ntest became evident to the
British on the 8th of February; and the next day, as they debouched from
the forests into the open country, they discovered the Burmese drawn up
in an inverted crescent. The British force amounted to about 2,000
men; but undismayed by the number of the enemy and strength of
their position, Sir A. Campbell pushed boldly on. The enemy was soon
overthrown; their centre was broken, and they were closely pursued
in their works, where they were routed with great slaughter; hundreds
perished by jumping into the river; and, with the exception of about
3,000 men, the whole army was dispersed. The road to wa was now opened,
and our troops pushed on to within forty-five miles of that city. There
was now no longer time for disguise, deceit, or treachery; peace must be
made, or Ava would be captured. On the evening of the 24th of February,
therefore, Mr. Price, with two ministers of state, arrived at the camp
at Yandaboo, to announce that the king and the court would come to
terms. A treaty was ratified; the Burmese government engaging to furnish
boats for the conveyance of a great part of our force to Rangoon. The
articles of peace were, that the four provinces of Arracan, and the
provinces of Mergui, Tavoy, and Zea, should be ceded in perpetuity to
the East India Company; that the Burmese government should pay one
crore of rupees by instalments; that the provinces or kingdoms of Assam,
Cachar Zeatung, and Munnipore, should be placed under princes to be
named by the British government, residents with an escort of fifty men
to be appointed at each court; that British ships should be admitted
into Burmese ports to land their cargoes free of duty, not to unship
their rudders, or land their guns; that Burmese ships should have the
same privileges in British ports; that no persons should be molested for
their opinions or conduct during the war; and that the Siamese nation
should be included in the treaty. This war was thus brought to a
close; a small band, composed of British warriors and their Indian
fellow-subjects, stood as conquerors in the centre of the great Burmese
empire. After peace had been concluded a party of officers from the
army visited wa, and were received by the humbled monarch with all due
honour. Soon after the conclusion of peace the British troops who had
maintained this unequal contest commenced their return to Rangoon; and,
subsequently, our Indian government sent an embassy to wa, at th