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THE

ASIATIC JOURNAL

FOR

JANUARY 1816.

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

To the Editor of the Asiatic Journal.

the existing practice, that from the
10th of October in the same year,
letters going to and from India are
withdrawn from the former channels
of the East-India House and pri
vate hands, and brought entirely
within the cognizance of the Post
Office; where a postage of sixpence
a sheet, over and above the amount
usually charged on its transmission
inland, is to be paid. On letters in-
tended to be sent from England to
her Eastern possessions, a duty of
one-third of the rates payable on
the supposition of their being con-
veyed by regular packet-boats, is to
be paid, before the post-mark is
stamped upon them. They are then
to be put into a bag, and delivered
to persons authorized to forward
them, according to their super-
scriptions, in private vessels. Severe
penalties are to be levied on sending
or carrying
cial po

SIR, I am anxious to draw your earliest attention to a subject of the liveliest importance, not only to the great multitude of individuals concerned, but even, as I think, to some of the highest interests of the state. I refer to the late regulations concerning the conveyance of letters to and from India. At the time of my leaving Calcutta, public feeling was much excited at that place, by a view of the inevitable consequences of the new system; and considerable hopes were entertained of an early remedy through the means of the efforts known to have been already made in London. Your natural wish to render your publication, at every opportunity, serviceable to the interests of India and its connections at home, together with the near approach of the meeting of Parliament, lead me to hope that you will lose no time in contributing your aid to the removal of the evil complained of. According to the notification of the Postmaster-General, of the 17th may ember 1814, purporting to

on an Act of Parlia

Tate session, it is

His M

to se

to t

F

will

ers without the offi and the officers of oms are required or packets which board, contrary

of the Act.

oing statement it under the terms B

Under a Commercial aspect, it would be superfluous to call the attention of the reader to a work in which the Trade of India, China, and the Indian Dependencies, must always be an object of prominent regard.

The progress of Christian Missions in India (a pursuit so zealously engaged in at the present day) is also recorded in this work; while its pages are at the same time open to a liberal and candid discussion of the different opinions entertained upon that subject.

With contents thus various, and (it is ventured to be said) thus attractive, the first volume of the ASIATIC JOURNAL is now presented to the public. Encouraged by the warm approbation they have received, the Proprietors are proceeding cheerfully and zealously in their arrangements for its future progress, anxious to improve as they advance. In the meantime, they take the liberty of concluding this preface to their first volume, with an earnest request in favour of their future labours—namely, that they may be honoured by the frequent correspondence of their friends both in England and in India.

Among the principal and particular features of the present volume may be mentioned the history of the late war in Candy, the history of the late war in Nipal, with various geographical descriptions belonging to that country; several articles on the geography, history and antiquities of Java and the Eastern Islands, and a highly interesting abstract of Dr. Ainslie's account of his mission to Japan. For what is produced on these latter topics, the ASIATIC JOURNAL is principally indebted to the active and intelligent pen of Mr. Raffles, Governor of the island of Java, and President of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Batavia.

Among lighter articles may be particularized the Chinese tale of San-Yu-Low, translated by J. F. Davis, Esq. of the Hon. Company's China Establishment.

Upon subjects of science, the reader will not fail to distinguish Dr. Ainslie's important paper on the use of Balsam of Peru, in the cure of ulcers, and Dr. Horsefield's experiments and observations on the poisons of the Antshar and Tshettic, species of the vegetable poisons of Java.

THE

ASIATIC JOURNAL

FOR

JANUARY 1816.

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

To the Editor of the Asiatic Journal.

SIR,-I am anxious to draw your earliest attention to a subject of the liveliest importance, not only to the great multitude of individuals concerned, but even, as I think, to some of the highest interests of the state. I refer to the late regulations concerning the conveyance of letters to and from India. At the time of my leaving Calcutta, public feeling was much excited at that place, by a view of the inevitable consequences of the new system; and considerable hopes were enter. tained of an early remedy through the means of the efforts known to have been already made in London. Your natural wish to render your publication, at every opportunity, serviceable to the interests of India and its connections at home, together with the near approach of the meeting of Parliament, lead me to hope that you will lose no time in contributing your aid to the removal of the evil complained of. According to the notification of the Postmaster-General, of the 17th of September 1814, purporting to be founded on an Act of Parliament of the then late session, it is Asiatic Journ.-No. 1.

the existing practice, that from the 10th of October in the same year, letters going to and from India are withdrawn from the former channels of the East-India House and pri vate hands, and brought entirely within the cognizance of the Post Office; where a postage of sixpence a sheet, over and above the amount usually charged on its transmission inland, is to be paid. On letters intended to be sent from England to her Eastern possessions, a duty of one-third of the rates payable on the supposition of their being con. veyed by regular packet-boats, is to be paid, before the post-mark is stamped upon them. They are then to be put into a bag, and delivered to persons authorized to forward them, according to their super. scriptions, in private vessels. Severe penalties are to be levied on sending or carrying letters without the official post-mark; and the officers of His Majesty's Customs are required to search all ships for packets which may be found on board, contrary to the provisions of the Act.

From the foregoing statement it will be seen, that under the terms VOL. 1.

B

of the law, no letters of any description, not even one of introduction, can henceforth be carried to India, without previously paying a heavy tax. The hardship on the side of the subject, and the impolicy on that of the government, can need only to be described, in order to their being universally acknowledged.

L

Let us touch, for a moment, on the hardship, it is not too much to say-the injustice to the subject. The postage, heretofore, levied on letters transmitted by the regular packets has never been objected to, because the public were satisfied, that the security and dispatch attendant on this mode of convey ance were amply repaid by what might then have been named the insurance-fee. But it is quite different in the present case; for, here, what, under the previous circumstances, was to be considered as a rate of postage, a payment for an equivalent service, becomes a direct tax on letter-writing, independent on the cost of carriage; a heavy amount is to be submitted to, without benefit in return; and a premium is in reality paid, without acquiring the advantage of insurance. Nay, the writer must be a loser by the change; for, when packets were transmitted from the India House, they were put into the hands of respectable persons, responsible for their delivery; whereas, according to the new provisions, the persons authorized to collect letters for transmission to India, may, as it seems, entrust any individual whatever with the charge of forwarding them to their places of destination. It is true, that persons opening bags are subject to severe penalties; but, without supposing any

culpability on the part of masters or mates of vessels, it must necessarily be supposed, that these latter, on the arrival of their respective vessels, will naturally attend first to their own concerns, and thus often neglect the early delivery of the bags in their care; and, further, that intimidated by the severity of the penalty attached to a transgression of the law, they will refuse to burden themselves with packets, the conveyance of small personal benefit.

The hardship of this additional postage, for which nothing is performed, is the more serious, as that which is really paid for service done must unavoidably remain as it was. The Company has been accustomed to levy a ship-postage for the voy. ages to and from India; the office of receiving, transmitting, and distributing the contents of all packets of ship-letters continues to be exercised by the servants of the Company abroad; no expectation, therefore, can be reasonably formed of a relinquishment of the ancient charge. The ancient charge is paid for doing the duty; and the new one for doing nothing.

Thus much, Sir, for the hardship and injustice inflicted by the recent regulations upon Indian correspondence generally; but, in separating the several sorts of correspondence, we shall see peculiar grounds of complaint attached to each. It is peculiarly hard, for example, upon the merchant, who, freighting his own vessel, cannot send, free of shippostage, in that vessel itself, his letters of advice to his agents, respecting the disposal of his merchandize; an evil so much the greater, as, from the length of the passage, and consequent increased

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