Trade and travel in the Far East
by G. F. Davidson · English · Gutenberg #27014 · 456,944 chars · public domain (US)
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Trade and travel in the Far East
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States,
you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located
before using this eBook.
Title: Trade and travel in the Far East
or Recollections of twenty-one years passed in Java, Singapore, Australia and China.
Author: G. F. Davidson
Release date: October 24, 2008 [eBook #27014]
Language: English
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/27014
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRADE AND TRAVEL IN THE FAR EAST ***
TRADE AND TRAVEL
IN THE
FAR EAST;
OR
RECOLLECTIONS OF TWENTY-ONE YEARS
PASSED IN
JAVA, SINGAPORE, AUSTRALIA,
AND CHINA.
BY G. F. DAVIDSON.
LONDON:
MADDEN AND MALCOLM,
LEADENHALL STREET.
1846.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY MADDEN AND MALCOLM,
8 LEADENHALL STREET.
PREFACE.
The following pages were written to beguile the tediousness of a long
voyage from Hong Kong to England, during the spring and summer of 1844.
When I state, that the whole was written with the paper on my knee, for
want of a desk, amid continual interruptions from three young children
lacking amusement during their long confinement on ship-board, and with
a perpetual liability to be pitched to leeward, paper and all,--I shall
have said enough to bespeak from every good-natured reader a candid
allowance for whatever defects may attach to the composition. It is
necessary, however, that I should also premise, that the sketches are
drawn entirely from memory, and that the incidents referred to in the
earlier chapters, took place some twenty years ago. That my recollection
may have proved treacherous on some minor points, is very possible; but,
whatever may be the merits or demerits of the work in other respects, it
contains, to the best of my knowledge and belief, nothing but truth in
the strictest sense of that term; and, as imbodying the result of my own
personal observations in the countries visited, it may possess an
interest on that account, not always attaching to volumes of higher
pretensions.
My wanderings have been neither few nor short, and, perhaps, verify the
old proverb, that a rolling stone gathers no moss. I have crossed the
Ocean in forty different square-rigged vessels; have trod the plains of
Hindostan, the wilds of Sumatra, and the mountains of Java; have
strolled among the beautiful hills and dales of Singapore and Penang;
have had many a gallop amid the forests and plains of Australia; have
passed through the labyrinth of reefs forming Torres' Straits; and have
visited the far-famed Celestial Empire. My first idea, in endeavouring
to retrace my journeyings and adventures, was, that the personal
narrative might serve to amuse a circle of private friends. But the
notices relating to the openings for Trade in the Far East, and to the
subject of Emigration, together with the free strictures upon the causes
of the recent depression in our Australian colonies, will, I venture to
hope, be not unacceptable to those who are interested in the extension
of British commerce, and in the well-being of the rising communities
which form an integral part of the mighty Empire now encircling the
Globe.
Some parts of the work refer to coming events as probable, which have
since become matters of fact; but I have not deemed it necessary to
suppress or to alter what I had written. I am more especially happy to
find that my suggestions respecting Borneo have, to some extent, been
anticipated; and that the important discovery of its coal-mines has been
taken advantage of by Her Majesty's Government in the very way pointed
out in observations written at sea fifteen months ago. Since my arrival
in England, I have learned also, that the feasibility of the navigation
of Torres' Straits from west to east, has struck others more competent
to form a correct judgment than myself. Captain T. Blackwood, commander
of Her Majesty's ship, Fly, at present employed in surveying the coast
of New Holland, the Straits, and parts adjacent, has expressed his
determination, after refitting at Singapore, to endeavour to enter the
Pacific Ocean, during the north-west monsoon, by sailing through Torres'
Straits from the westward. I trust that this enterprising Officer will
succeed in the attempt, and thereby put beyond question the
practicability of the passage; which would not only shorten the distance
between Australia and our Indian territories, but contribute, more than
any thing else could do, to facilitate the transit of the Overland Mail
to Sydney. The Australians, I find, are still sanguinely bent upon
discovering an overland route from the present frontiers of the Colony
to Port Essington; but, although I heartily wish them success, my
opinion, as expressed in the subsequent pages, remains unaltered.
I observe, that the Singaporeans are already complaining of the
decrease of the number of square-rigged vessels that have visited their
port during the recent season, and of the falling-off of the
Chinese-junk trade, which they correctly attribute to the opening of the
trade with China; thereby verifying my predictions. I fear that they
will have still greater cause for complaint before twelve months shall
have rolled away. But the merchants of Singapore, it gives me pleasure
to add, are taking advantage of the times, by entering upon the China
trade, and seem determined not to suffer loss, if they can help it, by
the effect of Sir Henry Pottinger's famous Treaty. This is as it should
be.
With these few remarks on the motives which have induced me to write and
give to the world the following sketches, I now commit them to their
fate; trusting that they may serve to beguile an hour, to some of my
numerous friends in the different parts of the world they refer to, and
that, to the reader unacquainted with those countries, they may prove
both useful and entertaining. Before taking leave of the reader,
however, I must apologize for an unfortunate error my printer has fallen
into, (at p. 3 note), in misprinting the name of Mr. Mercus, one of the
best men that ever ruled a Colony, whether Dutch or English. This name
has been converted into Minns; and the error was not detected, till the
sheet had passed through the press.
As for the critics.--for any kind or friendly remarks they may make, I
shall feel grateful; while any of a contrary nature will neither
surprise nor displease me.
HULL, _January 1846_.
CONTENTS.
PREFACE P. i
CHAPTER I.
JAVA.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF BATAVIA--NARROW POLICY OF
THE GOVERNMENT--DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN AND
NEIGHBOURHOOD--ROADS AND POSTING SYSTEM--STATE
OF SOCIETY--CLIMATE AND SEASONS--TROPICAL FRUITS 1
CHAPTER II.
JAVA.
SAMARANG--A TIGER FIGHT--JAVA PONEYS--EXCURSION
TO SOLO--WILD SPORTS--DJOCKDJOCARTA--REMAINS OF
THE ANCIENT PALACE--IMPERIAL ELEPHANTS--EXPERIMENT
IN INDIGO-PLANTING--JAVANESE EXECUTION--A
PET BOA--ALLIGATORS--FOREST LABOUR--SLAVERY IN
JAVA--OPIUM-SMOKING--TEA--THE UPAS-TREE 16
CHAPTER III.
SINGAPORE.
ADVANTAGEOUS POSITION OF SINGAPORE--CULTIVATION
OF THE NUTMEG AND COCOA-NUT--ROADS AND SCENERY--
MOTLEY POPULATION--EUROPEAN RESIDENTS--CHINESE
EMIGRANTS--KLINGS--SAMPAN-MEN--PLACES OF
WORSHIP--TIGERS 39
CHAPTER IV.
SINGAPORE.
TRADE OF SINGAPORE--CHINESE TRADERS--BUGIS
TRADERS--SIAMESE AND COCHIN CHINESE--ARAB
SMUGGLERS--BORNEO--TRADE WITH CALCUTTA--
COMMERCIAL PROSPECTS. 53
CHAPTER V.
DUTCH SETTLEMENTS.
DUTCH SETTLEMENT OF RHIO--ISLAND OF BANCA--
BENCOOLEN--PADANG--CHINESE SLAVE-TRADE--NATIVE
TRIBES OF SUMATRA--PEPPER TRADE 73
CHAPTER VI.
MALACCA AND PENANG 94
CHAPTER VII.
CALCUTTA.
FIRST VIEW OF CALCUTTA--STATE OF SOCIETY--
MERCANTILE CHANGES--UNPLEASANT CLIMATE--SIGHTS
AT AND NEAR CALCUTTA--IMPROVEMENTS IN TRANSIT
AND NAVIGATION--CUSTOM-HOUSE NUISANCE--PILOT
SERVICE--CHARACTER OF THE BENGALEES--RIVER STEAMERS 101
CHAPTER VIII.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
VOYAGE FROM SINGAPORE TO SYDNEY--PORT JACKSON--FIRST
IMPRESSIONS PRODUCED BY SYDNEY--THE PUBLIC-HOUSE
NUISANCE--SYDNEY JURIES--CATTLE-DEALERS--TOWN
IMPROVEMENTS--LAWYERS, DOCTORS, AND CLERGY 117
CHAPTER IX.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
TOWNSHIP OF MAITLAND--THE PATERSON DISTRICT--WINTER
SPORTS--THE KANGAROO--AUSTRALIAN HUSBANDRY--CONVICT
SERVANTS--BENEFIT OF ENFORCING AN OBSERVANCE OF
SUNDAY--THE HOT SEASON 128
CHAPTER X.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
BUSH-RANGERS--THE DROUGHT OF 1838-9--THE SETTLER'S
TROUBLES--ORNITHOLOGY OF AUSTRALIA--ABORIGINAL
TRIBES 139
CHAPTER XI.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
THE HOT WINDS--PROJECTED MAIL-ROAD FROM SYDNEY
TO PORT ESSINGTON--SHEEP-FARMS--GRAZING IN
AUSTRALIA--HORSE-STOCK 155
CHAPTER XII.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
CAUSES OF THE RECENT DISTRESSES--CONDUCT OF
THE BANKS--MANIA FOR SPECULATION--LONG-ACCOUNT
SYSTEM--BAD SEASONS 169
CHAPTER XIII.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
ELEMENTS OF PROSPERITY STILL EXISTING--HINTS
TO THE COLONISTS--FUTURE PROSPECTS 182
CHAPTER XIV.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
CLASSES OF SOCIETY IN SYDNEY--DISAPPOINTMENT OF
EMIGRANTS--CHARACTERISTICS OF IRISH AND BRITISH
EMIGRANTS--AVAILABLENESS OF CHINESE
LABOURERS--AUSTRALIAN COAL MONOPOLY--TORRES'
STRAITS THE BEST PASSAGE FOR STEAMERS--BOTANY
BAY--PASSAGE FROM SYDNEY TO BATAVIA 195
CHAPTER XV.
CHINA.
DESCRIPTION OF MACAO--ITS MONGREL POPULATION--
FREQUENCY OF ROBBERIES--PIRACIES--COMPRADORE
SYSTEM--PAPUAN SLAVE-TRADE--MARKET OF MACAO--
NUISANCES--SIR HENRY POTTINGER'S REGULATION
DEFENDED--ILLIBERAL POLICY OF THE PORTUGUESE,
AND ITS RESULT--BOAT-GIRLS--BEGGARS--PICTURESQUE
SCENERY 216
CHAPTER XVI.
CHINA.
ADVANTAGEOUS POSITION OF HONG KONG--THE OPIUM
TRADE--IMPORTANCE OF THE STATION IN THE EVENT OF
A FRESH WAR--CHUSAN--HOW TO RAISE A REVENUE--
CAUSES OF ALLEGED INSALUBRITY--RAPID PROGRESS
OF THE SETTLEMENT--PICTURESQUE SCENERY--
MARKETS--SANATORY HINTS 237
CHAPTER XVII.
CHINA.
FIRST VIEW OF CANTON--DESCRIPTION OF THE EUROPEAN
QUARTER--HOSTILE FEELINGS OF THE PEOPLE--COMMERCIAL
PROSPECTS OF CANTON--AMOY--FOO CHOW--NINGPO--
SHANG-HAE--MR. MEDHURST--RESULTS OF THE TREATY
WITH CHINA 266
CHAPTER XVIII.
NECESSITY OF APPOINTING BRITISH CONSULS IN THE
SPANISH AND DUTCH COLONIES--NEW SETTLEMENT ON
THE WESTERN COAST OF BORNEO--IMPORTANT DISCOVERY
OF COAL ON THE NORTH-WEST COAST--CONCLUDING
REMARKS 287
APPENDIX I.
PLAN FOR THE ACCELERATION OF THE CHINA MAILS
(_i. e._ THEIR CONVEYANCE FROM _SUEZ viâ CEYLON_
TO _HONG KONG direct_) 303
APPENDIX II.
MEMORANDUM ON BORNEO, AND MR. BROOK'S SETTLEMENT
ON THAT ISLAND 305
TRADE AND TRAVEL IN THE FAR EAST.
CHAPTER I.
JAVA.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF BATAVIA--NARROW POLICY OF
THE GOVERNMENT--DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN AND
NEIGHBOURHOOD--ROADS AND POSTING SYSTEM--STATE OF
SOCIETY--CLIMATE AND SEASONS--TROPICAL FRUITS.
Early in the year 1823, I left England, quite a youngster, full of life
and spirits, bound for that so-called grave of Europeans, Batavia. Of my
passage out, I shall say nothing more, than that it lasted exactly five
months, and was, in point of wind and weather, similar to nine-tenths of
the voyages made to the same region.
Well do I remember the 5th of October 1823, the day on which I first set
foot on the lovely and magnificent island of Java. How bright were then
my prospects, surrounded as I was with a circle of anxious friends, who
were not only able, but willing also, to lend me a helping hand, and
who now, alas! are, to a man, gone from me and all to whom they were
dear. I was then prepared--I might say determined--to be pleased with
every thing and every body. At this distance of time, I can scarcely
remember what struck me most forcibly on landing; but I have a vivid
recollection of being perfectly delighted with the drive, in a light
airy carriage drawn by two spirited little Java poneys, from the wharf
to the house of the friend with whom I was to take up my abode. The
pluck with which those two little animals rattled us along quite
astonished me; and the novel appearance of every thing that met the eye,
so bewildered and delighted me, that I scarcely knew how to think,
speak, or act.
What a joyous place was Batavia in those days, with every body thriving,
and the whole town alive and bustling with an active set of merchants
from all parts of the world! The Dutch Government, at that time, pursued
a more liberal system than they have of late adopted; and, instead of
monopolizing the produce of the Island, sold it by public auction
regularly every month. This plan naturally attracted purchasers from
England, the Continent of Europe, and the United States of America, who
brought with them good Spanish dollars to pay for what they purchased;
so that silver money was as plentiful in Netherlands India, in those
days, as copper doits have since become. The enlightened individual who
now governs Java[1] and its dependencies, is, I have good reason to
think, opposed to the monopolizing system pursued by his Government: his
hands, however, are tied, and he can only remonstrate, while the
merchants can but pray that his remonstrances may be duly weighed by his
superiors. Java exports one million _peculs_[2] of coffee per annum, one
million _peculs_ of rice, and one million _peculs_ of sugar; besides
vast quantities of tin, pepper, hides, indigo, &c. Were its trade thrown
open to fair competition, as formerly, it is as certain that His Majesty
the King of the Netherlands would be a gainer, as that his adopting the
more liberal system would give satisfaction to every mercantile man
connected in any way with his East-Indian possessions. The experience of
the last three years ought to have taught His Majesty this lesson; and
we may hope he will take warning from the miserable result of his
private speculations during that period.
Batavia is not the unhealthy place it has been usually deemed. The city
itself is certainly bad enough; but no European sleeps a single night in
it out of a twelvemonth.
[Footnote 1: 1845. His Excellency Mr. Minns, since dead.]
[Footnote 2: A _pecul_ is a Chinese weight used all over the
Eastern Archipelago, and is equal to 133-1/3 lbs.
avoirdupoise.]
From four to five o'clock every evening, the road leading from the town
to the suburbs is thronged with vehicles of all descriptions, conveying
the merchants from their counting-houses to their country or suburban
residences, where they remain till nine o'clock the next morning. These
country residences are delightfully situated to the south of Batavia,
properly so called, extending inland over many square miles of country.
Every one of them has a garden (called here a compound) of considerable
extent, well stocked with plants, shrubs, and trees, which serve to give
them a lively and elegant appearance, and to keep them moderately cool
in the hottest weather. Servants' wages being very low here, every
European of any respectability is enabled to keep up a sufficient
establishment, and to repair to his office in his carriage or hooded
gig, in which he may defy the sun. Many of them, particularly Dutchmen,
have an imprudent practice of driving in an open carriage, with an
umbrella held over their heads by a native servant standing on the
foot-board behind his master.
Having resided several years in the suburbs of Batavia, I have no
hesitation in saying, that, with common prudence, eschewing _in toto_
the vile habit of drinking gin and water whenever one feels thirsty,
living generously but carefully, avoiding the sun's rays by always using
a close or hooded carriage, and taking common precautions against wet
feet and damp clothing, a man may live--and enjoy life, too--in
Batavia, as long as he would in any other part of the world. Many people
may think this a bold assertion; nevertheless, I make it without fear of
contradiction from any one acquainted by experience with the country.
One great and invaluable advantage over all our Eastern Colonies,
Batavia, in common with every part of Java, possesses, in the facilities
that exist for travelling from one part of the Island to another.
Throughout Java, there are excellent roads, and on every road a post
establishment is kept up; so that the traveller has only to apply to the
post-master of Batavia, pointing out the road he wishes to travel, and
to pay his money according to the number of miles: he obtains, with a
passport, an order for four horses all along his intended line of route,
and may perform the journey at his leisure, the horses, coachmen, &c.
being at his command night or day, till he accomplishes the distance
agreed for. Thus, a party going overland from Batavia to Samarang, a
distance of three hundred miles, may either perform the journey in three
days, or extend it to three weeks, should they wish to look about them,
and to halt a day or two at various places as they go along. In no part
of British India is there any thing approaching to such admirable and
cheap facilities for travelling. And what an inestimable blessing they
are to the Batavian invalid, who can thus, in a few hours, be
transported, with perfect ease and comfort, into the cool and delightful
mountainous regions of Java, where he may choose his climate, by fixing
himself at a height varying from one thousand to seven thousand feet
above the level of the sea! Java, from east to west and from north to
south, is a favourite region with me, and, I believe, with every
Englishman who ever visited it. Gin and brandy have killed five-sixths
of all the Europeans who have died in Batavia within the last twenty
years; but with pleasure I can add, that this destructive habit has
almost entirely disappeared: hence the diminished number of deaths, and
the more robust and ruddy appearance of the European inhabitants. The
surrounding country is both salubrious and beautiful, rising gradually
as you proceed inland, till you reach Buytenzorg, forty miles S.S.E. of
Batavia, where the Governor-General of Netherlands India generally
resides, in a splendid palace, surrounded with extensive and magnificent
gardens. The climate is cool and pleasant, more particularly in the
mornings and evenings, and the ground is kept moist by daily showers;
for it is a singular fact, that scarcely a day in the year passes
without a shower in this beautiful neighbourhood.
Buytenzorg is a favourite resort of the merchants of Batavia, who take
advantage of the facilities for travelling to visit it on the Saturday
afternoon, remaining the whole of Sunday, and returning to town, and to
the renewal of their labours, on the following morning. The scenery is
magnificent; and the view (well known to every visiter) from the back
verandah of the inn, is the finest that can be imagined. Standing on the
steps of this verandah, you have, immediately under your foot, an
extensive plain, thoroughly cultivated, sprinkled with villages, each
village being surrounded with evergreen trees, and the whole almost
encircled by a river. To the left of this valley rises an extensive and
picturesque mountain, cultivated almost to the summit, and dotted here
and there with villages and gentlemen's houses. Looking into the valley
at early morn, you will see the lazy buffalo, driven by an equally
indolent ploughman, dragging a Lilliputian plough through the slimy
paddy-field; the lazy Javanese labourer going to his work in the field;
the native women reaping, with the hand only, and stalk by stalk, the
ripe paddy (rice) in one field, while those in the next are sowing the
seed; the adjoining fields being covered with stubble, their crops
having been reaped weeks before. Upon the declivity of the mountain is
seen the stately coffee-tree, the plantations of which commence about
1300 feet above the level of the sea, and proceed up the hill till they
reach the height of 4000 feet. Nothing can be more beautiful than a
full-grown coffee-plantation: the deep green foliage, the splendid
bright-red berry, and the delicious shade afforded by the trees, render
those spots altogether fit for princes; and princely lives their owners
lead. One is always sure of a hearty welcome from these gentlemen, who
are ever glad to see a stranger. They give him the best horse in the
stable to ride, the best room in the house to occupy, and express regret
when his visit is drawing to a close. I speak from experience, having
put the hospitality of several of them to the test.
