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Journal of an Embassy from the Governor- General of India to the Court of Ava

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Journal of an Embassy from the Governor- General of India to the Court of Ava SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 3, No. 2, Autumn 2005, ISSN 1479- 8484 Note: We include below the complete diary portion of John Crawfurd’s account of the embassy he headed to the Burmese court in 1826 and 1827, introduced by Crawfurd’s dedication. This account was originally published (with the misleading attribution of the embassy to 1827). Journal of an Embassy From the Governor-General of India to the Court of Ava, in the Year 1827, by John Crawfurd, Esq., FRS. FLS. FGS., &c. Late Envoy. With an Appendix, Containing a Description of Fossil Remains, by Professor Buckland and Mr. Clift (London: Henry Colburn, New Burlington Street. 1829). M. W. C. __________ Journal of An Embassy From the Governor- General of India to the Court of Ava John Crawfurd Civil Commissioner, Rangoon & Envoy to the Court of Ava To His Majesty King George the Fourth, May it Please Your Majesty; I humbly hope that a faithful account of barbarous countries suffering under slavery and superstition may be no unwelcome offering to the Sovereign ©2005 MICHAEL W. CHARNEY SOAS BULLETIN OF BURMA RESEARCH 637 of the greatest of free nations. In contemplating the unhappy lot of Tyrants, debased and corrupted by the absolute power which they are doomed to exercise, your Majesty may see new reason to be gratified with that constitutional exertion of authority by which you redress the grievances of your subjects, and enlarge the fabric of civil and religious liberty, for the preservation of which the illustrious House of Brunswick was called to the Throne of Great Britain. May I presume to add that the Dedication of this Work is peculiarly due to Your Majesty, inasmuch as the materials for it were collected in the service of the British Government in India, where a comparison of the condition of the people of the British territories with that of the subjects of the surrounding States, is sufficient to show the beneficial power of the English Constitution, even in its remote and faint influence; and to awaken sanguine hopes of the blessings which await your Indian subjects, when the benefits of that Constitution shall be fully and directly imparted to them under your Majesty’s paternal administration. I have the honour to be, Sire, Your Majesty’s faithful Subject, John Crawfurd September 1, 1826 I had resided at Rangoon for above six months, as Civil Commissioner on the part of the British Government, when I received instructions to proceed on an embassy to Ava. My companions were Lieutenant Chester, assistant to the Envoy; Dr. Steward, Medical Officer; Lieutenant Cox, of His Majesty’s Service, commanding the escort; Lieutenant de Montmorency, of the Quarter-Master-General’s department; and Mr. Judson, of the American Missionary Society, translator and interpreter. I had also the great advantage of the society of Dr. Wallich, Superintendent of the Government Botanical Garden at Calcutta, deputed to accompany me for the purpose of examining and reporting upon the resources of the forests of Pegu and Ava, as well as of those of our recently acquired possessions to the south of the Saluen river. SBBR 3.2 (AUTUMN 2005): 636-959 638 JOURNAL OF THE 1826-1827 EMBASSY The Diana, of about one hundred and thirty tons burthen, the first steam-vessel which ever appeared in India, and which had proved so eminently serviceable during the Burman war, was appointed for our personal accommodation. We had besides, five Burman boats for the accommodation and conveyance of some of the writers and draftsmen, our baggage, and the presents from the Governor-General to the Burmese Court. The escort consisted of twenty-eight picked grenadiers and light infantry of His Majesty’s 87th regiment, and fifteen picked Sepoy grenadiers. The Europeans of the escort were accommodated on board the steam-vessel, and the Sepoys on board the native boats. The object of the Mission is sufficiently described in my Instructions, which will be found in the Appendix. The heaviest baggage-boats having proceeded up the river some days, and three of what we supposed the lightest, a few hours before ourselves, we embarked on the Diana, on the afternoon of the 1st of September, and in the course of the evening weighed anchor and commenced our journey. We rested for the night, at a place called, by the English, Pagoda Point. This is a low tongue of land which separates, just at their confluence, the two branches of the Irawadi, those of Lain and Panlang, which form the Rangoon river. It is nearly visible from the town of Rangoon. As a military position, Pagoda Point is remarkably