the fort and on the esplanade, mention of which would very much interest your readers at out-stations, particularly the military portion of them. Very few know that the town-hall has risen above its foundation; that the Company are building an elegant mess-room for the regiment stationed in Fort George; and that an extensive hospital is nearly completed inside that fort, for the sick of the regiment which may be stationed there. Nor do they in general know that a substantial range of tiled pendals or barracks have been built for the Sepoys of two battalions on the esplanade, on the ground formerly occupied by tents, that disfigured it. That the fish market has been removed from their immediate neighbourhood, as well as the butchers' shambles, which latter are now on a building erected on pillars in the sea. Government are also, for the convenience of the Sepoys, repairing a large tank near the Bazar gate, and surrounding it with flagstones, for them to wash their clothes on.-[Bom. Cour. July 19.

On reference to the proceedings in the Recorder's court, it will be observed, that Government have sanctioned the erection of a penitentiary at that place, capable of containing 175 prisoners. The avowed object of this building is the necessity of dividing persons merely confined for trial from those who are under sentence for crimes of which they have already been found guilty. Such a regulation is one of the highest importance, and appears to us to be intimately connected with the state of the people. We rejoice to see that all the improvements and refinements of Europe are being daily introduced into this country, and we hope, ere long, to have to announce the erection of a similar building here.Aug. 7.

CASUALTIES, &c.

Early on the morning of the 1st instant the body of an old man, a Parsee, was discovered lying in a shed at Mazogon, near Belvidere, where, we are given to understand, he kept a small shop for the sale of toddy. He had obviously been murdered, a large heavy stone having been found on his breast, and his neck exhibiting marks of violent strangulation. It is supposed that the object of the murderers was to obtain possession of a small sum of money which the poor man was known to have accumulated, and which the villains succeeded in carrying off, leaving no clue to trace them. A reward of three hundred rupees has, however, we are happy to find, been offered for the discovery of the perpetrators of this outrage, and we sincerely hope it will lead to their apprehension.— [Bom. Gaz. July 9.

The late springs, although not attended by any very severe weather, appear to have

done considerable damage along the beach surrounding Back Bay, and the sea, we are informed, has made great encroachment on the property situated in that neighbourhood. The walls and railings of several Bungalows are injured. The house formerly occupied by the late Mr. Milburn has suffered materially, and a considerable part of the garden wall has been thrown down; the Mussulmans' burialground is said to be half washed away, and the general damage amongst the cocoa-nut trees, oarts, &c. is stated to be very extensive. The monsoon, as yet, however, bas not been by any means unusually boisterous, and the rain has fallen in such quantity as, we trust, will produce a plentiful crop of grain along the coast.-[Bom. Cour. July 19.

We learn that a robbery and murder, of the most aggravated nature, had been committed on Tuesday last, near Bear Hill, in Salsette. The story is thus told. Two men had been employed by a shroff, in Bombay, to carry a quantity of money and jewels to Poonah; while on their journey they were attacked at the above-mentioned place, about six o'clock in the evening, robbed of the whole of the property, to the extent of between four and 5,000 rupees, and their bodies cut in a shocking manner; one of them is stated to have been alive when found, but the head of the other was absolutely severed from the body.

The murderers made their escape; but we are happy to learn that, through the activity of the police, several people have been apprehended upon strong grounds of suspicion; and we sincerely hope that the perpetrators of so desperate an outrage will not escape the hands of justice.—[ Bom. Cour. Aug. 2.

MONUMENT TO THE MEMORY OF STEPHEN BABINGTON, ESQ.

Our

It will probably be in the recollection of most of our readers that it was painful duty to announce in our obituary of the 8th June 1822, the melancholy decease of a much-respected member of our society, Mr. Stephen Babington, of the Civil Service; and we are sure it will be satisfactory to all who were acquainted with that lamented individual, to know that a subscription for the erection of a monument to his memory, in St. Thomas's church, set on foot by a few of his most intimate friends at this place, has received such cordial support from his fellow servants, and other friends at the presidency and subordinates, as to have enabled the gentlemen who undertook the management of the subscription to realize the sum of thirteen thousand five hundred rupees; and after reserving sufficient funds to meet the expense of erecting the monument on arrival, to remit through the liberality of

Government, who have been pleased to grant them a favourable rate of exchange, bills on the Hon. the Court of Directors for £1,425, in favour of Mr. Benjamin Babington, of Aldermanbury, the brother of the deceased, who has been requested to employ a sculptor of the first eminence in the execution of the work. [Bom. Cour. June 7.