During my first stay at Batavia, from 1823 to 1826, the celebrated Java
war broke out, the so-called rebel army being headed by a native Chief
of Djockdjocarta, named Diepo Nogoro. Shortly after the first outbreak,
the then Governor-General, Baron Vander Capellen, called on all
Europeans between the ages of sixteen and forty-five to serve in the
_schuttery_, or militia. An infantry and a cavalry corps were formed,
and I joined the latter, preferring a ride in the evening to a walk with
a fourteen-pound musket over my shoulder. After a probation of pretty
tight drilling, we became tolerable soldiers, on "nothing a day and
finding ourselves," and had the good town of Batavia put under our
charge, the regular troops being all sent away to the scene of war. As I
do not intend to return to the subject, I may as well mention here,
that the war lasted five years, and that it would have lasted five years
longer, had Diepo Nogoro not been taken prisoner--I fear by treachery. I
saw him landed at Batavia, in 1829, from the steamer which had brought
him from Samarang. The Governor's carriage and aides-de-camp were at the
wharf to receive him. In that carriage he was driven to gaol, whence he
was banished no one knows whither; and he has never since been heard of.
Such is the usual fate of Dutch prisoners of state! Diepo Nogoro
deserved a better fate. He was a gallant soldier, and fought bravely.
Poor fellow! how his countenance fell--as well it might--when he saw
where the carriage drew up! He stopped short on putting his foot on the
pavement, evidently unwilling to enter the gloomy-looking pile; cast an
eager glance around; and, seeing there was no chance of escape, walked
in. Several gentlemen followed, before the authorities had the door
closed, and saw the fallen chief, with his _two wives_, consigned to two
miserable-looking rooms. Java has been quite tranquil ever since.
The society of Batavia, at the time I am referring to, was both choice
and gay; and the influence of my good friends threw me at once into the
midst of it. The Dutch and English inhabitants did not then (nor do they
now) mix together so much as would, in my opinion, have been agreeable
and mutually advantageous. A certain jealousy kept the two parties too
much apart. Nevertheless, I have been present at many delightful parties
in Dutch families, the pleasures of which were not a little heightened
by the presence of some ten or a dozen charming Dutch girls. Charming
and beautiful they certainly are while young; but, ere they reach
thirty, a marvellous change comes over their appearance: the
fair-haired, blue-eyed, laughing romp of eighteen has, in that short
period of ten or twelve years, become transformed into a stout and
rather elderly-looking matron, as unlike an English woman of the same
age as one can well fancy. When I look back on those gay and pleasant
parties, and think how few of the individuals who composed them are now
alive, the reflection makes me sad. What a different class its English
inhabitants of the present day are from those of 1823-1826! I may be
prejudiced in favour of the former state of society; but, in giving the
preference to it, I shall be borne out by any of the few survivers who
knew Batavia at both periods. From 1823 to 1835, the Governor's parties
were thronged with our countrymen and countrywomen. Let any one enter
His Excellency's ball-room now-a-days, and he will not meet with more
than one or two English of the old school, and not one of the new. The
causes of this change are obvious: it arises from the different class of
people that now come out from Liverpool, Manchester, and Glasgow,
compared with the British merchant of former times, and from the total
deficiency of the most common civility, on the part of our countrymen,
towards the many highly respectable, agreeable, and intelligent Dutch
families that form the society of the place. It is with pain I write
this; but, as a citizen of the world, who has seen a good deal of life,
in recording my sentiments on these matters, I cannot avoid telling the
plain truth as it struck me from personal observation.
The vicinity of Batavia affords the most beautiful drives; and hundreds
of vehicles, from the handsome carriage and four of the Member of
Council to the humble buggy of the merchant's clerk, may be seen every
evening, from five till half-past six, that being the coolest and best
time for taking out-of-door exercise. The roads are excellent, lined on
both sides with trees, which keep them shaded and cool nearly all day.
The scene is altogether gay, and affords a gratifying indication of the
wealth and importance of this fine colony. By seven o'clock, the drives
are deserted; and, immediately afterwards, lights may be seen glittering
in every dwelling in the neighbourhood, while, in every second or third
house, the passer-by may observe parties of pleasure assembling for the
evening. The Dutch have adopted the social plan of exchanging friendly
visits in the evening, avoiding our more formal ones of the morning. At
these chance evening parties (if I may so term them), the company are
entertained with music and cards, and other diversions; and should the
visiter be too old to join the young folks in their gayety, he will find
one or two of his own standing snugly seated in the far corner of the
verandah, where he is sure to be supplied with a good cigar and the very
best wine. These groupes are perfect pictures of comfort and content.
With all his good qualities, however, "John Dutchman" is jealous of
"John Bull," and cannot help shewing it, particularly in commercial
matters. How short-sighted his policy is, in this point of view, it
would be no difficult task to prove.
The pleasantest months of the year, in Batavia, are, June, July, and
August, when the sun is to the northward. I have frequently found a
blanket necessary at this season: indeed, the nights, throughout Java,
are generally sufficiently cool to allow the European to enjoy a
refreshing sleep, after which he will find no difficulty in getting
through a hot day. The public health is generally very good from May
till September inclusive. In April and October, strangers, particularly
the recently arrived European, are apt to suffer from colds and fever,
caused, in a great measure, by the breaking-up of the monsoon, which
takes place in those months. In November or December, the north-west
monsoon brings on the rains, which certainly then come down in torrents,
and render the city of Batavia a perfect charnel-house for those poor
Natives and Chinese who are unfortunately compelled to remain in it. I
have seen it entirely flooded with water, to the depth of four or five
feet in some parts. The malaria occasioned by the deposit of slimy mud
left all over the town by the water, on its retiring, causes sad havoc
among the poorer Chinese and Malays, who reside in the lowest parts of
the town, and inhabit wretched hovels. These floods seldom annoy the
inhabitants of the suburbs; yet I well remember, in the season of 1828,
a friend of mine lay down on a sofa and went to sleep, about eight
o'clock in the evening: at three next morning, he awoke with the water
just reaching his couch, much to his surprise and no small alarm, till,
on becoming collected, he bethought him of the cause. The neighbouring
river had risen, from mountain rains, whilst he was asleep, and had
completely flooded his house, to the depth of eighteen inches, together
with the garden and neighbourhood.
I know no market, east of the Cape of Good Hope, better supplied with
fruit than that of Batavia. Among the choicest, I would name the
mangistan, the durian, and the pumaloe or shaddock. The first is unknown
beyond eight degrees from the Equator, and is, perhaps, the best fruit
with which nature has blessed the tropical regions. It is about the size
of an orange, its rind of a dark purple, and its pulp divided into parts
like the contents of an orange, as white as driven snow. Its taste I
cannot attempt to describe, knowing nothing to which I can compare it.
The best quality of the mangistan is its perfect harmlessness. The
patient suffering from fever, liver complaint, consumption, or any of
the numerous ills that flesh is heir to, may, with perfect impunity,
cool his parched tongue with a dozen of this delightful fruit; and no
one who has not been laid on a sick bed within the tropics, can
appreciate this blessing. The rind, when dried, and made into tea, is an
excellent tonic, and is often successfully used in cases of dysentery,
by Native as well as European practitioners. The durian is a favourite
fruit with most people who can overcome its smell, which certainly is no
very easy matter. Natives of all classes are passionately fond of this
fruit, and almost subsist on it when in plenty. Strange to say, goats,
sheep, poultry, and even the royal tiger, eagerly devour the durian, of
which I confess myself, notwithstanding the aforesaid smell, an admirer,
in common with many of my countrymen. Its size is that of a cocoa-nut,
husk and all; its rind is very thick, of a pale green colour, and
covered with strong sharp thorns; its interior is divided into
compartments, each of which contains three or four seeds about the size
of a pullet's egg; these seeds are covered, to the thickness of a
quarter of an inch, with a pale yellow pulp, which is the part eaten.
The taste resembles, according to the description of those who like the
fruit, that of a very rich custard, and, according to those who have
never succeeded in overcoming their antipathy to the smell, that of a
mixture of decayed eggs and garlic. This fruit cannot be eaten in large
quantities with impunity by Europeans, being of a very heating nature.
With me it never agreed; nor do I remember a single instance of its
agreeing with my countrymen, when eaten freely. Half a one is as much as
most people can manage at a time. The durian seeds, when roasted, make
an excellent substitute for chestnuts.
The shaddock of Java is a magnificent fruit, and surpasses those of any
other country with which I am acquainted. In addition to these three
prime fruits of Java, I may mention the pine-apple, soursop, rambutan,
rose-apple, guava, dookoo, and sixty different kinds of plantain and
banana. These, and many others, thrive and abound on this favoured
island. With poultry, butchers' meat, fish, and vegetables, Batavia and
Java generally are abundantly supplied; while the residents on its
mountains may enjoy strawberries and cream in perfection.
CHAPTER II.
JAVA.
SAMARANG--A TIGER FIGHT--JAVA PONEYS--EXCURSION
TO SOLO--WILD SPORTS--DJOCKDJOCARTA--REMAINS OF
THE ANCIENT PALACE--IMPERIAL ELEPHANTS--EXPERIMENT
IN INDIGO-PLANTING--JAVANESE EXECUTION--A PET
BOA--ALLIGATORS--FOREST LABOUR--SLAVERY IN
JAVA--OPIUM-SMOKING--TEA--THE UPAS-TREE.
Between three and four hundred miles eastward of Batavia, on the north
coast of Java, is the small, neat, old-fashioned town of Samarang,
which, when I visited it in 1824, was the residence of several English
merchants: now, there is only a single one remaining, so completely has
monopoly destroyed mercantile enterprise! The harbour is a safe one in
the south-east monsoon, but the reverse when the north-west winds
prevail. It is, however, constantly visited by European shipping, which
take cargoes of coffee, sugar, rice, &c. &c., to all parts of Europe,
Australia, Singapore, and China.
The circumstance at this distance of time most clear and distinct in my
memory, in connection with my first visit to Samarang, is a
tiger-fight, which I will attempt to describe. The exhibition took place
on an extensive plain near the town, just after daybreak. A square of
men, armed with the native spear, was formed three deep, and one hundred
yards across. Inside this square was placed a box resembling in shape a
coffin, but much larger, containing a royal tiger fresh from his native
forests, which had been brought to town the day previously for this
express purpose. Imagine every thing ready, the square formed, the box
in its centre, and a silent multitude looking on,--some perched on
trees, some on the coach-boxes of the numerous carriages, others on
horseback, and thousands on foot; whilst the native chief of the
district, with his friends, and the European officials of the place,
occupied a gay pavilion, placed in an advantageous situation for viewing
the coming strife. A native Javan, in full dress, is now seen advancing
into the square, followed by two coolies or porters, one carrying a
bundle of straw, the other a lighted torch. The straw is thrown over the
box, and the torch-bearer stands ready to set fire to it at the end
where the tiger's head is, the box being too narrow to permit his
turning round in it. The leading native then lifts a sliding door at the
other extremity of the box, carefully covering the opening thus made
with mats, to prevent the light from penetrating, and inducing his royal
highness to back out too soon. This operation completed, the straw is
set on fire. The native and his two coolies now retire slowly, keeping
time to Javanese music as they make their way outside the square. By
this time, the fire has got fair hold of the box, filling it with smoke,
and the tiger begins his retreat, his berth becoming rather warm.
Presently, his hind quarters appear issuing through the sliding doorway,
its covering of mat readily yielding to the pressure: by degrees, his
hind feet gain firm footing outside, and his whole body is soon
displayed. On appearing, he seemed rather confused for a few seconds,
and, laying himself quietly down, looked all round upon his foes, and
gave a roar that made the welkin ring, and my young heart quake a
little. He then rose, deliberately shook himself, turned towards the
rising sun, set off first at a walk, then at a trot, which he gradually
increased to a smart canter, till within a few yards of the points of
the spears pointed at him; he then came to the charge, and made a spring
that surprised me, and, I fancy, every one present. I am afraid to say
how high he leaped, but he was on the _descent_ before a single spear
touched him. This leap was evidently made with the intention of getting
clear over the heads of the men and their spears too; and he most
certainly would have accomplished it, had he not leaped too soon, and
fallen within the square, the height of the spring being quite
sufficient for the purpose. As it was, when on the descent, the spears
of the six men nearest him being pointed at his breast, one of them
inflicted a frightful wound. On reaching the ground, the noble beast
struggled hard for his liberty; but, finding his efforts of no avail, he
ultimately started off at full gallop to the opposite side of the
square, where he renewed his exertions, though with less vigour than
that displayed on his first attempt, and with no better success. He then
galloped twice round the square, just at the point of the spears. Not a
man advanced to touch him, it being the rule, that the tiger must come
within the range of the spears before they can be used. He was
ultimately killed while making a third attempt to escape; and thus ended
the sport. His first charge was very brilliant and exciting; his second
much less so; his third and last was very feeble.
Immediately after the tiger's death, the same ceremonies were gone
through with a leopard, who took the spear-men rather by surprise, and,
instead of trying to leap over their heads, darted in under their
spears, got among their feet, and effected his retreat, to the no small
consternation of the surrounding multitude, who soon scattered in all
directions. He was, however, pursued by the men he had baffled, and was
killed under a bridge in the immediate neighbourhood.
Tigers are frequently pitted by the native chiefs of Java against
buffaloes, but I never was fortunate enough to witness one of those
conflicts. The buffalo is generally the conqueror, and is sure to be so,
if he succeeds in getting one fair butt at his adversary, whom he tosses
in the air, and butts again on his fall. Occasionally, the tiger
declines the combat altogether, when his tormentors rouse him by the
application of lighted torches to the tenderest parts of his body: but
even this extreme measure has been known to fail; in which case the
terrified animal is withdrawn, and another is put forward in his place.
These are cruel pastimes, though they may be thought not more so than
dog-fighting and cock-fighting, which were formerly so much practised in
Britain; and not so barbarous as a pugilistic combat between two hired
brutes called prize-fighters.
The society of Samarang is neither so extensive nor so attractive as
that of Batavia: it is, however, a pleasant and healthy place,
notwithstanding its proximity to an extensive swamp. Its safeguard
against the malaria we might naturally look for in this situation, is
the tide, which flows over the marsh twice a day, and keeps it sweet.
During the Java war, a small volunteer corps of cavalry was formed here,
the members of which, in their zeal, offered their services to join a
party who were proceeding to Damak, (a small village about forty miles
off,) to put down a body of armed rebels. Poor fellows! they went out in
high spirits, but trusted too much to their unbroken horses, which took
fright, and threw them into inextricable confusion on hearing the first
volley. The sad consequences of this rash though gallant day's work,
were, the death of seven young English gentlemen, all highly respected,
and sincerely regretted by their countrymen. They were all personal
friends of my own. I well remember the gloom which the intelligence cast
over the society at Batavia.
In and about Samarang may be collected any number of the beautiful Java
poneys, animals unsurpassed for symmetry in any part of the world.[3]
The work they perform is beyond belief. Ten miles an hour is the common
rate of travelling post: four of them are generally used for this
purpose, and the stages are from seven to nine miles, according to the
nature of the country. When within half-a-mile of the first house where
relays are kept, the native coachman cracks his long, unwieldy whip,
which can be heard at a great distance. At this signal, the grooms
harness the four poneys whose turn for work it is; and, by the time your
carriage halts under the shed that crosses the road at every post-house,
the fresh poneys are to be seen coming out of the stable, all ready for
the next stage. Your attention is then attracted by a man with a stout
bamboo, some eight feet long, in his hand, full of water, which he pours
over the naves of the wheels, to cool them. By this time, the tired
poneys are unhooked, the fresh ones put-to, and away rattles the
carriage again with its delighted passengers. I know nothing more
exciting and agreeable than a ramble amongst the mountains of this
favoured isle, under the direction of the post establishment.
[Footnote 3: The Java poney in Her Majesty's stable at Windsor,
is certainly no fair specimen, being the worst-favoured brute
under the sun.]
From Samarang, early in 1824, I posted with a friend to Solo and
Djockdjocarta, the ancient seats of the Emperors and Sultans of this
part of Java. They are now shorn of their splendour; but they still
possess novelty enough to attract a stranger. On our route, we visited
some beautiful coffee-plantations, and passed through the pretty and
romantic-looking village of Salatiga.[4] We had a splendid view of the
far-famed _Gunung Marapi_, or fire-mountain; and, on every side, we saw
evidence of the thriving condition of this magnificent part of Java.
At Solo, I was so fortunate as to be present at the then Emperor's
marriage; a scene which brought painfully to mind the fallen state of
the chiefs of this neighbourhood, by its being superintended by the
Dutch Resident at the Court. There were three days' feasting, royal
salutes from the imperial guard, Javanese music, and dancing girls in
great numbers; but I found the whole affair very fatiguing. Fallen as
was the Emperor's state at that time, it subsequently became much more
reduced, in consequence of his having been found guilty of being
secretly concerned in the late war or rebellion. He has long since
followed his friend and coadjutor, Diepo Nogoro. A tool of the Dutch
Government now reigns in his stead, who cannot even leave his house for
twenty-four hours without permission from the Resident at his Court.
[Footnote 4: A name derived from the Malay words, _sallah_, "a
fault or crime," and _tiga_, the numeral "three"; consequently
meaning the "third fault." How this pretty spot came by such a
name, I never heard.]
One day, I accompanied a party of friends to see the Emperor's tigers, a
number of which animals he generally had ready for exhibitions similar
to those already described. We found one very noble fellow confined in a
house some fifteen feet square, formed of the trunks of cocoa-nut trees,
placed about five inches apart. On looking through, we saw the tiger in
the position usually chosen by a dog when he wants to warm his face at
the fire. Hearing our approach, he stared us steadily in the face for
about a minute, and then made a spring at us, so suddenly that he came
with his whole force against the bars, before we had time to move a
step. The shock shook the building, as well as our nerves, not a little,
though we were of course scatheless.
At Solo, I first tasted the Javanese "Findhorn haddock," which is, in
fact, a trout caught in the beautiful Solo river. After being cleaned,
it is wrapped up in a bundle of rice-straw, which is forthwith set on
fire; and as soon as the straw is consumed, the fish is ready for
eating, and really resembles in flavour its celebrated name-sake.
In the neighbourhood of Solo, a bold sportsman may find game to his
liking, and willing natives to guide him in his search after tigers,
wild hogs, the huge boa, deer, snipe, and quail. In pursuit of the last,
too many a fever is caught, through the imprudence of young men in
staying out too late in the day, and in keeping on their wet and soiled
clothes and shoes during their ride or drive home. A little attention to
such apparent trifles would save many a valuable life. Deer and wild-hog
are generally pursued and shot by a party armed with rifles, who post
themselves along one side of a jungle, while a party of natives advance
from the opposite, driving the game before them with long poles and
shouting. Great care must be taken by the sportsman, on these occasions,
not to fire too soon: if he fires into the jungle, he runs the risk of
shooting one of the bush-beaters; if to the right or left, he may plant
his bullet in the breast of one of his companions. He must reserve his
fire till the game is fairly out of the bush, and in rear of the line of
rifles, when he may turn round and deliver his charge. I recollect a
fatal accident happening near Salatiga, through a gentleman's deviating
from the strict rule, never to change your position when once placed by
the leading sportsman. A party were out after hogs by moonlight, when
one gentleman, thinking he heard a noise as of an approaching porker on
his left, very imprudently got on his hands and knees to crawl round in
the hope of getting the first shot. The sportsman stationed next to him
got a glimpse of him on the path, and mistaking him in the uncertain
light for a hog or other wild animal, fired his rifle without a moment's
hesitation, and mortally wounded his unfortunate friend, who lived just
long enough to acknowledge his error, and to beg that no blame might be
attached to the individual who caused his death. Poor fellow! he paid
dearly for his imprudence.
Solo is protected by a small fort, which is always garrisoned by
European troops, the Government not choosing to trust native soldiers in
that part of the country. For this, no one can blame the Dutch; for the
chiefs require looking after, and are apt to give trouble. While the
Island was held by the British Government, a mutiny broke out at Solo
among the Bengal sepoys: on its suppression, it was found they had been
tampered with by these chiefs, and that numbers had been gained over to
their cause.
