troduce some changes in those usages which the Sikhs revere; but it is probable that the spirit of equality, which has been hitherto considered as the vital principle of the Khálsa or commonwealth, and which makes all Sikhs so reluctant to own either a temporal or spiritual leader, will tend greatly to preserve their institutions from invasion; and it is stated, in a tradition which is universally believed by the Sikhs, and has, indeed, been inserted in their sacred writings, that GURU' GOVIND, when he was asked by his followers, who surrounded his death-bed, to whom he would leave his authority, replied, "I have "delivered over the Khálsa (commonwealth) to "GOD, who never dies. I have been your guide, " and will still preserve you; read the Grant'h, and "attend to its tenets; and whoever remains true to "the state, him will I aid." From these dying words of GURU' GóVIND, the Sikhs believe themselves to have been placed, by their last and most revered Prophet, under the peculiar care of God; and their attachment to this mysterious principle, leads them to consider the Khálsa (or commonwealth) as a theocracy; and such an impression is likely to oppose a very serious obstacle, if not an insuperable barrier, to the designs of any of their chiefs, who may hereafter endeavour to establish an absolute power over the whole nation.

22 Dhámes

29 35 10

73

Heavy rain in the forenoon.

Cloudy.

Very heavy rain in the night.

July

1 Baréli

V.

AN ACCOUNT OF

EXPERIMENTS

MADE AT THE

OBSERVATORY NEAR FORT ST. GEORGE,

FOR DETERMINING THE

LENGTH OF THE SIMPLE PENDULUM BEATING
SECONDS OF TIME AT THAT PLACE;

TO WHICH ARE ADDED,

Comparisons of the said Experiments,

WITH

OTHERS MADE IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE GLOBE,

AND SOME

Remarks on the Ellipticity of the Earth, as deduced from these Operations.

By CAPTAIN JOHN WARREN,

OF HIS MAJESTY'S THIRTY-THIRD REGIMENT of foot.

1. WHEN I was perusing Mr. LE GENTIL's book, entitled " Voyage dans la Mer des Indes," I noticed a passage, of which the following is a translation.* "Icannot disguise that my experiments do not seem "to agree with those made by Mr. Bouguer, "whatever be the cause: but I assert it with pleasure, that they agree with the experiments made "at Pello."

66

1

* Vol. II. page 331, where he gives an account of his experiments on the length of the pendulum at Manilla.

2. In our days, the votaries of science have been taught to clear their doubts, not by argument, but by actual investigation. Seeing two such good authorities at variance, I undertook to ascertain, by means of facts, what was the cause of this seeming discrepancy.

3. As my results have turned out very consistent with Mr. LE GENTIL'S operations at Pondicherry,* I shall give a less detailed account of my experiments than I originally had intended: not omitting however any thing essential, to prove that they have been made with sufficient care and accuracy, to deserve the attention of the Asiatic Society.

PREPARATION.

4. Much depending on the permanent length of the substance used for the pendulum of experiments, I chose, in preference to silk, a sort of string, seem-ingly of the same substance as that used by Mr. LE GENTIL, both at Manilla and Pondicherry. That gentleman describes it as a species of wild plantain tree (Bananier Sauvage) which he calls Balizier.† It is easily procured in Madras, where it comes from China and the Philippine Islands.

5. The string which I used was about roths of an inch in diameter, and a length of 5 feet 5 inches of the same weighed 4. 718 grains troy weight.‡ I suspended, for some time, a four pound weight, to

* When combining the results at Madras and Pondicherry, to obtain the length of the pendulum at the equator, the results were:By Manilla and Pondicherry 38.944860.

By Madras and Pondicherry 38.945390.

See the table at the end.

+ Vol. I. page 450.

mint.

Weighed by Mr. ROEBUCK, in the assay scales at the Madras

ì