May not the decay of Batavia, whofe chief support is the free trade of its inhabitants, be in fome measure likewife afcribed to this caufe? People well worthy of credit, who have lived for forty years and more at Batavia, have affured me that there is an inconceivable difference between the actual state of the city, with refpect to trade, and its flourishing fituation before the year 1740. Free inhabitants, who had never been in the service of the Company, ufed then to return to Europe loaden with riches, very few inftances of which occur at prefent. Here in Holland, we may in confequence plainly perceive, that there is little chance of making money at present at Batavia by private trade, and it is well known that it grows worfe from day to day.

It is true, that the Company at home are unable to reform all the abufes which have crept in from time to time in fuch an extent of territory, as they poffefs in the Indies; but they are too well acquainted with the actual ftate of Batavia; and the profperity or decay of that city, which is the centre, and as it were the pivot of all their poffeffions, is of too great and real importance to their interefts, than that they ought not to endeavour to raise it out of that languid state into which it is progreffively falling.

Another thing which is a great drawback upon the profperity of Batavia, is the unhealthinefs which has been perceived there for feveral years back. The most probable cause hereof may be fought in the great increase of the mud-banks along the fea-coaft; the water only juft covers them; or they are flooded by the tide, which, when it recedes, leaves a thick flime behind it, together with a great deal of animal

Inftead of fimple intereft, at three per cent. per annum, for twenty-feven years, we should take compound intereft, at the fame rate, for twenty-nine years, which would amount to f. 7,316,500, and the whole fum loft to the Company, during that period, by this regulation, would be f. 20,366,500 or about 1,851,500l. TR.

matter, thrown up by the fea, various kinds of blubber, and other marine productions, which immediately putrify by the burning heat, and contaminate the air, uniting with the noxious exhalations of the fwamps and moraffes near the town. The opinion that the unhealthinefs of the place may be chiefly attributed to this caufe, feems to be corroborated by the circumftance, that the ravages of fickness and death are much lefs in the upper parts of the city, which lie the fartheft from the fea, than in and near the castle, which is close to the mud-banks and fwamps. The mud thus thrown up already reaches, on the east fide of the river, more than two thoufand feet out from the dry ground.

I have already faid fomething of the province of Jaccatra; namely, that it is a poffeffion of the Company, fubdued by their arms, whofe natives are their immediate fubjects, governed by the council of India, and more particularly under the eye of the governor-general.

A perfon is appointed by the governor, under the title of commiffary of inland af fairs, who reprefents the fovereign in the interior of the country.

He adjusts all differences which arife between the native grandees, with the preknowledge of the governor-general, and exacts all penalties and fines which are laid upon them, the greatest part of the profits by which accrue to him. He is feared and respected like a prince in the interior parts, as the happiness of every individual, is almost entirely in his power.

The regents, who are his coadjutors in the administration of the land, are taken from among the natives. The first in rank, are the adapatis, to whom the government of a large diftrict is entrusted. Then follow the tommagongs who are, however, much lower in rank, having the direction over a proportionate smaller extent of country; although each of them ftands alone in his local jurifdiction. These have inghebées under them, who are as much as lieutenants, and before whom difputes of little importance between the inhabitants of their districts are fettled; yet the parties may appeal to the commiffary.

It is only when very important matters occur, in which the Company have a particular intereft, that they are brought to the cognizance of the government at Batavia, and fettled by them; but this does not often happen.

The commiffary, who refides without the city, has a guard of natives every night at his house, and twenty or twenty-four armed attendants, who are Javanese, and stand ready to execute his commands; all being in the pay of the Company.

The chief productions yielded by this province, are fugar, coffee, indigo, and cottonyarn. The revenues which the Company draw from it, amount annually to full one million of gilders.

The original letters which are written by the council of India to the Indian Princes, are compofed in the Dutch language, and figned by the governor-general, and by the fecretary, in the name of the government; but tranflations are always added, in the Malay, Javanese, or whatever other language be that of the Prince to whom the letter is addreffed. For this purpose, there are feveral tranflators at Batavia, who are well paid, and have the rank of merchants.

