29 AUGUST 1863, Page 3

Sir Roderick Murchison, in his inaugural address to the Geographical

Section of the British Association, mentioned that Mootoo Coomaroo Swamy had communicated a paper on the "History and Migrations of the Tamil Nations of India." This gentleman would appear from his name to be himself a Tamil, but he resides in Ceylon, has been appointed a member of the Legislative Council, and was recently called to the Bar in Lincoln's Inn. Sir Roderick describes him as an accom- plished gentleman, and his paper ought to be of curious interest. If the Hindoos as they rise in the scale would examine their own traditions and monuments, they might yield most important contributions to history. European savans have to waste all their freshness in breaking the shell which conceals all Eastern knowledge, and are very apt to regard the breaking as the most satisfactory triumph. They think that to "know Tamil" is an achievement, as if people thought with their tongues.