The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-03-15

c1AiS1dio III SotIES dDCut III
constant danger Of death. and the att
thoTltles at IondOn are afraid Of the
consequences | asked the lieutenant
governor whether such q state pre-
vailed IN his realm. He replied that
it did not, saying that Burma is peace
ful throughout, and that its rapid
growth Is an evidence OF the quiet
condItlons. He says that the better
class OF Burrnans are loyal to Great
britain and n g they appreciate the
iacf that they are better off now than
they had been in the days of King
IhebaW or at any time in the past.
The sovernor spoke Of the Burmans
as men, saying that h held than II
the highest respect.
How R.rnla is Governed.
At my request his honor told me
something about the Of
the country. The lieutenant COVER
nor IS assisted hy q legislative coun-
eli Of nine members. of HON four
are noil-oficialS selected from the
mercantile community and native
chiefs The others are chosen by
the governor himself. This council
aids III making the laws and it will
be seen that the natives have an. i'm
portant part in it. Sir Herbert tells
me that many Of the highest offices
are held by Burnlans. and that the
under officials are usually natives.
Outside the council, the lieutenant
governor has a cabinet much like
that Of our President. lie has
secretaries Of the treasury, Of public
works. of railways and Of irrigation.
He has a police department, an edu-
cational department and commission
ers OF postottices, collectors Of Gus
toms and q superintendent of tele-
graphs. In fact the machinery Of
government is much like that Of any
large country.
In the Public Offices.
This city Of Rangoon is the capital
Of Burma. Manaalay, as You know.
was the place where Thiebaw lived,
but when the English ousted him they
removed the seat of rule for the whole
country to this city. Since then big
buildings have gone up to
date the offices. The secTetariat. for
structure Of two stories running
around q hollow square of several
acres. It has as many rooms as Il
of the great government buildings at
Washington. 1t contains the chief
| public departments and the place
fairly huns with the hundreds Of
! Burmese and British clerks who are
busy keeping the books of the ad-
nin~istration.
Another big building is that Of the
postotfice department. This is stu
ated IN the heart Of the city. It is a
A41s ~ - SNS VIM boI
es running around its two upper sto-
ries. The noStoffice department is I'M
der the director general OF the posts
Of India, and more Immediately I'M
der the postmaster-geLerai Of Burma.
Some of its methods are ~antiquated.
but the business is enormous and
growing. For instance. the mail
comes in from the steamers and rail
way stations in oxcarts. Nevertheless
something like 23.000, 600 letters, g.
600, 900 books and 2,0oo, 900 neWspa-
pers go through the mails every
year.
Burma has the same postal rates as
India. The ordinary letter costs q
cent and & half OF our money. and
one weighing an ounce and q half i
sent for three cents. There is q dOu-
Bile rate to Great Britain and the 9TH
er C%olonia possessions, while the post
age to other countries is about seven
cents. The postoffice manages the tel
egraphs, and the larger Of the offices
have postal savings banks connected
with them.
Villages and Their I!cadmen.
Every city III Burma outside the
capital has It's government establish
ment. There are courts il the prin-
cipal towns. and also commissioner
and deputies. who act as district mag
istrates. Judges, collectors and regis
trars,
In addition are village headmen,
who form the foundation Of the
whole governing system. They were
a part of the administration Of the
past, and they still come into close
contact with the people. IN the larger
towns there is a headman in each
ward. and in some sections he is as
sisted by certain others called elders
The ~headnen are appointed by the
people themselves, and they have the
right to call others to assist them.
They act as tax gatherers and as local
magistrates. Each IS responsible Tor
good order in his ward or village. and
he has certain rights Of punishment
No one can take up q residence IN q
village without permission Of the
headman, and bad characters may be
ordered by him to leave If he wishes
he may report them 20 distr1c'
magistrate. and direct the latter &c