The letters, which are fent by the Indian Princes to the government, are written upon gold or filver flowered paper*, and are brought to the council with much

ceremony.

The

* In the eastern parts of India, paper is prepared from the bark of trees: at Ceylon, and on the adjaeent continent, the leaves of the boraffus palm tree (boraffus flabelliformis), and fometimes of the talpat

tree

The letter which the Emperor of Candy fent to the government at Batavia, after the conclufion of peace, containing the full powers of his embaffadors to negotiate concerning certain matters, which could not be adjusted at Ceylon, was written upon a leaf of beaten gold, in the shape of a cocoa-leaf; the letters were engraved upon it This leaf was rolled up, and inferted in with a steel pen, in a moft curious manner. a cylindrical cafe of gold, which was wound all round with a row of pearls, ftrung upon gold thread. This cafe was in a box of maffy gold, and this again in one of The filver, which was fealed with the emperor's great feal, impreffed in red wax. filver box was inclosed in one of ivory, which was put in a bag of rich cloth of gold; and finally, a bag of fine white linen, fealed up with the emperor's leffer fignet, encircled the whole.

When these embassadors had their audience of the council of India, they were received with extraordinary honour; all the members of the affembly standing up, both when they came in and when they went out, though without uncovering their heads. When the embaffadors left Batavia, they were each presented with a gold chain by the

council.

All goods which are carried into or out of Batavia are fubject to duties, which are levied at the bar, at the entrance of the city. Thefe, as well as the other taxes and imposts, are annually farmed out, generally to Chinese. The whole of them amount together upon an average, to 32,000 rix-dollars, or f.76,800 per month, making f.921,600 per annum*.

Of the feveral iflands which lie before Bataviat, there are no more than four which ufe of by the Company, and of these that of Onrust is the principal. This are made any ifland lies about three leagues north-weft from Batavia; it is nearly round; it rifes fix or eight feet above the furface of the water, and is of small extent, being about four thoufand eight hundred feet in circumference. In the centre of the island, and 'within a fort, confifting of four bastions and three curtains, ftand the warehouses and other buildings. On these fortifications, and on three small out-works which are conftructed at the water's edge, the walls of all which are whitened with lime, are mounted fixteen pieces of cannon, of various fizest.

In

tree (licuala fpinofa), are used inftead of paper. The leaves of both these palm trees, lie in folds like a fan, and the flips itand in need of no further preparation, than merely to be feparated, and cut fmooth with a knife. Their mode of writing upon them confifts in engraving the letters with a fine pointed fteel; and in order that the characters may be the better feen and read, they rub them over with charcoal, or fome other black fubitance. The iron point made ufe of for a pen is either fet in a brass handle, and carried about in a wooden cafe, of about fix inches in length, or else it is formed entirely of iron; and to-gether with the blade of a knife, defigned for the purpose of cutting the leaves, and making them smooth, When a single flip is not fuffifet in a knife handle, common to them both, and into which it shuts up. cient, feveral are bound together by means of a hole made at one end, and a thread on which they are ftrung. If a book be to be made, they look out principally for broad and handfome flips of talpat leaves, upon which they engrave the characters very elegantly and accurately with the addition of various figures, by way of ornament. All the flips have then two holes made in them, and are ftrung upon a filken cord, and covered with two thin lacquered boards. By means of the cords, the leaves are held even together, and by being drawn out when they are wanted to be ufed, they may be feparated from each other at pleafure. TR. About 83,800l. sterling. TR.

+ They are in all fifteen in number, and have the following names given to them: Onrut, de Kuiper, Purmerend, Engels Onruft, Rotterdam, Schiedam, Middleburgh, Amlerdam, Horn, Harlem, Edam, Enkhuizen, Alkmaar, Leyden, and Vader Smit. The two first are the innermoft, and are fronting and within fight of the city. TR.

