, but of great abilities, and reputed a good soldier. He is a native of the province of Mitho, and was educated as a page to the late King Gialong. He was with him when he was a refugee in Siam. His merits soon raised him to confidential employment and higher rank. He is much respected by all the officers of the Cochin Chinese Government, and dreaded by the Kambojans and Siamese.
At this fête we held a long conversation with the chief judge respecting the King of Ava and his country, and on the benefits that would result from an alliance between the Burmans and Cochin Chinese.
June 18.—On the 12th, the translation of the letter from the Burman Court into Siamese not having proved satisfactory, I undertook, with the assistance of the two French gentlemen, and a native Christian missionary, to make translations into the French and Latin languages. These translations were effected, and given in to-day, and with them a Burman copy of the original letter.
June 19.—The second governor gave to-day an entertainment to the Mission. Several Kambojan chiefs were present : these, as a mark of peculiar favour, are now allowed to wear the Cochin Chinese dress, and to ride in Cochin Chinese litters ; but the lower orders of the same people must appear in their native habit, which is nearly that of Siam.
Jime 20.—A Mandarin waited on the Mission, requesting to be allowed to take a muster of the dress and cap of ceremony of the Burman Ambassadors, for the purpose of being transmitted as a curiosity to his Majesty at Hue.
June 21.—The Mission had a visit from the First Minister of the King of Kamboja, and from the Governor of Kamboja, a Cochin Chinese. The Kambojans, on this occasion, expressed much dislike of the Siamese ; but I thought this dislike feigned to please the Cochin Chinese, as I am convinced that the Kambojans are at present much more oppressed than they were under the Siamese Government.
June 30.—The Mission was requested to appear at an audience, for the purpose of exhibiting the presents brought from the King of Ava for the King of Cochin China. These consisted of twenty ruby and as many sapphirerings; a gold seal and beads ; and a box containing four garments of silk cloth. The presents for the Governor-General himself, were ten muskets with bayonets, and a spy-glass, bought at Prince of Wales’s Island for the purpose. Much anxiety was expressed by the Cochin Chinese to see the presents : his Excellency the Governor-General asked whether the stones were real or counterfeit ; and whether, if the former, the mines were in the country of Ava. It was explained, that the stones were real gems, and that the mines were in the Burman territory, which possessed besides abundant mines of gold and silver. The Governor-General asked whether we were in earnest when we said the Burmese intended to make war on the Siamese ; and he added, that, in his opinion, there must also be a war between the English and Siamese, on account of the Raja of Queda, and the seizure of his country, I replied, that I had heard nothing of a war between the Siamese and English during my residence at Prince of Wales’s Island. The Governor-General farther asked, if the members of the Mission were acquainted with the contents of the letter that came to him from the Governor of Prince of Wales’s Island. We said we knew nothing of it, and supposed it contained nothing more than friendly and complimentary expressions. During this visit, the Governor-General was in excellent humour, and spoke of the events of the war between the Burmese and the Siamese, when he was a refugee in Siam, with the late King Gialong, in 1787.
July 1.—The members of the Mission, having got the permission of the Governor-General, paid a visit to the city of Saigun. We travelled on horseback; our course was by a broad high-road with an avenue of trees, and the people and houses were thick on both sides. About half-way we came to two buildings, the one consecrated to the memories of worthies of the military order, and the other to those of the civil rank : in these is deposited a written testimony of the merit of each individual. As a mark of respect and veneration to these buildings, every one that passes by them is compelled to dismount, and we did so accordingly.
The Mission alighted at Saigun, at a magnificent Chinese temple, dedicated to the god of seas and rivers, where we found a collation of teas and sweatmeats prepared for us. In the evening we dined with one of the principal Chinese merchants ; we were honoured with the company of Onghim, the Lord Judge, and Ong-tam-pit, the Treasurer. The former made very free with arrack, and became drunk. On our way back we met a temple of Boodh, containing one image of that deity seven feet high, and three others of four feet each.
July 3.—The Mission, by a command of his Excellency the Governor- General, took the letter from the Court of Ava to the palace. It was conducted with much ceremony, being carried in a gilt litter, accompanied by two hundred soldiers and many elephants.
July 4.—The original letter of the Burman Government, with the Latin, French, and Cochin Chinese translations of it, were this day dispatched to the capital. The letter of the Governor of Prince of Wales’s Island was sent at the same time, unopened. We were of opinion that the Governor-General did not open it, although addressed to himself, for fear of exciting a suspicion in the King and the other principal officers of the Government, that he was carrying on a secret correspondence with the British. The Governor’s Secretary, indeed, stated this particularly to myself.
July 5.-—We received to-day fifty quans more for our current expenses, and an order to remove to the house usually allotted to ambassadors, which had hitherto been under repair. The house which we had first occupied was required for an Inspector-General, who had come from the capital, deputed by the King, to make military arrangements, to examine into the provinces and cities in the lower part of the kingdom, to see that justice was administered, that the people were not oppressed, and, above all, that the Mandarins took no bribes, which is a capital offence.
