Daily national Democrat., 1858-12-25
Qallp 9lational Democrat.
BURMAH.

The Burman Empire is to certain extent
familiar to many American readers through
the missionary travels of Malcolm and the
memoirs of DIR. Judson, the Baptist missiona-
ry, who resided so many years in Burmah.
and who translated the Scriptures into the
Burmese tongue--a dialect hardly less pecu-
liar and difficult than the Japanese, to which.
indeed, if not in its vocabulary at least in it's
theory and forms of expression, it bears Ger.
tain analogy. The Burmans are remarka-
BILE people, far superior to the effeminate and
imbecile inhabitants of India, and resembling
the inese in strength of body, Intelligence
and perseverance. The English, especially
in their first war with them some forty wears
ago, found them much more formidable
enemy than any they had encountered in In
dia~ The second and recent war, which was
much more speedily concluded, resulted in
the loss by the Burmese of the great COM
mercial city of Rangoon, at the mouth of the
lrriwaddi, and, indeed, of the whole of the
ancient kingdom of Pegu, yielded up to the
British as a peace Offering
Some time ago the King Of Burmah ad-
dressed friendly letter to the President of
the United States, which drew out friendly
reply This reply on its arrival in Burmah
was received with great ceremony Proba
bly, the King of Burmah has heard that the
Americans are rivals of the British, and he
may count in case of any new collision with
them upon our friendly aid and support As
to any considerable trade with Burmah, that
seems out of the question. Not only is Bur-
nah entirely cut off from the sea by the new
English Province of Pegu, but it was that
very Province which alone produced the ar
ticles most likely to enter into foreign com
merce The King of Burmah wants, how
ever, that an American Consul should be ap-
pointed to reside at his new capital of Mande-
lay. But this Eastern potentate is little un-
reasonable in his demands, aud seems to be
little in the dark as to how things are mana
ged here in the West lie will not be salts
he'd to run his chance with other nations he
insists that if Consul be sent, he shall be ga
man of talent and good temper" lie does
not want any Of that sort of diplomatists so
much in vogue with recent Democratic Ad-
ministrations-fools sent to replenish their
empty pockets and pick quarrels, prelimina
ry to naval and military expeditlons-such
diplomatic characters, for instance, as we
have sent to Central America, New Granada
and Paragua. Perhaps however, we do the
King of Burmah wrong in saying that he
does not know how things are managed a.
mong us. From his insisting so strenuously
upon having man of talent and good tenn
per, we ought, perhaps, rather to have con
cuded that he is pretty accurately informed
as to the class of men usually sent nova days
to represent this country abroad.
We hope all compilers of gazetteers and
school geographies-and their name is legion
will take notice of the above stated fact
that Burmah has new capital, and that the
name thereof is MandeIay-otherwis accor.
ding TO the Burmese custom of giving to
cities titles of honor, Waho 6ong,ghwe.nay-
pye.dura ghyee, which signifies being inter
preted, "The great, exceedingly great glory
and place of the rising SUM-" The newspa-
pers having given this information, we hope
that the gazetteers will not for twenty years
to come continue to repeat, as they are apt
to do in similar cases, that the capital of
Burmah is Ummerapoora; and we also hope
that our school children may speedily escape
the affiiction of having this obsolete idea
stamped into their youthful memories. The
rise and fall of Oriental cities, especially the
bamboo cities of the far East, is much like
that of Jonah's gourd. They spring up in a
day and disappear in night Ummerapoo-
ra is already in ruins, while the new capital,
600 miles 10y water from Rangoon, has grown
up in almost as short time as it took the
old one to decay-N Y. Tribune.