strong, and an enemy of any military skill or spirit might have fortified and defended it in such a manner, as to have rendered this route the only good one to the upper provinces and capital by water, quite impassable tor an invading force. The Burmans, shortly after the arrival of our army at Rangoon, had fortified it after their fashion; erecting a stockade on the Point,—one on the right bank of the Panlang, and one on the left of the Lain river, neither of which streams are here above one hundred and fifty yards broad. Sir Arichibald Campbell attacked these stockades, on the 8th of July 1824, with the gun- boats of the expedition, carrying a detachment of European and native troops. The stockades were cannonaded for some hours. This was the practice in the commencement of the war, until it was found that the Burmese wanted courage to face the close attack of the Europeans, and that they invariably took to flight when closed with. After this discovery, the mode followed was to run up to the stockades at once, place the ladders against them, and scale. A few casualties occurred in the advance; but the seating-ladders were SBBR 3.2 (AUTUMN 2005):636-959 SOAS BULLETIN OF BURMA RESEARCH 639 scarcely placed, when the Burmans abandoned their works, and except when accident prevented their escape, an occurrence which happened on a few occasions only, they sustained little loss. From the personal intrepidity of the European troops, and their physical strength, they were peculiarly well suited for this mode of attack. Neither the moral nor physical energy of the Sepoys was found so suitable. In the attack on Pagoda Point, the European soldiers had scarcely landed, when the Burmans abandoned their stockades, and took to flight. The casualties on our side were very few, nor did the Burmese sustain any considerable loss. On the same day with the attack on Pagoda Point, the 8th of July, took place one of the most important affairs of the Burmese war, an affair winch first convinced the Burmans of their infinite inferiority to European troops. The principal Burman force was encamped at Kamarot, a place about seven miles distant from Rangoon, where they had thrown up a series of stockades. The Kyi Wungyi, the commander in chief, whose tardiness in not driving the invaders out of the country was complained of at Court, had been superseded by Thaongba Wungyi, described as a brave but rash man. He had not been above three days in command of the army, when his entrenched camp was attacked at a moment when he was preparing, according to his own belief, a formidable assault on the British lines. The escalade was so sudden, that the Burmese had no time to escape, and a great number of them perished, Thaongba Wungyi himself among the number. The report of this affair at Ava, as was afterwards well ascertained, struck the Court with consternation; and then, for the first time, it seemed to repent of its rashness in entering into the war. September 3, 1826 At day-break, yesterday morning we left Pagoda Point, and in the course of the forenoon overtook the boats which had left Rangoon some hours before us, as well as a number of Burman trading- boats, that, on account of the numerous banditti which at the time infested the narrow channel of the Panlang branch of the river, were anxious to take advantage of our safe convoy. At five in the evening we readied the village of Panlang (Panleng), the place which gives name to this branch of the Irawadi. Two small branches of the river, navigable during the rains, strike off at this SBBR 3.2 (AUTUMN 2005): 636-959 640 JOURNAL OF THE 1826-1827 EMBASSY point: the one running to the East communicating with the Lain branch; and that proceeding to the West, with the river of Bassien. The village of Panlang, at present perhaps not exceeding one hundred houses, is scattered over the several points of land at the bifurcation of these streams. It was the scene of one of the most decisive victories of Alompra over the Peguans, in the year 1755. In February 1825, the place had been strongly stockaded by the Burmese; but, on the approach of General Cotton’s division, was abandoned without resistance. Several boats came alongside the steam-vessel; and among our visitors were two chiefs, who had taken an active and friendly part with, us, during the war. One of them said, that it was unsafe for him to remain in the country, and that he had every thing ready to emigrate, along with the English, to our new settlements to the south of the Saluen river. We anchored for the night a few miles above the village of Panlang. This branch of the Irawadi is notorious for being infested with swarms of musquitoes: they were extremely troublesome last night; and our servants, who had no protection against them, did not get a wink of sleep.
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