king bering

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]Oma lmmUA m!!%NRCH E0Ce XXIII, 11, 19:tHe depredations of arm ed bands of Arhnese who made frequcraids from Chittagong against their former home. As a result, in tyear 1794 a Burmese force crossed th e river Naaf, the boundary betweArakan and Chittagong, and cntered the bmpany's territory in searof the Magh marauders.5 Tro ops were sent to resist this violatieantiie frontier, bu t t h e incident terminated without any conflict; in twords of the Burm ese officer w hs was in command of th e invadiforce, " T h e rebellious inhabitalits of Aracan having laid that Countm t e fled t o C hittagong and tcok up their residenae there, on whi~eccasion Colonel Erskine and I, evho are both great x e n , having enquircinto the business, entered into mutual stipdaticnis9'.fj T h e stipulatiawere ?hat the Burmese would withdraw peaceably on the surrender of tlprincipal dacoits. .i

f the three men surrendered, onc escaped, but the other two anput to death with crue l tcarturea.7The action taken by Colonel Erskine on this occasion has been t)m urce of much adverse criricism. Phayre sayi that "The surrenderthese patriots must be constmed as an act u n w ~ r th yof a civilised'powhaving an armed force at command"S, an$ the criticism has also beemade that the idea was inevitably inspired in the minds of the Burmethat the fugitives had been given up through fear, and tha t any degree (violence could safely be used on the Indian frontier.9 ~ T h e inciderccrtainly established a precedent sfwhich the Burmese uere later to t?lia d w t a g e .T h e mi tions of the Arakanese csntinued, and so did their de re&tionct in Araf? an, until a t last th e Company's Go venu nen t, finding t1at iicrslations with the Government of Ava were becom ing strained , forbadf h e r immigration. T h e political situation in India was absorbin thaeaergies of the Company, and war epn th e eastern frontier would a d tth e num erous existing difficulties. I n addition, while th e Company'Government was averse to refusing refuge to the Arakanese, it was at thsame time anxious to induce the Burmese King to refuse refuge to m.French ships which might seek the prs tection of his harbours.i@ Bithough orders prohibiting imm igration were issued, they could not ipractice be enforced. When one party of irnmigrants w i s ordereto return to Arakan their leader re p l~ ed ,'' We will never return to thArracan country; if you choose to slaughter us here , we are ready to -dieiP by force to drive us away, we will o and dwell in the jungles of thBg e l t mountains, which afford shelter or wild beasts "." T h e Company'troops were sent to intercept the refugees, bu t many evaded the guard

5. B.S.P. Vols. 33, 34, 35, passim6. B.P.C. 14th August, 1799.7. Malcolrn :Politicai History of India (l826), I. p. 549.8. Phayre : Histary of B i i ~ ,p. 221.9. H. H. Wilson :Narrative 'of the Bu nt i~leWu,p. 262.10. B.P.C.2nd March, 1798.11. Maicoim, I. P. 550.


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by coming by rsea ;and in any case it was impossible to patrol the wholefrontier, lying as i t did for malay mibs in wild jungle and inaccwsiblehilb.By the y m 1798, two-thirds of the inhabitants of Arakan were saidto have deserted their native land. In sne year, 1798, a body of not lessthan ten thousand entered Chittagong, Iollowed soon after by mangmore ; and while their cornpatriots who had been longer settled thereendeavoured to assist them, they were nevertheless reduced to a conditionof the direst poverty, many having notliing to eat but reptiles and leaves.12'l'he Csnrpany's Government ot necessity provided food, and materialsfor building huts ; and also sent Captain hlrarn Cox, who had f~rmerlyacted as envoy to +s Court of Ava, to supervise the settlement of theseumfortunate people. Cox, who arrived in Chittagong in July, 1799, re-por td that twenty or thirty thousand Arakanese had entered Chittagonin the previous twelve months, and that including those who ha!previously settled there were a!l told torty or fifty thousand. The distressammg the recent arrivals was appdling, and he estimated the mortaaiiyammg the children ahne at twenty a day. The fugitives are describedae " fiying through wilds and deserts without aay preconcerteel plannwabew perishing from want, sickneas and fatigue. 'rhe road to theNaai river (which tsrms the boundary between Arracan and Chittageng)was strewed. . . .with the bodies oi the aged and decrepit, aad of matherswith iniants at the breast."13 Cox settled about ten thousand in the largeareas of waste land in Chittagong, but many had aiready dupersed morewidcly among the hilh and jungles. 'rhe chief settlement was madc atthe piace whch derived from its founder the name sf Cox's Iazaar.-lmmediately before Cox's arrival a Burmese force had enteredChittagong in pursuit of the latest body of refugees, despite the knowledgethat the Company's troops were still employed on the frontier in thevain task of trying to stop irnmigraiion. ' rhe Biirmesc repelled a smaUforce of sepoys which was aent against them, but then withdrew.In this Same year, 1799, Captain Thornas Hill was sent to Arakante enter into explanations with the Governor of that province on thesubject of the retugees,l4 The Governor was informed, in reply to bisdsmand for the surrender of the fugitives, that any known crimhalsw ~ d dbe given up if definite proof of their p i l t were produced, buth t any furtiner incursions sf burmcse troops would be treated as anrct @fwar. The Company's Government drew a sharp distinction bet-ween a peaceful immigrant and a proven dacoit, and would not surrenderthe one while it was quite willing to surrender the other. The Burmesewere unable to perceive any distrxiction between the two; and indeed itwas diihcult to estabhh such a distinction, for the great distress whichprevailed among the rocent irrnmigrants had increased the extent of