July 6.—We paid a visit to his Excellency the Governor, who sent us to wait on the second Governor. Here we met the Kambojan Mandarins, on their way to Court, with offerings for the King. Many inferior Cochin Chinese also presented themselves to pay their respects to the second Governor, on their return from their tour of duty in superintending the cutting of a great canal between the river of Kamboja and Athien on the Gulf of Siam. The common salutation in Cochin China is to bow to the ground five times to the King, four times to persons next in rank to him, three times to persons in the third rank, twice to any other Mandarins, and once to all superior officers of lower dignity.
July 9.—I paid to-day a visit to the Secretary of his Excellency the Governor-General Ong-tan-hip ; we had a great deal of conversation on public matters, chiefly on the benefits that would result from an alliance between the two nations.
I observed that the King of Ava had many settlements towards the northern part of the Kamboja river, by the channel of which a great trade might be carried on between the two nations ; while, if a road were cut through "Lenjen" to Tonquin, an intercourse might be established in that quarter. I also dwelt on the circumstance of having the King of Queda as an ally, and the facilities which the King of Ava had for raising a naval force for the purpose of laying waste the sea-coast of the Siamese country, on account of the number of seafaring strangers residing in his territories.
The Secretary replied with candour : He said that his Excellency the Governor-General was well acquainted with the numbers of the Siamese forces, their discipline, and the Siamese mode of conducting war ; but that he was perfectly ignorant of the nature of the Burman army and their habits of warfare. He would therefore never undertake an important business of this description, without being made fully acquainted with the Burman nation and their military condition.
I informed him, that he might easily possess himself of this information, by sending back, along with the Mission, a faithful and intelligent person to report.
July 10.—We received fifty quans more for our current expenses, and some rice. Ongbo, our guardian, called upon us, and informed us that on the 12th eleven thieves were to be executed by means of his Excellency’s favourite elephant. On these occasions the criminal is tied to a stake, and the elephant runs down upon him and crushes him to death.
July 22.—We received thirty quans more for our current expenses.
July 31.—By invitation of his Excellency the Governor-General, we were present at a ceremony annually performed by him at Saigun, in honour of the memory of his mother-in-law. Such rites are common among the Chinese, but more so among the Cochin Chinese. We arrived in due time at a good house on the bank of one of the canals, which had been the residence of the deceased. Here we found the Governor, the Inspector-general, and a great many other persons of distinction. In the principal chamber or hall of the house, three altars were decorated. After the performance of the usual rites, a splendid entertainment was served to the guests. The Governor and Deputy-governor sat at one table, the members of the Burman Mission, with some Cochin Chinese Mandarins of distinction, and a Kambojan General, sat at another, and the inferior Mandarins at a third table. The retinue of his Excellency the Governor-General was on this occasion magnificent ; it consisted of sixty elephants, horses, litters, and a thousand men under arms and in regular uniforms. Everything glittered with gold, and was conducted without noise or disorder.
August 4.—A courier arrived from the capital, bringing a dispatch ; it summoned his Excellency to Court for a few months, provided his presence could be spared in the southern part of the kingdom.
August 10.—The Mission received one hundred and seventy-two quans, with rice for a month. Nothing remarkable occurred. Three or four thieves are executed every week. His Excellency is rigorous in the execution of justice, and permits no one to escape. He says, that wretches of this description are of no manner of use to the public, but, on the contrary, a burden. The Mandarin who
brought us up from Canju, has just been convicted of bribery and corruption: the Governor has confiscated his property, confined the persons of himself and his wife, and put the heavy Cangue, or wooden collar, about their necks. The Mandarin’s crime was withholding regular payment from the labourers engaged on the canal of Athien, and extorting money from the peasantry of the neighbouring villages. The amount taken did not exceed one thousand quans. In the evening, the Mission was invited to see the elephants exercise. In passing the market-place, we were told that three criminals had been executed there in the morning : their wooden collars were still lying on the ground. As soon as we had reached the southern side of the fort, the approach of his Excellency, mounted on his favourite elephant, was announced by the heralds. A mock fight was represented. The elephants, sixty in number, charged a fence made of fascines and branches of trees, and defended by a line of soldiers, discharging rockets and small-arms. The elephants broke through it and pursued those who defended it, until stopped by the riders. Good order and discipline were preserved, and the commands for advance and retreat given by trumpet and beat of drum.
Another species of mock-fight was afterwards exhibited. The elephants were made to attack, two and two, the effigy of a lion and tiger spitting fire, and accompanied by many soldiers discharging fire-arms. Very few of the elephants ventured to attack these objects, but, in spite of all the efforts of the riders, ran away. One of the conductors received twenty blows on the spot for not doing his duty. His Excellency allowed his favourite elephant to go through his exercise ; the animal knelt, inclined his head, and made us an obeisance. He is thirty-seven years old, and the Governor has had him twenty-five years.
