Papers of David Haliburton

"The Brahminical Mode of Computing Time and generally followed in all parts of Hindostan". A paper that was presented to the Royal Asiatic Society and read by Lieutenant-Colonel James Tod at the General Meeting of the Society on 21st July 1832, under the title of "Calculation of the Variation of the Measure of Time in India". The material is handwritten in ink with pencil annotations. Also with the paper is a comment upon the paper with criticisms of Haliburton's methods, dated 19 January 1833.

David Haliburton (1774-c.1833) of Muirhouselaw, Berwickshire, who in later life lived at Bushey Grove, Hertfordshire, was a distant cousin of Sir Walter Scott though his paternal grandmother. He served in the East India Company, as a member of the Board of Revenue and was responsible for exposing the corrupt practices of Edward and John Holland who both served as Governor of Madras. They used Avadhanum Paupiah to amass forged evidence against Haliburton which ended Haliburton's career in India. However, the scheme was uncovered by Lord Cornwallis, Governor-General of India, and Haliburton exonerated. Haliburton was a founder member of the Royal Asiatic Society. He never married and was the last of the line of Haliburtons written about by Walter Scott in his Memorials of The Haliburtons.

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The Paper was received from Haliburton.

This material was catalogued by Nancy Charley, RAS Archivist, in 2022.

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The Paper was presented to the Society by David Haliburton, the author.

A description of the reading of the Paper can be found in the General Meeting Minutes for 1832. The catalogue for, and information about, the Minutes of the General Meetings can be found here.