tined for the western provinces, to make themselves masters of Hindee: a knowledge of Bengalee is not less necessary to the due discharge of the duties confided to those who are employed in Bengal.

"To persons so grounded, the elegancies of polite conversation will not probably be of difficult attainment; it is certainly very desirable that you should be able to converse with a native gentleman in language which he would not himself be ashamed to use. But to understand and to be understood by the bulk of the community is a positive duty, which you cannot neglect without dishonour to yourself, without unfaithfulness to Government, without discredit to your own country, and injustice to this.

"The firm belief I entertain of the substantial advantages of the College of Fort William, and the sincere personal interest I take in its honour and prosperity, make me particularly solicitous to impress upon the minds of the gentlemen now attached to it, the importance, not only of a diligent and persevering attention to their prescribed studies, but also of cautiously avoiding all unnecessary and expensive indulgencies.

"The extravagance of some of the students has, at all periods, formed the chief ground of objection to this institution; an objection, indeed, which, if it were true to the extent which has been some times asserted, would justify the conclusion, that the benefits arising from efficient instruction in the native languages of India, were more than counterbalanced by the baneful effects of pecuniary embarrassment. I am happy to believe, that the students, during the past year, have been comparatively free from habits of extravagance and dissipation, but I cannot indulge the hope that many of them are exempt from debt.

"This subject has engaged the anxious attention of Government, whose sacred duty it is to secure those who are to be entrusted with the administration of public affairs from all undue influence in the discharge of their official functions, and to take care that they commence their public career in perfect freedom and independence.

"Arrangements are now in contemplation, which, when carried into effect, will obviate all plea of necessity on the part of the students for contracting debt; and I take this public opportunity of announcing, in the most distinct manner, that as soon as the measures in question have been brought into operation, every endeavour will be made to discourage extravagant and expensive habits, not merely by the immediate removal from Calcutta of individuals who may violate the rules, but by considering those young men in the civil service who may contract any considerable

debt, to be thereby virtually disqualified for situations of trust and emolument. The Government must reluctantly impose upon the officers of the College, and upon the gentlemen who form the College Council, the irksome, but necessary, duty of ascertaining and reporting to Government every instance in which they have reason to know that a student attached to the College is inconsiderate enough to live beyond his income, and is likely by his habits of extravagance to set an injurious example to those around him.

"I trust that it may not be necessary to apply to any individual case the rules which I shall consider it my duty to enforce, should the necessity unhappily

occur.

Awakened to a sense of the real mischief of pecuniary involvment, and aware of the sentiments with which it is regarded by the Government, young men entering the service will have no reasonable plea to palliate the folly which induces it. They may, I trust, be made sensible, that on a body such as the civil service, vested, by the operation of a peculiar system, with the possession of extensive authority, moderation and selfdenial, are peculiarly incumbent. The advantages they enjoy are justified by the security they afford for good government, they would otherwise be a burthen on the country, which it would be unjustifiable to maintain; and if, therefore, any civil servant shall be found turning the privileges of his class into the means of extravagant indulgence, he will have himself to blame if he finds in his person those privileges abridged. I rejoice in all opportunities of evincing my respect for the distinguished body to whom you belong. Their fair claims are sacred to me, and I consider it not the least of the advantages derived from the College of Fort William, that it enables the Government to discriminate eminent merit in the first dawn of public life. To promote the early career of those possessing such a title, is the most gratifying act belonging to the station I hold. You may be assured that the interest excited now will follow you into active life. I would fain hope that it may be my pleasing task to speak only the language of encomium and praise, that the good sense and virtue of the young men who may be attached to this institution, will enable me cordially to rejoice in their attainment of the high and honourable posts within their reach, and that I may be spared the painful but solemn duty of averting from the sacred interests com. mitted to our charge, the mischief and peril that must flow from the promotion of those who are unworthy of their high calling.

"I cannot omit the opportunity of congratulating you on the new advantages which the well-timed liberality of the Honourable

last, presents a list of 118 scholars, of whom forty-nine are free scholars, and sixty-nine are on the establishment.

"The report of the annual examination of the Benares College has only been lately received, circumstances having delayed it beyond the regular period. It seems probable that the interval which clapsed between the death of the late superintendent, Capt. Fell, and the nomination of his successor, has been productive of some relaxation in the discipline of that institution; the evil, however, is but temporary, and is in the course of reform; the Benares College, according to the last report, contained sixty-one day scholars, and 175 free students; making a total of 236.