-12. Abb lm , I. P. 550-1.13. Mklaohir, I. p. 550-1.14. B,P,C.24th June, 1799.


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]Oma lmmUA m!!%NRCH E0Ce XXIII, 11, 19:tHe depredations of arm ed bands of Arhnese who made frequcraids from Chittagong against their former home. As a result, in tyear 1794 a Burmese force crossed th e river Naaf, the boundary betweArakan and Chittagong, and cntered the bmpany's territory in searof the Magh marauders.5 Tro ops were sent to resist this violatieantiie frontier, bu t t h e incident terminated without any conflict; in twords of the Burm ese officer w hs was in command of th e invadiforce, " T h e rebellious inhabitalits of Aracan having laid that Countm t e fled t o C hittagong and tcok up their residenae there, on whi~eccasion Colonel Erskine and I, evho are both great x e n , having enquircinto the business, entered into mutual stipdaticnis9'.fj T h e stipulatiawere ?hat the Burmese would withdraw peaceably on the surrender of tlprincipal dacoits. .i

f the three men surrendered, onc escaped, but the other two anput to death with crue l tcarturea.7The action taken by Colonel Erskine on this occasion has been t)m urce of much adverse criricism. Phayre sayi that "The surrenderthese patriots must be constmed as an act u n w ~ r th yof a civilised'powhaving an armed force at command"S, an$ the criticism has also beemade that the idea was inevitably inspired in the minds of the Burmethat the fugitives had been given up through fear, and tha t any degree (violence could safely be used on the Indian frontier.9 ~ T h e inciderccrtainly established a precedent sfwhich the Burmese uere later to t?lia d w t a g e .T h e mi tions of the Arakanese csntinued, and so did their de re&tionct in Araf? an, until a t last th e Company's Go venu nen t, finding t1at iicrslations with the Government of Ava were becom ing strained , forbadf h e r immigration. T h e political situation in India was absorbin thaeaergies of the Company, and war epn th e eastern frontier would a d tth e num erous existing difficulties. I n addition, while th e Company'Government was averse to refusing refuge to the Arakanese, it was at thsame time anxious to induce the Burmese King to refuse refuge to m.French ships which might seek the prs tection of his harbours.i@ Bithough orders prohibiting imm igration were issued, they could not ipractice be enforced. When one party of irnmigrants w i s ordereto return to Arakan their leader re p l~ ed ,'' We will never return to thArracan country; if you choose to slaughter us here , we are ready to -dieiP by force to drive us away, we will o and dwell in the jungles of thBg e l t mountains, which afford shelter or wild beasts "." T h e Company'troops were sent to intercept the refugees, bu t many evaded the guard

5. B.S.P. Vols. 33, 34, 35, passim6. B.P.C. 14th August, 1799.7. Malcolrn :Politicai History of India (l826), I. p. 549.8. Phayre : Histary of B i i ~ ,p. 221.9. H. H. Wilson :Narrative 'of the Bu nt i~leWu,p. 262.10. B.P.C.2nd March, 1798.11. Maicoim, I. P. 550.


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s d traders and hhermen. There was little intercouise betsrbuit k c two classes, the former refusing to leave their hiUs m d -thehtter regarding proximity to the sea as an essential of life. ,ThusW classes consisted largely of people of an unsettled and re&ssMature. 1he last census showed the Magh population as bei7 lep,than twenty-thousand ; 6,223 men, 6,200 women, 3,319 male ch' dren,and 2,292 female children; giving a total ef 18,064. The numhrof houses w ie iven as 5,962, and the total value of their property zisRs. 24,!397.20 Ffhile these figures are uscful as indicating the povertyof the people enumerated in the cemus, they are obviously of bttlevalue as an estimate of population in view of the figures of imrnigrationBven by Cox in the ear 1799. Probably the census failed to touch theYlnkabitants of theh'1s.It appears Strange that the Maghs should have been settled in thisp d c u l a r area, southern Chittagong, in sight almost of their old homs.It was aduiowledged by Cox himself that " it will be an eternal cause ofjalsuay t~ their former masters, and .. ...... their predatory incuisionsuito Arracan may provoke an inextinguishable rupture with the BunnahGovernmea" $1 and the danger should have been equally apparent tothc Company's Government. Yet this settlement was made without,it appears, any regard fer the probable consequences.For ten years, it is true, there was peace on the frontier, owing,no doubt, to the fact that the immigrant Maghs had to some extent settlcddown and no longer needed to indulge in acoities for their living; butin the ytur 1811 the troubles rccommenced on a bigger scale than ever.Thirteen years before, at the time ef the Magh migrations of 1798,an Arakanese chief who was known to the EnglYh as Moorusugeeree"had fled into Chittag~ng,followed by many adherents, for he had beenpopular with hi people. It was he who had invited King Budawpoyato seke the crswn of Arakan ;but he had quarrelled with the Burmeseand had settled, with the permissign of the Company's officeis, atHarbang. The English knew him as " Mosrusugeeree," which theythought was his name, whereas it is evidently the title Myothugyi."~~His real name was N a Than De.23 He had a son named Chin Pym,g.whs was c d l d by t e English " King-bering " or " King-buring."24Chin Pyan's own account of bis father and ef himself is as foilom:25" In 1146Mugg the country of Araccan was overrun with plunderers. Inconiequence my father addressed a letter to the King of Ava who sentan arrny suid took possession ef Arracan. The King, looking on my