After the amusements, we were treated with a collation, and the Governor held a long conference with us through the Portuguese interpreter, Antonio. He said he was going to Court entirely on our account ; to make ourselves in the mean time comfortable, and that matters would, in most respects, end according to our wishes, as his Majesty seldom acted in opposition to his advice. His Excellency asked whether it was probable there would be war between the English and Siamese, on account of the protection which the former gave to the King of Queda, under pretence that he was their ally, while, in fact, he was a subject and a tributary of Siam. I replied, that the English were too powerful a people for the Siamese to attempt any thing against. His Excellency said, that he supposed the English had an eye on Junk-Ceylon, Pulo, Lada, Quedah, and Perak ; which would render Penang the centre of a large trade, and that the Malay peninsula was now necessary to support Penang, as she had lost the trade of the Eastern Countries through means of Malacca. I answered, that this might probably be the case, for that the English were great politicians,—that they did nothing without a reason, and would never make war on the Siamese, unless the latter were the aggressors, but that they never put up with insults. His Excellency the Governor seemed very well informed respecting the results of the wars of the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, and particularly respecting the battle of Waterloo, and his death at St. Helena. He said, he lamented the misfortunes of that great man, and explained to the Mandarins who were round him, that the only fault he found in him, was his vast ambition. He added, that after bringing the world into confusion by long wars, he had finally done nothing for the good of the French nation. He ended his conversation by praising the British nation, but said, that they, too, were over ambitious.
August 28.—Nothing particular occurred since the 10th. The Mission had frequent reports of executions for theft and adultery. To-day we were informed of the arrival of the aunt of the King of Kamboja. This lady was the wife of a Siamese prince, who, after his deatli, and having no children, retired to her own country. She expressed a desire to have some conversation with our Siamese interpreter, and he went to her accordingly. This affair was misrepresented to the Governor ; and, in consequence, Ong-Bo, the guardian of the Mission, was severely reprimanded; an old Mandarin of inferior rank, attached to our Mission, was punished with the wooden collar; and Antonio, the Portuguese interpreter, received a hundred blows on the same account.
September l.—This day was fixed for his Excellency’s departure for the Court ; but the Second Governor, a man about ninety years of age, the only person who could be entrusted with the government, was taken seriously ill;
therefore his Excellency’s departure was delayed. It was necessary to send for a person, to relieve his Excellency, from Hue. On account of the discontent of the Kambojans, and the intrigues of the Siamese, there is no trusting the southern provinces without a person of energy to rule them.
At this time two horrid circumstances came to the notice of the Mission, which placed the rigorous and arbitrary character of the Governor-General in a strong point of view. One of the retinue appointed to proceed with him to Court, came to solicit from him, as a favour, that he would allow him to remain a few days behind, on account of the illness of his wife. The Governor became enraged at the proposal, ordered the applicant to be forthwith carried out to the gate and beheaded, which was done accordingly. Nearly at the same time, a native of Tonquin, employed in superintending the canal of Athien, appeared before his Excellency to pay his respects ; the Governor had heard something unfavourable of his conduct, and before he had finished the four customary prostrations, he ordered him to be led away and executed in the marketplace. One of the French gentlemen informed the Mission that all his countrymen were preparing to leave Cochin China immediately, as the present King is decidedly unfriendly to Europeans.
Sept. 9.—One hundred and seventy-two quans were sent to the Mission for their monthly expenses.
Sept. 21.—His Excellency the Governor-General visited Saigun to perform funeral rites at the tomb of his father and mother. Since the affair of the visit of the Siamese interpreter to the Kambojan princess, we were very strictly watched and spies placed over us.
October 1.—The Mission received intelligence that a new Governor was on his way to relieve his Excellency, for the purpose of enabling him to proceed to Court.
Oct. 6.—Three junks arrived to-day from the capital, bringing five hundred thousand quans of treasure, for the construction and repair of forts, and the payment of the troops. The Mission received intelligence that, a few days before, a ship belonging to the King of Siam had been driven into the harbour of Cape St. James, having encountered a Typhoon on her way to China. The commander requested permission to repair the ship and to be exempted from the usual charges and duties. The last part of the request could not be granted, and therefore the commander resolved to take her to Singapore to repair her there. Another vessel arrived at the same place from England, and last from Hue : this brought several thousand muskets, which the King would not purchase because they were considered of inferior quality to the muskets imported by the French.[The arms referred to were old Flemish muskets.—(Crawfurd.)]
The commander brought a letter from Mr. Crawfurd, the new Resident at Singapore, and was very well received by his Excellency the Governor. The only news he brought was the death of Castlereagh, the Prime Minister of England. The members of the Mission were not permitted to see the English commander, and were now as closely watched as if they were confined in a gaol.
By this opportunity the Mission transmitted, through Captain Burney at Prince of Wales’s Island, a dispatch to the Government of Ava. One of the French gentlemen undertook to deliver it to the English commander.
Oct. 31.—The long expected arrival of the new Governor was to-day announced to the Mission. His journey from Hue took only nine days. His retinue and escort consisted of six hundred persons ; many of whom dropped behind, from the expedition with which he travelled.
The Mission about this time received intelligence that the Siamese Government, having come to the knowledge of the correspondence which is carrying on between Ava and Cochin China, has begun to fortify the city of Bangkok, and had doubled the chain, or bomb, which crossed the river Menam ; even the Chinese inhabitants, who are not usually called upon on such occasions, were employed upon these works.
We received a summons to-day to appear in the palace. The first object which struck us, as we passed on our way towards it, were two men in the Cangue, or wooden collar, so large that two persons were obliged to assist in carrying it when they moved : they were soldiers, and their crime was disobeying, and using abusive language towards their superior officers.