"The Agra College has been established according to the principles adverted to in the last year's discourse, and is now in full operation. No particular report of the progress of the students has been yet received, nor is it to be expected that they have made any considerable advance. The establishment, however, appears to have excited much interest amongst the population, and the candidates for admission have been more numerous than the College has been able to receive; the present number of scholars is seventy-three, all stipendiary; of whom thirty-eight are engaged in the study of Persian and Arabic, and thirty-five of Sanscrit and Hindee. It has also been determined to establish a college for Mohammedans at Delhi, partly at the expense of the general fund, and partly provided for by local funds; the arrangements for this object have received the sanction of Government, and are in progress; but time has not yet permitted their being carried into effect.

"A great impediment to the progress of education in these establishments is the want of correct copies of useful books, the errors of the manuscripts to which the students are confined, which occasion much painful perplexity, and serious waste of time. In many cases, also, books of the best description are exceedingly rare. The necessity of multiplying such works, therefore, and supplying correct copies, has engaged the consideration of the Committee, and the most effective, as well as economical expedient, has been considered, that of attaching a press to the Committee for the printing of such oriental works as may be required for the public seminaries. In consequence of this determination, several founts of new types have been cast, and other materials collected, and the press, it is expected, will shortly be able to commence its operations.

"An establishment, which differs in many respects from the preceding, is the Anglo-Indian College of Calcutta, established originally by respectable members of the native community of Calcutta, Asiatic Journ. VOL. XXI. No. 122.

chiefly for the instruction of flindoo youths in the English language, in part gratuitously, and in part on the payment of a moderate charge.

"A connexion has been established between the Committee and the College, acceptable to its conductors, and calculated to maintain the institution in that efficacy which can alone entitle it to public support. The progress made in the English language at the Anglo-Indian College, as determined by the last annual public exa mination, at which the president of the General Committee presided, was, in many instances, respectable; and the dawn of an acquaintance with the elements of science was displayed. The information acquired by the students, in this latter respect, is derived from a course of lectures on natu. ral and experimental philosophy, deliver. ed by a professor attached by Government to the College, in order to render available to the seminary an apparatus of some extent, presented to it by the British Indian Society. Measures have also been sanc tioned to render this apparatus more complete, and in the continuation of the lessons to which it will be applied, it is to be expected that much useful knowlege will be imparted, and much liberal curiosity excited, by which further proficiency may be attained. In connexion with this establishment, measures have also been taken for providing a collection of useful books, both in literature and science, and other arrangements for the more advanced cultivation of both have been suggested by the Committee, which await the sanction of the Honourable the Court of Directors.*

"There are other seminaries in various parts of the country maintained by the education fund, which, although reflecting the highest credit on the benevolent inten. tions from which they sprang, have not, it is believed, realized the advantages that were anticipated from their institution. Should such be found to be the case, mea. sures will eventually be suggested for a more beneficial appropriation of the funds now applied to the maintenance of the schools in question.

"The duties of the Committee of Public Instruction are of the most elevated and important description. It is their aim to raise and strengthen the character and the understanding of the people. They seek, not only to give us more able and better agents for that important part of the civil administration of the country which devolves on natives (an object in itself of infinite importance, and one which Government will strenuously lend its co-operation and patronage to secure), but gradually

to

*The number of scholars at this seminary amounts to 175, of whom 60 are taught gratu tously, 30 are supported by the school only, a 85 contribute to the cost of their own education 2 F

to introduce our native subjects to every species of knowiedge that can enlighten their minds and improve their moral feel ings.

"It gives me the sincerest pleasure to state thus publicly, that in the proceedings of the Committee, under their respected president, I have perceived the happiest possible union of zeal and of discretion. With a just sense of the superior advantages of our own country, there is no overweening contempt of what others dearly prize. While the great objects above sketched are kept anxiously in view, and the means of introducing European science, especially, are diligently sought, there is no desire hastily to supersede what exists; no attempt, abruptly, to introduce improve. ments before the way is paved for their reception; no ambition to anticipate what must be the work of time, for the vain indulgence of a personal triumph. Their attention to the feelings and prejudices of the natives appears to have gained, as it deserved, their fullest confidence and their policy, being the simple one of candour and conciliation, can scarcely fail to secure the safe and certain attainment of their salutary ends.