BOMBAY SESSIONS.

July 14, 1823.-The Sessions of Oyer and Terminer commenced this day. After the usual preliminary forms, the Recorder addressed the Grand Jury nearly as follows:

Though the calendar, I am sorry to say, is rather a heavy one, both as to the number and quality of offences; yet it will require but few remarks from me, as it consists almost entirely of burglaries and larceny cases, which must have constantly come before you, gentlemen, when sitting on former Grand Juries, and with the law relating to which, therefore, you must be thoroughly acquainted. I have one or two cases, however, on which I shall presently trouble you with a few words. At present, I must request your attention to another subject, which equally falls within the line of your duties: I mean the gaol.

"As many of the gentlemen who are now present were members of the last Grand Jury, they must be aware that many alterations were recommended by them, all of them, in my opinion, most judicious. This recommendation was immediately handed by me to the Government; in answer to which, a communication has been made to the Court, that the Hon. the Governor in Council had ordered the improvements suggested to be carried into immediate effect.

"I am happy also to inform you, that another object, which, though it formed no part of the recommendation of the last Grand Jury, had yet excited its attention, as well as that of former Grand Juries, as well as that of myself when I visited the gaol, is now likely to be effected. You are, I do not doubt, aware that at present there is no classification of the criminal prisoners; those who are committed to gaol merely, or separation for safe custody till trial, and whom therefore the law considers as innocent, are usually with those who have been found guilty by a verdict of a Jury, and are confined there for punishment.

"Again, a party committed for a petty theft, or any trivial offence, is associated with those who have been convicted of the most heinous crimes, even murder: this was most improper; but, from the want of space in the old gaol, it was not easy to find a remedy. The foreman of the Jury and myself paid this subject considerable attention. We examined the gaol, and a Asiatic Journ.-No. 99.

:

plan of it but could not devise any very possible plan for remedying this abuse.I am happy, however, to say, that a remedy is now in the course of being applied, as the Court has received a communication from Government, stating that the Hon. the Governor in Council had given directions for the erection of a penitentiary, capable of containing 175 persons. certainly is a measure of the greatest utility; for you must be perfectly aware, that in many cases of the most heinous offence, imprisonment is the only punishment short of death which the Court can inflict. I

This

allude, principally, to offences committed by the European soldiery. Their transportation to New South Wales is no pu nishment; on the contrary, the expectation of such sentence has frequently operated as a motive to the commission of crimes.

It is notorious, that the hope of being sent by the judgment of the Court to a better climate than this, has actually, in many cases, prompted European soldiers to commit the most dreadful crimes; and in other instances to confess crimes which they had never perpetrated. This measure of erecting a penitentiary, which can give the Court the means of consigning convicts to imprisonment, and to an imprisonment which, for the regulations to be adopted, will operate as a punishment.

"Gentlemen, I will make a few observations also with respect to the debtor side of the gaol. Since my arrival here I have paid this subject considerable attention, in the hopes of being able to effect a diminution in the number of prisoners confined for debt, without any injury to the public. On looking to the list of debtors, I could not but be struck with some degree of astonishment at the long period for which some of the debtors tried had been imprisoned. It appears that the first debtor on the list has been in gaol since the 4th of June, in the year 1814, a period of just nine years. With respect to this injustice, if it be one, the Court has no power to remedy it, but application must be made to the Legislature. The only insolvent act which is extended to this settlement is what is commonly called the Lord's act, by which prisoners confined for debts may apply to be discharged; but on the creditors undertaking to make the debtor a certain weekly allowance, such application is to be refused; and if the creditor pays such allowance, the debtor may be confined in gaol for life. I cannot but think that it would be desirable to have an insolvent act, which should, in some degree, limit the period of imprisonment extended to this country. I am fully aware of the objections which exist to the insolvent laws as they are established in England, and that those objections would apply even more strongly to such laws in this country. I am quite 2 Q VOL. XVII.