His Excellency informed us, that he was called to Hue on our business, and should be absent about three months. His successor, a man of about seventy years of age, an old and favourite servant of the late King, sat near him. The members of the Mission were recommended to his care. His Excellency observed, that the affairs of the Burman Mission would be dispatched as early as practicable, but that the business was of much consequence, and required minute consideration ; especially as the two nations had hitherto been entire strangers to each other, and a friendly intercourse was commenced between them, only now, for the first time.
After the audience, an entertainment was prepared for us, of which we partook in company with several of the Cochin Chinese and Kambojan Mandarins. His Excellency was on this occasion particularly complaisant, and condescended to sit near us and pay us compliments. We were entertained the whole day long vdth dramatic exhibitions. On this occasion, we saw at the audience eight persons, very poorly clad, and differing in features from all those about them. The Governor presented them each with a pair of trowsers and a shirt. His Excellency informed us they were the real aborigines of the country, before it was conquered by the Cochin Chinese, and that they were more numerous than the Cochin Chinese.
Nov. 18.—His Excellency yesterday gave over charge of the city and province to his successor, and all the officers of Government received orders to wait upon the latter, and pay their respects to him. The members of the Burrnan Mission also received an order to pay their respects, and accordingly waited upon the new Governor to-day ; a few soldiers only were in attendance. The Mandarins of the civil order were on the right hand, and those of the military on the left ; a neat repast was served, both to the members and their followers. Ong-Bo, our guardian, acted as master of the ceremonies, and through him we received an assurance of protection, and an offer of elephants and horses whenever we wished to go abroad.
Nov. 19.—This was the day fixed for his Excellency the Governor-General Tai-Kun’s departure. We waited on him at the place where he was to embark. About five in the afternoon he made his appearance, with a large train, two heralds announcing his approach. He was carried in a gilt litter with a double umbrella over him. A number of boats and people had gone off the day before, and about thirty galleys now attended him, with a retinue of about one thousand persons. He sent the members of the Mission a message, requesting them not to be uneasy, that he would return in three months, and settle every thing to their satisfaction. He appeared melancholy as he sat in his boat. In taking leave, his successor made four prostrations to him, as did all the other Mandarins. The whole party set off in good order, without the least noise or disorder whatever.
Nov. 23.—The galleys returned to-day from Baria, to which place they had conveyed his Excellency, and from whence he was to proceed by land to Hue. Ong-Kiam-Loto, commander of the artillery, on his return from accompanying his Excellency to Baria, was suddenly taken ill of the cholera morbus, and died at the age of sixty-five. He was placed -in a .coffin, well caulked and varnished, which was kept in his house. His family and relations, and every member of the corps of artillery, daily made prostrations before the body, according to custom.
A curious circumstance occurred just before his Excellency’s departure. The confinement of Ong-Quan-Tabaonhy and his wife was the result of an intrigue of Ong-Tan-Hiep, the secretary and favourite of his Excellency. This man had been brought up by the Governor from his infancy ; he was ambitious, able, and resentful ; and hated by every one in office, notwithstanding his being rich and powerful. All the Mandarins above him in rank waited upon him at his house — a matter which we had an opportunity of personally noticing, as his dwelling was close to our own residence. Not a day passed without his receiving some one present or another, which he sold again in a shop, kept by his people, close to his gate ; which answered the purpose well, as the house was in the market-place.
The cause of the hatred between this person and Ong-Quan-Tabaonhy was this:
-The latter had paid court to a rich and handsome widow, and, after emptying his purse ad nearly succeeded. The Secretary stepped in, and being a younger and better-looking person, and also the favourite of the Governor, he made her change her mind, and she would have nothing more to say to Ong-Quan-Tabaonhy. These persons were never friends afterwards, but each sought an opportunity to injure the other. The Secretary effectually succeeded in this, when, as already mentioned, he detected his rival in extorting money from the labourers on the canal of Athien. One day a handsome concubine belonging to Ong-Quan-Tabaonhy, by name Che-day, met the Secretary on the public road and spoke to him ; she told him she wished he would give her permission to come to his house, as she had something particular to communicate to him. He said she was welcome to come when she liked. She accordingly watched an opportunity, when she had ascertained that he was at home, and called upon him one evening at eight o’clock. She then requested to speak to him privately, and he conducted her into his own apartment, when she entreated him to assist in obtaining her lord’s release from confinement. A little after, the family heard her calling out "rape" and "murder". When they came to her assistance, she complained of having been ravished by the Secretary, when she had come to ask for the deliverance of her lord. She then rushed out into the street, crying out in the same manner, and showing every one a lock of the Secretary’s hair which she had cut off. In the morning she went to his Excellency the Governor, lamenting her fate, throwing the lock of hair down before him, and calling for justice. Knowing that the crime of adultery is punished by the laws with death, the Governor examined the matter, found it was a plot laid by her and her husband to ruin the Secretary, and ordered her to be punished with a hundred blows. This young woman was not above twenty years of age.
December 1.—The Mission received accounts of a famine having taken place in the northern part of the kingdom, which occasioned the death of many of the poor ; it was caused by an unusual inundation of the sea, which had destroyed the greater part of the crops in some districts. A few days ago, a person was beheaded for flogging his wife, who had died after the punishment, although it was supposed not in consequence thereof.