"In noticing the progress of the institutions for the encouragement of education amongst the natives, it is proper to advert to the school founded by Government in the year 1822, for the instruction of Hindoos and Mahomedans in medical knowledge.

"The management of the institution has been confided to the zealous and able superintendence of Dr. Breton, and that gentleman has already prepare, in the native languages, various essays and short treatises, calculated, not only to promote the instruction of the pupils under his charge, but gradually to disseminate amongst the natives of India a highly useful knowledge of the principles of medical science.

"A list of the works which have been hitherto completed by Dr. Breton, will be inserted in the Appendix.

"It is impossible to quit the subject of the measures taken for the diffusion of education, without adverting to the meritorious interest exhibited by two native gentlemen on this important subject: Raja Calisunker Ghosal and Raja Hurrinath Rai, have placed at the disposal of 'the General Committee, severally, the sums of 20,000 and 22,000 rupees, to be applied by them in any way they may deem most conducive to the objects of the Committee : an act of liberality which does honour to the public spirit and the enlightened judgment of those from whom it emanates. It is to be hoped that the example may not be set in vain, but may point out to the elevated and opulent the path by which they may best befriend their

countrymen, and perpetuate their own reputation. The means at the distribution of any Government must be always inadequate to the education of a people, but they are especially disproportionate in a country where the demand is so general as in India, and where the endowments that had accumulated through successive years have been wholly swept away by public disorganization, or diverted from their purpose by private cupidity. It is now necessary to begin again, and whatever success may be attained by the efforts of the ruling power, it must necessarily be limited and partial, unless those efforts are seconded by enlightened individuals, and finally crowned by the concurrence and exertions of all."

APPENDIX.

Works in the Native Languages, or connected with Eastern Learning and Literature, lately published or now preparing for Publication.

A Dictionary of the Bengalee Language, by the Reverend and Learned Dr. Carey, consisting of 2,160 closely-printed quarto pages, in which the derivations and various meanings of all the words in the language, used either in writing or for colloquial purposes, are traced and given. This long desired and laborious work, in the compilation of which Dr. Carey was employed for a period of ten years, will supply the wants, and surpass the expectations of every student of that highly useful language.

An English and Burman Vocabulary, preceded by a concise Grammar of the Language, in which the pronunciation of the words is exhibited in both Burmese and English characters, by the Rev. Mr. F. Hough.

Another Vocabulary, Burman and English, is under preparation, and will shortly be published, by the Rev. Mr. Wade.

A Vocabulary of the Turkish Words that occur in Persian Authors; comprised in 250 octavo pages; by Molowee Abdoor Ruheem. A very use. ful and necessary assistant in the perusal of many Persian authors to such readers as are not in possession of Meninski, or some general lexicon, of the Turkish language.

A new and complete edition of the celebrated heroic poem the Shah Numa, of Firdoosee, by Capt. T. Macan, Persian Interpreter to his Excellency the Commander-in-Chief.

The admirers of eastern literature may at length anticipate the publication, by a gentleman eminently qualified for the task, of a correct and valuable edition of a poem which, through the revolution of more than eight centuries, has preserved the highest reputation, and which will continue to be read and admired whenever the Persian language and history are thoroughly known. A new fount of types is to be cast for the express purpose of printing the work, which will appear on the best English paper, in three large quarto volumes, each containing about 550 pages, and to the last volume will be added a life of the author, and probably some observations on the poem. The time and trouble requisite for the collation of numerous copies of such a large work as the Shah Numa, render it difficult for the editor to fix any precise date for the completion of his design, but as no pains or expense will be spared to prevent delay, he hopes to see his edition in print in two years and a half, or, at the most, in three years.

Principles and Precedents of Mahomedan Law, by W. H. Macnaghten, Esq. of the Bengal Civil Service.

The eminent qualifications, the learning, and practical experience of the author, afford ample assurance of the value of this work, which will be circulated, under the authority of Government, to all the courts of justice in the territories subordinate to this presidency.

The following is an extract from the remarks of the author prefixed to the work :

"In compiling the principles of law, contained