A FAMOUS RUBY

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 219, 12 June 1930, Page 3

A FAMOUS RUBY

MYSTERY OF BURMA One of the unsolved mysteries of Burma is the disappearance of t'he famous Nga Mauk ruby, which King Mindon used to say was equal in value to half his kingdom. Within recent times no historical jewel has so completely vanished, writes Major C. M. Enriquez in the “Empire Review” for April. When the British troops occupied Mandalay, and King Theebaw was made prisoner, it is known that the great stone was still in the palace. The palace was looted, and many priceless objects disappeared, among them the Nga Mauk. Suspicion fell on many people, even the highest officials were not exempt. Many years afterwards, on his retirement, the baggage of one very highly-placed officer was searched at Port Said when he was on his way to England, but without success. Some rumours have it that Theebaw secreted the stone on his person, others that he had it buried, and with it the workmen who prepared its hiding place. At intervals ever since the British occupation of Burma there have been crazy treasure hunts in Ava, Mandalay, and other cities, with the object of discovering the missing jewel, but it is generally thought that it has either been cut up and disposed of long ago, or is irretrievably lost. In the old days, under the Burmese Empire, the ruby mines were the monopoly of the Kings of Mandalay, who claimed all stones above a certain size. The Shan miners at Mogok are, however, the most expert jewel thieves in the world, and they have no conscientious scruples in exercising their peculiar accomplishment. Under the Empire the punishment for theft of Royal rubies was swift and terrible; and the whole village, of which the thief was a resident, was obliterated. To-day, however, under a more benign judicial system, the trade in illicit stones is more difficult to detect, and therefore more flourishing. To-day the larger stolen stones are cut up because there is not a market for them, and those occasionally found are never without flaws. It is said, however, that the tinders of large rubies are inclined to over-estimate their value, and refuse reasonable offers, with a result that many valuable stones are hoarded up in poor cottages. Mogok lies some 60 miles from the Irrawaddy, at an elevation o£ about

4000 ft. Its population of SOOO is composed of samples of almost every Asiatic race, with a sprinkling of Europeans. Some Europeans, because of the flue climate and the beauty of the locality, have built houses at Mogok, and lived there on retirement, instead of going back to England. They find the life full of humour not unmixed with adventure. A pleasure loving community lives by its wits under severe temptation which it makes no great effort to resist. It is a town where by arrangement a ruby of no small value may be found in one’s woodheap or in' any other convenient place. For the protection of the community the Government has issued a mass of mining laws and regulations, but these only seem to add to the zest of evading* them. Anyone may take out a license for ruby mining, but it is found that those who do pay the Sinn workers to steal the stones, as not! Ing of value goes to the owner of the nt.ine. Tribute miners pay no license, but half the proceeds go to the Government It is considered that the right procedure is to keep the good stones and to surrender to the Government only bits of spiuelle and road metaL