American union. [volume] (Morgantown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1855-1859, 1858-07-30
miscellaneous.
THE BURMAN EMPIRE.
Ihe me,o Capital- CivH Var in China
--attcmpted Massacre IF Foreigners:
Courtesy Of tile King, Sr.

DD~ Tho following extract from a
letter written by Rev. Il. Kincaid to
his wife, now in this country, and da-
ted Aua, March Is, 1858, furnishes
interesting facts touching the political
and religious condition of the Burman
Empire:-
About one year ago the Court was
removed from Amerapoora about seven
miles up the river new city was laid
out on an immense plain, and the con-
sequence is, large part of the popu,
latlon have pulled down their houses,
and rebuilt in the new city. Over sixty
thousand houses have been built within
the twelve months. The King has
about fifty thousand men at work on
the various public buildings and on the
walls OF the fortress. 1t is two miles
from the river to the walls, but then
ak this space is laid out in squares with
broad streets running at rig int angles,
and nowfor miles the squares are near
ly all built up. The fortress, or city
proper, IS square little more than
one and half miles on each side-in
the centre stands the Palace, around
the palace grounds is a massy brick
wall, eight feet thick and sixteen feet
high, enclosing just half mile square.
In the square is the palace, gardens,
treasury, arsenals and great court of
the empire. Some miles to the north
of the city is lake, fed by consider
able stream rising among the noun.
talns northeast. A small canal is con-
structed that brings the water of the
lake into the city and distributes it in
channels three feet broad and eighteen
inches deep on each side of the streets.
The water is abundant and excellent,
and IS used for all possible purposes,
especially for watering the streets and
gardens and bathing. 1t is an admi.
rable arrangement and a great bless
ing to the people. For drinking water,
wells are preferred.
! Back of the city, rises abruptly from
the plains picturesque range Of hills
from three hundred to six hundred feet
high. 1t is said, tho highest peak and
which Is crowned with temple and
pagtodas, is thousand feet high, but
doubt it. On the top of every high
hill in Burmah is pagoda or temple,
the larger part, however, are crumbling
down, and are the abodes of bats and
serpents. The royal order was, sLet
no dogs or priests enter the royal city,
This order | believe is literally carried
out, as far as the city proper is con-
ccrned; l have seen neither dog nor
yellow cloth within the walls. The
King has been much annoyed with the
ignorance & immortality of the priests,
and multitudes who dreaded an inves-
tlgation that was about to take place,
either fled to distant provinces or cast
aside the yellow robes. You would be
surprised to see the bricks used in the
walls and making the streets. They
are eighteen inches long, nine broad,
and three inches in thickness.
There is fearful civil war in Yuu-
an, a province of China bordering on
Burmah; so there is hardly any trade
with China this year. A few small
caravans have come in. Some months
since, the Mohammedan part of tho
population rose upon all other crccds,
and the cry was, "kill the infidels. -
Whole villages were mercilcssly slaugh-
tered, sparing neither man, woman nor
child. This fearful storm swept over
hundreds of villages, but finally the
other creeds rose in self defence, and
oeing the most numerous, resisted sue.
cessfully and at length turned the tide,
and now the waves Of death are rolling
In awful violence over that vast prov
lnce. 1t is supposed that every Mo-
hammedan will be hunted out and cut
TO pieces, that not one will be suffered
to live. 1t would seem that the day
OF vengeance in reference to the wor-
shippers of the false prophet had come.
They have shed oceans of blood in ages
past, and all in the name of religion.
All over upper India, for ten months
past they have tortured, mutilatcd x
murdered some thousands of men, wo.
men and children--all white persons
al who bore the name Of Christian of
whatever nation. For some purpose
tod has permitted this fearful suffer
ing, and slaughter Of innocent women
and children. No one who is an en-
hghtened Christian can doubt that
some great good is to follow. The word
OF COO Is to be preached, and the king.
dom of Christ is to rise.
When | reached Calcutta there'was
great anxiety about Burmab, and pco.