Page 433 - INDIANNAVYV1

HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY. 401
employ his own ship, the ' Investigator,' also fitted as a man-of-
war, in the survey of the a\Iergiu Archipelago, and the ' Research,'*
when she was not employed in the military operations. In
1825-26 Captain Crawford surveyed part of the Coast of
Arracan in the Hon. Company's armed brigs ' Sophia' and
' Freak, 't and in February, 1827, he hired the brig ' William,'
of 150 tons, and continued in her the survey of the Arracan
coast. Lord William Bentinck, on his accession to power in
1828, inaugurated a reign of retrenchment, and, unhappily, his
lordship extended his economies to the Marine Survey Depart-
ment, which was ordered to be broken up; the 'Freak* was
sold, and the 'Investigator' declared to be unseaworthy on
account of the ravages of the white ants. " Stout old Daniel
Ross," says Markham, "was urgent and importunate in
advocating a resumption of the good work; and, in 1830, he
again had two brigs, the 'Flora' and ' Sophia,' in the Mergui
Archipelago, under his assistant, Lieutenant Lloyd, while lie
himself examined the coast of Arracan.| Captain Ross did his
work with great care and regard for scientific accuracy, and it

* On January 23, 1827, the ' Research' proceeded under Captain Dillon, iu
search of the French Navigator, La Perouse. (Japtain Dillon asserted, in a
letter to the Calcutta papers, that in May, 1826, while proceeding from Valpa-
raiso to Pondicherry, he found some articles belonging to La Perouse at Tucopia,
one of the Malicolo Islands, part of the new Hebrides group. Commjdore
Hayes wrote a letter to the Calcutta i)apers, approvmg Captain Dillon's theory
and advocating the despatch of the ' Research.' In this letter the Com-
modore mentions several geographical facts connected with this portion of the
Pacific, wliich he examined in 1793-95, and in particular states that lie ascertained
that the Louisiade group forms no part of the mainland of New Gruinea. The
' Research ' first proceeded to Tasmania and Sydney, and thence to Malicolo,
where Captain Dillon succeeded in procuring certain articles said to be relics of
the great navigator. From thence he proceeded to New Zealand and Sydney,
where his arrival in January, 1828, created an extraordinary sensation. Accord-
ing to the " Sydney Gazette," the " ' Research ' was daily thronged with visitors,"
and the articles exhibited " strike conviction into the mind of the most sceptical,
and satisfy all of their undoubted identity." Captain Dillon was credited " with
the utmost praise for coolness, intrepidity, and skill" in navigating his ship.
With these relics Captain Dillon proceeded' to Calcutta, and thence made his way
to England and France. The French Monarch, considering that ho liad proved
his title to the reward promised by the Decree of the 28lh of February, 1798,
by an Ordinance dated the 22nd of February, 1829, conferred on Captain Dillon
the dignity of Knight of the Legion of Honour, and besides granted him an
indemnity of 10,000 francs and an annual pension of l.OLXJ francs, while the
Company renounced all claims to participate in these rewards.
t See " Remarks on the Coast of Ava from Tliaygin, or Pagoda Point, to the
Calventuras ; to accompany the Survey carried on ni the Hon. Company's aniiod
brigs ' Sophia ' and 'Freak,' by order of Commodore Hayes, conimandini; the
flotilla, Coast of Arracan." By Captain John Cmwford, iiouibay Marme, Cal-
cutta, the Gth of October, 182(j.
Captain Daniel Ross, the Marine Surveyor-G-eneral, in a Notiflcation, dated
Fort William, March 29, 1827, reports " having surveyed the Martaban river
from the West Point of Palo Gaun, round its norluuiu citremity, past Moulmeiu,
down as far as Long Island."
Captain Ross' MS. Sailing Directions for the Mergui Archipelaco survived
X
the general destruction of Records, and are still preserved in the Geographical
Department of the India Ollice.
VOL. L DD