China.-21. Glenelg, Weddell, for Madras and Bengal.-23. Bridgewater, Mitchell, for China.-27. Royal George, Ellerby, for London.-30. Ernaad, Jones, for Calcutta.

BIRTHS, MARRIAGES, AND DEATHS.

BIRTHS.

July 30. At Surat, the lady of the Rev. Wm. Fyvie, of a son.

Aug. 9. At Ahmednuggur, the lady of Capt. Laurie, of the Artillery, of a son.

12. At Belleville, the lady of Major Tucker, Dep.-Adjutant-General of the Army, of a son.

20. The lady of John Wedderburn, Esq., Civil Service, of a daughter.

21. At Tannah, Mrs. Horne, of a daughter.

24. At Sattarah, the lady of Capt. Hen. Adams, of a boy.

aware that the present insolvent act has been the source of the greatest possible frauds; that many persons, in the expectation of being discharged after a very short imprisonment, by the operation of the insolvent act, from all personal responsibility for their debts, have, without any prospect of being able to discharge them, contracted debts to a large amount; and that others, who have had property sufficient to pay their debts, have fraudulently assigned that property to others, and have gone to gaol for the mere purpose of obtaining a personal exemption from legal process. Of all this I am fully aware; but those objections go not to the principle of the insolvent laws, but to the period of imprisonment required before a debtor can apply to be discharged. Under the present insolvent act in England, a debtor may apply to be discharged after a few days, or a few weeks' imprisonment. Such a provision would be more unfit for this country than for England, inasmuch as there is here much less moral feeling, much less reliance to be placed upon oaths, much greater prevalence of fraud, and much more difficulty in the detection of it. Any insolvent act which should be extended to this country, would require a considerable period of imprisonment before the debtor should be entitled to his discharge; but I think some insolvent act, to prevent incarceration for life, would be desirable. I make these observations for the purpose of your consideration, with a view to some future measure, and not for the purpose of asking you for any present decision. I will make but one more observation on this subject, and that is, that the only ground on which imprisonment for debt can be justified at all, is either as a means of compelling payment where a party has property, or as a punishment for some fraud of the debtor."

His Lordship then made some remarks on the writ of Capias, and adverting to the constitution of the Court of Requests, observed that it did not fall within the province of the Court to alter the existing regulations, which were sanctioned by long usage; he was mainly anxious to see that those regulations were acted upon; not, as we understood his Lordship to say, that he considered the regulations of that Court faultless, but he doubted whether any improvement could be effected, constituted as that Court was.

The Grand Jury then retired.-[Bom. Cour. July 19.

-SHIPPING. Departures.

Aug. 5. Scaleby Castle, Newall, for China.-6. Asia, Pope, for Madras and Calcutta.-7. Eliza, Woodhead, for Calcutta.-20. Charles Forbes, Bryden, for

July 2. At Sattara, of a bilious fever, Lieut. John Gilbert Bird, of 1st bat. 2d regt., aged 20.

Aug. 8. At Malligaum, in Candeish, Chas. Casey, infant son of Edw. C. Casey, Serjt.-Major 1st bat. 4th N. I.

10. Of lock-jaw and malignant fever, Luzia, the wife of J. C. Monteiro, an assistant to the Marshal of the Bombay gaol.

11. Mrs. Begzada Stephanus, alias Khanumjee, relict of the late Mr. Stephanus Minas, aged 98 years. She was a native of Ispahan, and was the first Armenian of her sex that originally settled at Surat.

13. Master James Purefoy, son of Mr. E. C. Anderson, aged seven years.

At Grigon, Caroline, daughter of A. D. Souza, Esq., aged one year.

14. Ragoonath Pillajee, a respectable Hindoo of this place, and formerly a clerk in the Courier office.

15. Mrs. Mary R. M'Kenzie, aged 21 years.

At Poona, Katherine Frederica, the infant daughter of Capt. Frankland, of H. M. 20th Foot, aged nine months.

