those round the coast. At the beginning of the nineteenth century Government desired to clear the immediate neighbourhood of the fort of surrounding buildings. In carrying out the improvements it was necessary to remove the village and the church. A piece of ground upon the sea-shore further south was given as a site for the hamlet, where it now stands. The church was built to the north of Madras. There had always been a colony at this spot. To suit its needs, as well as those of the colony in the south, Government assigned a piece of waste ground beyond the limits of Georgetown for the church and also for a burial ground. Attempts have been made more than once on the part of certain bodies to dispossess the Muckwas of their property, but the grant holds good, and the attempts have been unsuccessful. All encroachments, whether in the matter of ritual or in the appropriation of their property to other uses, have been steadily resisted, and the Muckwas' church stands intact, proving that in spite of their love of peace they could be firm and deter- mined if they chose.
The Europeans were not long in discovering the utility of the caste. When the merchants wished to land the Muckwas piloted them through the surf, which was too heavy for the ship's boats. When they had established themselves ashore, the fishermen again served them, this time as porters and palanquin bearers, transporting them and their goods inland as they had transported them through the surf. The Muckwa still plies the oar in the masulah boats that carry cargo to and from the ships anchored in the harbour. The rest of the tribe continue their former occupation of fishing, which is a thriving trade in the present day. They live in huts built of mud and thatched with palm leaves. Some of the huts are circular in form, the walls being not more than four feet high, and the space within extremely
