aggeaating ffie disappointment of the adlies:»te the'continent to a total do*
feftt ; and adding:, th a t the Butch and:l%>aéiaBés’’having' joined the: repufei-
Beaps, the uttes m ia .o l tfie KngSsh.'was-not fer distant. An obscure
agent; maintained a t Rangoon hy the French, transmitted this- information
to a person of some official fmportanee at the: Birman capital,- who- inline-»
cüately piamulgated- it with an addition, that a powerful fteefciraSsÉ» its
voyage 6am. F-iancejta India; and-,1 th a t-S>ue Frnieb>ships o f wav-were
triumphantfycraizmg in the Indian seas.
This intelligence,, ■which was>asserted with confidence, was diligently improved
by the Armenian and Mussulman, merchants, who. insinuated; that,
if ojar present overtures sprung n o t from treachery-, they originated k&fead;
at die same timprenewing airèporL^-whicli.has.more than on'Gébeen-.current,
of a combination-of all the. powcrs.-of India, to deprive Great Britain of her
possessions, ire the. E a s tla n d to expel a d Europeans from.:.those, shores,
which; they were, represented; t° have.-first; visited; as; merchants, and afterwards.
invaded as. usurpers. Although: the Birmans, probably did':not;give
implicit credit to; the last: mentioned rumour, yet, the news; from Europe,;
co-operating.with their owirpride, deteroiiiaed them, to,persist- in. that arrogant
assumption, of. superiority, which. h a d hithertoi.-bepn- manifested-, rather
in-their actions,,than-by. their words-.
On the 7 th of September, Mr. W ood, in, conformi ty- with the ins t-ruc tions.
he received, waited- on the, two -senior W oongees-,- ..accompanied-,by Doctor
Buchanan, and attended by a- proportion of t-helpublic, servants. On his,
return, he addressed an official letter to me, (Appendix, .N-Ö..I-) by which.
it appears-,, that in his;reception, no. part- of the respect: due to -his*.-public
character w.as omitted ; whilst- in. the solicitude expressed, for. oür personal.,
welfare, there, was displayed the.reiined politeness.ofla.polished.court. The.
conversation that3he^he|4'>tyhh the^oongeds, whsjjoevertheless marked by
[a*ciijcuimt uju.,iwliiih,si.h\|i.il lojindujite mon. pointedly the p-recjseline
that was intended, to ,be dKawm .;
ffcjOnit-he-day-ofniyspuhliq^i^oduStion.at'thp Eotoo„'it vs?as»an omission
bop remarkabletoesCape.^fcipei .tha't'.m'spqujry.fwha&^arrhadheen-made;
respecting <t-fie, Governor-General of India,, nor in the ‘ghnversatipns which
I ,afterwards .held with thppeverAl princes ,*;was--the name of tho CoKeraor^
General ,ens© (mentioned ,by them, Suoh -however was,not fe.ehsefSlfthe
ffiteryiefW ^^weehMr. Wood asidt-he Woongees; these ministers enquired
par-lipukriy-Cetioerning .Sir,Jphn -Shore, -arid ithe younger» Wooageedesfred
to bevi-nformediaf the »extent ofothe’ .Gove rn^Gm e ra l’s authority, which;
implied, on.hfs.par>t,i.eithe# ipal>w,-.a'ssjimetf ignoBaricp,- These questions
alspf,- as» appears from .Mr, Wood/s-repdrfe,.-dSiffijn©! arise free® JfchP: ca’strafc
:^^^Sjti^(Si£|he .moment, but were all preconcerted .and methodically arranged;
the yinferenjses' therefore1 to» he deduced -from; them, were grounds:
might form a judgments .they conveyed something Sm®fe-,*than
a; presumption, ©f-the-real sentiments' enterfmned,IiespectMrg4he'/&fega®ffi'g.'
authority under whieh- I iacted-. .
There being no plausible pretext lor an v .lomgti/delay*, kpiesscd .tins».
Waongjaps to-inform me what his* -&feje^y’0 ^iaBBre:Wasi/i^ a rdm g , then
•spyesaf points whiehT hadsufemitted- to’his council^ and- intimated' the iteP
cessi-ty I-was-under of obeying, the orders o f nfy ®wnrgoverhment,; by re-:
turning as speedily, as-was consistent with the objects for which* lsdiad1.
been- d iluted. In reply to-this-application, I wasr apprized*that'the -p r e sents,
which his Birman Majesty designed tp! send' to* j^ n g a f in?i^-uwii for
those he had received* would be prepared-* on the MtfeijF September, on’
which day, if I would-come to the Eot-oo,they shouldffie&Mivered to me y