16. Colin F. S. M'Kenzie, infant son of Mr. G. C. McKenzie.

18. The infant son of Conductor John Kilkenny, Ordnance Department.

22. At Belvidere, S. H. Jones, Esq., of the Civil Service on this establishment, aged 21 years.

23. Eliza Sophia, wife of Capt. W. G. Graham, of the Country Merchant Service, aged 22 years.

Lately, at Asseergurh, the infant son of Capt. C. J. C. Davidson, Bengal Engi

neers.

CEYLON.

GOVERNMENT REGULATION. A.D. 1823.-REGULATION No. 11. For extending the Period within which the Provisions of the Twenty-sixth Regulation of the year 1822 shall be complied with in the District of Hatticaloa, till the thirty-first day of December 1823.

1. Whereas it is represented to Government, that from local causes, the enclosing with walls the wells in the district of Batticaloa, as required by the twentysixth Regulation of the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two, could not be completed within the period by the said Regulation directed:

2. It is therefore enacted by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, that the period within which it shall be incumbent on the proprietors or occupiers of land in the district of Batticaloa, in which there may be any well or wells, to secure the same in manner in and by the twentysixth Regulation of the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two, required and enacted, shall be extended till the thirty-first day of December next ensuing, and no penalty shall have effect for any breach of the said Regulation in the district of Batticaloa, until after the said thirty-first day of December next.

Given at Columbo, this third day of July, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three.

By order of the Council. (Signed) GEORGE LUSIGNAN, Secretary to Council.

MISCELLANEOUS.

THUNDER STORM AND INUNDATIONS.

We have received accounts from Matura of the most alarming effects having been occasioned by a thunder storm on the night of Saturday, the 24th May. By a letter dated the 26th inst., we learn that the river had swollen to an unusal height, and that, between the hours of eight and nine on the night of the 25th, the great bridge had given way, and all the timbers had been swept down the stream, with the exception of three arches on the side of

the Star-redoubt. Report speaks of several of the houses having been washed away; and several of the bridges in the interior having come down the river piecemeal. Some lives are said to have been lost, and property damaged to a considerable amount. The rapidity of the current was too strong to admit of a boat passing to the opposite shore, on which the town and fort are situated; and our correspondent was therefore prevented the possibility of ascertaining the extent of damage that had been sustained on that side the river. Trees and dead cattle of all descriptions have been washed down from the interior, and we fear that we shall receive accounts of this storm having been very generally felt throughout the district.

By a letter dated a day later, we learn that a thunder storm, accompanied by several showers of rain, had been again felt on the morning of the 27th: but that the river had, notwithstanding, fallen eighteen inches. At the mouth of the Matura river the flood is stated to have

occasioned great damages. An attempt was made, through the Modliar of the Morwa Corle, to open another passage to the river by the former canal, which leads from the Moorish temple parallel with the front of the fort to the sea; this attempt

proved abortive, the sea having a higher

swell there than at the mouth of the river.

[Ceylon Gaz., May 31.

We have learnt since our last, that the country in the neighbourhood of Ratnapoora has suffered materially by the late inundation's, which did so much mischief at Matura: whence, hewever, we have received no further particulars, and hope the loss of lives and property has not been great. At Ratnapoora, many buildings situated much above the usual level of the

rise of the river (the Kaloo Gangha) were for many hours several feet under water; amongst the number were the cutcherry and hospital of the station. The water began to subside on Monday the 26th. Six human lives are said to have been lost; a mother and three young children were carried away by the current, together with the hut in which they resided of the other deaths we have received no particulars. The loss in cattle and grain, and the destruction of habitations, are stated to be of an unprecedented nature.-Ibid. June 7.

We learn from Galle, that the same cause which produced the inundations in the Saffragam and Matura provinces, operated there, the Gendura river having beer swelled unprecedently, and done very con siderable damage. The poorer classes in the Galle and Matura districts have suf fered severely from the loss of property; and the Collectors have, on the part of Government, afforded such relief as was necessary.-Ibid. June 14.