Nothing can exceed the hospitality of the Dutch inhabitants of this part
of Java: their houses are always open to the stranger, of whom they
think too much cannot be made. The Resident's establishment is a
splendid one, and to his liberality and hospitality I can testify from
personal experience. Indeed, our countrymen, in many parts that I could
name, might, with great advantage to themselves and to travellers in
their districts, take lessons from their Dutch brethren in office.
From Solo, I went to Djockdjocarta, distant forty miles, in a gig. A
kind friend having placed relays of horses on the road for me, I
performed the journey with perfect ease, without the aid of a whip, in
four hours. The poney I had the last stage, was the best little animal
in harness I ever sat behind: he literally flew along the road. At one
point, I came to a bridge, which, as I could see at some distance, had
been broken, so as to render it impassable. While meditating how I was
to get across the river, not knowing there was a ford in the
neighbourhood, my poney, which had come the road in the morning to meet
me, settled the question, by suddenly darting off, through a gap in the
hedge at the road-side, down the river bank, at the top of his speed,
and, before I could collect my scattered senses, was across the stream
and up the opposite bank, to my no small surprise and pleasure. He was a
noble little animal, of a mouse colour; and was originally purchased
from a native dealer for twenty-eight guilders (about 2l. 6s. 8d.).
At Djockdjocarta are to be seen many ancient residences of the Javanese
Chiefs; amongst others, the celebrated _Cratan_ or palace, the taking of
which, in 1812, cost General Gillespie a hard struggle. It is surrounded
with a high wall, which encloses an area of exactly one square mile:
outside the wall runs a deep, broad ditch. The place could offer but a
feeble resistance against artillery, in which arm Gillespie was
deficient when he attacked and took it. Another curious building is that
in which the Sultans, in days of yore, used to keep their ladies: it is
composed entirely of long narrow passages, with numerous small rooms on
each side; each of which, in the days of their master's glory, was the
residence, according to tradition, of a beautiful favourite. To prevent
the escape of the ladies, or the intrusion of any gallants, the whole
pile is surrounded with a canal, which used to be filled with
alligators: the only entrance was by a subterranean passage beneath this
canal, and which ran under it for its whole length. When I visited the
place in 1824, the canal, passage, &c. were all in good order, though
the latter was getting damp from neglect;--a proof that the masons and
plasterers of Java, in old times, must have been very superior workmen.
Djockdjocarta was the birth-place of Diepo Nogoro, and the scene of his
earliest warlike movements against the Dutch. So unexpected and sudden
was his first attack, that he caught the garrison napping, and had them
within his grasp before they knew he was in the field.
In the _Cratan_, the Sultan had, in 1824, three noble elephants, each
kept under a separate shed. I went, with three other visitors, to see
those animals; and we passed sometime amusing ourselves by giving them
fruit and other dainties. We did not remark, however, that one of our
friends had been for sometime teasing one of them, by offering him a
plantain, and constantly withdrawing it just as the poor animal was
laying hold of it with his trunk. We had not gone twenty yards from the
spot, when the elephant's keeper approached, and gave him a couple of
cocoa-nuts, (minus the husk, but with the shells,)--part of his daily
food, I presume. The elephant took one of these, and, with a wicked look
at the gentleman who had been teasing him, threw the nut at him with
great force. Fortunately he missed his aim. The nut struck a post within
six inches of the teaser's head, and was literally smashed: had it
struck where doubtless it was meant to do, it would certainly have
proved as fatal as an eighteen-pound shot. So much for teasing
elephants. We beat a speedy retreat, not choosing to risk a second shot.
Djockdjocarta can hardly be called a town; yet it is more than a
village. The houses of the European inhabitants are much scattered, and
many of them occupy very pretty situations. The climate is delicious;
and exercise on horseback may be taken with impunity from six to nine
A. M., and from three to seven P. M. It is not uncommon to see Europeans
riding about during the intervening hours; but this is generally avoided
by old residents.
A successful attempt was made here, by a countryman of mine, in 1823, to
grow indigo. The quantity produced was limited, but the quality was
excellent; and, but for some vexatious regulations of the Government
regarding the residence of foreigners in this part of Java, which drove
the spirited individual alluded to from the neighbourhood, I have no
doubt he would speedily have realized a handsome fortune. Since that
period, indigo-planting has been carried on in various parts of Java to
a large extent. The quantity produced annually is now about one million
and a half of pounds; and the quality is such as to command the first
prices in the continental markets. Indeed, the Bengal planters are
becoming quite jealous of those of Java.
Shortly before my arrival at Djockdjocarta, a daring house-robbery, by
a band of Javanese, took place in the neighbourhood. Six of the robbers
were afterwards caught, tried, convicted, condemned, and executed _à la
Javan_ on the scene of their crime: they were tied hands and feet to
separate stakes, and _krissed_ by a native executioner, who performed
his dreadful office so scientifically that his victims died without a
groan. The cool indifference with which five of the unfortunates
witnessed the execution of the first sufferer, and successively received
the _kriss_ in their own bosoms, was quite surprising, and shewed with
what stoical composure the Mohammedan fatalist can meet a violent death.
The forests of Java are inhabited by the rhinoceros, tiger, black tiger,
leopard, tiger-cat, boa-constrictor, and a variety of animals of milder
natures. The elephant is not found in its wild state in these woods,
though numerous in those of the neighbouring island. I am not aware of
any other animal that may be called dangerous to man in these unrivalled
forests; nor is there much to be apprehended from occasionally coming in
contact with either of those above-named, though accidents happen now
and then. I have known a carriage and four attacked on the main road
between Batavia and Samarang, by a tiger, and one of the poneys killed
by the fierce onset. This, however, is a rare occurrence, and can happen
only when the tiger is hard pressed for food; which is seldom the case
in the woods of Java, overrun as they are with deer, wild-hog, and other
royal game. The boa is harmless to man, unless his path is crossed, when
a speedy retreat is advisable. A friend of mine in Samarang once kept
one of these monsters as a pet, and used to let him crawl all over the
garden: it measured exactly nineteen feet. It was regularly fed twice a
month, viz. on the 1st and the 15th. On the first day of the month, a
moderate-sized goat was put into his house. The poor animal would
scream, and exhibit every symptom of extreme terror, but was not kept
long in suspense; for the snake, after eyeing his victim keenly, would
spring on it with the rapidity of thought, coil three turns round the
body, and in an instant every bone in the goat's skin was broken. The
next process was, to stretch the carcass to as great a length as he
could before uncoiling himself; then to lick it all over; and he
commenced his feast by succeeding, after some severe exertion, in
getting the goat's head within his mouth. In the course of twenty
minutes, the whole animal was swallowed: the snake would then lie down,
and remain perfectly dormant for three or four days. His lunch (as I may
call it) on the fifteenth of the month, used to consist of a duck. This
snake was given, in 1815, to Lord Amherst, on his return from China, and
reached the Cape in safety: there it was over-fed to gratify the
curious visitors, and died in consequence before the ship reached St.
Helena.
While on the subject of wild animals, I may mention a leopard that was
kept by an English officer in Samarang, during our occupation of the
Dutch colonies. This animal had its liberty, and used to run all over
the house after its master. One morning, after breakfast, the officer
was sitting smoking his hookah, with a book in his right-hand, and the
hookah-snake in his left, when he felt a slight pain in the left hand,
and, on attempting to raise it, was checked by a low angry growl from
his pet leopard: on looking down, he saw the animal had been licking the
back of his hand, and had by degrees drawn a little blood. The leopard
would not suffer the removal of the hand, but continued licking it with
great apparent relish, which did not much please his master; who, with
great presence of mind, without attempting again to disturb the pet in
his proceeding, called to his servant to bring him a pistol, with which
he shot the animal dead on the spot. Such pets as snakes nineteen feet
long and full-grown leopards are not to be trifled with. The largest
snake I ever saw was twenty-five feet long, and eight inches in
diameter. I have _heard_ of sixty-feet snakes, but cannot vouch for the
truth of the tale.
In my enumeration of animals dangerous to man, I omitted the alligator,
which infests every river and muddy creek in Java, and grows to a very
large size. At the mouth of the Batavia river, they are very numerous
and dangerous, particularly to Europeans. It strikes one as
extraordinary, to see the copper-coloured natives bathing in the river
within view of a large alligator: they never seem to give the animal a
thought, or to anticipate injury from his proximity. Yet, were a
European to enter the water by the side of the natives, his minutes in
this world would be few. I recollect an instance that occurred on the
occasion of a party of troops embarking at Batavia for the eastward,
during the Java war. The men had all gone off, with the exception of
three sergeants, who were to follow in the ship's jolly-boat, which was
waiting for them at the wharf: two of them stepped into the boat; but
the third, in following, missed his footing, and fell with his leg in
the water, and his body over the gunwale of the boat. In less than an
instant, an alligator darted from under the wharf, and seized the
unfortunate man by the leg, while his companions in the boat laid hold
of his shoulders. The poor fellow called out to his friends, "Pull; hold
on; don't let go"; but their utmost exertions were unavailing. The
alligator proved the strongest, and carried off his prize. The scene was
described to me by a bystander, who said, he could trace the monster's
course all the way down the river with his victim in his immense mouth.
The inhabitants of Java are, generally speaking, a quiet, tractable
race, but rather lazy withal. The Dutch Government could never have made
the Island produce half the quantity it now yields of either sugar,
coffee, or rice, without a little wholesome coercion;--coercion that
seemed somewhat tyrannical at first, but which has ultimately pleased
all parties concerned, and done wonders for Java. If my memory serves
me, it was in the time of Governor Vandenborch that this system of
coercion commenced. The inhabitants of the villages, in various parts of
the Island, were compelled by an armed force, when milder means had
failed, to turn out at day-light, and labour in the fields planted
either by Government itself or by Government contractors, which
naturally caused a great deal of discontent; but, as the labourers were
regularly paid in cash for their day's work every evening, they very
soon became reconciled to a system that not only provided amply for
their families, but gave them the means of indulging in their favourite
pastime, gambling. To this vice, all classes are passionately addicted;
and nothing is more common than to see a gang of coolies sit down in the
middle of the road, and gamble for hours on the few pieces they may have
just earned for having carried a heavy burthen a couple of miles. The
inhabitants of the districts in which the coercion I speak of has been
put in force, are now better satisfied with their rulers than ever they
were before.
The extent to which the growth of coffee and sugar has been carried, has
rather checked that of rice, which has been twenty-five per cent. dearer
the last fifteen years, than during the preceding twenty: it is,
however, still cheap enough as an article of food, though the price is
too high to compete, in the China or Singapore markets, with the produce
of Lombok, Bally, Siam, or Cochin China.[5]
[Footnote 5: By the last overland papers from Singapore (Sept.
1845), I observe, the Dutch Government has been importing rice
from Pondicherry to Java;--a proceeding quite unprecedented in
my time, and to be accounted for only by the extent to which
the cultivation of sugar, indigo, and coffee is carried, in
order to satisfy the constant demands on the colonies of the
Netherlands for money. To this cause may be added, however, the
occurrence of one or two dry seasons;--a rare phenomenon within
the tropics, and attributable, probably, in some degree, to the
vast extent of country recently cleared of forest and jungle to
make way for the plough. No policy can be so blind as that
which compels the poor Javanese to eat imported rice, while
living in a country capable of yielding food for all Europe.]
Slavery still exists in Java, and every Dutch family has its domestic
slaves. The law forbids the importation of fresh ones, and provides for
the good treatment of those now in bondage. It also prohibits the
slave-owner from separating a family; so that the wife and husband
cannot be parted from each other, or from their children, except in the
case of a crime having been committed by a member of the family. In that
case, the guilty party is, on application to the chief magistrate, put
up to auction, and sold to the highest bidder. This, however, is a rare
occurrence, though I have witnessed such sales. The slaves, knowing well
the consequence of an act of dishonesty, are cautious how they venture
to trespass on the rights of _meum_ and _tuum_. I may safely say, I have
never, in all my wanderings, seen a race of people better treated than
the slaves of Java: they are well fed and well clothed; and adults of
both sexes receive a monthly allowance of two guilders (3s. 4d.) under
the name of pocket-money. This sum may seem small; but, when we take
into consideration, that a free man can be hired for eight guilders per
month in Batavia, and for six in the country, on which sum he has to
feed and clothe himself and his wife and children, it will be
sufficiently evident that the slave's allowance is ample, his master
feeding and clothing him and his family. I object _in toto_ to slavery
in any form; but I confess I do not think the slaves of Java would be
benefitted, were their liberty given them to-morrow.
The natives of Java are by no means free from that prevalent Eastern
vice, or luxury, opium-smoking; and the Dutch Government derives an
immense revenue from the article. I have, in various parts of the
Eastern world, seen the evil effects of opium-smoking; but am decidedly
of opinion, that those arising from gin-drinking in England, and from
whisky-drinking in Ireland and Scotland, far exceed them. Let any
unprejudiced European walk through the native towns of Java, Singapore,
or China, and see if he can find a single drunken native. What he will
meet with are, numbers of drunken English, Scotch, and Irish seamen,
literally rolling in the gutters, intoxicated, not from opium, but from
rum and other spirits sent all the way from England for the purpose of
enabling her worthy sons to exhibit themselves to Chinese and other
nations in this disgraceful light. That spirit-drinking at home is no
excuse for opium-smoking abroad, I admit; but I would recommend the
well-intentioned persons who have of late been raising such an outcry on
the subject of opium, to begin at home, and attempt to reform their own
countrymen: they may then come to China with a clear conscience, and
preach reform to the poor opium-smoker.
Among other improvements in Java, its rulers have lately turned their
attention to the cultivation of tea, and with considerable success so
far as regards the quality, I have no means of ascertaining the quantity
of tea at present produced yearly; but have no doubt it will, before
long, become an important article of export from the Island.
Before quitting Java, I must say a word about the far-famed upas-tree.
Such a tree certainly exists on the island; but the tales that are told
of its poisoning the air for hundreds of yards round, so that birds dare
not approach it, that vegetation is destroyed beneath its branches, and
that man cannot come near it with impunity, are perfectly ridiculous. To
prove their absurdity, a friend of mine climbed up a upas-tree, and
passed two hours in its branches, where he took his lunch and smoked a
cigar. The tree, however, does contain poison, and the natives extract
the sap, with which they rub their spear and _kriss_ blades: wounds
inflicted with blades thus anointed, are mortal. Such I believe to be
the origin of the many fabulous stories that have passed from hand to
hand, and from generation to generation, about the upas-tree of Java.
CHAPTER III.
SINGAPORE.
ADVANTAGEOUS POSITION OF SINGAPORE--CULTIVATION
OF THE NUTMEG AND COCOA-NUT--ROADS AND SCENERY--
MOTLEY POPULATION--EUROPEAN RESIDENTS--CHINESE
EMIGRANTS--KLINGS--SAMPAN-MEN--PLACES OF
WORSHIP--TIGERS.
In the month of May 1824, I returned from my trip to the eastward, and
was kept tightly at work in Batavia, till fate sent me wandering in July
1826. Singapore was the first place I visited; and to it, therefore, I
must devote the next few pages of these retrospective lucubrations.
Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles deserved a great deal of credit and praise
from the mercantile community of Britain, for having established this
emporium of trade. A more lovely or better situation could not have been
chosen; and its surprising prosperity has more than realized its
founder's expectations, sanguine as they were. Since 1826, I have
resided some considerable time in Singapore; have witnessed its progress
towards its present nourishing condition; and am sufficiently well
acquainted with its trade and its inhabitants to enable me to speak
confidently respecting them. The Island itself, though only seventy-six
miles from the Equator, enjoys a delightful climate, and is remarkable
for salubrity. Its proximity to the Line secures frequent refreshing
showers, and its foliage is in consequence always in the full bloom of
summer. During an acquaintance with it of eighteen years, I have never
known a drought of more than three weeks' duration. Its soil, with
little tillage, produces the nutmeg, the clove, coffee, the cocoa-nut,
the sugar-cane, the pepper-vine, gambia or terra japonica, and all the
fruits common to Malacca and Java. The East-India Company's regulations
regarding land checked, for a few years, the spirit of the
agriculturist; but, within the last ten years, a few spirited and
praiseworthy individuals have laid out considerable sums of money in
nutmeg, coffee, sugar, and cocoa-nut plantations. It is a somewhat
doubtful point, in my opinion, whether sugar or coffee plantations on
this island will ever pay; but, of the nutmeg and cocoa-nut groves, I
have the best opinion, and think their proprietors have a very fair
chance of ultimately being well paid for their outlay. Of the nutmeg
gardens, that of Dr. Oxley's is by far the finest on the island. This
gentleman has spared neither trouble nor expense in bringing his plants
forward, and has now five thousand of the very finest nutmeg-trees I
ever saw. Nothing can be finer than their beautiful position, tasteful
outlay, and luxuriant foliage. It is now eighteen months since I last
saw those trees: they were then just coming into bearing; and they are
now, I hope, paying their spirited proprietor for his monthly outlay at
all events, though it may be a few years yet before they return him
interest for his money, and adequate remuneration for his trouble.
A plantation of ten or fifteen thousand cocoa-nut trees is a more
valuable property than many people imagine. As soon as they come into
bearing, which they do in five years from seed, they are worth
three-quarters of a dollar each per annum net profit, after paying the
labourers: thus, fifteen thousand of them will yield their proprietor
10,250 dollars per annum, (_i. e._ at the moderate calculation of 4s. 2d.
to the dollar, 2135l. 8s. 4d. sterling,) a sum that would cover all the
outlay incurred during the five nonproductive years, and be a secure
revenue to the owner of the estate for ever, provided that he is careful
in replacing the old trees, as fast as they die, with new plants.
My reasons for doubting the success of coffee-plantations in Singapore
are, that there is not sufficient depth of soil for the tree, and that,
if there were, labour is too high to enable the planters to compete with
those of Java. As regards sugar, Singapore being a sugar-importing
colony, its own produce pays, on being imported into England, 8s. per
hundred-weight more duty than the produce of non-importing British
colonies.[6] The high price of labour is also against the sugar-planter.
An able-bodied labourer costs, in Singapore, four dollars per month,
while the same man can be had in the mountains of Java for three
guilders in money, and the value of two in rice. Thus, the Singapore
planter pays more than double the rate of wages for his labour; and, as
his lands are not so rich as his neighbour's, he stands, I fear, but a
poor chance in the competition with him.
[Footnote 6: Since my arrival in England, an Act has been
passed, removing, in some measure, this bar to the prosperity
of the Singapore sugar-planter;--I allude to the recent
reduction in the duty on all sugars, excepting slave-grown. The
Singaporeans are naturally anxious to be allowed to send their
sugars to the English market on the same terms as their
brethren of Prince of Wales' Island have lately been permitted
to do. This they can hardly expect, however, while they
continue to be such large importers of Siam and other foreign
sugars as they are and always have been. To require them to
give up this foreign trade, would do them far more injury than
the granting of their planters' petition would benefit them.]
To the eastward of the town of Singapore, extends a considerable plain,
on which the sugar and cocoa-nut plantations stand. To the westward and
inland of the town, the country consists almost entirely of hill and
dale; and its aspect is very striking and picturesque. On many of these
miniature (for they are but miniature) hills, stand pretty _bungalows_,
surrounded with nutmeg and fruit trees: they are delightful residences,
and have the very great advantage of cool nights, when the tired planter
or merchant can enjoy a sound sleep after the fatigues of a hot day.
A great deal has been done for Singapore by gangs of convicts from
Bengal, Madras, and Bombay, who, under an experienced and able
superintendent, have cut and made excellent roads, that now extend east,
west, north, and south, for several miles. Cutting these roads has
drained, and thereby rendered available, large tracts of land that were
recently quite valueless: they also add much to the enjoyment of the
Singaporean, by enabling him to extend his ride or drive of an evening.
