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HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY.           189

      correct positions of the principal projecting points, as well as
      of the islands lying in the track of vessels, were most essential
      to  the  security  of navigation,  Lien tenant McCliier confined
      himself to doing this thoroughly.  He corrected the best charts
      he could get, by means of careful observations, and made rough
      surveys of those harbours of which we were ill-informed.
        His survey of the Persian coast is contained in two sheets,
      that including the south-eastern part of the coast, from the
      entrance of the Gulf, for a distance of three hundred miles, being
      on a smaller scale than the other; such as it is, the comparative
      accuracy of the principal points, rendered it superior to any other
      then extant, though it has long  since been superseded.  The
      other sheet contains the remainder of the coast, with the prin-
      cipal channel of the Shatt-ul-Arab as far up as Bussorah, distant
      about thirty leagues from the sea  ; this place, being at that time
      the chief seat of commerce and communication between India
      and the Turkish dominions, besides possessing an establishment
      of the East India Company, was much frequented by their ships.
      Lieutenant McCluer completed his survey of the north coast, an
      extent of about five hundred miles, within the space of three
      years.  In  the course  of his progress he made drawings of
      various parts of the coast to facilitate the navigation, and wrote
      useful directions for the same  pur])ose, which latter were used
      by Captain Horsburgh,* hydrographer to the East India Com-
      pany, in the early editions of his East Indian Directory.
        Lieutenant McCluer made a ])lan of the Cove of Muscat,
      whence considerable trade was carried on to China and India,
      as well as to Bussorah and the various ports in the Gulf. From
      his surveys, together with those of Captain AVainwrigiit, ll.X.,
      in the  ' Chififonne,' the Hon. Captain  J. Maude, K.N., in the
      ' Favourite,' Lieutenant T. Tanner, and other officers of the
      Marine, a chart of the Persian Gulf was compiled and published
      hy the Admiralty in 1820, though  it was superseded by the
      surveys undertaken  in that year.  In consequence of the dan-
      gerous character of the Arabian coast, owing to tlie pirates and
      the  prevailing  winds,  this  portion of  tlie Gulf  littoral was
      avoided as much as possible by trading vessels, and nothing was
      known concerning the navigation of this coast, until man}^ years
      after this pioneer in the cause of hydrographical research had
        * The first hjdrographer to the Company was Mr. Alexander Dalrymple, wlio
      was appointed on tho8th of April, 1779, and in the same capacity to tho AihniraUy
      in 1795.  He died on the 19tli of June, 1808, a{j;ed 70, of cliagrin caused by his
       dismissal from the  latter post on the 2Sth of May preceding.  Jlr. l)alryuii)le's
       successor to the post of h_ydrogra])her to the Company was Captain Horshurgh,
       who had seryed in their shi])s in tlie East, and was admirably well fitted for tlio
       post.  In 1808, Captain Ilorsburgli published the first edition of his Directory, for
       which he received a grant of lUO guineas from the  Court, and on  the loth of
       November, 1810, he was ai)pointed Indrographer, and all charts were examiuod
       by him up to the date of his death iu 183(3.
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