The Sun.
London, England, 1822-01-12 00:00:00

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rate and correct big information by local investigation in the

.one case, and literary inquiry in the other. The history
.of ,fit
Jainisis Still a matter of speculation, as we can only 14 prespnt
s,entM•e to conclUde that about the time of the Nlahopme‘fan
_ _ _

nrasion they swayed the sceptre of Central, Western, arld

Southern India at Rajgriha, or Rajmahal in Behar; ,Pattan in

Guz.rat, and Dorasamudra near Mysore. The animosity be

tween the Jainas and the Brahmins probably contributed to fa-

cilitz:to the Zvi ussulman conqueq, and no doubt gave rise to marty
important changes in the internal transactions of Liindoost.sn.

The confirmation of these conjectures and ascertainment of the

facts arc yet to be effected.--Col. Mackenzie had collected is
numerous translations of Jain works and inscriptioni, materials
of great value for the prosecution of such an inquiry. It is to
be regretted that he was not spared to make that use of thera

which it was cine of his most cherishea purposes to affect.

The ninth volume of the Researchcs is enriched with fdriler
contributions from the same source, and a paper by Mr. C4')!e-
brooke on ancient monuments, containing Sanscrit Tbscriptipps,

compri*cs the translations zed descriptions of five of these dor,u •
tnents furnished by Major Mackenzie. Of these, Oree in Ira-

tiSular•are-of great historical value, as they fixed beyond a doubt
he dates of Hari Hara and Bucca Rago, and consequently

of the foundation of the city and empire of Vijayanagor, or

Bijnagur or Beejapore.

The temporary transfer of Col. Mackenzie's services to tha
[sland of JaVA deprived the Asiatic Society of their able

iutor. He had prepared, we are informed, a manuscript nf

great interest for the Researches, a history of the Peninsula for
some time prior to its subjugation by Mahommedan arms, but
his departure prevented him from completing it for publicatior,
Shortly after his return, his nomination to the situation of Sur-

veyor-General, and removal to this Presidency from Madras,

interrupted the prosecution of his favourite studies and deprived

the Asiatic Reearches of his further aid.—What he had not
leisure to eff;:ct himself, however, he instigated others to pz7.

form, and the last volume is chiefly indebted for a large portioa
of Its contents to communications which he was iAstrumental

bringing forward.
The Asiatic Researches is not the only work which was bc_

nefitted by Colonel Mackenzie's published literary labours.
The Asiatic Annual Register for (304 contains the following

original and very curious communications from hic pen :
A sketch of the life of Ryder All Khan.
History of the Anagoondy Rajas.
History of the Kings of Veejnagur or 13ecjanagar.
Account of the Madda Gooroos, or the teachers of tlle
hwa Vais

An account of the Batta Rajas, the Bhats or Indii•.n Bard 3.
The transactions of the Batavian Society, which he especiany
contributed to revive, also received sonic assistance from him,
to what extent we are not aware, but a long and intertati,g ac-

count of the ruins of Brambanan, originally published in that
work, was afterwards re-printed in the Asiatic Journal.
The literary productions we have thus enumerated may seem
to bear a small proportion to a whole life devoted to similar in.
quhies.—Jt was the character of Colonel Mackenzie however to ' '
be diffident of sending any thing forth to the world whilst there
seemed to be any part of- the subject susceptible of more ecr.-n-;
plete elucidatiOn. He was therefore chiefly employedin col-
lecting materials for future works,—these consisted of the re-
-1 mains of ancient Art, as statues, sculptures, and coins, and of
fac himili es of inscriptions, and copies of manuscripts. Ile' em
ployed at an immense expence various individuals to coll.!:.'.
objects of Antiquarian research throughout all parts of India,
but more especially of the Peninsula.—TheproCeedings of these
persons were regularly reported to him in English, and as they ,
were mostly men of superior shrewdness and activity, and as
their employer had the singular art of inspiring, them with ;a . ..,
portion of that zeal which animated his own mind, their reports ,
are in general highly interesting, and replete with much valua-
ble statistical, as well as antiquarian observation.. The in-
scriptions which they discovered were translated either by these
men, or learned Hindoos in .the Colonel's service. Some thou.'.
sands have been thus prepared, and convey a vast body of: s.
historical information of a more .or less authentic charae- ,
ter. The translation of the , Manuscripts would have been
a more arduous undertaking, and has not therefore been •in
general attempted ; but several of peculiar interest have
been either wholly or partially rendered into English, arid
tabular abstracts of their substance have been arranged.
—The collections thus Made through a long series of

years, and with the most unremitting perseverance, it may
inn be imagined are as extensive as important. Their aPpli-

i cation to purposes of public utility, it is to be feared, may be
frustrated by the death of their owner, but of their fitness for
-Stich a purpose-an opinion may be formed from the use to which
they have been applied by Colonel Wilks in his history of
Mysore. The early chapters of his valtiable work are composi-
principally from the contents of the Mackenzie collection, and,
as we have had an opportunity of knOwing, often in the words
of the Colonel's own unpublished compositions. Colonel Wilk%
has fully acknowledged his obligations to this source, and has
borne testimony to the high value of the collection and the li-
beral spirit of its proprietor.
The study of Antiquities may appear to those incapable of
appreciating its objects a pursuit of little interest or importance.
There are few, however, who would consent to its exclusion
from the divisions of intellectual labour, and all who have cul-
tivated the graver departments of literature have had-Occasion
to be sensible of its worth. 'To history, antiquarian rescue!
As invaluable, and if its assistance is most essential in the elu-
cidation of the early annals of modern Europe, and even of
Greece and Rome, it is infinitely more so in any attempt to
bring to light the disguised and unrecorded events of 1-lindoo
story. The state of India prior to the Mahornmedan invasion is
an utter blank. To fill up any portion of it is a 'task well
suited to literary exertion ; and for the credit of the British na-
tion, one that is peculiary incumbent on the present rulers
of Hindoostan. Its successful prosecution is hopelesinif recourse
is not hLd to such remains of antiquity' as have escaperi the
ravages of time; and to discover these, wherever found; through
so wide a tract, to bring them from the thickets and 'caverns
where they were deposited—to while them from the credulous
and ignorant earn by which they were
obstinately Withheld,
to render them accessible to the eye of 'literary curiosity, and
ultimately to elicit from them some knowledge of the unfathorp;
able obscurity 'which has hitherto enveloped the periods pr
their origin, were the cherished and honourable' purposes Of
their lamented Collector. The last of those alone has been "but
t accomplished.' It has not been granted to Colonel
•' Mackenzie to attain fully the object of ins ambition—bnt what-
-ever may be the final result, whatever may be the fate of these
precio'us materials, •he will 'ever retain the honour of having
accomplished the previous preparatory steps in a manner that
nould have faceted credit. on moans far beyond those vThi.:•ii
inightbe thought within dlr.: reach of any individual,and cf has.-
' '.ng devoted his fortur.e, his talents, and his zeal, to the accu-
rrodation of a rich hoard of information for the future use of
more fortunate, if Icy enterprising, application:"'
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