The scenery along the different roads consists of hills and dales,
covered with the richest and most luxuriant foliage, with here and there
a clearing, where some industrious China-man has squatted, in defiance
of tigers and East-India Company's regulations. Now that land can be got
on better terms than formerly, these clearings are being purchased by
Europeans of the squatter,--whose prior right the Government always
protects to the extent of a fair remuneration for his labour,--and are
being turned into gardens or plantations. This drives back the
squatter, who, like his brethren all over the world, is ever willing to
sell and move further inland; thus materially increasing the extent of
cleared land from year to year. The primeval jungles of Singapore are so
thickly timbered and covered with underwood and large, tough creepers,
that the man who undertakes to clear them has before him an Herculean
task. According to the best information I could obtain, it requires a
cash outlay of sixty dollars to clear a single acre; and even that large
sum does not thoroughly stump it (_i. e._ clear off all the large roots
and stumps of the larger trees) for the planting of coffee, nutmegs, or
pepper. For these, however, this is less necessary, as the plants are
placed at a considerable distance from each other: for sugar, it is very
desirable to have every stump taken out.
Swamps abound on the island: fortunately, they are all salt-water
swamps, and flooded daily by the tide, which keeps them sweet, so that
no one suffers from residing in their neighbourhood.
A full description of the inhabitants of Singapore would fill a volume,
they are of so many countries. Here may be seen, besides Europeans of
different nations, and Americans, the Jew, the Armenian, the Persian,
the Parsee, the Arab, the Bengalee, the Malabaree, the China-man, the
Malay, the Javanese, the Siamese, the Cochin Chinese, with the native of
Borneo, of Macassar, and of every island of the Eastern Archipelago;
all in the costumes of their respective countries, and forming motley
groupes that can nowhere be surpassed. With the exception of the
Europeans, Americans, and Armenians, each class occupies a distinct
quarter of the town, mixing but little with the rest, except in business
hours, when one and all may be seen in eager converse on the
all-important subject of money-making.
Europeans generally live in garden-houses in the suburbs. The favourite
situation is along the beach to the eastward of the town, from which the
merchant has a full view of the harbour, as well as of both its
entrances, and can see every vessel that comes or goes. Pleasant,
however, as is this part of the suburbs, it is gradually being deserted
for country situations, where the hot winds of July, August, and
September are not so much felt, and where the nights are cooler than on
the sea-shore. The houses generally occupied by these gentlemen, are
large and roomy, with verandahs in front and rear, enclosed with
Venetian blinds: these are kept shut from ten A. M. till four P. M., which
darkens the house so much that a visiter can with difficulty see his
host or hostess for two or three minutes after entering a room, till the
pupils of his eyes, contracted by the glare on the road, expand, and
enable him to distinguish objects. This custom keeps the house
wonderfully cool, and is universally adopted by newcomers after the
first few months of their residence. The Chinese occupy the next best
part of the town, and many of them have built substantial and commodious
houses. A portion of this class are the descendants of Chinese who
settled at Malacca two hundred years ago: they have never been to China,
and speak Malay much more fluently than they do their own language.
Numbers of them keep their families at Malacca, having superstitious
objections to a final removal far from the graves of their ancestors.
The real Chinese emigrant looks on Singapore only as a temporary home,
and invariably remits something every year, according to his means, to
his aged parents, wife, or sisters. He usually consoles himself for his
absence from his wife, by taking to himself another of the country he
resides in: the offspring of this second marriage is always properly
cared for on the father's return to China, where he probably takes the
eldest boy to be educated.
The Chinese junks bring annually to this part of the world, from six to
eight thousand emigrants, ninety-nine-hundredths of whom land without a
sixpence in the world beyond the clothes they stand in. The consequence
of this is, that those who cannot succeed in obtaining immediate
employment, take to thieving, from necessity; and some daring gang
robberies are committed every year. They do not, however, long continue
this mode of life; for the eight thousand new comers soon scatter, and
find employment either on the Island, in the tin-mines of Banca, or on
the Malayan peninsula.
Ship-loads of these men have been sent to the Mauritius, where they have
given general satisfaction; and no better class of emigrants could be
found for the West Indies. A tight curb on a China-man will make him do
a great deal of work: at the same time, he has spirit enough to resist
real ill treatment. All the mechanics and house-builders, and many
boatmen and fishermen of Singapore, are Chinese.
Of the other inhabitants, the most numerous are the Malabarees, who are
principally employed as shopkeepers, and are as knowing in the art of
bargain-driving as any tradesmen of London or Paris. They generally go
here under the denomination of "_Klings_," an appellation synonymous, in
the Singapore vocabulary, with "scamp," to which I have no inclination
to dispute their title. The boats employed to carry cargoes to and from
the shipping in the harbour, are almost all manned by these _Klings_;
and excellent boatmen they are. When pulling off a heavily-laden boat,
they cheer their labour by a song, led, in general, by the steersman,
the crew joining in chorus. They are a willing, hard-working race,
though rather given to shut their eyes to the difference between _meum_
and _tuum_. The original Malay inhabitants of this Island are now the
most insignificant, both as to numbers and as to general utility, of the
many races that are found on it. From this remark must be excepted,
however, the _sampan_-men, who are of great service to the mercantile
community. In their fast-sailing _sampans_ (a superior sort of canoe,
peculiar to the place), they go out ten, fifteen, and even twenty miles,
to meet any ship that may be signalized as approaching the harbour. They
are usually employed to attend a ship during her stay here, few masters
choosing to trust their crews on shore in boats. Of late years, reports
have been in circulation of a suspected connection between the
sampan-men and the Malay pirates in the neighbourhood; but I question
their having any foundation in fact. Those Malay families whose young
men are thus employed as _sampan_-men, are called _Orang-Laut_, or
"People of the sea," from their living entirely afloat. The middle of
the river just opposite the town of Singapore, is crowded with boats
about twenty feet long by five wide, in which these poor people are
born, live, and die. They are wretched abodes, but are preferred, from
long custom I fancy, by their inhabitants, who, if they chose, could
find room on shore to build huts that would cost less than these marine
dwellings.
Each different class of the inhabitants of the Island have their own
place of worship. The English Church, built in 1836 by a contribution
from the Government and a subscription among the European inhabitants,
is a handsome building in a central situation, capable of holding four
times as many people as are likely to be ever collected within it: it is
neatly fitted up, but lacked a steeple, or even a belfry. This
deficiency, however, is about to be supplied by a subscription raised at
the suggestion of the Bishop of Calcutta, during his last official visit
to this portion of his immense diocese.[7]
[Footnote 7: Since this was written, the Chapel has been much
improved, and an elegant steeple added to it. There seems to be
some fatality attaching to Clergymen at Singapore. The last
three incumbents, Messrs. Burn, Darrah, and White, all died
young, and of the same complaint, namely, diseased liver. My
own opinion is, that they were all three too strict adherents
to teetotalism. In warm climates, a moderate and rather liberal
allowance of wine, I believe to be absolutely necessary.]
The Chinese pagoda is a splendid building, according to the celestial
taste in such matters, and is really well worth seeing: the carving and
general fitting-up of the interior are very beautiful, and substantial
enough to make one believe they will last a thousand years, as the
Chinese say they will. In the centre, the Queen of Heaven is seen decked
forth in robes of the most superb figured satin, richly embroidered
with gold; robes that the wealthiest dames of the proudest cities of
Europe might envy, but the like to which they never can possess. Her
Majesty was brought from China; and the owner of the junk in which she
came, would not receive a penny as freight for the room she occupied. On
her arrival in Singapore harbour, the whole Chinese population of the
Island turned out to see her land, and paraded her through the town,
with all the noise they could by any possibility extract from about a
thousand gongs. The building in which she has taken up her quarters,
cost 40,000 Spanish dollars, and does credit to the Chinese workmen of
Singapore. One day, shortly after the building of this temple, I asked
an intelligent and wealthy Chinese, how often he went to it. His answer,
in broken English, ran thus: "Sometime one moon, sometime two moon.
Suppose I want ask God for something, I go churchee. Suppose I no want
ask any thing, what for I go?" On my asking whether he never went to
return thanks for past favours, he seemed to think my question a very
silly one, and said, "No use."
The American Chapel is a remarkably neat little building. Besides these,
there is no other place of worship in Singapore worthy of notice.
Before quitting the subject of the inhabitants of this land of perpetual
summer, I must mention one class which the others would gladly get rid
of: I allude to the tigers of a large size which abound here, and which,
having cleared the jungles of wild-hog and jackalls, and nearly so of
deer, have lately commenced preying on man, to whom they have become a
most formidable and dreaded foe. Were I to set down the number of
unfortunate individuals who have, since 1839, been killed by these lords
of the forests, I should scarcely expect to be credited. Let any one
look over the newspapers of the Island for the last five or six years,
and they will tell him a tale of horror that will make his blood freeze.
Many of the more distant gambia-plantations have been deserted by their
proprietors in consequence of the ravages of these monsters. Government,
in the hope of remedying or mitigating the evil, offered a reward of one
hundred dollars for every tiger brought in alive or dead; but so dense
are the jungles in which they seek shelter, that their pursuers have
hitherto been far from successful. One is brought in now and then, for
which the captor receives his reward, and sells the flesh for some forty
dollars more; for the reader must know, that the flesh of a tiger is
readily purchased and eagerly eaten by the Chinese, under the notion
that some of the courage of the animal will be thereby instilled into
them. Some time before I left the Island, a Malay fell in with two tiger
cubs in the woods, and captured one of them: next day, he went back,
like a fool, alone, in search of the other, when the dam captured and
made a meal of him; a lesson to his countrymen, which has effectually
cured them of meddling with tiger-whelps. On another occasion, a
China-man, having set a trap for tigers, took a walk out about midnight,
to see if his plan had been successful. He paid dearly for his temerity,
being carried off by some prowling monster; and his mangled body was
found near the place a few days afterwards.
CHAPTER IV.
SINGAPORE.
TRADE OF SINGAPORE--CHINESE TRADERS--BUGIS
TRADERS--SIAMESE AND COCHIN CHINESE--ARAB
SMUGGLERS--BORNEO--TRADE WITH CALCUTTA--
COMMERCIAL PROSPECTS.
The trade of Singapore has, until within the last three years, gone on
increasing; but it has now, in the opinion of many people, reached its
ultimatum. The harbour is visited regularly by native vessels from all
the neighbouring islands, as well as from the Continent; and I shall
proceed to notice the nature and value of their trade, respectively,
class by class.
And first as to the China junks. These unwieldy vessels visit the Island
in numbers varying from one hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty
per annum, their size ranging from fifty to five hundred tons: they are
manned and navigated entirely by Chinese. They of course come with the
monsoon, and reach Singapore in the months of January, February, and
March. Their cargoes form a very material item in the trade of the
place, and consist of tea, raw silk, camphor, Nankin (both yellow and
blue), immense quantities of coarse earthenware, and supplies of all
kinds for the myriads of Chinese that reside on this and the
neighbouring islands. The season of their arrival is one of great
activity in the Chinese bazaars, and gives an impulse to the trade of
the importer of Manchester and Glasgow manufactures. Their commanders
and supercargoes are cautious dealers, and usually sound the market well
before disposing of their commodities. Sometimes, however, they
overstand their market, and suffer by refusing the first offers made.
This was particularly the case in the season of 1841, in the article of
tea, which fell in price with every overland mail that came in, making
these wary men rue their having declined the offers that had been made
them previously. Most of them are opium-smokers; and their countrymen,
with whom they deal, take care to keep them well supplied with this
luxury, and obtain many a good bargain from them when under its
influence.
The export cargoes of this class of vessels consist principally of raw
cotton, cotton yarn, cotton goods, opium, béche-de-mer or sea slug,
pepper, tin, rattans, edible birds'-nests, deers' sinews, sharks' fins,
fish maws, &c. Of the first three articles, they have of late taken
annually the following quantities:--raw cotton, 20,000 bales of 300
lbs. each; cotton goods, 50,000 pieces of 40 yards each; opium, 2000
chests of 164 lbs. each; the aggregate value of which I put down, in
round numbers, at two millions of dollars.
Many of the small junks that arrive with the last of the north-east
monsoon in April, are fast-sailing craft, and come expressly for opium,
to pay for which they bring nothing but bullion: they take their
departure early in May, and smuggle the drug into Canton by paying the
usual bribe to the Mandarins. All the large junks have sailed on their
return voyage by the end of June. Some few of them that waited in 1841
till the middle of July, in the hope of getting opium cheaper than their
neighbours who sailed earlier, encountered heavy gales in the Chinese
sea; and one or two of them were lost with valuable cargoes. This lesson
has not been lost upon their successors, who have since taken care to
run no such risks. Advantage is taken of the opportunity afforded by the
return of these junks, every season, by the Chinese residents, to make
remittances to their families in China; and the masters of them are
entrusted with their remittances, which usually consist of money,
though, occasionally, rice and other useful articles are sent. The
shipper pays the master a per-centage on the sum transmitted; and
instances of fraud on the part of the latter are extremely rare. A boy
about fourteen years of age whom I had as a servant in my house at
Singapore, used to ask me for a month's wages in advance, to send to his
mother in Macao. Hundreds of similar instances might be adduced. This is
one of the bright traits in the Chinese character.
The native traders next in importance to the Chinese, are the Bugis.
These arrive in October and November, bringing in their uncouth-looking
vessels, large quantities of coffee of very good quality, gold-dust,
tortoise-shell, native clothes (celebrated all over the Archipelago for
their durability), béche-de-mer, deer-sinews, rice, &c. They come from
the different ports on the islands of Celebes, &c., but principally from
Macassar. They are a shrewd race, but are no match for their Chinese
competitors. On the arrival of a boat, her _hakoda_ (or commander) lands
with nearly every man on board; and he may be seen walking all over the
place for a few days before making any bargain. They are a troublesome
set to deal with, and require the exercise of more patience than a
European in these parts generally possesses. They are, however, always
received with a hearty welcome by the Chinese of the Island, who,
inviting them to be seated, immediately hand round the _siri-box_
(betel-nut, arica leaf, &c.) among them; and over this universal luxury,
they will sit and talk on business matters for hours, during which time
it may be fairly calculated that both host and guests tell a lie per
minute, without betraying by their countenances the slightest
consciousness of having been thus engaged. This strange sort of
preliminary negotiation goes on, probably, for a week; at the end of
which the passer-by may see the contents of the different Bugis boats
entering the Chinese shops or stores, as the case may be. On getting rid
of his import cargo, the Bugis trader takes a few days more to rest and
refresh himself, before he begins looking round for a return cargo,
which usually consists of opium, iron, steel, cotton yarn, cotton goods,
gold thread, &c. He seldom or never takes money away with him. On an
average, two hundred of these boats come to Singapore in the fall of the
year, each manned by about thirty men. Their crews are not allowed to
land armed with the _kriss_ or any other weapon; a wise precaution, as
they are rather too fond of having recourse to them in the event of any
quarrel or misunderstanding with those with whom they deal.
Notwithstanding this salutary regulation, I have witnessed serious
disturbances, ending, on more than one occasion, in bloodshed, between
these traders and the bazaar shopkeepers of Singapore. What I refer to
occurred many years ago, however, and is not very likely to happen
again, as the reins are kept much tighter over them than of yore. They
are essentially a maritime people, and are not, as far as I have ever
heard, addicted to piracy. They generally sail in small fleets, and are
quite prepared to defend themselves against the common Malay pirate, who
meets a stout resistance when he meddles with them. Like most, or, I may
say, all the inhabitants of this part of the world, they deal more or
less in slaves; and it would not be difficult to prove their having sold
boys and girls in Singapore within these ten years, though I firmly
believe that the disgraceful traffic has been put an entire stop to of
late. These men visit, during the months in which the south-east monsoon
prevails, Torres Straits, and the numerous islands in that
neighbourhood, for the purpose of gathering béche-de-mer and
tortoise-shell. They pick up, also, slaves from Papua (New Guinea), for
whom they find a ready market in Celebes. Our settlement of Port
Essington has long been a favourite resort of the Bugis trader; and were
the Government to encourage Chinese and other settlers, by giving them
grants of land, to establish themselves there, there can be no doubt
that it would soon become a very important place, instead of a mere
military station, or rather place of banishment, for some fifty royal
marines. As for its being a refuge for shipwrecked seamen, I have never
heard of an instance of a crew of the numerous vessels annually lost in
Torres Straits seeking shelter there. This state of affairs would be
altered, however, were the port thrown open to the commercial world. As
it is, a shipwrecked crew landing there, might have to remain a
twelvemonth for an opportunity to get away again; consequently, every
seaman placed in that unfortunate position, pushes on in his open boat
to the Dutch settlements on the island of Timor.
Next in importance to the Bugis, I may rank the Siamese and Cochin
Chinese traders, who arrive at Singapore during the north-east monsoon.
The trade of these two countries used to be carried on entirely in junks
peculiar to each of them respectively; but the state of things has been
materially altered of late. The sovereigns of Siam and Cochin China have
recently built and fitted-out several square-rigged vessels, those of
Siam being commanded by Europeans, and manned by natives of that
country. These vessels are the private property of the kings whose flags
they bear, and are loaded on their account and at their risk. Their
cargoes consist principally of sugar and rice, which find ready
purchasers in Singapore. The sugar of Siam is of very superior quality,
and is sent up in large quantities to Bombay, whence it finds its way up
the Indus and the Persian Gulf. The rice of Siam is a superior article,
and has of late been sent in considerable quantities to London. The
grain is liable to the disadvantage of not keeping so well as that of
Bengal or Java; but this fault might, I think, be obviated, partially at
all events, by adopting the Calcutta plan of putting a pound or two of
rice-dust and lime into each bag: this not only tends to preserve the
rice, but repels the destructive weavil; a little black insect that
makes its appearance in wheat and rice, in immense numbers, in those
warm latitudes.
The Cochin Chinese ships generally bring each four thousand _peculs_ of
sugar, which is of three qualities; namely, sixteen hundred _peculs_ of
first quality, the same quantity of second, and eight hundred _peculs_
of the third sort. The first two are good articles, though not equal to
the sugars of Siam. The cargoes of these ships are so carefully put up,
that I have purchased and re-shipped them without opening or weighing
more than five bags out of each hundred, and have never had cause to
repent the confidence thus placed in the seller, who is an _employé_ of
His Cochin Chinese Majesty. In addition to sugar and rice, the Siamese
vessels bring gamboge and cocoa-nut oil of a superior quality: the
former is bought up for the London and Continental markets, and the
latter for consumption in the Straits' settlements. Notwithstanding the
monopolizing system of the sovereigns of the two countries just
mentioned, the trade by junks is still carried on to a limited extent:
their cargo consists of the same articles as the kings' ships bring; and
their owners make money in spite of monopoly and of the iron rod with
which they are ruled.
At the commencement of the rupture between Great Britain and China, His
Siamese Majesty thought proper to follow the example of his Celestial
Brother, and to interdict the trade in opium, which used to flourish in
his dominions. His proclamation prohibiting the trade, came so suddenly
upon the parties concerned in it, and took effect so immediately, that
many of the opium-traders went into his capita of Bang-kok with their
usual cargoes, in utter ignorance of what had taken place, and found
their vessels seized, their cargoes confiscated, and themselves put in
irons and thrown into prison, where they were kept till the interference
of the Singapore Government procured their release as British subjects
trading under the English flag. The restriction on this trade has not
yet been removed (1844); nor is it likely to be, till the king finds
himself in want of money, when he will be glad to allow his subjects to
resume a traffic that yielded him a large revenue in former days.
Siam produces teak timber of excellent quality, which can be had on very
reasonable terms; and of this, the ship-builders of Singapore do not
fail to take advantage. A portion of the Cochin Chinese trade is
carried on in vessels so small and so frail, that it is astonishing that
men can be found to navigate with them the dangerous Chinese Sea: they
do not exceed thirty tons burthen. Being wholly unprovided with
defensive weapons of any description, many of them are annually taken by
the Malay pirates as soon as they make their appearance inside Point
Romania, at the mouth of Singapore Strait. They are lateen-rigged with
mat sails, are fast sailers, hold a good wind, and have a very pretty
appearance when entering the harbour in fleets of fifteen or twenty
sail.