20. B.S.P. 20th Irecember, 181;21. MaloQlm, I. p. 551.22. B.R.S. Journal, XII, p. 127 : Prof. Pe Maung Tin, " Bhonctics ir i a Passport'i.23. B.R.S. J o d , XV, p. 46 : Cellis & San Shwe Bu, " Arakan's Place in theCidisatienef the Bay ".34. 'I His proper appehtion was Khyen-Qran,being born after hie Mer's re(iatn(km)ba r vUit te tlie mountoin uibe n a m d Kkym ". Wilaon, p. 202,25. B.$.P. 25th Neveobr, 1812.


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448J-, BURMA RESEARCH SOC.father as a person of royal blood, put him in poaseosien 9f the G o v a -ment of Arracan, retaining only the name of sovereign to himself. i n1160 (Mug) the said King demanded from my father r queta of 20,000muskets and 40,000 men to make war on Siam. My father consentedaar fumisli the halt' ef this demand. The King was q r y at not gettingthe whde, and seized rny brother and killed km. On this account rnyf&er with his relatives and friends, and all his adherents, c~nsistingafmimt of the inhabitants of that country, emigrated. My father died.We sought refuge in the English territory, and I concealed myself atNurvung. Mr. Cox at this time came to Ramoo by order ~f the Govern-ment, q d distnbuted food and implements for cutting the jungler to allthe Mugs. They cultivated the ground and thus earnedsa subsistenct.MP.Cox made every search for me, but throtigh tke aperati~nsof mywjl destiny,. he did not find me. After the death of my father, mym o t k took everything he. possessed. I got nothing.' 'Chin Pyan's-fathei had.apparently before he fle2 to Harbang ownedan slrea0f land near the bmks sf the Naaf river, which formed the boundarybetween Indian and Burmese territory. This land derived from itsowner the m e of "Moorusugeeree ". When he fled frorn Arakan,Nga Than De had abandoned bis property ; but early in the y w 1811Chui Pyan lefc Harbang and took pbssession of it, profaring to act oagerst for a Moharnniedan, " Saddodeen Chaudry,' who had i n d u dthe CoUector of Chittagong to give him documen recognition of laisc + w n d p ,iilthough, i t would appear, the ColiecterY"id not irnow exactlywhere the lmd was.2Vhin Pyan's explanation ~f his action was t h the was distresoed for Want of food, and desired to live by cultivating t h i ~property. The land, however, had been sccupied after Nga Than De'rtligfit by a local Burmese officer, who commanded a police ~ s tat Mau--daw, and his men had Seen cultivating it. The Burmese o2Cer ccsmphidto the Governor of .,rlrakan that Chin Pyan and a number of followmarnned with spears, guns, mirnon, gunpowder, and bows and arrewa,had " placed themselves in battle array " On the Western side of the N d ,and then, having seized boats, had occupied this land and iil-trcated theeaccupanta of it. The Governor of Arakan protested against this en-cxoachment sn his territory, and Mr. P. W. Pechell, Mapstrate of Ckt-tagona;, was called upon by tke Company's Government to explain tdiesituation. His first reply, written before actual investigatisn, wu to the&ect t h t he thought the land in questicpn was on an ishnd in the N driver, lind that it had never been actualiy occupied by the Csmpany erby the B ~ ~ n i 6 9 e; but that it was locally considcred to bclong to the hm.M e r rnaking enquiriw, hswever, he reperted that the land was on theside of the frentier, and that ia occupation by the B u p e s e o hat Maungdaw was thercfore irnproper. This officer, he addtd,qprewive tyrant, who used to extort money even from British sub*

--% F#* ci;rarradfinow ef CIin 3rn)r ewuptbw of tblr land rrd f.t m~ ) ,


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king bering

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