APPENDIX C.

GENERAL MALCOLM'S SPEECH

On moving that Sir JAMES MACKINTOSH be requested to sit for his Bust.

GENTLEMEN,

(Delivered 13th January, 1812.)

THOUGH I am confident that any motion that is meant to do honour to Sir James Mackintosh will meet with the assent of every member of this Society, I still deem it necessary to preface that which I intend to make by a few words, which are, however, not so much intended to point out the qualities of our honorary president, as to explain those feelings and sentiments which have induced me to come forward upon this occasion.

[At the desire of Sir James Mackintosh, the passage which relates more peculiarly to himself is omitted in the present publication.]

Among the many means which our honorary president devised to give effect to his favourite object of adding to the information we already possessed of India and its inhabitants, there was none he contemplated with more confidence than the institution of this Society. He saw how much had been effected by one founded on similar principles at Bengal; and though he might have despaired, from the limited number of the members of this body, and their comparatively confined scene of action, of their ever rivalling that justly celebrated institution, he must have considered that it was honourable even to follow in such a path; and that the degree of success could not be calculated till the experiment was fairly tried. I have seen sufficient to satisfy my mind, that the hopes which he formed (upon this head) will not be disappointed. The field in which this Society has to labour, though it may appear small, will be found most productive. More approximated than any other part of British India to the shores of Arabia and Persia, and enjoying a more frequent intercourse with their inhabitants, the source of all knowledge connected with the Mahomedan religion and usages is more near and accessible. The borders of Guzerat and the deserts of Joudpore present most extraordinary races of men to your observation; among whom many singular customs in their manners, if not in their worship, may be discovered;

and there is no place in India more favourable than this to the researches of the antiquarian and Oriental scholar. The caves of Elephanta, of Salsette, of Karlee, and Ellora, are all in its vicinity; and these, with the ruins of Amedabad and other cities of former celebrity in Guzerat, offer an inexhaustible source to the curious and learned inquirer. The city of Bombay itself (I here speak from experience) presents, from its numerous population and the various persons who resort to it from every quarter, a great store of information (to those that seek it) on almost all subjects connected with the history, geography, and actual condition of the different kingdoms of Asia. It is not only from its commercial prosperity that such persons resort to it, but from its being the port to which all the inhabitants of Arabia, Persia, Mekran, and part of Affghanistan, that visit India first come; as also that by which all pass, that either go from India to these countries, or who proceed on a pilgrimage to Mecca, Kerbelah, or Nujiff. In the whole course of my inquiries regarding the present state of the different provinces of Persia, Arabia, Affghanistan, Tartary, and even China, I have always been able to find a person in this city that was either a native of, or had visited, the country regarding which I desired information. Independent of all these, the Gubers or Parsees (a complete account of whom is still a desideratum) are only to be met with in Bombay and its dependent provinces.

These great local advantages must have been contemplated by our honorary president on the first formation of this Society: he no doubt also took a just view of the qualities of those that were to turn such advantages to account; and here I am still more certain he was right. This Society is already in the possession of talents that promise it early fame, and I most earnestly hope it will gradually gain strength. I cannot refrain in this place from remarking that our ground of this hope rests upon a measure of a member of this Society, the late Mr. Duncan governor of Bombay, who, with a wisdom that does honour to his memory, has, by appointing a linguist to each native battalion, laid the foundation (if I am not greatly mistaken) of very great benefit, not only to the public service, but to Oriental literature; that is, provided those principles upon which this measure was adopted continue to be rigorously observed. The officer appointed to this station is selected from his superior proficiency in the knowledge of the language and manners of the inhabitants of India. He holds an office which, from its cmolument and respectability, is an object of desire to his equals and of hope to his juniors; his duties are very peculiar, and his mind must be of a very low stamp, if he does not aim (even after he is appointed) at further improvement.

He is not merely the correct interpreter at all military trials, and the medium through whom his commanding officer can correspond with natives of all ranks, but the person to whom a reference is naturally made on all points connected with their religion and usages, with which he is, or should be, completely acquainted. But this even is a limited view of the probable effect of the measure to which I have alluded; it is calculated to promote a spirit of improvement and knowledge among that class in which it will be most useful, because those that belong to it are likely to have the most extensive opportunities of pursuing their inquiries. The general success of the measure has (if I am rightly informed) been fully equal to what its author expected, and the Society will judge, from the rare acquirements of some of its present members (who have been bred in this school), of that accession of strength which it may hereafter expect from the same quarter.

There is no part of that plan upon which this institution is founded, which merits more admiration than that which provides for the establishment of a select and large library. This step was taken at the suggestion of the honorary president, and he looked forward with the most sanguine expectation to the effects it would produce. In this he cannot be mistaken: a spirit of curiosity and investigation will arise in proportion to the means provided for its gratification; and your most active and able members will proceed with more confidence in themselves, when they have ready reference to all that has been published on the subject which occupies their attention. This library (which will annually augment) must soon contain a collection of valuable volumes, far beyond what any individual possesses; it will be consecrated to the general diffusion of knowledge and the encouragement of literature, and cannot but tend in a very essential manner to promote the general good. Viewing it in this light, and recurring to all that I have said, I trust you will agree there is a peculiar propriety in that motion, which I shall now submit to your consideration: viz. "That Sir James Mackintosh be requested to sit for a bust to be placed in the Library of the Literary Society of Bombay, as a token of the respect and regard in which he is held by that body."

APPENDIX D.

Extract of a Letter from WILLIAM BRUCE, Esq. Resident at Bushire, to WILLIAM ERSKINE, Esq. of Bombay, dated Bushire, 26th March 1813; communicating the Discovery of a Disease in Persia, contracted by such as milk the Cattle and Sheep, and which is a Preventive of the Small Pox.

MY DEAR SIR,

WHEN I was in Bombay I mentioned to you that the cowpox was well known

in Persia by the Eliaats or wandering tribes: since my return here, I have made very particular inquiries on this subject amongst several different tribes who visit this place in the winter to sell the produce of their flocks, such as carpets, rugs, butter, cheese, &c. Their flocks during this time are spread over the low country to graze ;-every Eliaat that I have spoken to on this head, of at least six or seven different tribes, has uniformly told me, that the people who are employed to milk the cattle caught a disease, which after once having had, they were perfectly safe from the small-pox; that this disease was prevalent among the cows, and showed itself particularly on the teats: but that it was more prevalent and more frequently caught from the sheep. Now this is a circumstance that has never, I believe, before been known; and of the truth of it I have not the smallest doubt, as the persons of whom I inquired could have no interest in telling me a falsehood, and it is not likely that every one whom I spoke to should agree in deceiving; for I have asked at least some forty or fifty persons. To be more sure on the subject, I made most particular inquiries of a very respectable farmer who lives about fourteen miles from this, by name Mallilla (whom Mr. Babington knows very well), and who is under some obligations to me. This man confirmed every thing that the Eliaats had told me; and further said, that the disease was very common all over the country, and that his own sheep often had it. There be one reason for the Eliaats saying that they caught the infection oftener from the sheep than the cow, which is, that most of the butter, ghee, cheese, &c. is made from sheep's milk, and that the black-cattle yield very little, being more used for draught than any thing else. If you think this information worthy of being communicated to the Society of which I have the honour of being a member, I beg you will do it in any way you think proper.

may

LIST

THE MEMBERS

OF THE

BOMBAY LITERARY SOCIETY.