The Government was at this time employed in strengthening the ramparts of the fort of Yadentain [The Fortress of Saigun.--(Crawfurd.)] with hewn stones brought from the hills near old Dongnai. A thousand soldiers were occupied on this work day and night.
Dec. 19.—On the 18th, two junks departed for Singapore pore, and another to-day, by which the Mission addressed a petition to his Majesty the King of Ava, reporting the progress of the Mission.
The brother of the deceased Commander of Artillery had gone to Athien, on the Gulf of Siam, to bring the remains of his brother's wife from some village in that neighbourhood. He returned, bringing two coffins instead of one, and these, with the body of the deceased Commander of Artillery, were now buried together.
Dec. 28.—This was the birth-day of the King’s mother, and the town was in consequence illuminated for three nights. An express arrived from the Government, calling Monsieur Diard, the French physician, to Court.
January 3, 1824.—Four junks arrived from China, bringing one thousand three hundred passengers. These pay six dollars each for their passage. After their arrival, they settle and spread themselves in various parts of the country, going as far as the town of Kamboja.
Jan. 6.—The Mission received one hundred and seventy-two quans, and rice from Government for their monthly expenses. We were informed of a certain medicinal wood, called by the missionaries Akila [Agila, or eagle-wood.—(Crawfurd.)] the best of which is found in the province of Quinhon, and tried its effects upon two of our attendants ill with fluxes : they were both effectually cured in a short time. The Cochin Chinese informed us they used the same remedy in cholera morbus. About this time we observed the soldiers exercised in rowing : this was on shore, in a place made for the express purpose.
Jan. 16.—Another junk arrived from China with four hundred passengers. These Chinese emigrants are settled throughout the country, along the borders of the rivers : their whole baggage, when they arrive, consists of a coarse mat, and a small bundle of old clothes full of patches. Thousands of these persons go yearly also to Siam and the Straits of Malacca.
Jan. 30.—Nothing was heard of the business of the Mission down to this time, nor indeed did the members expect to get any account of it until the holidays were over. This was the last day of the Cochin Chinese year, and the shops being only open in the morning, the people were busy in laying in provisions for the next four days, when there would be no market. Before every house there was erected a tall rod, on which was suspended betel and tobacco, as an offering to the gods.
Jan. 31 .-—This was the first day of the year. The people left off all manner of work, and tricked themselves out in their gala-dresses, going from house to house to visit each other. At every house was laid out a small table, containing sweatmeats and a lighted taper, which was an offering to the memory of their ancestors. The people, of all ages and descriptions, were seen gaming in every part of the town ; and day and night were heard squibs, crackers, and other descriptions of fire-works. On the seventh of the moon, those who can afford it visit their nearest friends and relations and make them presents. In the evening, the tall staff, with the offering of betel and tobacco, is struck. The table with the offering to ancestors is also uncovered, and the contents distributed amongst the nearest elderly relations of the party. Before this is done, however, the inmates of the house and all the visitors prostrate themselves before it. The Cochin Chinese eat of every description of animal food, without distinction, and do not object to dogs, cats, rats, alligators, &c.
Feb. 13.—We were informed, through different channels, that an order had arrived from the Court to prepare a vessel to carry us back to Ava.
Feb. 14.—To-day the arrival of Ong-Tan-Hiep, the Secretary, with a dispatch from the Court, was aunounced to the Mission. He came overland in twelve days. We now got some information regarding our own particular business.
Feb. 18.—This was the seventeenth day of the moon, and the termination of the holidays. A salute of three guns was fired from the rampart of the fort, which was followed by a discharge of muskets and crackers from the houses of the town. The whole troops were drawn out, and, with drums beating, and colours flying, they marched with much ceremony round the glacis of the fort. After this they proceeded to the river-side, where three galleys were lying prepared, from which salutes were fired, and returned with a discharge of muskets as before. The galleys then sailed about the river in procession, accompanied by a great number of small boats, ornamented with little flags, banners, lanterns, and spears.
About seven o’clock in the morning, a royal order from the King was conveyed from the house of Ong-Tan-Hiep to the Governor’s in the fort with much ceremony, on a gilt stage ; six elephants followed in procession, and many of the principal Mandarins attended. The new Governor appeared in a splendid military dress, having the emblem of a lion on his robe. As far as concerned the interests of the Burman Mission, we learned that three Mandarins and a Secretary, with seventy persons as an escort, were directed to accompany us back to Ava. The names of these Mandarins were, Ong-Kin, Ong-Kian, Bie Young, and the Secretary Ong-Tri-Bohe. Ong-Kin was by descent a Chinese ; his father was the chief of a gang of Chinese pirates who assisted the late King in reconquering his country. He entered into the King’s service at Pulo Condore, and was created commodore of the pirate fleet, which he had brought from the coast of China. These people, when the war was over, received a settlement on the left bank of the river, where they or their descendants still exist to the number of three or four hundred, receiving regular pay and rations from the Government, and being ready for service when called upon.
Feb. 19.—To-day we paid a visit to the Governor, and were informed that a vessel was preparing to convey us back to our native country.