Singapore is annually visited by a large fleet of vessels from all parts
of Java: the most important of these are what are commonly called Arab
ships, that is, ships fitted out and owned by Arabs residing in Java.
They carry the Dutch flag, are commanded by Arabs, and manned by
Javanese. If fame does not belie them, these Arab commanders are
notorious smugglers. This is certain; that they take goods from
Singapore in exchange for the coffee, sugar, rice, &c., which they bring
from Java, and that they give prices that would leave them no margin for
profit, if His Netherlands Majesty's duties were paid on them. For this
sort of illicit trade, the coast of Java offers many facilities in its
numerous small rivers, with which the Arab ship-master is intimately
acquainted. The article of opium, though strictly prohibited by the
authorities of Java, is taken by the Arabs from Singapore in
considerable quantities, notwithstanding the pains and penalties
attached to its being found on board their vessels; and smuggled into
Java the drug most undoubtedly is, let the Dutchmen boast of their spies
and custom-house establishment as they will. These Arab ships are built
of teak, ranging from one hundred and fifty to five hundred tons per
register, and are altogether remarkably fine vessels.
From the islands of Lombok and Bally, directly eastward of Java, the
market of Singapore receives a large annual supply of rice of fair
quality, a small quantity of coffee, and some coarse native cloths, to
which I may add, a few good stout poneys. The boats from these islands
resemble those from Celebes, and are sometimes classed among the Bugis
traders: they carry back, as return cargoes, opium, muskets, copper
cash, a little gold and silver thread, cotton yarn, and cotton
manufactures. These islands have their own Rajahs and laws, but are
narrowly watched and kept in check by their neighbours, the Dutch.
Borneo, notwithstanding its vast extent and immense internal wealth, has
but a limited external trade. Boats from Sambas, Pontianack, and Borneo
Proper, visit Singapore every year, from May till October, and bring
with them black pepper, Malay camphor, gold-dust, rattans, &c. Most
wretched boats they are, and, according to the accounts given to me by
their _hakodas_ (commanders), very difficult to keep afloat when laden.
Little can be said in favour of the natives of the sea-coast of Borneo,
which is, and has been for ages, the haunt of pirates. Many vessels,
particularly native _proas_, have been plundered, and their crews
murdered or carried into slavery, by the marauders of this inhospitable
shore; and it is not twenty years since a visit to it was considered as
highly dangerous even in a well-armed vessel. Whole fleets of piratical
boats ascend from time to time the rivers of this island, and plunder
the native villages, carrying off the females and children as slaves,
murdering the adult males, and setting fire to the houses. The
proceedings of these vagabonds have received some severe checks, of late
years, from the operations of a spirited and enterprising individual,
Mr. James Brooke, whose well-known zeal and activity are beyond all
praise. An occasional visit also from one of Her Majesty's ships, has
done much good; and the recent operations of Capt. Keppel of the Dido,
gave them a check they will not soon get over. The ascertained existence
of extensive veins of coal on the banks of the river of Borneo Proper,
will render that neighbourhood of great importance, on the completion of
the line of steam communication from Ceylon to Hong Kong, _viâ_
Singapore. I believe there is no doubt either as to the large quantity
of coal to be had there, or as to its superior quality. But, upon the
subject of Borneo, I shall have a few words more to say hereafter.
The trade between Calcutta and the Straits' settlements, is both
extensive and important. Vessels from the Hooghly visit Singapore
throughout the year, bringing large supplies of raw cotton, Indian
cotton goods, opium, wheat, &c. In return, they carry back vast
quantities of gold-dust, tin, pepper, sago, gambia, and treasure. It is
no unfrequent occurrence, to find the Singapore market pretty nearly
cleared of the circulating medium after the departure of two or three
clippers for the "City of Palaces." Indeed, treasure and gold-dust are,
in nine cases out of ten, the only safe remittance from the Straits of
Malacca to Calcutta; and those who remit in other modes, frequently
sustain heavy losses, which not only affect the individuals concerned,
but check the trade generally.
I have now given a rapid view of the principal features of the native
trade of Singapore, without pretending to give a perfect account of it.
Before taking leave of this pretty little Island, I will add a few
general remarks upon its condition and prospects. Its actual state, when
I left it in 1842, was far from being as prosperous as I could wish. An
emporium of the trade of the whole of the Eastern Archipelago, its
aggregate imports and exports may be estimated, in round numbers, at
three millions sterling per annum. Trade by barter is the system
generally adopted; and notwithstanding long-continued exertions on the
part of the European mercantile community to establish the cash system,
their success has been so very partial, that nine-tenths of the
remittances to Europe and India in return for goods consigned here for
sale, are made in produce. Severe losses have been sustained here, from
time to time, by the European mercantile firms, in consequence of their
giving credit, to an almost unlimited extent, to Chinese and other
dealers, many of them mere men of straw. During last year, these losses
have amounted to very considerable sums. This has led to renewed and
more strenuous exertions to establish a cash system, but, I fear, with
indifferent success. The present state of the bazaars is very far from
satisfactory: my last accounts state, that no one knows who can be
trusted. The natural consequence of such a state of things is, a serious
decrease in the amount of sales; and had it not been for the demand for
Glasgow and Manchester manufactures, caused by the high price of those
articles in China, the importers would have had four-fifths of their
stocks left on hand.
Of the state of the public health in Singapore, I am able to report
most favourably. Let any one go there and see the European residents of
sixteen and twenty years' standing, and he will be able to judge for
himself. During an intimate acquaintance of eighteen years with this
part of the world, I have never known any endemic disease to prevail;
never heard of more than one European dying of cholera, or of more than
three Europeans being attacked with that disease; never knew but one or
two cases of liver-complaint in which the sufferers had not their own
imprudence to thank for the attack; and, as far as my memory serves me,
cannot reckon up two deaths among the European inhabitants in that long
period. Some one may here whisper, "Look at the state of your Singapore
burying-ground." My reply is, that it is filled by the death of numbers
who have, from time to time, arrived from Calcutta and other parts of
India in a dying state, and who would have died six months sooner, had
they not come to breathe the pure air of Singapore. On this point, I
boldly challenge contradiction.
As to the commercial prospects of this Island, I have some misgivings.
The recent establishment, by Her Majesty's Government, of the British
colony of Hong Kong, and the opening of the northern ports on the coast
of China, will, I fear, give its commerce a check: indeed, it seems
inevitable that it should suffer from these causes. When we consider
the vast importance of the Chinese junk-trade to Singapore, and take
into account the cheaper rate we can supply them, now their ports are
open, at their own doors, with every commodity they require from the
Malay islands, the risk, trouble, and expense they will save by
supplying their wants or disposing of their superfluities, in the
harbours of Shang Hae, Ningpo, Foo Chow, or Amoy, instead of undertaking
the long voyage to the Straits of Malacca for that purpose,--one is at a
loss to conceive on what grounds the sanguine expectation can rest, that
the opening of China will do Singapore no harm. Some of its merchants
evidently share in my anticipation, as they have completed arrangements
for forming establishments at Hong Kong, in order to avail themselves of
the change they expect to take place in the course of the trade. It will
not be this year, nor, probably, the next, that this change will take
place; but, that it must ultimately come to pass, I can see no room to
doubt.[8]
[Footnote 8: Sept. 1845.--Recent accounts from Singapore in
some measure confirm this view. It is noted, among other
things, that the quantity of tea imported by the Chinese junks
in the season of 1844-45 was only 6000 quarter-chests; whereas,
in that of 1843-44, the imports exceeded twenty times that
quantity. Camphor, however, continues to come in as large
quantities as ever. The opium trade again, has diminished
three-fourths; and my prediction that pepper &c. would be
carried to the northern ports of China in European vessels,
has been fulfilled, though, from this branch of commerce,
Singapore, or its merchants, will still derive benefit as
carriers. The Chinese of Singapore have taken up this trade
with great spirit, and will doubtless continue it.]
In other branches of its trade, Singapore will, probably, not suffer so
much from the late arrangements with China; but it will suffer more or
less. It is extremely likely, that a large portion of the rice of Bally
and Lombok, the pepper of Borneo, and the béche-de-mer of Celebes, will
be carried direct to China in European vessels, instead of passing, as
hitherto, through the hands of the Singapore merchants. Whenever a new
mart is opened, there is no want of men, money, or ships to take
advantage of it; and we can place pepper from Borneo, and rice from
Bally, in any port on the coast of China, for less money, by carrying
them there direct from the place of growth, than the Chinese can by
carrying them from Singapore in their junks. These vessels only make one
voyage in the year; whereas a square-rigged vessel can make three with
ease; and it is on account of the greater service performed by the
latter, that she can carry goods to market cheaper than a junk. I
repeat, therefore, that I think the trade of Singapore has reached its
maximum; and that the town has attained to its highest point of
importance and prosperity. Indeed, it is at this moment rather
over-built. A beautiful and healthy town, however, it is; and that it
may not suffer materially or permanently from the causes above
mentioned, but continue to prosper as formerly, is a wish that comes
from the very bottom of my heart.
Singapore is under a Governor, (who also rules over Malacca and Penang,)
Resident Councillors, a Police Magistrate, and some half-dozen
under-strappers. The establishment is altogether an economical one, and,
on the whole, well conducted. It has, moreover, a Court of Justice, with
civil, criminal, and Admiralty jurisdiction, which is presided over by a
Recorder appointed by the Home Government. His authority also extends
over the neighbouring settlements of Malacca and Penang. The Governor
and three Resident Councillors are members of this court. In the absence
of the Recorder, they can and do hold court, and, in extreme cases,
carry into execution sentences of death passed on their own
responsibility. The late Governor, the Honourable S. G. Bonham, held the
post for many years, and left the Island with the good wishes of every
inhabitant. To his credit and honour be it said, that, out of the many
hundreds of civil cases tried and adjudicated by him, I never heard of
one in which his decision was reversed, in the event of the parties
petitioning for and obtaining a new trial from the Recorder. Such
petitions, owing to the well-known love of litigation inherent in the
Asiatic character, were very numerous; but, in nine cases out of ten,
the Recorder saw no reason to grant a new trial; and the few who
succeeded in obtaining new trials, would have been better off without
them, as Mr. Bonham's verdict was always confirmed.
Five, ten, fifteen years ago, the society of Singapore was much more
agreeable than it is now. Not that the parties who composed it then,
were more pleasant people than the present residents; but we met oftener
in those days, and were more sociable when we did meet, and, perhaps,
opened our doors to the stranger oftener than is practised at the
present time. One is apt, however, to be biassed in favour of the times
and the people that seemed to ourselves the most agreeable; I shall
therefore say no more on this delicate subject.
The revenue of Singapore is more than sufficient to pay its expenses: it
arises principally from land-sales and land-tax; from farming out the
privilege of retailing opium and spirits; from the rent paid for public
markets; and from pawnbrokers' licenses. The sums derived from these
sources are increasing every year.
The local police are paid, and roads and bridges are maintained, from a
fund raised by an assessed tax of eight per cent, on the annual value of
fixed property. From this fund, Mr. Tom C---- withdraws a few thousand
dollars occasionally, in order to build a new bridge or to make a new
road; a proceeding that does not give entire satisfaction to the
rate-payers, and is indeed hardly fair towards them, since the new
bridges and roads render available large tracts of land that would
otherwise be valueless, and for which Tom C----'s honourable masters
obtain a handsome price in consequence. The inhabitants grumble at these
proceedings, but can do no more, the sole and whole management of the
fund in question being in the hands of the local Government.
Singapore is a free port; and vessels of all kinds and from all nations
come and go, without paying one penny to Government in any shape. All
that is required of them is, to give in a list of the goods they either
land or ship. This regulation is intended to enable the authorities to
keep a correct statement of the trade of the place; but it is, I am
sorry to add, often evaded by ship-masters and their consignees, who
seem to think that no trade can be profitably conducted without a
certain portion of mystery attaching to it.
CHAPTER V.
DUTCH SETTLEMENTS.
DUTCH SETTLEMENT OF RHIO--ISLAND OF BANCA--
BENCOOLEN--PADANG--CHINESE SLAVE-TRADE--NATIVE
TRIBES OF SUMATRA--PEPPER TRADE.
In September 1826, I visited China for the first time; but, having
recently paid that country a much more extended visit, I shall reserve
for a future chapter my observations upon Chinese affairs; and shall now
proceed to give an account of some of the smaller Dutch colonies or
settlements which I visited about this time.
About forty miles to the eastward of Singapore, on the island of Bintang
(Star), is Rhio, a small Dutch settlement, producing a large quantity of
gambia and some thirty thousand _peculs_ of black pepper per annum. The
bulk of the former article finds its way to Java, where it is
extensively used for dying purposes. Nearly all the pepper is sent to
Singapore in small trading-boats, and is bought up there for the London
and Calcutta markets. My visit to Rhio lasted only thirty-six hours,
during which time I was too busy to be able to look much about me; but
I have since frequently sailed past the town, and through the beautiful
strait of the same name, and can vouch for it, that the lovers of
picturesque scenery will find objects in abundance to attract their
attention. Shortly after entering Rhio straits from the southward, the
navigator is completely land-locked, and appears to be sailing in a
large lake, amid the richest possible scenery; nor can he discern the
slightest appearance of an outlet from this fairy scene, till he is
within half a mile of the west end of the island of Luborn, when, all at
once, the view opens at that part which leads him into the straits of
Singapore. Rhio has the character of being very healthy, and, from its
soil and position, might be rendered productive. It is governed by a
Dutch Resident, and protected by a small garrison and fleet. Of the
activity of this little fleet against the neighbouring pirates, I am
glad to be able to speak most favourably; and I am bound to add a word
in testimony to its Commander's hospitality and kindness to shipwrecked
British seamen, which have been frequently put to the test of late
years, and have on more than one occasion called forth from the
Singapore Chamber of Commerce a vote and letter of thanks.
Shortly after the establishment of Singapore, the Dutch Government
proclaimed Rhio a free port. This measure, fortunately for us, was
adopted rather too late in the day to do any injury to the trade of Sir
Stamford Raffles's pet settlement, or much good to its neighbour. It
must be somewhat galling to the good folk of Rhio, to see some hundreds
of vessels of all descriptions under the Dutch flag sail past their
harbour every year, bound for Singapore, where they transact business to
a large amount; favouring this port, probably, with a short visit on
their return, for the purpose of purchasing a few hundred _peculs_ of
gambia for the Java market.
On the north-east point of Bintang, is a dangerous reef, on which the
clipper-bark Sylph struck in 1835, and on which she lay for four months,
defying the fury of the north-east monsoon and the heavy rolling swell
from the Chinese Sea; thus proving beyond a doubt the great strength of
a teak-built ship. An English ship in the same circumstances would not
have held together a week; as was subsequently proved in the case of the
Heber.
Mintow (Muntok according to the Dutch) is the capital of the island of
Banca, so long celebrated for its tin-mines. This is a poor town, and
very unhealthy: it is situated on the west side of the island, and faces
the straits of Banca, having the low, swampy shore of Sumatra opposite.
When Banca was occupied in common with the other Dutch colonies by the
British, it proved fatal to nearly the whole of the garrison. The Banca
fever is, perhaps, one of the most dangerous diseases with which man is
afflicted: those who are fortunate enough to recover from it, are
subject for life to severe nervous attacks at the full and change of the
moon. I well remember two gentlemen in Batavia, who could scarcely lift
their hands to their heads at these periods, though twenty years had
elapsed since they had had this terrible fever. The Dutch troops still
continue to suffer severely from this cause; and to be sent to Banca
from Java, is looked upon as the hardest lot that can befall a soldier.
Its tin-mines continue to be very productive, and yield 60,000 _peculs_
of pure metal per annum. From this source, the Dutch authorities derive
a considerable revenue. They employ Chinese miners, to whom they pay six
dollars for every _pecul_ of tin delivered on the coast in a pure state,
which they sell readily in Java for sixteen dollars per _pecul_; thus
getting ten dollars clear profit, less about half a dollar per _pecul_,
which it costs to send the tin to Batavia for sale. As far as I know,
Banca yields nothing else; and the rice eaten by the Chinese miners, is
sent regularly from Java.
The rivers on this island are infested by very large alligators, which,
from the scarcity of food, become highly dangerous. Their hunger drives
them sometimes to attack boats, as they are rowed up the rivers; and
serious accidents occur from time to time in this way. I could tell one
or two marvellous tales about the ferocity and bold attacks of these
river-monsters, but refrain from doing so, lest they should lead the
incredulous reader of these rambling sketches to doubt my veracity. The
straits of Banca were at one time the resort of numerous Malay pirates:
the activity of the Dutch cruisers has, however, rendered their once
dangerous neighbourhood perfectly safe, so far as the attacks of these
marauders are concerned. I have sailed many times through the straits of
Sunda, Banca, Rhio, Dryan, Malacca, and Singapore, since 1823, and have
known some few European vessels and many native proas taken; but, in all
my voyages up and down, I never saw a boat or proa that I felt certain
was a pirate. I have, indeed, seen many very suspicious-looking craft
off Singin, and between that island and the north end of Banca; but, as
they never molested us, I am willing to let their characters pass free,
so far as I am concerned.
The once thriving settlement of Bencoolen, (or Fort Marlborough,) which
I visited at different times between 1828 and 1830, I found, even then,
to have declined very seriously from its former prosperity. Previously
to its transfer, in 1825, to the Dutch, great exertions were made to
render this settlement important for its exportation of spices of all
descriptions; and, so far as regards nutmegs, mace, and cloves, those
exertions were eminently successful. Planters and others, however, soon
found that, on the hauling down of the British flag, and the hoisting of
the Dutch, their prospects underwent a very material change, arising
from duties and other charges laid on the commerce of the place. Most of
the capitalists retired with the British establishment, of which,
indeed, they formed a part. A hard struggle was maintained by those
planters who remained behind, but without success; and the place is now
very little more than a station for a Dutch Assistant-Resident and a
small garrison.
Bencoolen harbour is a dangerous one, particularly during the prevalence
of the boisterous north-west monsoon, which blows with such violence on
this part of the west coast of Sumatra. Ships generally anchor close
under the lee of Rat Island and reef, where they find smooth water,
unless the weather is unusually severe. This anchorage is seven miles
from the wharf where merchandise is landed, and considerable risk is
occasionally incurred by the cargo boats in making good this short
distance. In very stormy weather, ships and boats also are compelled to
seek shelter in Pulo Bay; a vile, unhealthy place situated about twelve
miles south-east of Rat Island, and surrounded with a low, swampy,
agueish-looking country. The Siamese suffer severely in this harbour
from fever and ague, and ship-masters are glad to leave it as soon as
the weather moderates. In my time, there was a convenient covered wharf
at Bencoolen for landing goods, but not a vestige now remains: it was
originally built by the English, and the Dutch have not cared to
preserve or replace it. In the present wretched state of the settlement,
indeed, it is of trifling consequence, since little difficulty can be
found by the few merchants from Java who from time to time visit
Bencoolen, in landing the small quantities of goods they may have to
dispose of.
The climate of Bencoolen is the worst it has been my fortune to
encounter since I left Europe. The land wind that sets in about seven
P. M., is the most trying breeze I ever encountered. To sit in an open
verandah when it is blowing, is quite out of the question; at least with
impunity. I tried the experiment more than once, and never escaped
without a severe seizure of trembling something like ague, within less
than half an hour. The injurious effects of this land wind may be traced
to the swamps between the hills in the vicinity of the town, which,
unlike those of Singapore, are formed by fresh water, and are no better
than stagnant puddles. In passing over these, the wind becomes of course
charged with malaria, which it distributes in every house between it
and the sea; and woe betide the European who fails to keep out of its
way! Most places that I have visited, have a healthy, as well as an
unhealthy season. Bencoolen is an exception to this rule, being
unhealthy all the year through. Even vegetation suffers here from the
south-east monsoon; and a nutmeg-plantation exposed to its dry, parching
influence, has the appearance of a plantation of heather-brooms more
than of any thing else.[9] The natives do not appear to suffer from the
climate, but seem to be as healthy and long-lived as Asiatics generally.
