said they were in their own
waters, whereupon the Burmese fired upon them and killed the
steersman. There were reports, then, that bodies of Burmese troops
were moving about on their side of the river, and that it was
feared they would cross over and burn some of our villages.
Accordingly, our guard at the mouth of the river was increased to
fifty men, and a few of these were posted on the island of
Shapuree.

"This island lies close to our shore and, indeed, the channel
between can be forded at low water. It has always formed part of
the province of Chittagong, and there has never been any question
raised by the Burmese as to this. However, the Viceroy of Aracan
called upon our resident here to withdraw the guard, asserting the
right of the King of Ava to the island.

"Since then letters have passed to and fro, but I hear that the
Burmese have settled the question by landing on Shapuree. One night
last week they attacked our post there, killed and wounded four of
the sepoys, and drove the rest off the island. The Indian
government have put up with a great deal, rather than engage in so
costly and difficult an operation as a war with Burma, but it is
impossible that we can stand this."

The Indian government, however, used every endeavour to avert the
necessity for war; although the Rajah of Aracan lost no time in
writing a letter to the government of Calcutta, stating that he had
occupied the island of Shapuree, and that unless they submitted
quietly to this act of justice, the cities of Dacca and
Moorshedabad would be forcibly seized. In order, however, to
postpone, at any rate, the outbreak of war, the government of
Bengal resolved to give the court of Ava an opportunity to withdraw
from the position taken up. They therefore acted as if the attack
on the guard at Shapuree had been the action of the Viceroy of
Aracan alone, and addressed a declaration to the Burmese
government, recapitulating the facts of the case, pointing out that
Shapuree had always been acknowledged by Burma as forming part of
the province of Chittagong, and calling upon the government to
disavow the action of the local authorities. The Burmese considered
this, as it was in fact, a proof that the government of India was
reluctant to enter upon a contest with them; and confirmed Burma in
its confident expectation of annexing the eastern portions of
Bengal, if not of expelling the English altogether.

In the meantime, Shapuree had been reoccu