B. R. Pearn, Corporation of Rangoon, American Baptist Mission Press, Rangoon, 1939
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This History owes its origin to the inspiration of Mr. M. M. Rafi who, during his term of office as Mayor of Rangoon in 1936, first advanced the proposal that the Corporation of this City should undertake the production of such a work. The Corporation adopted the suggestion and was kind enough to do me the honour of inviting me to compile the History.
Readers of the book will, I fear, almost inevitably be disappointed in the account of the modern city: it proved impossible, unless the book were to be overloaded with excessive detail, to do justice to all the various branches of life of a great city in modern times. Each of the departments of municipal administration, for example -- police, education, public health, etc.-- would in itself repay full treatment in a separate monograph, and there is much room for further work in these directions. Equally, changes in the physical appearance of the city, in regard to the disappearance of old buildings, would provide matter for much discussion. But within the limits of a single book, detailed treatment of these matters was not feasible; and ruthless elimination and concentration on a few major issues were found to be the only means of keeping the work within a reasonable compass.
In transliterations into English, the original form has been followed in the case of quotations, but elsewhere the forms of Burmese words employed in Harvey's History of Burma have as a rule been used, as being the most convenient for the general reader.
In the compilation of the book, I owe much to the help of Miss. L. M. Anstey of the India Office in supplying extracts from records; to Mr. J. W. Darwood for the use of photographs and maps; to Mr. Max L. Friedlander for the loan of photographs; to Mr. T. O. Morris for the use of a map; to U Set and the staff of the Rangoon Corporation for much assistance on points of detail; to the beads of commercial firms and other institutions who provided much valuable information; to the Rangoon University Library Committee for permission to reproduce illustrations from books in their possession; to the Trustees of the British Museum for permission to reproduce maps; to the Geography Department of University College, Rangoon, for aid in cartography; to the staff of the American Baptise Mission Press for their care in printing and their patience in meeting my demands and in particular to the late Mr. H. W. Smith for his kind interest and assistance; and above all to my friends and colleagues Messrs. Furnivall, Luce, Cassim and Desai, for their unfailing aid and advice. Any merits which the book may possibly possess are theirs: the faults are my own.
B. R. REARN
University College,
Rangoon
December 1938