Of the character of these natives, I can say little that is favourable.
They are indolent, proud, though poor, gamblers, vindictive, and far too
ready with the knife on little or no provocation; they are very fond of
dress, and not over scrupulous how they gratify this taste; for which
purpose I have known them have recourse to theft, lying, robbery, and
even murder. Had they one single spark of energy in their composition,
they might be a thriving and contented people, possessing as they do a
boundless extent of rich virgin soil, which they are too lazy to clear
and cultivate. The place is overrun with a race of petty Rajahs and
other nobles, who are a social pest, being poor, and yet too proud to
strain a nerve to support themselves and their families. Sir Stamford
Raffles succeeded in rousing the ambition of these men a little, by
giving some of them commissions in the local corps, which gratified
their taste for gay attire, and supplied them with a few hundred rupees
per month to keep up a little state. From my sweeping reproach of the
chiefs, I would except these _Radins_[10] with whom I have spent many
pleasant evenings, and who really possessed gentleman-like feelings and
tastes.
[Footnote 9: This remark applies to the side of the tree that
faces the south-east only. The north-west side is perfectly
healthy-looking and green, when its opposite is the very
picture of blight and decay.]
[Footnote 10: Radin, a noble next in rank, in the Malay world,
below a Rajah.]
The transfer of this settlement to the Dutch (in exchange for Malacca)
in 1825, was a severe blow and great disappointment to all the natives,
both high and low. At a meeting of chiefs held at the Government house,
at which the English and Dutch authorities were both present, for the
purpose of completing the transfer, the senior Rajah rose to address the
assembly, and spoke to the following effect:--"Against this transfer of
my country I protest. Who is there possessed of authority to hand me and
my countrymen, like so many cattle, over to the Dutch or to any other
power? If the English are tired of us, let them go away; but I deny
their right to hand us over to the Dutch. When the English first came
here, they asked for and got a piece of land to build warehouses and
dwelling-houses upon. That piece of land is still defined by its
original stone wall, and is all they (the English) ever got from us. We
were never conquered; and I now tell the English and Dutch gentlemen
here assembled, that, had I the power, as I have the will, I would
resist this transfer to the knife. I am, however, a poor man, have no
soldiers to cope with yours, and must submit. God's will be done." This
was a bold, straight-forward speech; but it was thrown away upon the
callous ears of the hearers. Delivered in pure Malay, it sounded
stronger than in this translation. The speaker was an old man, with
whose power and will for mischief, in former days, the British had good
cause to be acquainted.[11]
[Footnote 11: This chief will long be remembered in Bencoolen
for his reckless daring, when a desire of vengeance for any
insult, real or imaginary, stirred the devil within him. Many a
midnight murder was laid at his door, and with justice too, if
I am not very much mistaken. The last time I saw him, he was
very near his end, and spoke of his death as calmly and
tranquilly as if he had lived the purest life imaginable. He is
long since in his grave, and his family has sunk into
insignificance. I do not believe a more thorough villain ever
walked the earth.]
The country round Bencoolen is, with the exception of the
spice-plantations, covered with a thick forest. The soil is rich, and,
as I have said, might be turned to good account, by means of a small
portion of energy on the part of the natives. The forests abound with
the tiger and the elephant. The former finds plenty of game to feed on,
and, consequently, seldom molests man. It is not an unusual occurrence
for a single tiger to attack a herd of cattle when grazing in the
neighbourhood of their owner's grounds: singling out his intended
victim, he pursues it to the last, without, in general, attempting to
injure any of the rest As soon as the cattle see or smell the
approaching tiger, they become quite wild, and run at their full speed
towards their herdsman, whom they surround apparently for their own
protection, and continue in great commotion, though without attempting
to run, till their enemy is either driven away, or has succeeded in
capturing one of their number. The elephant is here of a large size, and
is occasionally caught in snares by the natives for the sake of his
tusks, which I have seen weighing one hundred and twenty pounds each.
This huge animal is not dangerous to man, unless his path is crossed,
when, particularly if a single male one, he becomes a formidable
neighbour. He is easily tamed; but the native here is too indolent to
trouble himself with the task. The only one I ever saw made use of, was
sent by the King of Acheen to Sir Stamford Raffles, and was, in my time,
the property of my friend, Mr. Robert Bogle. Strange stories are told
of the power, sagacity, and cunning of this monarch of the woods. Among
other feats, the natives say, it is not uncommon for one elephant to lie
down, and let another stand upon his back, in order that he may reach
higher up a cocoa-nut tree, and have a better chance of pushing it down.
I tell the tale as it was told to me, not caring to vouch for its truth.
Bencoolen is occasionally visited by the hill tribes from the mountains
in its neighbourhood: they come down in bands of ten, fifteen, or twenty
men, bringing with them gold-dust to barter for opium. As neither rice
nor cocoa-nuts grow in the elevated region inhabited by them, they
usually bring also a few bags of potatoes to exchange for those
luxuries. They are a hardy race of men, strongly built, of middle
stature, and have very thick black beards; a singular feature in an
inhabitant of this island. I am sorry to add, that they sometimes visit
the coast for other and less legitimate purposes than barter; and that
their kidnapping children to make slaves of, is no uncommon occurrence.
Several instances of this kind took place in 1829, within my certain
knowledge.
I have frequently heard it said, "Go where you will, you are sure to
find a rat and a Scotchman." My having visited Bencoolen enables me to
contradict this aphorism; for I there found abundance of rats, one
Englishman, and not a single Scot. I must confess, however, that this is
the only place in which I have ever found the Englishman without the
Scot.
Cock-fighting is carried on to a great extent here, and is indulged in
by the natives, high and low. On market-days, vast numbers of natives
may be seen wending their way to the cock-pit attached to each market or
bazaar, with one of the celebrated Malay game-cocks under their arms. At
the pit, some hundreds of these birds may be seen in the hands of the
fanciers, who weigh and examine them thoroughly before betting on them.
As soon as the bets are arranged, the two birds first on the list are
brought into the centre of the pit, and armed by their owners with a
fearful spur about four inches long, of the shape of a scythe, and as
sharp as a razor. The combat seldom lasts a minute, the first charge
generally rendering one, and frequently both the combatants
_hors-de-combat_, by inflicting on them mortal wounds. Then begins the
most disgusting part of the scene. The owner of each bird takes him up,
blows into his mouth and eyes, and uses every exertion to make the poor
tortured victim give the last peck to his adversary. Failing this last
peck, the battle is a drawn one. Bets are usually paid, particularly in
the country, in gold dust, which is weighed out in small ivory
steelyards kept for the purpose. The Dutch, with their usual policy,
derive a revenue from every cock-pit within their boundary here. For my
own part, I am not inclined to blame them, and think our revenue at all
the three Straits' settlements might be materially increased, and the
scamps of those places kept in better order, by having every
gambling-house in them registered and subjected to a tax. To put a stop
to gambling in any Asiatic town, is beyond the power of man; and the
attempt to do so, only drives the gamester to the secret haunts where he
may indulge his propensity, and where, I fear, too often he becomes a
witness of, if not a participator in deeds of blood. As a grand juror in
Singapore, I have had evidence enough of this.
From Bencoolen, I proceeded to Padang, another Dutch settlement, about
two hundred miles up the coast of Sumatra. Padang, as its name implies,
is situated in a plain, and is a very few feet above the level of the
sea; yet, it is a healthy place. It was once in possession of a
considerable trade, but this has diminished of late years, in most
articles, except coffee, of which I am told it now exports 60,000
_peculs_ per annum. The harbour or anchorage is about five miles from
the mouth of the small river on the banks of which the town stands, and
is a dangerous one in boisterous weather, having little or no protection
from the fury of the north-west monsoon. The trade from Java to this
part of Sumatra, consists principally of rice, salt, native clothing,
and a few supplies for the European and Chinese inhabitants of the
place: in return, it sends coffee and pepper. There is a disgraceful
traffic carried on between Padang and the island of Nias, a little
further up the coast, by Chinese, who visit that island, and purchase
hundreds of its inhabitants, for whom they find markets all along the
coast. Those brought to Padang, are not, indeed, sold as slaves; but
they are registered at the Resident's office, and held as bond-debtors
for different terms of seven, fifteen, and even twenty years: during
this servitude, they are treated as slaves, but are free at its
expiration; they have also the option of buying their liberty in the
meantime, if they can raise the means; and the proprietor is not at
liberty to refuse a sum equivalent to the value of the unexpired term of
service. This value is fixed thus: on the registering of a debtor, a
certain sum is put down as his value or debt; say 400 rupees; of this
sum, a certain proportion, say 20 rupees, is placed to his credit for
every year he serves; so that, if he serves his master for five years,
his debt is reduced to three hundred rupees; and this sum, the master is
compelled to accept as the price of his liberation. If a debtor has a
hard master, he is at liberty to induce another to buy his services; and
the transfer cannot be declined, if the sum due is forthcoming. These
Nias people are, men and women, a much fairer race than Malays, and
speak a language of their own. Many of the men become expert carpenters,
bricklayers, blacksmiths, &c., which enables them to earn money and
purchase their freedom; and for such skilled artisans, the master can
demand no more as the price of their freedom than the balance due upon
their services. I have seen boat-loads of these poor creatures landed at
Padang, consisting of old men, women, boys, girls, and mere infants,
looking wretched enough, and marched off to the police-office to be
registered and sold. This is a black spot in the Dutch administration of
affairs in Sumatra.
The proceedings of the Dutch on the coast of Sumatra, are a sore subject
to the Singaporeans, as having interfered with their trade with the
north-west coast of the island. By means of the extension of the Dutch
posts from Padang into the interior, they compel the native to carry his
coffee thither, instead of taking it, as formerly, down the Siak river,
and thence to Singapore. This accounts, in a great degree, for the
increase in the export of that berry from Padang, from thirty to sixty
thousand _peculs_ per annum, between the year 1828 and 1838.
Padang is very subject to frequent earthquakes, being surrounded with
volcanic mountains. To look at its houses, one would think that a single
shock would level the whole town. The best of them consist of a frame
of wood, each post standing on a single stone, which is simply laid on
the ground, not let into it; the vacancies between the posts and the
cross-pieces of framework, are filled up with lath and plaster; and the
roof is almost invariably of thatch. They resemble huge stools resting
upon stones, to keep the legs from sinking into the earth, and look as
if the first breeze would upset them. An earthquake shakes them, and
makes them vibrate, but seldom or ever injures them; whereas a brick and
mortar house, subjected to the same severe trial, would certainly give
way, unless it were of very substantial workmanship. I have experienced
several severe shocks of earthquakes, both here and at Bencoolen, and at
first felt very much disposed to quit the house; but custom reconciles
one to almost every thing, even to seeing your dwelling-house dancing,
or "Jumping _Jim Crow_."
Since the Dutch got possession of this part of Sumatra, they have almost
constantly been at war with a neighbouring tribe of natives, who, from
their fanatical zeal in the cause of the Mohammedan faith, have obtained
the name of _Padres_; and the war is called the _Padre_ war. These men
have occasioned the Government a vast deal of trouble, and cost it a
mint of money, as well as many valuable lives. When beaten in the field,
they suddenly disperse and retreat to their mountain fastnesses, where
they remain to strengthen themselves, and watch their opportunity to
make a fresh attack on the Dutch posts. In this manner they harass their
opponents, and occasionally inflict upon them a very severe blow. I
heard at Padang, that, when the country was ceded to the Dutch, in 1818,
these _Padres_ had said, they would never submit to their power; and
well have they kept their word.
Sumatra, were it under a European power, and peopled as well as Java is,
would soon rival that island. Its soil is, for the most part, equally
fertile, and yields coffee, pepper, nutmegs, &c. Only a small portion of
the territory is subject to the Dutch: the remainder is inhabited by
various tribes, who speak different languages, and mix but little
together. They are mostly an indolent people, and require driving by
their chiefs to make them work for a day or two now and then. The
comparatively small produce exported from this large and fertile island,
is obtained almost entirely by forced labour.
The pepper trade of the ports to the northward of Padang, has ceased to
be a profitable one, and is now neglected. European shipmasters used to
complain bitterly of the roguery practised upon them by the native
dealers; but who taught the native his roguish tricks? Who introduced
false weights? Who brought to the coast 56lb. weights with a screw in
the bottom, which opened for the insertion of from ten to fifteen pounds
of lead, _after their correctness had been tried by the native in
comparison with his own weights_? Who made it a regular rule, in their
transactions with the native dealer, to get 130 _catties_ of pepper to
the _pecul_, thus cheating him of thirty per cent, of his property? I
challenge contradiction, when I assert, that English and American
shipmasters have for thirty years been addicted to all these dishonest
practices. The cunning and deceit of the native traders, at the pepper
ports of Sumatra, have been taught them by their Christian visiters, and
forced upon them in self-defence. An acquaintance of mine, who had made
some purchases from a native, went on shore next morning to receive the
goods. When the pepper was being weighed, he told the native clerk, he
was cheating. The man denied it, and told the party he lied. The
European raised his fist, and threatened to chastise the native, who
coolly put his hand on his ever-ready _kris_, and said, "Strike, sir."
The raised hand dropped to its owner's side, and well it was that it did
so; or the party would not have lived to tell the tale of his having
threatened the clerk of a Sumatra Rajah. A large portion of the pepper
used to be paid for in dollars; and it is a singular fact, that,
notwithstanding the number imported in this way, no one ever saw a
single dollar exported, or seems to know what becomes of them. It is
generally supposed, that the Rajahs buy them, and that they often die
without revealing where their treasure is deposited. Be this as it may,
it is very difficult, under any circumstances, to extract a dollar from
the chiefs of this coast.
The trader in this part of the world, works hard for whatever he may
earn, having to encounter much severe weather, and to go through a heavy
surf every time he lands. Indeed, so heavy and dangerous is the surf,
that few ships' boats are fit to go through it. The shipmaster generally
rows to the back of it in his own boat, and obtains one from the shore
to land in. Of this, the native does not fail to take advantage in the
event of any dispute, knowing that his customer cannot leave the shore
without a boat, to be had only through his influence; and it is no
uncommon thing for the European to be detained all night, and made to
settle accounts in the morning before going off. The coast of Sumatra,
from Acheen Head to Flat Point,(its two extremes in this direction,) is
a highly dangerous one, being iron-bound, with a heavy surf and many
reefs off it. I envy not the man who has to make his voyage here against
the north-west monsoon. The Dutch are extending their ports on the
sea-board from Padang northward, and will ere long reach Acheen Head;
when they will have a struggle, if the Acheenese people possess a
moderate portion of their ancient gallantry and hatred of
Europeans.[12]
[Footnote 12: Since my return home, I have seen an account of
the proceedings of two of Her Majesty's sloops on the coast of
Sumatra from Acheen eastward. Sir W. Parker, with his usual
promptitude, sent them there from Penang, to punish the
perpetrators of some acts of piracy lately committed on British
vessels. The service has been most effectually performed; and
the marauding native has been taught, that, distant as he may
be, punishment is the certain result of meddling with the flag
of England. The ships of war in and about the straits of
Malacca, would do much good to the commerce of their country by
an occasional visit to Acheen and the coast of Pedir. There is
nothing like the sight of a few eighteen-pounders for keeping
the domineering Malay Rajah in check.]
CHAPTER VI.
MALACCA AND PENANG.
Malacca, which I first visited in 1829, and have repeatedly revisited,
is completely shorn of its ancient glory, and is no longer of the
slightest importance, either as a military position or as a trading
mart. Penang, at one end of the Straits, and Singapore at the other,
have destroyed its prosperity; and it is now a poverty-stricken place,
with little or no trade. The town is built in the old Dutch fashion,
each house with its out-offices forming a square with a yard in the
centre. The Government offices are still held in the ancient
Stadt-House, a venerable pile built by the worthy Dutch burghers some
hundred and fifty years ago, and retaining to this day its ancient
furniture of ebony, many pieces of which, by the way, have lately
supplied patterns for modern sofas and other furniture. The European
population is composed almost entirely of the civil servants of the
Government and the military men, who reside principally in the immediate
neighbourhood of the town, not liking their Malay neighbours well enough
to feel inclined to spread far into the country. Some few attempts have
been made, within the last fifteen years, to establish nutmeg and other
plantations at Malacca; I fear, without much success. Not that the trees
do not thrive, but that labour is scarce, owing to the prevailing
indolence of the people in this part of the world. Moreover, occasional
disturbances among the natives render a residence on the spot (without
which little success can be expected) any thing but pleasant. The place
is a burthen to the East-India Company, as its revenues do not pay half
its expenses.
The country round Malacca is mountainous, and covered with large timber.
In its neighbourhood are several tin-mines, which yield a metal some
twenty per cent. inferior to that of Banca. This tin finds its way, like
every thing else in the Archipelago, to Singapore, where it has of late
fetched only thirteen dollars and a half _per pecul_.
There is a race of men at Malacca, who appear to be the descendants of
some natives of Malabar who settled there a century ago, and Malay
women; a bad breed certainly, and the men I speak of seem to possess all
the _devilry_ of both races. Numbers of them visit Singapore from time
to time, bringing among other things, thousands of the Malacca canes
which are so much esteemed in England. They have other employments, if
fame does not belie them, not quite so creditable to their characters.
Here, also, may be found many descendants of the old Portuguese
inhabitants, who have here, as elsewhere all over the East, degenerated
sadly, and, but for their dress, could not be distinguished from the
other natives, except that the latter are a much finer race. These
Portuguese are, for the most part, wretchedly poor, and, apparently,
will soon become extinct. Very few of the descendants of the old Dutch
inhabitants are to be found here now: those still remaining are
principally shopkeepers, and are much more respectable in every way than
their Portuguese fellow subjects. Slavery, until lately, existed in a
domestic form in Malacca; it has, however, been completely done away
with through the representations and exertions of the late Governor, Mr.
Bonham.
Malacca forms a pretty picture from the sea, and, to the passer-by,
seems an attractive spot: his disappointment, on landing, however, would
be great, and few inducements to prolong his stay will be found,
excepting the climate. This, to the invalid from Bengal, is a treat, on
which I have heard many expatiate in glowing terms after their return,
with renewed health, to Calcutta.
Penang, or Prince of Wales Island, is, perhaps, the most beautiful of
the three Straits settlements, though it is certainly not the most
salubrious, being occasionally visited by a very severe fever, which, in
my time, carried off many of the European inhabitants.[13]
[Footnote 13: At this moment, I cannot recal to recollection a
single existing resident of Penang who has not arrived there
since 1829. The Europeans of that time have all, or nearly all,
been removed by death.]
Here, the nutmeg and the clove come to perfection; and the produce of
Penang commands higher prices in the London market, than the spice of
any other country with which I am acquainted. The estates of Mr. Brown
are the finest on the Island; and the hospitality of their proprietor is
unsurpassed. Of late years, the profits of spice-plantations have become
somewhat precarious, as the supply in the European markets has exceeded
the demand. This has turned the attention of several of the leading
people on the Island to the sugar-cane, which thrives here well, and is
now to be seen covering large tracts which very recently were lying
waste. The sugar-planter here, however, labours under the same
disadvantage, as to import-duty in England, as his brother planter of
Singapore, which, if not altered, will mar his prospects. Strong
representations on the subject have been made to the Bengal Government,
and (I believe) to the Court of Directors, as yet without effect.
The revenue of Penang is derived from the same sources as that of
Singapore, but falls short of the annual expenses of the place. This may
be accounted for by the falling off in its trade, and the decrease in
its population, since the establishment of the last-named settlement. It
still retains a considerable trade with Sumatra, the coast of
Coromandel, and Calcutta, but its direct trade with England is almost
entirely cut up. It is also the _dépôt_ for the tin collected at
Junkseylon, and other places on the Malay coast immediately opposite.
