this interesting subject, and trust that this part of India may benefit from the liberality which dictated the record of his intention to grant new funds when the same may be deemed expedient, and to restore to their original purpose all funds diverted from this source.

There is no doubt, that in former times, especially under the Hindoo governments, very large grants, both in money and in land, were issued for the support of learning. Considerable yeomiahs, or grants of money, now paid to Brahmins from my treasury, and many of the numerous and valuable Shotrium villages, now in the enjoyment of Brahmins in this district, who receive one-fourth, one-third, one-half, two-thirds, and sometimes the whole of their annual revenue, may, I think, be traced to this source. Though it did not consist with the dignity of learning to receive from her votaries hire, it has always in India been deemed the duty of Government to evince to her the highest respect, and to grant to her those emoluments which she could not, consistently with her character, receive from other sources; the grants issued by former Governments, on such occasions, contained therefore no unbecoming stipulations or conditions. They all purport to flow from the free bounty of the ruling power, merely to aid the maintenance of some holy or learned man, or to secure his prayers for the state. But they were almost universally granted to learned or religious persons, who maintained a school for one or more of the sciences, and taught therein gratuitously; and though not expressed in the deed itself, the duty of continuing such gratuitous instruction was certainly implied in all such grants.

But

The British Government, with its distinguished liberality, has continued all grants of this kind, and even in many cases, where it was evident that they were merely of a personal. nature. they have not, until now, intimated any intention to enforce the implied, but now dormant, condition of these grants. The revenue of the original grantee has descended without much injury to his heirs, but his talents and acquirements have not been equally hereditary; and the descendants of the original grantees will rarely be found to possess either their learning or powers of instruction. Accordingly, considerable alienations of revenue, which formerly did honor to the state, by upholding and encouraging learning, have deteriorated under our rule into the means of supporting ignorance; whilst science, deserted by the powerful aid she formerly received from Government, has often been reduc

ed to beg her scanty and uncertain meal from the chance benevolence of charitable individuals; and it would be difficult to point out any period in the history of India when she stood more in need of the proffered aid of Government to raise her from the degraded state into which she has fallen, and dispel the prevailing ignorance which so unhappily pervades the land.

At a former period, I recollect, that the Government, on the recommendation of the College Board, authorized the late Mr. Ross, then collector in the neighbouring district of Cuddapah, to establish experimental schools, with the view of improving the education of the natives; but the lamented death of that zealous and able public officer led to the abandonment of a plan to which his talents and popularity in the country were peculiarly calculated to give success. As secretary to the College and to your Board, I was at that time a warm advocate for such experiment; and if now allowed, I should gladly attempt to superintend some arrangement of that kind in my present provincial situation.

I would propose the appointment of an able shastry from amongst the law students at the college, with an addition to his existing pay of only 10 pagodas per mensem, to be placed under me at the principal station of the district, to instruct gratuitously all who choose to attend him, in the Hindoo sciences, in the Sanscrit language, and the native school-masters in the grammar of the Teloogoo and Carnataca tongues, being those vernacular here. Such a man I have no doubt that I could soon obtain from the college; for if one with all the requisite qualifications is not at present attached to the institution, there are many that I know there who can speedily qualify themselves for it in a very short time.

Subordinate to this man, and liable to his periodical visitations, I would recommend that 17 schoolmasters in Teloogoo and Carnataca be entertained at from 7 to 14 rupees each per mensem, to be stationed at the 17 Cusba stations under each of my amildars, and liable to their supervision to teach gratuitously these languages. Their lowest pay might be fixed at seven rupees, and might be raised by fixed gradations, with the increasing number of their scholars, as high as the maximum above stated. All of these might be selected from the best informed of the present schoolmasters here; but with reference to the low state of knowledge amongst the present persons of that class, most of them will pre

alone are able to originate

'viously require instruction from the head shastry in grammar, &c. Though forbidden to demand money, all such persons should be allowed to receive any presents their scholars may offer to them, particularly those usual on entering or quitting school. The highest expence of such an institution would be 273 rupees, the lowest 154 rupees per mensem. The first expense must neces sarily be borne by Government, who and at first support such a plan. But proper steps may be taken to engage in it the aid of the more opulent classes of the community, and, if practicable, to induce them, in due time, willingly to contribute to the support of such schools. Indeed, I have little doubt that the plan would soon carry with it the united consent, and grateful approbation, of the more respectable and well informed of the inhabitants at large.