Feb. 22.—We received accounts, that the persons constituting the deputation which was to return with us had received an accession of rank, and that a person of superior dignity was expected from the capital with a letter and presents to his Burman Majesty.
Feb. 25.—A fire broke out to-day in the market-place, close to the Secretary's dwelling ; the Governor himself appeared on the spot to assist in extinguishing it. In consequence of the exertions that were made, and the vicinity of the place to the river, two houses only were destroyed.
Feb. 26.—Coe-Doe-Lam [This was the Cochin Chinese emissary who had gone to Ava, and whom I have mentioned in the introduction to the Narrative.—(C.)] arrived from the capital, and by him the Mission had certain intelligence that the Governor-General would not return to the southern provinces before the month of May, and until he had assisted in the celebration of the nuptials of his nephew Cadoa with the sister of his Majesty, and daughter of the late King. He stated that his Excellency, on his arrival, had recommended the opening of the public granaries ; and that rice, in consequence, had fallen in price to half a quan a basket. The scarcity had occasioned a revolt in Tonquin, and the rebels there would not lay down their arms until they had a personal conference with the Governor.
Feb. 27.—Another fire broke out close to the house occupied by the Mission, which by great activity was soon extinguished.
Fed. 28.—Monsieur Diard arrived from the capital, and the members of the Mission were informed that the presents for his Burman Majesty were coming overland. Monsieur Diard was appointed by the Cochin Chinese Court to accompany the Burman Mission, and showed the Ambassadors the mandate of the King to that effect, under the seal of the Mandarin of Strangers. He also stated that he had been expressly called to Court, and he related the whole circumstances of the transaction respecting our Mission, as it had taken place. He stated that the Mandarin of Strangers had made a speech in the Great Council against the Burman alliance, asserting that it would alarm the Siamese, and make an unfavourable change in their sentiments towards the Cochin Chinese nation. The King demanded to know whether his counsellors were afraid to enter into this new alliance ; and observed, that one thing was quite certain,— that the Burmans were the avowed enemies of the Siamese. His Excellency the Governor-General Tai-Kun and the two French Mandarins, Vanier and Cheneaux, spoke in favour of the Burman alliance. They said, that the Burmans were the inveterate enemies of the Siamese, and that through them the Cochin Chinese might again become possessed of the fruitful Kambodian province of Bantaibang, and so a free commerce, favourable to both sides, might be established. The results of this debate were adverse to a connexion with the Burmese, although I am unable to explain the cause of so unfavourable a determination in the mind of the Cochin Chinese King. Upon the whole, however, I am inclined to ascribe this conduct to the extravagant conceit of the Cochin Chinese nation ; who firmly believe themselves, and the Chinese from whom they are descended, to be the only civilized people in the world, and all other nations savage and barbarous. As to the Siamese, the King of Cochin China thinks he could conquer them in an instant if he desired it. There is not a person of sense about the Court or Government except the Governor-General Tai-Kun, who often smiles at the absurdities of the rest, and has even hinted to the King the extravagance of his pretensions,—since he is, in fact, no more than a tributary of the Emperor of China.
March 4.—The war-junk intended to convey us to our own country was this day launched.
March 6.—The Mission received to-day five hundred and sixteen quans, and one hundred and forty-one baskets of rice, reckoned to be three months’ stock of provision for the voyage. We were requested to repair next morning to the fort, for the purpose of viewing the letter and presents to his Majesty of Ava.
March 7.—At daylight the members of the Mission repaired to the fort on foot, ushered by a Mandarin of the civil order. We missed upon this occasion our old guardian, Ong-Bo ; and making inquiry, found he had been dismissed from his office. In the front part of the hall of audience, we found the letter to the King of Ava, laid out on a table, and the presents arranged to the left of it. Within the hall, four tapers were burning. The Mandarins of the military order were in one line on the right hand, and the civilians in another on the left. All were standing up, and in their dresses of ceremony. Shortly after, the Governor made his appearance, and took his place on the right-hand side ; next to him stood an elderly Mandarin, said to be the General-in-chief of the Army of Lower Cochin China ; the rest followed according to their ranks. At the head of the left or civil side was Ong-ho-baing, the Treasurer ; Ong-kim, the First Judge, came next; then the comptroller. The Secretary was only fourth in rank.
The music began to play, and heralds on both sides having given the signal, the whole of the Mandarins advanced to the centre of the hall, and made five prostrations to the throne, as if the King himself had been sitting on it. The Mandarins who were to accompany the Burman Mission then made their prostrations. The members of the Burman Mission were then ordered to advance and bow five times jn a similar manner, which they did. The King’s orders respecting the Mission were then explained to them, the presents to his Burman Majesty were enumerated, and the gifts conferred upon each member of the Mission, individually, were stated. After this ceremony, we were conducted to the house of the Governor, where we had a long conference respecting the affairs of the Mission, and particularly concerning what related to our return. We now retired, accompanied by the King’s letter and presents, which were conveyed with much state, and deposited in the hall of the house where we resided. The gifts intended for the individuals of the Mission were then distributed according to their ranks.
March 10.—To-day we proceeded to the fort and delivered the presents of his Burman Majesty. The Mandarins received them with great respect, in a standing posture.