Altogether, however, the establishment of Singapore has very much
injured Penang, and thinned its population, rendering its houses of
little or no value, and giving to its streets a deserted appearance from
which they will never recover.
The plain on which the town stands, is bounded on two sides by the sea,
and, beyond the town, is dotted over with pretty garden-houses: it is
intersected in all directions by good roads, which are lined throughout
with the prettiest of all hedges, composed of the dwarf bamboo. Beyond
this plain, the country becomes hilly and covered with woods, except a
spot here and there, where the spice-planter has made his clearing, and
built his bungalow. On the tops of several of these hills, which are
higher and more extensive than those of Singapore, may be seen bungalows
for convalescents, approachable only by a bridle path, up which the
stout little poneys of the Island carry bravely the health-seeking or
pleasure-seeking party. These spots are delightful residences; and the
climate is cool enough at night to make a blanket on the bed most
welcome and comfortable, I have my doubts whether these are fit places
for the invalid to resort to, particularly if his complaint be of a
pulmonary nature. Immediately after sun-set, the hill top is enveloped
in a dense fog, which makes every thing in the house feel damp, and
which does not disappear till ten A. M. next day. It were worth while to
ride up one of these hills, for the sole purpose of watching the
clearing off of the fog in the morning: the visiter taking his stand in
the verandah about nine A. M., and looking down, in the direction of the
plain, on the dense mass of fog hanging over the town and suburbs, sees
it by degrees clear away like a curtain slowly withdrawn, and the
houses, roads, bridges, &c., appear below him as if springing up there
by magic. Add to this, the fleet of shipping in the harbour, the
opposite plains of Province Wellesley, and the distant mountains
towering in the sky beyond, and a scene may be imagined, that can
scarcely be described; at least, not by my feeble pen. When I first
visited Penang, Province Wellesley was a wilderness, inhabited only by a
thin Malay population and numerous tigers.[14] It now wears another and
more pleasing aspect, large tracts of its fertile soil having been
cleared and brought under cultivation. I know no better spot for the
culture of sugar; and if it does not pay the planter here, those of
Penang or Singapore have but a poor prospect.[15] Penang harbour is a
very commodious and safe one, formed by the narrow strait between that
island and the main land. Ships of three hundred tons may here lie
within pistol-shot of the wharf in perfect safety. I have never seen the
phosphoric light occasionally thrown out by salt-water, so brilliant as
it is here. I recollect being very much struck with it, while sailing
out of the harbour about eight o'clock P. M. We had a fresh breeze, and
each tiny wave looked like a flash of very bright flame, while the
ship's wake resembled the tail of a brilliant comet, more than any thing
else. I leave the naturalist to account for this.
[Footnote 14: Although the jungles of Penang abound with
tigers, I have seldom heard of their preying on man, as they do
in the neighbouring settlement.]
[Footnote 15: Oct. 1845.--Penang has increased in importance
since the foregoing was written. Its sugar-planters have
continued their exertions with energy, sparing neither trouble
nor expense to make their plantations profitable investments.
It gives me much pleasure to be able to add, that their success
seems certain, and that their perseverance in petitioning
Government on the subject of duties, has at length been
rewarded, as it ought sooner to have been.]
CHAPTER VII.
CALCUTTA.
FIRST VIEW OF CALCUTTA--STATE OF SOCIETY--
MERCANTILE CHANGES--UNPLEASANT CLIMATE--SIGHTS
AT AND NEAR CALCUTTA--IMPROVEMENTS IN TRANSIT
AND NAVIGATION--CUSTOM-HOUSE NUISANCE--PILOT
SERVICE--CHARACTER OF THE BENGALEES--RIVER STEAMERS.
In 1829, I visited for the first time the far-famed city of Calcutta,
and have since then paid it four visits. So much, however, has been
written about the "City of Palaces," that it must be nearly as well
known to the English reader as London itself; and I shall therefore say
less respecting it.
The feeling I experienced on first making the land at the mouth of the
Hooghly, was extreme disappointment. To a stranger coming, as I did,
from Java, Singapore, and Penang, nothing can have a more dreary and
desolate appearance than the land about and below Kedgeree. The very
sight is almost enough to bring on the ague; and the abominably filthy
water of the holy stream heightens the feeling of disgust. From Kedgeree
to Diamond Harbour, the view on the low banks of the river improves but
little. Above Diamond Harbour, the river banks are somewhat higher,
buildings are more numerous, and the country appears more cleared and
brought under cultivation. On arriving at Garden Reach, the stranger may
begin to imagine that not wholly without reason Calcutta has acquired
the proud title of the "City of palaces." From the lower part of this
Reach, on the right, the river bank is laid out in large gardens, each
with a handsome mansion in its centre; and the whole scene speaks of
opulence and splendour. Of late years, these magnificent residences have
been much neglected, and what was once the most fashionable part of the
suburbs, has been nearly deserted by the great folk. The reason assigned
for this, is, that the river, in very wet seasons, overflows its banks,
breeding malaria and fever, from which, at the time of my second visit,
the inhabitants suffered not a little. For a year or two, these mansions
stood empty; but, when I last saw them, in 1840, they were nearly all
occupied by mercantile men, who find them pleasant retreats from the
bustle of the city, and seem willing to brave the chance of fever. On
approaching the head of Garden Reach, the stranger all at once beholds
Fort William and the town of Calcutta spread out before him; and a
splendid view it is. Should he arrive in the month of November or
December, he will behold, perhaps, the finest fleet of merchant shipping
the world could produce. Here are seen, besides the flag of Old England,
those of America, France, Holland, Spain, Portugal, and Arabia. I must
not forget to mention the floating taverns or large passenger ships,
which carry home from twenty to forty passengers every voyage; and
besides the fleet of large ships, the river presents steamers,
pleasure-boats, and native craft of all sorts and sizes, from the gay
_budgerow_, to the wretched and more than half rotten _dhingy_. The
scene has, however, its drawbacks. The stranger is shocked and disgusted
at the sight of some half-dozen dead bodies floating down the river, in
all stages of decomposition, some with a vulture perched on them,
gorging himself as he floats down the stream on his hideous raft.
Government has placed people above the town, for the express purpose of
sinking dead bodies and similar nuisances; but they have not succeeded
in effecting their object The last time I went up the river, four human
corpses passed my boat between Kradd's Dock and Colvin's Grant, a
distance of two miles.
Nothing strikes the stranger, on landing for the first time in Calcutta,
so much as the extraordinary aggregation of palaces and mansions,
ordinary dwelling-houses, warehouses, shops, bazaars, stables, huts, and
hovels, all mingled together in glorious confusion, a few streets
forming the only exception. This is a great eye-sore even to the old
resident. I know no part of the world where society is divided into so
many ranks and classes as it is here, nor where pride and pomp hold
their heads higher. To hear some of the great ones of this city talk,
you would think they had sprung from a long line of princely, or, at
least, of noble ancestors. It is often observed, however, that they
seldom or never mention their immediate progenitors, nor the whereabouts
of their birth-place, which, in nine cases out of ten, would be found to
be some humble cottage on the bank of a modest brook in England, or burn
in Scotland. The more obscure or lowly their origin, the more difficult
of access they are generally found. The real gentleman is easily
discovered by his superior breeding and genuine urbanity.
In former days, a young man arriving at Calcutta as a writer, had no
difficulty in raising money by borrowing from some wealthy _circar_; and
many of those very young men are still hampered with debts they can
never pay: though high in office, and enjoying large salaries, they are
tied to the country by their creditors, to whom they are obliged to give
a large portion of their earnings. Times have now changed, and the
native has learned from dear-bought experience, that the European is not
always so worthy of confidence as he at one time thought him.
When I first knew Calcutta, some half-dozen mercantile firms swayed the
trade of the place, and carried every thing before them. Their influence
with the monied natives was great, and their command of ready cash was
proportionably large. This led them into all sorts of wild speculations,
and ultimately proved their ruin, the whole of these houses having
failed (if my memory does not deceive me) before the end of 1832. In
spite of these failures, (which ruined hundreds of widows and orphans,)
the confidence of the natives was not utterly shaken till very recently,
when another batch of similar misfortunes took place, in which many of
the old hands were concerned under new firms. This has entirely broken
up the system, and scattered the commerce of Calcutta among numerous
smaller establishments, setting the wits of the native capitalist to
work to find other employment for his cash. Many of them have entered
upon the opium trade, principally as speculators on the spot, who buy at
the public sales, and re-sell at a small profit; preferring this to
running the risk of the China market. Previously to the mercantile
break-up just mentioned, the members of the leading firms were, with few
exceptions, as exclusive in their society as the leading civilians:
their fall has upset these lofty pretensions, and the mercantile society
of the place is much improved in consequence.
For the hospitality of Calcutta I cannot say much; nor do I know a place
where a friendless stranger landing without good introductory letters,
would meet with a more chilling reception. I do not speak from
experience, having fortunately been properly provided with credentials;
but I do not say it without good authority. Of the hospitality of the
military gentlemen of the Presidency, and especially of the Dum Dum
Artillery, I have pleasure in reporting more favourably. Calcutta has
its theatre, its clubs, its races, and its fox-hounds. On the
race-course may be seen some fine specimens of the Arab horse, small
compared to the English racer, but unsurpassed for spirit and symmetry.
Its amusements and attractions, however, are so outweighed by its
wretched climate, that I would rather pass my days growing sugar in
Singapore, than live amid all the splendour of this proud city.
From April to October inclusive, the weather is oppressively hot, with a
closeness in the atmosphere that renders respiration difficult, and
existence, without a punkah, almost insupportable. I have sat for days
suffering from the heat, and longing for sun-set in hope of relief which
never came; for, even through the long night, the thermometer did not
fall one degree. This extreme heat is occasionally relieved by a
thunder-storm accompanied with a deluge of rain, which clears the
atmosphere, cools the burning soil, and renders breathing an easy
process. The European inhabitants have many ways of rendering the
interior of their dwellings cooler than the external air; but, with all
their means and appliances, they are generally terribly exhausted before
bed-time comes. During this period, the European lady suffers more than
the gentleman, and, by the time the cold weather approaches, looks
haggard and woebegone. Children also suffer much during the summer. In
November, the weather becomes cool, and people begin to think of balls
and other gayeties. The winter, however, is not, in my opinion, a
healthy season, as the bills of mortality will indicate. A heavy fog
then settles over the city and neighbourhood every night, through which,
at sun-rise, one can hardly see ten yards, producing not a bracing cold,
but a chilling damp. This does not last all day, for the heat is severe
from ten A. M. till three P. M., even in mid-winter. The lower class of
natives suffer much, and great numbers die during this season of the
year, as they are very careless, bathe in the river daily as usual, and
are too poor to make any change in their dress, which is far from
sufficient to protect them from the damp nights. The wealthier native
wraps his shoulders in an ample cashmere shawl; but even he leaves his
legs and the lower half of his person with only summer clothing.
During the autumn, Calcutta is a very gay place, and makes up for its
dullness during the summer. This is the season for horse-racing,
hunting, shooting, and theatrical amusements, into which the numerous
indigo-planters who come to town from their plantations about this time,
enter with spirit, if the crops have been good and prices fair.
Among the sights in and around Calcutta, I would recommend the visiter
to make a point of seeing, the Mint, the native Bazaars, the Dum Dum
Artillery Station, the Ishapoor Gunpowder Manufactory, and Mr.
Wakefield's farm at Acra. I mention these as having been myself
gratified with examining them. The Mint is, perhaps, the finest in the
world. Captain (now Colonel) Forbes, who kindly shewed me over every
part of it, said, I think, they could turn out 500,000 coins in
twenty-four hours. In the different bazaars, the stranger will find the
most extraordinary collection of commodities, Indian, European,
American, Chinese, and of other countries, that he could ever have
conceived. The zeal of the different vendors in crying up and bepraising
their own goods at the expense of their neighbours, will amuse him,
while he will feel not a little surprised at the cheapness of many
European articles, such as crockery, millinery, hosiery, &c. &c. Should
he be a military man, his visit to Dum Dum will delight him, that
station being the head-quarters of the Bengal Artillery, and its
officers are celebrated for their kindness and hospitality to
strangers. With my visit to Ishapoor, I had every reason to be pleased.
I not only saw the whole process of powder-manufacture on a very large
scale, but met with a hearty welcome from Major Timbrel, of the
Artillery, who at that time superintended the establishment. The river
scenery near Ishapoor is much superior to what it is lower down; and a
good view of the pretty town of Chinsurah,[16] on the opposite bank of
the Hooghly, is commanded from Major Timbrel's verandah. Acra farm is
situated some twelve or fifteen miles below Calcutta. I visited it as a
stranger, while waiting in a ship for the flood tide; and its proprietor
gave me a most hospitable reception. Mr. Wakefield has completely
established the practicability of curing meat all through the year in
this climate, so as to keep at sea for three years. He told me, he
killed 25,000 hogs per annum; and, on my asking whether he suspended
operations during the hot months, his reply was, "No, we go on at all
seasons." I can vouch for the goodness of the hams, bacon, sausages,
lard, &c. &c., which he exports, and shall be very glad if these remarks
should lead a purchaser to his door. The muddy creeks near Acra farm
swarm with alligators, (whether attracted by the smell of blood or not,
I cannot say,) and they occasionally become very troublesome. The day
before my visit, Mr. Wakefield had had a mortal combat with one sixteen
feet long, which he succeeded in destroying single-handed, and had
brought home in proof of his prowess.
[Footnote 16: Chinsurah was, until 1825, a Dutch settlement;
and we then obtained it and Malacca in exchange for
Bencoolen.]
One of the most remarkable objects in or near Calcutta, is the
celebrated Banian-tree in the East-India Company's Botanical Garden on
the banks of the Hooghly, immediately opposite Garden Reach. This tree
is, without exception, the most splendid vegetable production I ever
saw: and its immense size and great age may be judged of, when I
mention, that a friend in whom I place the utmost confidence told me, he
measured the circumference of the space it shaded at noon-day, and found
that, allowing eighteen inches square per man, there was sufficient room
for eighteen thousand men to stand under the shade of this venerable
patriarch of the forest. This could be effected, however, only by
removing the many stems of the tree which now occupy nearly the whole
space covered by the branches, and are so numerous and thick, that it is
impossible to trace the parent one. It is a mighty tree, and worthy of
the proud place it occupies in the first botanical garden in the world.
What a wonderful change a few short years bring about in these days of
improvement! When I first knew Calcutta, there was no such thing as an
overland conveyance for letters; and, as for sending a ship to China
against the monsoon, no one ever dreamed of it. The whole world is now a
witness of the regularity of the monthly communication with England
_viâ_ the Red Sea; and the passage to and from China is made at all
seasons of the year, in defiance of monsoons and all other impediments.
The spirited owner and commander of the barque, "Red Rover," has the
credit of first shewing to the world, that the north-east monsoon in the
Chinese Sea was to be conquered by perseverance in a small vessel: his
success exceeded, I believe, his own sanguine expectations, and it is
pleasing to add, that he was amply rewarded in a pecuniary point of view
for his exertions. His example was soon followed by other parties
connected with the opium-trade; and the communication between China,
Calcutta, and Bombay is now regularly kept up all the year through, by
as fine a fleet of clippers as ever rode the sea, commanded by men who
appear to defy the weather. They make their passages in a wonderfully
short period of time, and stand high in the opinion of the mercantile
community of India. They are well paid, as they deserve to be, for the
trying work they have to go through; and many of them have recently
returned to their native country with comfortable, if not ample
independencies.
Another improvement of great importance to the trade of Calcutta, is the
facility with which powerful steamers can now be procured, to tow ships
up and down the Hooghly. Any one who has gone up and down this river,
must be aware of the dangerous nature of its navigation, owing to the
many mud banks, shifting sands, and very rapid current; and must be
sensible of the comfort of having a powerful steamer towing ahead. The
saving of time by leaving the port under steam, is immense. I remember,
on one occasion, overtaking, in thirty-six hours from town, two ships
that had left three weeks before us. The number of lives saved every
year by these steamers, is beyond calculation. This is now so well
understood, that passengers make a point of ascertaining whether a
steamer is to be employed, before taking their passage in any ship; and
the under-writers willingly contribute towards the expense thus
incurred, considering themselves as repaid by the great saving in what
is called "River Risk."
I have heard many complaints against Dutch Custom-houses, but the
Customs in Calcutta, I can state from my own knowledge, are far more
troublesome and unreasonable. Go to any Dutch Custom-house in
Netherlands India, and produce your invoice through some known agent;
your goods will be cleared and passed without further trouble. At
Calcutta, no man's word is taken, but every package landed or shipped
must actually _pass through_ the Custom-house. Even opium purchased from
Government, and delivered to the purchaser from a Government warehouse,
is subjected to this annoying process. Surely the authorities might
allow merchandize purchased from themselves, and delivered from their
own premises, to be taken direct to the wharf, and put on board ship. A
Custom-house officer might accompany the drug, if it was deemed
necessary, and see it fairly afloat before leaving it. The present
arrangement involves a useless waste of the merchant's time and trouble.
The Semaphore established from Kedgeree to Calcutta, is of very great
advantage to the shipping interest of the place. Any vessel getting on
shore, or coming from sea in distress, can send intelligence of her
situation to town in fifteen minutes, and have a steamer down to aid her
in twelve hours.
It would hardly be fair to leave Calcutta without saying a word in
praise of the pilot service. The pilots here are paid by Government, and
are a highly respectable body of men: they enter the service when very
young, as volunteers, and rise by degrees to the rank of masters and
branch pilots, the latter being the highest grade. Branch pilots
generally command pilot brigs, which cruise off the mouth of the Hooghly
for the purpose of supplying vessels that come from sea with pilots to
take them up the river, and of taking the pilots out of ships bound to
sea. Master pilots, mates, and second mates are engaged in taking
vessels out and in, while the youngsters are employed in heaving the
lead, and studying the navigation of the rivers. The whole service is
remarkably well conducted. The work undergone by its members is very
hard during the south-west monsoon; and they are generally short-lived.
This may be easily accounted for, in such a climate, by their constant
exposure to heat and rain, to say nothing of gales of wind and frequent
sound duckings from the spray of the sea.
The natives of Bengal are not favourites of mine: they are much given to
lying and thieving, and are sad cowards. It is true, they are not
pirates, like the Malays; but this is owing, I suspect, to want of
courage, more than of inclination. A Malay servant, should his master
threaten to strike him, will say: "Cut my pay, sir, or turn me away if I
am in fault, but (emphatically) don't strike me." A Bengalee, under
similar circumstances, would cringe under his master's feet, _salaam_ to
the ground, beg to be whipped, but "Oh," would be his cry, "don't cut my
pay, sir." Nothing used to annoy me so much as this excessive servility
of the Bengalee servants: they will do any thing for _pice, pice_; that
word being repeated by them at least ten times oftener than any other
in their vocabulary. With all this, they are lazy, and require more
looking after than any other servants I know. They certainly work for
little pay, but that little is sufficient to supply their families with
the necessaries of life, and to leave a trifle to put by, if the head of
the family does not gamble. The palanquin-bearers are the most useful
men to a stranger: for thirty-five rupees (3l. 10s.) he will get a
palanquin and six men who will carry him all over the town, a whole
month, for that trifling sum; they will take him out in an evening, wait
patiently in the street till he is ready to return home, and be at his
door by six the next morning, ready to obey his orders. The _circar_,
too, is a useful character, but, generally, a sad scamp: he will conduct
the stranger all over this vast city, shew him where any thing is to be
had, pay his bills for him, and save him a world of trouble; which he
makes answer his purpose by deducting one _pice_, or about two per cent,
from every rupee you may order him to pay for you, and by charging a
_moderate_ per-centage on what he may be commissioned to procure for
"Master." It is astonishing how quickly these _circars_ find out when an
old customer or "Master" returns to Calcutta. I have been visited by
mine within an hour after reaching town. In one instance, I had come up
the river in an express boat, and had arrived as soon as the mail; but,
presently, in came Master's _circar_, bowing low, and "hoping Master
has had a pleasant voyage, and made too much money."
