The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1879-03-07
Bur1llall.

dis NTcdt, 0lOTlOuS, duu mOSt EAcei-
lent Majesty over land and water, Lord
of the Celestial Elephant, Master Of
many White Elephants, Possessor of
many description of Arms, and the
Fifth Founder of ReGgion-otherwise
TheeBaw, King of Burmah-has, as the
cable informs us, been getting into
trouble by numbering all the royal
Princes and their families, turning out
his new Ministers chosen to effect re-
forms, and reverting generally to the
despotic ways of his Great, Glorious,
and Most Excellent predecessors. His
father died on the 18th of September
last, though the fact OF his death was
kept secret for some time till Thee
Baw could establish himself at the capt.
tai, Mandalay. The situation was by no
means assuring, so many pretenders
were there to the crown, among them
the ex-King, overthrow in 1853, the
elder sons of the dead monarch, his
nephews, children of his brother and
heir who was assassinated in 1867, and
two rebel Princes who had fled to India,
but awaited occasion to return and re-
new their rebellion. Two of Thee
Baw's brothers, dreading assassination,
fled to the British Residency at Manda-
lay, thence made their way to Rangoon,
and finally with their suite were taken
to Calcutta, where they are now living,
pensioners in a modest way on the In
dian Government. The other royal
Princes. less fortunate, to the number
of about twenty-five, were heavily ironed
,,1n ,,, 1,a-
ing released only few hours when, I'M
der strong guard, they were taken to
the palace, where the dead King lay in
state, to make obeisance to the corpse
and furnish each lock of hair with
which before burial its hands and legs
were to be tied.
The Burmese are people OF few
vices and many virtues, and as quick to
catch new ideas and as apt to assimi-
late them as the Japanese. Their civil
ization, though imperfect, is III many
respects high. In boldness and breadth
of design, perfection of structure, and
magnificence of decoration, some of
their temples and palaces need hardly
fear comparison with European piles.
For money they use Jumps of gold, sill
yer, and lead, weighed and assayed
whenever they change hands, at cost
of p per cent, surely sufficient tax on
commerce, even leaving out the interest
rate, which is % per cent. on mortgage
and 60 on personal security. The ex-
ports are almost entirely raw, consisting
chiefly of cotton, feathers, swallows
nests, horns of the rhinoceros and
deer, sapphires, emeralds, rubies, am
Der, rice, and salt
Burmah is, at present, one OF the
finest fields for commercial enterprise III
the world, &c any keen capitalist might
soon and profitably discover.
AS for the people themselves, they
smoke necessarily but are strictly tenn
perate; they are idle because days
work provides weeks expenses, though
when employed they are industrious
and willing. Serious crimes are rare
among them, and they have neither
beggars nor paupers; they are almost
Irish in their vivacity and sense of fun,
and quite English in their passion for
such amusements as horse-racing and
boatracing, cock-6ghting, betting, box
ing, wrestling, and football; and finally
they have great popular theater, where
the drama is ~elieved by the ballet.