March 12.—The members of the Burman Mission, according to custom, repaired this day to the palace to return thanks for the gifts which the King had condescended to confer upon them. We appeared, on this occasion, in dresses bestowed upon us by his Cochin Chinese Majesty, and the courtiers and ourselves performed the same ceremonies and prostrations as on the 7th. After this was over, the Governor entertained us at his house, and amused us with Cochin Chinese plays. We then finally took leave.
March 12.—On the 12th and 13th of March the presents and baggage were put on board.
On the night of the 13th and the morning of the 14th two fires broke out.
In the evening of the last day we embarked, and dropped down the river with the ebb-tide.
On the 15th and 16th the crew were engaged in cutting firewood for the voyage.
On the 17th we reached the village of Kanju.
On the 18th and 19th the crew were occupied in watering.
On the 20th we again dropped down.
On the 21st we anchored off Kauro.
Here we continued till the 24th ; the Cochin Chinese insisting, that although the wind was fair, the period was, according to their astrology, unlucky. On this last day a foul wind came on, and at night we weighed with the land breeze, but anchored again off Cape St. James ; the Cochin Chinese officers alleging that it was necessary to make a report of their progress to the Government.
On the 26th, a dispatch-boat arrived from Saigun to know what had become of us. While we lay here, three trading junks for Singapore passed us.
We finally sailed on the 30th, lost sight of Cape St. James on the 31st, and this day got sight of Pulo Condore.
April 9.—This day we safely reached Singapore, after a voyage of ten days from Cape St. James, and twenty-six from Saigun. Here we were informed that there was a war between the English and Burmans.
## ABSTRACT OF NOTES APPENDED TO MR. GIBSON’s JOURNAL.
(GEOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.)—To the northward of the great river of Kamboja, called, in the Burman language, Meh-koan-mit, the King of Ava has many settlements, but particularly Kiang-ung-gi and Kiang-si. From these an easy communication by water might be established with the southern provinces of Cochin China, and a great trade conducted between the two nations.
From Kiang-ung-gi to Tonquin, called by the Burmans Kio-pagan, there would also be an easy communication, if a good road were cut. The nation called by the Cochin Chinese Lao-lan-tao, and by the Burmans Len-jen, will prove the only obstacle to this intercourse. These barbarous people lie to the eastern side of the great river of Kamboja, and, being in alliance with the Siamese, obstruct the intercourse between the two kingdoms.
From the royal city of Ava, in a right line due east to the river of Kamboja, is a distance of no more than one hundred geographical leagues. Twenty days’ journey would conduct a traveller to Kiang-ung-gi. From Kiang-ung-gi, through Lao-lan-tao and Sandapuri, to Bak-tin, or Kachao, the capital of Tonquin, the distance is only seventy leagues; about one-third part of which only is in possession of the tribe Lao-lan-tao. From the range of mountains which separate the Lao-lan-tao and the dominions of Cochin China, the great river of Tonquin has its source.
The proper Cochin Chinese are descendants of the Tonquinese, who in times not very remote extended their conquests to the south. The Cochin Chinese territories at present seldom exceed beyond ten and fifteen leagues from the coast, being generally bounded to the west by Lao, or Kamboja. The aboriginal race, which inhabited from the province of Quinhone to Cape St. James, were called Loi. These are still confined to the mountains as a distinct race, doing homage to the King of Cochin China. Their chief lives at a place called Phan-ri, about ten leagues from the sea-coast. These people still profess the Hindu religion, and abundant relics of Hinduism are scattered over the country, in the form of temples, images, and inscriptions. This is the country called by the Chinese, and in our own charts, "Champa."
The province of Dong-nai was originally peopled by the race called Moi, now confined to the mountains, and said to be more numerous than the Cochin Chinese. These people follow the Buddhist religion, and not the Hindu.
To the west of Cape St. James, and as far as the latitude of 14°, is the proper country of Kamboja. North of it lies the kingdom of Lao.
From Athien to Tung-yai on the sea-coast, the people are said to be called Kom. I suspect this to be a mistake, and that Kom is only another name for the Kambojans.
Kamboja is called by the natives Namvuam, and in Sanscrit, or Bali, Maha Notkorlorot Kamer, and by the Cochin Chinese Komen.
In the tenth century they were a powerful people. Dong-nai, Phan-ran, and Siam being then tributary to them ; but shortly after this they began to decline, and Siam threw off their yoke, and became an independent kingdom.
The Tonquinese and Cochin Chinese are the same people and speak the same language. In ancient times, the King of Tonquin appointed a Governor-General to the northern provinces, extending to Quin-hone, whose residence was at Hué. This person, the ancestor of the present race of kings, rebelled,-dethroned, and decapitated the King of Tonquin, seizing his kingdom.
The victorious usurper was acknowledged by the Chinese, to whom he declared himself nominally tributary, according to custom. In time, he and his successors conquered from the Kambojans the provinces of Quin-hone, Nhatrang, Phan-ran, and Phu-yen, known to the Chinese by the general appellation of Champa. These countries were inhabited by the race Loi, who professed the Hindu religion, and are now confined to the mountains by the oppression of the Cochin Chinese.
