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EPIGRAPHIA INDICA.
[VOL. XXIV.
inscription in the wall of the kachahri (court-house) at Chingleput. He drew the attention of the Government of the province of Madras to it, suggesting at the same time that it should be trans. ferred to the Government Museum in Madras. Evidently this hint was taken, for the stone is now preserved in the aforementioned Museum.
The rectangular stone is well preserved, measures 1.40 m. by 50 c.m. and bears the follow. ing inscription in letters 3 c.m. high.
TEXT. 1 Onder de Hoek van de Flank, hier naast deser Fortificatie, aangelegt 2 door den heer, Coenraad Pieter Keller, lieutenant-dessave, en 3 ingenieur tot Colombo, ten tyde van Joannes Spite, en Philippus 4 Jacobus Dormieux, als opperhoofa, en secunde : is den eersten steen 5 gelegt, door Catharina Elizabeth Dormieux, dogter van gem: 6 Dormieux, en syn hayevrouw, Elizabeth Maria Mestral d'Meserie, 7 op den 14! May a[nn*]o 1749.
TRANSLATION. Under the corner of the flank, next to this fortress, built by Mr. Coenraad Pieter Keller, lieutenant-dessa ve of Colombo, engineer, at the time of Joannes Spits and Philippus Jacobus Dor mieux, chief and assistant, the foundation stone was laid by Catharina Elizabeth Dormieux, daughter of the mentioned Dormieux and his wife, Elizabeth Maria Mestral de Meserie, on the 14th of May Anno 1749.
So far nothing was known about its origin, but a recent search in the records of the NetherlandsEast-India Company has revealed the following facts:
In 1747 and the following years a fierce struggle was going on in the Carnatic Lowlands among the native authorities. Owing to his advanced age, Nabob Annawardi-chan (Nawab Anwar-uddin) wanted to hand over his office to his eldest son, Mahometh Mafus-chan (Mahfuz Khan), but & number of visiadors (governors) strongly opposed this wish. The managers of the Netherlands factory at Sadraspatnam (usually called Sadras for short) situated about 35 miles south of the Madras city, viz., the Under-Merchant Joannes Spits and his assistant or deputy, the book-keeper Philippus Jacobus Dormieux, approached the Netherlands governor of Coromandel, Mr. Librecht Hooreman, who resided in the castle at Negapatnam, asking his permission to build a fortress in order to be able to protect the Company's money and merchandise. The request was granted and in 1749 & small garrison was drafted from Negapatnam into Sadras, consisting of 1 sergeant-major, 2 corporals, 1 oonstable, 6 musketeers and 12 common soldiers, armed with a number of small guns. At the same time an order was placed for the building of a small fortress, which was erected by an engineer, named Coenraad Pieter Keller, "borrowed " for this purpose from the governor of Ceylon. The building was started in 1749, the memorial slab referred to was placed in it and towards the end of the same year the fortress was completed. A report was forwarded to the High Government in Batavia, who sent a message of thanks and satisfaction to Spits, for his tactful action through wbich he had succeeded in obtaining permission from the native ruler to build the fortress, and by way of reward promoted him to the rank of Mercbant. Keller, however, came in for & rebuke, because he had built the fortress in so grand a style that the cost of it stood the Government in over 10,000 gold pagodas.