It would also greatly accelerate the progress and efficiency of such schools, if Government were to appropriate a moderate annual sum to the purpose of preparing and printing at the College press, or elsewhere, suitable books for the use of these schools, in the prose or common dialects of the Teloogoo and Carnataca languages, on the principle stated by me in a former part of the letter: these should consist of selections from the most approved native school books, tables, proverbs, &c. now in use in the country, to the exclusion, in the first instance, of all new publications whatever. Books of a popular and known character, intelligible to all who read, would thus be procurable at a cheaper rate, and in a more correct state than at present, and the teachers might be employed to dispose of them at low prices.

If public examinations once a year were instituted before the head shastry, and small premiums or badges of distinction were distributed, for the purpose of rewarding, on such occasions, those who are most advanced, a suitable effect might be produced, and a pow erful stimulus afforded to the students.

To cover the first expense of these schools, and to provide further for their gradual extension, if found advisable, without entailing any additional or new expense on Government, it might be provided that on the demise of any persons now holding yeomiahs, or alienated lands, a new inquiry be instituted; and that though the same may have been continued for more than one generation by the British Government, it be resumed, and carried to a new fund, to be termed the "School Fund," (to which the proposed expense should also be debited,) unless it is clearly stated in the body of the original

grant to be "hereditary," or the intention of the ruling power at the time to make such grant hereditary be clearly proved to the satisfaction of Government.

If an arrangement of this kind is sanctioned, I have little doubt, that in a few years the receipts from such a fund would more than counterbalance the disbursements; but even if they did not, the charge would be comparatively trifling. The enactments of the British Parliament contemplate such a charge; the known liberality of the authorities in England on this subject ensure to it sanction; the Supreme Government have set the example; and the principal functionaries in the Madras territories ought perhaps to take blame to themselves that they have waited to be called upon before they stood forth as the organ of public opinion, in a matter of such importance and universal interest. I sincerely hope that it will not, as before, be allowed to sink into oblivion; but that the information submitted by the several collectors, will enable your Board and the Government, to mature, from their suggestions, some practical or at least some experimental plan for the improvement of education, and the support of learning in Southern India.

We have much pleasure in giving insertion in our Journal to the following letter and Regulations received from the Secretary to the Royal Asiatic Society.-ED.

VI.-The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. 14, Grafton Street, Bond Street, London, March 1834.

To

The President and Members

of the Madras Literary Society

and Auxiliary Royal Asiatic Society.

GENTLEMEN.

1. I have the honor to acquaint you that an arrangement has recently been sanctioned by the Council of the Royal Asiatic Society, by which the publication of the Transactions of the Society will it is hoped be effected in a more convenient and satisfactory manner than has hitherto been the case; and this arrangement will be acted upon after the completion of the 3d Volume in quarto, of which the concluding portion is now in the press.

2. The mode intended to be adopted in future is that of publishing the Transactions of the Society in an octavo form, at intervals of three months; each number containing on an average about two

it

hundred pages of letter press; with such illustrations as may be necessary, and two of such numbers to form a volume. The contents of the quarterly part are intended to comprise, first, original essays or papers like those inserted in the quarto Transactions of the Society; secondly, abstracts of such papers as it may not be deemed necessary to print entire; thirdly, analyses of works connected with the objects of the Society, which, from their scarcity, or other causes, may be deemed proper to make more generally known; fourthly, notices of the proceedings of the Royal Asiatic Society, its Branch and Auxiliary Societies, of the Oriental Translation Committee, and other institutions, either British or Foreign, of the same nature, as far as they may be attainable; and, lastly, a record of miscellaneous information on any subject of literature, philosophy, science and art, having reference, to the East. Lists of the members; donations to the society, the Oriental Translation Fund, &c. will be given from to time as an appendix to the volumes. The publication of the work has been undertaken by a highly respectable bookseller for the society, but the entire management, control and superintendence remains with the Council as before, and will be governed by the same rules as those under which the Transactions of the society have hitherto been published, viz. Arts. LXII, LXIII, LXIV, and LXV of the printed Regulations of the Society, a copy of which is enclos

ed.

3. I shall now briefly indicate the advantages which it is presumed the new system of publishing will possess over that which has been followed up to the present time. It is assumed in the first place that the proposed plan will enable the Council to produce papers of a lighter and more diversified character than those which have appeared in the Transactions: the periods of publication also, being definite and frequent, will afford the means of rendering available many valuable contributions on matters of local or temporary, but nevertheless, of considerable importance, which have hitherto been entirely lost to the society for the want of some such channel to make them known; with respect to original communications therefore, it will be seen that much will be done in this way to remedy the inconveniences attendant on the former method of publication. The remaining divisions of the proposed arrangement are entirely new, and it is conceived that they will render the Society's Journal a repository for whatever of value or interest may require to be promulgated in connexion with the views of the Society. The researches of the learned into the history and customs of the nations of the