"The fortified island of Onruft," fays Captain Parish, "is well fituated to command the channel that affords the principal passage into the road. The work upon that island was of a pentagonal form ;

its

In the year 1730, under the government of the governor-general Durven, a small church with a steeple was erected here; where fervice is performed on Sundays by a clergyman, who comes hither from Batavia, for that purpose, every week.

The Company have here ten or twelve large warehouses, which are almost always quite full of goods: pepper, japan copper, faltpetre, tin, caliatour-wood, fapan-wood, &c. They are under the direction of two administrators, who, as we have before mentioned, have very lucrative places.

On the north fide of the island stand two faw-mills; and on the fouth fide there is a long pier-head, on which are three large wooden cranes erected for the purpose of fixing mafts in fhips, or unftepping them. Three fhips can lie here behind each other, alongfide of the pier, in deep water, to be repaired, or to receive or discharge their cargoes. There is another pier a little more to the weftward, called the Japan pier, where one more fhip can lie to load or unload.

There is twenty and more feet water against the piers, and it rifes and falls about five feet once in four-and-twenty hours. All the Company's fhips that require it are hove down at the wharfs along the piers, and receive every neceffary reparation with ease and dispatch*.

The government of the island, and the direction over the repairs of fhips which take place here, is entrusted to a mafter carpenter, who has the management of every thing, except what relates to the departments of the adminiftrators of the warehoufes. His office is esteemed a very profitable one, and he has the rank of fenior merchant. Though the island is but fmall, the number of people dwelling upon it is fuppofed to be near three thoufand, among whom there are three hundred European work

men.

About fixteen hundred feet from Onruft, is the island de Kuiper, or Cooper's Ifle, which is one-third lefs in fize than the former. The Company have feveral warehouses upon it, in which coffee is chiefly laid up. There are two pier-heads, where veffels may load and discharge, at its fouth-fide. There are feveral large tamarind trees interspersed over the island, which afford an agreeable fhade. The workmen who are employed here in the day-time are fetched away at night to Onruft, and only two men remain behind as a watch, together with a number of dogs, who are remarkably fierce, fo that no one dares to fet his foot on the island at night.

To the eastward of Onrust, and at twice the distance of Cooper's Ifle, is the island Purmerend, which is half as large again as Onruft. It is planted with fhady trees; and in the centre is a building which ferves for a hofpital, or lazaretto, for perfons afflicted with the leprofy, or other incurable diseases, who are fent thither from Batavia. It is fupported by the alms of both Europeans and Javanese, but the latter contribute the largest share.

its baftions were fmall and low, not more than twelve feet the higheft; and not always connected by curtains. A few batteries were lately conftructed on the outfide of this work, that bore towards the fea. On these, and on the baltions, about forty guns were mounted, in different directions. South of this, was another island" (this must be that called de Kuiper)" at the diftance of a few hundred yards, on which two batteries, mounting together twelve guns, had been lately erected." This account dates in 1793, and proves that the Dutch have become fenfible of what is alleged in this work, page 253, that the fortifications at the mouth of the river are infufficient to protect the road. TR.

"It would be injuftice," fays Captain Cook, "to the officers and workmen of this yard, not to declare, that, in my opinion, there is not a marine yard in the world, where a ship can be laid down with more convenience, fafety, and dispatch, nor repaired with more diligence and skill." TR.

The

The island of Edam lies about three leagues north-north-east from Batavia. It is about half an hour's walk in circumference. It is very woody, and has abundance of large and ancient trees. Among them is one, the trunk of which is fo large that twenty men with their arms extended are not enough to encompafs it; its outward branches fhoot downwards, and taking root, as foon as they reach the earth, grow up again into trees; I faw fome of them that were already two feet thick; it is esteemed holy by the Javanese, and is much venerated by them*. The Company have fome warehouses on this ifland for falt; but the chief use they make of it, is as a place of exile for criminals, who are employed in making of cordage; and over whom a fhip's captain is placed as commandant.