More recently, the Cochin Chinese conquered the province of Dong-nai, and planted colonies of their countrymen at Que-douc, Sa-dek, Mitho, Camao, Saigun, Dountain, and many other places.
The country from Sa-dek to Athien has recently been converted into a Cochin Chinese province, by the appellation of Ya-din-tain.
The present King of Kamboja, whose name is Luang-hang-tek, resides at a new city, called Kalompé, which at present contains no more than five thousand inhabitants. The old city, Pong-luang, is fifteen miles distant from it.
The original inhabitants of Dong-nai, called Moi, as well as those of Champa, called Loi, were driven into the mountains by the oppression of the Cochin Chinese.
When the father of the present King of Kamboja died, he was an infant of six years of age. When he grew up, he had quarrels with two of his brothers, who fled to Siam : while fearing the effect of their intrigues at that Court, he sought refuge at Ya-din-tain. Tai-kun, the present Governor, marched to his assistance with thirty thousand men.
He met the Siamese army on their way to take possession of Calompe. A conference took place, and a peace was concluded, by which it was agreed that Kamboja, as heretofore, should remain tributary to Cochin China ; and the rich province of Bantaibang remain with the Siamese, the great lake of that name being the boundary between them. The Kambojans are greatly oppressed by the Cochin Chinese. The King can do nothing without the consent of the Governor-General at Saigun.
(SAIGUN.)—The fort of Yadin-tain was built by M. Olivia. In form it is a quadrangle, of one-fifth of a Burman league to a side. It has eight gates, two on each side, which are of masonry, but the ramparts are of earth. It has a ditch and a hornwork, and two canals are cut from the river which reach near to it : by these, which are full at flood, there is a communication with the river, affording facility for conveying goods and provisions. I estimate the population of Yadin-tain, Saigun, and Bawghue at sixty thousand inhabitants, one-fifth of which are Chinese.
This is the residence of the Chinese merchants, where there are Chinese goods always for sale, and where are collected the articles of exportation for the Chinese market. The place is intersected with many canals communicating with the main river, and boats come up and unload cargoes at the merchants’ doors. From hence there is a communication by water with the great river of Kamboja.
(DONG-NAI.)—Dong-nai was the old capital of the province when the Kambojans were in possession of the country. It was then a place of considerable size and trade, but is at present in a very decayed state. The Cochin Chinese, when they conquered the country, removed the seat of government to Saigun, which was more conveniently situated for shipping, and they called the new city and province Ya-din-tain.
(CANAL OF HATIAN.)—-About 1820, a canal was commenced from Que-douc, on the western shore of the great river, to Athien, on the coast of the Gulf of Siam. Twenty thousand Cochin Chinese and ten thousand Kambojans were employed upon this work : it is from two to three fathoms deep. The workmen were paid at the rate of six quans per month, and it cost the Government four hundred thousand quans. No provision was made for supplying the workmen with water, so that ten thousand of them perished from thirst, hard labour, or disease. The object of this great undertaking, was to open an easy intercourse with Kamboja and Siam, by which the boats and war-galleys might convey troops without the necessity of undertaking the precarious voyage round the Cape of Kamboja.
(ELEPHANTS.)—Every Kambojan chief formerly made a trade of breeding elephants, which are sold by them to the Cochin Chinese and Siamese. Good ones fetched from fifty to one hundred quans. They are very plentiful in the upper country, at Pontai and Lao, but the present Cochin Chinese Government allows but ten quans for each elephant, which has put a stop to rearing them.
(MALAYS.)—There are a number of Malays settled on the eastern coast of the Gulf of Siam ; these are emigrants from Tringano and Patani.
(CHRISTIANS.)—I was informed by Father Francis, a Neapolitan missionary residing at Saigun, that at Cheguam, between the fort of Ya-din-tain and the town of Saigun, where he himself resided, there are twelve hundred Christians. In the province of Ya-din-tain there are in all about twenty-five thousand Christians, and a hundred churches. The pastors are three European and ten native missionaries. During the lifetime of the late King and of the Bishop of Adran, the Christian religion was much respected. It is still openly professed in the lower part of the kingdom, where the Christians have the protection and encouragetment of the Governor-General Tai-kun. They are, however, every where so poor and miserable that they have little time to attend to their religious duties. At a place called Lang, is the tomb of the Bishop of Adran. Fifty families were assigned by the late King to watch it, who are still exempted from all other duty on this account.
(BUDDHIST RELIGION.)—Between Yadin-tain and Saigun is a temple of Buddha, containing one image of that deity seven feet high, and three others of four feet each, in a sitting posture. I held conversation with the Bonzes attached to this temple, who seemed to be very ignorant; for they could tell nothing of the propagation of their religion in Cochin China, but that it had come from the western country. Behind the temple is another building, containing the names of deceased Bonzes : this was held in great veneration.
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Gibson (sứ giả Miến Điện). (2023, 17 Tháng 3). Trong Wikipedia, Bách khoa toàn thư mở. Lấy vào lúc 09:42, 17 Tháng 3 năm 2023 từ https://vi.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gibson_(s%E1%BB%A9_gi%E1%BA%A3_Mi%E1%BA%BFn_%C4%90i%E1%BB%87n)&oldid=69785743
edited Mar 17 '23 lúc 5:42 pm
