Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-12-24
SAVANNAH MORNING NEWS. THURSDAY. DECEMBER a. 1885.

known to be criminally intimate. And,
as his mother was q Shan woman, Thee
baw is thus neither OF royal blood nor
even Of pure Burmese blood. Theebaw
never expected to be King, as there were
dozens OF half-brothers with better claims
to the throne. He aspired. however, to
wed the Princess Soopiyah Lat, the only
daughter of the Chief Queen of Meng-
Doom. AT first his suit was rejected. but
on the death of Meng-DOon the Chief
Queen decided to accept him as sOn-in-
law, and, in conspiracy with the princi-
pal Ministers. made him King. Theshe
and her daughter. who thus became Chief
Queen, persuaded Theebaw, as a matter
OF safety, to put all his other relatives,
some hundreds in number, to death.
Theebaw's principal agent in this and the
other massacres that have taken place at
Mandalay, was his former body-servant
Tindat-W loon, whom he now made his
most influential Minister. Indeed, this
creature has been the real King, in whose
hands Theebaw was only drunken pup
pet. keng-W DON has n0minally been the
Prime Minister, but his power has really
been very small. Heis man OF exalted
character, and is the most learned schOl-
ar in Burmah. He has Travelled in Eu-
rope, and almost alone of all Theebaw's
Ministers appreciated the power of Euro
pean nations. He strOve for peace and
for maintaining friendly relations with
England. But his influence counted for
nothing against that OF the ferocious and
ignorant Tindat-Woon, This last-named
worthy, by the way, is reputed to be the
richest man in Burmah, having for years
been The proprietor OF a vast system of
mbling-houses in all the large towns
and cities OF the kingdom.
LOOK AT BURMAH.
Upper Burmah. which has now been
seized by Ent land, consists Of the Valley
OF the Irrawaddy and the rolling table
lands that bound it. The population is
about 10000 900. The soil is remarkably
fertile, and there are vast forests Of teak
and other valuable woods. Among the
crops that may be grown in abundance
are wheat, corn, cotton, and sugar-cane,
as also tea and tobacco. There are mex
haustible supplies of coal, petroleum, and
rOck-salt. The ruby and sapphire mines
are the richest in the world, and amber,
copper, lead, gold, ana silver and fine
marble are found in abundance. Yet so
bad has been the government and so OPP
pressiye the taxes that famines are fire.
quent. the people are paupers, and there
are miles Of the most fertile country in the
world without an inhabitant. No won
der, as we are informed, the people hail
with Joy the advent of the British con-
querers. The principal towns and cities
of Burmah are Minhla, Pagan, Ava, Man
dalay, Myin-Gyan, and Yay-nan-gyoun,
ali on the Irrawaddy. They are all hand
some towns, well laid out, and kept in a
clearly condition. The climate of Bur-
NAH is not so trying as that Of Bengal,
and the Irrawaddy is not, Ike the Gauges,
a mere sewer of filth and floating corpses.
There are savage beasts, tigers, cheetahs,
aIaDbaufa and fnummprp tc
in the forests and jungles, and alligators
in the rivers. Ducks, flamingoes, herons,
and other fowls are plentiful. Indeed, in
natural characteristics the country COM
pares very favorably with Aracan, Pegu,
and TenasserIm, whichcOmprise what has
been known since 1862 as British Bur-
nah. And as the latter, under a good
government, is the most prosperous pro-
vince of the British Empire in India. this
newest acquisition of the Imperial Crown
will doubtless prove by no means barren
conquest.