The mighty current of the sacred Ganges is now thoroughly conquered by
all-powerful Steam; and the Indian officer ordered up the river to join
his corps, can now perform in three weeks, the journey that, fifteen
years ago, would have taken him as many months. Never having travelled
in the river steamers, I can say nothing about the voyage; but, from
their being constantly filled with passengers and cargo, I presume they
give entire satisfaction. The fact of their carrying the European
traveller so much more rapidly than the native boats can do, through the
unhealthy Sunderbunds, is of itself sufficient to induce every wayfarer
to take advantage of them.
CHAPTER VIII.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
VOYAGE FROM SINGAPORE TO SYDNEY--PORT JACKSON--FIRST
IMPRESSIONS PRODUCED BY SYDNEY--THE PUBLIC-HOUSE
NUISANCE--SYDNEY JURIES--CATTLE DEALERS--TOWN
IMPROVEMENTS--LAWYERS, DOCTORS, AND CLERGY.
Circumstances induced me, in the early part of 1836, to proceed to New
South Wales, where I passed three years; at the expiration of which I
returned to the Straits in much better health than I had enjoyed for
years before.
The voyage from Singapore to Sydney, _viâ_ Java Head and Bass's Straits,
occupies generally from sixty to seventy days; a much longer period than
it ought to do, considering the distance, but much time and space are
lost in getting southward from Java Head. Crossing the south-east
trade-wind, a ship makes nearly as much westing as she does southing,
and of course has all the former to run back again on getting the
westerly winds in the latitude of 38° to 40° south. We were unfortunate
in this part of our voyage, and got no westerly winds till we reached
the forty-first parallel of south latitude: from that point they took us
to within a few miles of the entrance to Bass's Straits, where we met a
strong easterly gale, which detained us several days. This was in March;
and I would advise ships bound from India to New South Wales, in the
month of January, February, or March, to go to the southward of Van
Diemen's Land altogether: they will thus carry the strong westerly winds
longer, avoid the easterly gales that blow during these months in Bass's
Straits, and probably shorten their passage ten or twelve days. Up the
bold and iron-bound shore of this mighty island, from its south-east
promontory to the heads of Port Jackson, we ran with a strong southerly
gale, and entered the most magnificent of harbours after a seventy days'
passage.
The entrance into Port Jackson is between two rocky heads, called, the
North and South Head. As the former projects rather further into the
Pacific than the latter, and somewhat overlaps it, the stranger would
have some difficulty in finding his port, were it not for the
light-house on the South Head; but, even with this guide, the
inexperienced eye cannot perceive the entrance till right opposite it.
We ran in with a heavy sea outside, and had scarcely got a ship's length
inside the Heads, when we were in water as smooth as a mill-pond. The
steep black rocks on our right looked fearfully near to us, but the
water is deep close to them, and no difficulty is experienced in beating
up to Sydney Cove, a distance of six miles. The only danger in the way
is a shoal or reef, bearing the strange name of the "Sow and Pigs": on
it, however, there is a light-vessel, so that it may be safely passed,
even at night.
Were all the fleets in the world congregated in Port Jackson, they would
not half occupy it. From the Heads to a mile above Sydney Cove, there is
a succession of beautiful bays, with deep water close to the rocks, and
good anchorage in all directions. The scenery is magnificent, though, to
an eye accustomed to that of Singapore, the green is not quite brilliant
enough. A succession of hill and dale, with here and there a neat
cottage perched on some rocky point, the soil clothed with trees, the
waters of the many bays glistening in the sun, and the distant view of
the heights and windmills beyond Sydney, form a picture that can
scarcely be surpassed.
On landing in Sydney, the traveller from India is ready to exclaim,
Surely this is not a town some seventeen thousand miles from England!
Every thing reminds him of home: he sees English servants, English
tradesmen, English shops; in a word, a regular English town, with its
inns and every thing conducted on the English principle. I took up my
quarters with my family at the Pulteney Hotel, where we were made very
comfortable, and found the terms moderate: the only thing that
disappointed us was, the smallness of the bed-rooms. Sydney is a
regularly built town, its spacious streets running at right angles with
each other. The houses are well built, close to each other, with narrow
fronts, and generally three stories high. Here we have George street,
Prince's street, King street, Pitt street, Hyde Park, the Surrey
Hills,--all recalling, by their appellations, the mother country. Hyde
Park, though it comes far short of its namesake in London, is
nevertheless a very pleasant spot for a promenade, being nicely shaded
by trees planted during Sir R. Bourke's government, and is an ornament
to the town. "Government Domain" is a piece of ground in the rear of the
Governor's house, reserved by Government for a garden and
pleasure-grounds: it is tastefully laid out, and intersected with
numerous walks, which are open to the public; and many a pleasant party
is formed by the industrious classes, who have only Sunday to spare for
a little recreation in the open air. The Surrey Hills are being fast
covered with gentlemen's houses, for which a better situation could
scarcely be chosen. _Woolloomoolloo_, or Darlinghurst, as it is now
called, is the favourite suburb, and boasts of many handsome mansions,
each with its garden. Among these are the respective residences of the
Chief-Justice, the Bishop of Australia, and other members of the _élite_
of this metropolis. These houses all command a fine view of the harbour
with its shipping and the surrounding scenery.
Sydney has its theatre, its club-house, its stage and mail coaches,
while steamers ply all about the harbour, and up and down the coast; an
immense convenience to the inhabitants of the northern districts of the
Colony. It has a large and well-supplied market, where the gardeners,
farmers, &c. from the neighbourhood collect their produce for sale, and
where, in good seasons, (that is, seasons in which rain has been
abundant,) the housekeeper may procure supplies on reasonable terms.
There is also, immediately outside the town, a hay and cattle market,
where large herds of cattle and flocks of sheep are constantly for sale,
and generally find ready buyers among the numerous emigrants who are
daily landing on these shores.
The greatest drawback upon the prosperity of the lower orders in Sydney,
arises from the public-houses, of which there are some three hundred,
nearly all filled, from morning to night, with men and women, too often
spending the last penny they possess in the world. The magnitude of this
evil may be estimated from the fact, that, in 1838, the revenue derived
from ardent spirits and public-house licences amounted to the enormous
sum of 110,000l. sterling. No stranger can take a walk through Sydney
without remarking with astonishment the number of these nuisances; and
the list of drunkards exhibited at the police every Monday morning, will
increase his surprise and disgust. So enormous is this evil on the
sabbath-day, that bands of constables patrole the streets for the
purpose of clearing them of drunken men and women, whom they consign to
the "lock-up." These constables, by the way, are extremely brutal in
their manner of handling any unfortunate wight that may fall into their
hands; and I have been frequently disgusted at their barbarity. What
better conduct, however, can be expected from men, nine-tenths of whom
either are or have been convicts? When I was at Sydney, the jail was a
most wretched place, not half large enough for the many unfortunate
beings it had occasionally to receive. A more commodious one has since
been erected, with space enough to allow of the separate classification
of debtors, highway robbers, bush-rangers, and felons, which could not
be always attended to in the old building. The jail is cleared four
times a year by holding criminal courts. The calendar is usually very
heavy, and the crimes are generally of a heinous nature. The prisoner
has the privilege of choosing whether he will be tried by a civil or by
a military jury. Many prefer the latter, knowing that, whatever the
verdict may be, it will be a conscientious one. The civil jury is
generally composed of publicans, and is always chosen by the Sydney
scamps, in the hope that a _chum_ or _pal_ may be found in the list,
which is not unfrequently the case. The hardest task the
Attorney-General has to perform, is, to get together a respectable jury.
When it is composed of civilians, the prisoner is sure to challenge
every respectable man in the box. By this means, he generally succeeds
in getting twelve men sworn, of whom two or three are of the stamp he
requires,--men that will, in vulgar phrase, "swear through a six-inch
plank" to get him off. It is no uncommon case for Sydney jurors, on
retiring to consider their verdict, to exclaim that their minds are made
up, and that they will be d----d if they will give a verdict of guilty.
Another source of trouble to all persons concerned with a court of
justice here, is the extreme difficulty experienced in extracting truth
from witnesses. It is almost impossible to conceive the effrontery with
which nine-tenths of these men will swear any thing: they invariably
prevaricate and contradict themselves when cross-examined, and are not
unfrequently sent from the witness-box to prison, to take their trial
for perjury. I remember, on one occasion, seeing a father, mother, and
three grown-up daughters, who came into court to sustain a charge
against a farmer for an assault on one of the daughters, committed for
perjury, while the prisoner was released without a stain on his name.
The crime of cattle-stealing, probably, comes oftener before the Judges
of New South Wales than any other, particularly since the punishment for
it has been changed from death to banishment for life. When death was
the penalty, many graziers put up with their loss, rather than prosecute
the offender: now, the cattle-stealer is shewn no mercy, from one end of
the Colony to the other. The Judge has no discretionary power with this
class of offenders, but, in the event of a verdict of guilty, must pass
the sentence of banishment for life. If the prisoner came free to the
colony, he is banished to Van Diemen's Land: if, on the other hand, he
is an old convict, he is sent to rusticate for the remainder of his days
on Norfolk Island. Whole droves of stolen cattle are, nevertheless,
continually offered for sale in the neighbourhood of Sydney, and ready
purchasers are found for them, the risk of being brought up as a
receiver not being so great as might be supposed. The regular
cattle-stealer has stations in the bush, where he collects his
ill-gotten herds, defaces and alters their brands, and keeps them till
the new brand has healed and assumed the usual appearance; he then
boldly starts for market in open day, and, though he may be met by the
former owners of the beasts he is driving, he fears nothing, proof of
identity being a difficult task, when a P has been made into a B, and,
perhaps, three or four other brands have been added.
During the administration of Sir Richard Bourke, great improvements were
made in the streets of Sydney, particularly in the direction of the
different wharfs, from which the ascent used to be frightfully steep. To
remedy this evil, and at the same time to improve the appearance of the
town, Sir Richard cut away the brows of the ridges, and filled up the
hollows with the rubbish. This proceeding caused a great outcry among
those persons who had property where the cuttings took place, and whose
dwellings, in some cases, were many feet above the new level of the
street. In the course of time, these proprietors descended from their
airy posts, knocked down their old unsightly tenements, cut down their
ground to the proper level, and built new and more sightly houses; so
that the Governor's proceedings have improved both the streets and the
general appearance of the town, as well as enhanced the value of the
property wherever the cuttings were made.
Sydney abounds with doctors, lawyers, and parsons, all of whom thrive
here. The lawyer especially reaps a rich harvest among a population
notoriously fond of litigation, and prone to give cause for it in
various ways. As usual, however, the supply has of late exceeded the
demand; and the barristers do not now lounge in such stylish carriages
as they were accustomed to be seen in some years ago. The medical men's
harvest, a sickly season, is not a rare occurrence in Sydney, though the
Colony generally is remarkable for its salubrity. The last summer I
spent there, the deaths were very numerous, and cast a gloom over the
place. Influenza and fevers were the prevailing complaints, and were
probably attributable to the dry, hot winds prevalent at the time,
together with the badness of the water in common use, and the
intemperate habits of the people. The want of a supply of good water is
much felt. Every house has its pump, but the water is not fit for any
thing but washing, and is, for the most part, so hard, that soap will
not dissolve in it. Government had commenced laying pipes to supply the
town with this necessary article; but, when I left the Colony, they had
not been brought nearer than to within a mile; and I have not heard of
their being since carried any further. Water-carts go round, selling
water at a penny or sometimes three halfpence per bucket, which is of a
good quality.
Previously to the arrival of Sir Richard Bourke, the clergy of the
Church of England were the only persons in the Colony that were
authorized to marry, to bury, or to christen. Sir Richard put an end to
this extraordinary state of affairs, by his celebrated Church Act; and
now, every one may be married by the minister of his own persuasion, and
follow, in religious matters, the dictates of his conscience. Strange
as it may appear, Sir Richard's proceedings in this matter gave great
offence to the magnates of the Church of England; and the Archdeacon
went home to remonstrate with Her Majesty's Government on the subject.
His Reverence took nothing, however, by his motion, Lord Glenelg, the
then Secretary for the Colonies, highly approving of all that had been
done. But the Archdeacon returned to the Colony a Bishop, and, when I
left it, was busily engaged in erecting a cathedral by public
subscription.
CHAPTER IX.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
TOWNSHIP OF MAITLAND--THE PATERSON DISTRICT--WINTER
SPORTS--THE KANGAROO--AUSTRALIAN HUSBANDRY--CONVICT
SERVANTS--BENEFIT OF ENFORCING AN OBSERVANCE OF
SUNDAY--THE HOT SEASON.
From Sydney, I proceeded northward, by steam, to Maitland, on the river
Hunter, and thence up the country bordering on those pretty little
rivers, the Paterson and the Allyn.
Maitland puts a Scotchman in mind of the "lang toon of Kirkaldy,"
consisting of merely one long street. From its situation, at the head of
the navigation of the Hunter, and the centre of the very first
agricultural district of New South Wales, it is likely to become a
large, thriving, and important place. The country in the immediate
neighbourhood is flat, and the soil rich, yielding most luxuriant crops
of wheat and Indian corn.
The season of 1838-39 was a poor one for the farmer: flour rose in
price to 60s. the cwt.; and the quartern loaf, before I left the Colony,
was selling as high as two shillings and eight-pence. This was a time to
test the fertility of the soil round Maitland, as well as the benefit it
derives from its proximity to the sea. During this summer, the whole
district was favoured with occasional refreshing showers; its crops were
forward, and the yield good; and while crops in the southern districts
had failed from drought, the Hunter-river farmers were sending their
surplus produce to Sydney for sale.
The township of Maitland is divided into two towns or villages, called,
East and West Maitland. The former has been fixed upon as the site of
the town by Government, and the latter by the public, who have, as
usual, shewn more wisdom in their choice than their masters have,
inasmuch as they have planted their town within a few hundred yards of
the head of the navigation; whereas the Government town is three miles
further up the river, and is unapproachable by steamers, or even by
small craft. The two, however, will be joined together ere long, (most
likely they are by this time,) as they are rising rapidly into
importance. For the beauty of the country between Maitland and the sea,
I cannot say much: it used to remind me of Lower Bengal, being so very
flat, and, in some places, so low as to be frequently flooded.
Like the houses in almost all new towns, those in Maitland form a motley
assemblage of buildings of all sizes, shapes, and colours. Many of the
smaller and inferior ones were, however, disappearing, even in 1839; and
more sightly as well as more commodious buildings were rising up in
their place. The traveller will find comfortable accommodation at either
the Union or the Rose Inn; and the charges are moderate. He will also
have the advantage of meeting settlers from all parts of the
neighbouring country, from whom he will readily obtain any information
he may require. Frequent cattle-sales are held here; and the beasts are,
without trouble or much expense, conveyed to Sydney by steam in twelve
hours.
The country from Maitland, going up the Paterson, is undulating and
generally fertile; particularly the flat lands on the banks of the
river. As you proceed towards the village of Paterson, you observe
numerous prettily situated farm-houses with their smiling gardens in
front, and fields of wheat between them and the river. At the village,
the navigation of this little river ceases; and the country becomes more
and more hilly as you proceed higher up: the banks of the river,
however, maintain their high character for fertility all the way to its
source, and many thriving establishments are seen as the traveller
pursues his journey. This part of New South Wales, being so hilly, and
consequently somewhat humid, does not answer the sheep-farmer's
purposes; but the grazier finds his cattle and horses thrive well on
these hills, and the agriculturist finds the valleys yield him excellent
crops of tobacco, wheat, and maize. The first is becoming an article of
great importance to the Paterson farmer, and has helped many of those
gentlemen through the difficulties from which the Colony has been
recently suffering.
Land on the Upper Paterson was selling, in 1837, at 20s. per acre, in
lots of six hundred and forty acres, of which not more than forty or
fifty were arable land, the rest being what is called here, common bush
land, thinly covered with trees, and affording tolerable pasture for
cattle. Purchasers of land at the above-named rate, have, I believe,
found their bargains profitable, notwithstanding the heavy expense they
had to incur in clearing and fencing the arable portion of it, in
addition to the outlay for a dwelling, out-offices, &c. The settler on a
small farm of this description is almost sure to do well, if he is
industrious, and provided that he keeps clear of that colonial pest, the
public-house. He will have very hard work the first two years; but his
returns will well repay him even in moderately favourable seasons,
while, in good times, they will be very profitable. A neighbour of mine
raised, in the season of 1837-38, on eighteen acres of fresh cleared
land, a crop of tobacco, which he cured and manufactured into
negro-head on the spot: it yielded one hundred and fifty kegs of 100lb.
weight each; and the whole was sold at 1s. 4d. per pound, thus giving a
total of 900l. This farmer had fifteen hands, who, in addition to the
tobacco, enabled him to cultivate wheat and maize sufficient to supply
the farm, and to leave 200l. worth for sale. The outlay for the twelve
months, including every thing, did not exceed 350l.; and I have shewn
the returns to have been 1100l. This slight sketch will afford an idea
of what an industrious farmer may do in the Paterson district. As soon
as he can collect a few pounds, they may be profitably invested in the
purchase of some good cows, which will not only supply him and his
family with butter and milk, but will pay well by their annual increase.
In 1838, stock was worth, in this neighbourhood, as under:--Cows, 5l.;
Fat Cattle, 7l. 10s.; Working Oxen, 10l.; Brood Mares, 40l.; good
Roadsters, 40l.; Sheep,--Ewes, 2l., Wethers, 17s. 6d. Things have
changed since that time: but more of this hereafter.
During the three years I resided in Australia, I lived almost entirely
on the banks of the Paterson, and the reader may therefore depend upon
the correctness of my information regarding every thing in that
neighbourhood. It bears a high character for the salubrity of its
climate; and very justly so, according to my experience. Not a member of
my establishment was ill the whole time we were there; nor do I
recollect a serious case of illness among our neighbours. The winter is
mild,--just cold enough to make a fire comfortable; while the fine
frosty mornings do great good to one who has arrived from India. I used
to enjoy them exceedingly, and invariably walked out before breakfast to
breathe the fine clear air. The cold weather sets in in April, and
continues till September. This is the season to enjoy a gallop in chase
of that most extraordinary animal, the kangaroo. Notwithstanding that
this part of the country is rather hilly, the hardy horses manage to
carry their riders across it in safety. The river abounds with wild duck
at this season, as well as with perch and a small fish here called
herring, from its resemblance to that fish. The settler may thus not
only find amusement for himself in shooting or fishing, but may make a
very agreeable addition to his bush fare by his morning's ramble. The
flesh of the kangaroo is literally good, for nothing: the tail makes
very good soup, but the carcass of the full-grown animal is otherwise of
no value to the European, though the native contrives to make an
occasional meal of it. The young kangaroo of two or three months old,
makes a tolerable substitute for jugged hare, and is frequently on the
tables of the settlers. As population advances up the country, the
kangaroo retires. I have, however, seen some hundreds of a large size
in their native woods, skipping about, and bounding off on the approach
of man. The notion, that a kangaroo makes use of his tail in leaping, is
a mistaken one. I have watched them bounding along a plain, and could
see distinctly that the tail never touched the ground. The female, when
pursued, will retain its young one in the pouch with which nature has
provided it, till very closely pressed by the dogs: it will then drop
the little one, leave it to chance, and make off with increased speed. A
full-grown male ("old man," the aboriginals call them) is more than a
match for a single dog, and will frequently severely punish a couple of
assailants before surrendering. These animals are easily tamed, and make
very pretty pets in a garden. Speaking of a garden, we had an excellent
orchard, which supplied us with abundance of apricots, peaches,
nectarines, figs, green-gages, apples, pears, and oranges, while the
garden furnished many a dish of strawberries: for gooseberries, the
climate is not cold enough.
In March and April, the farmer is busied in preparing his fields for
wheat-sowing, which ought to be finished by the middle of May. Of this
grain, the ground here yields a fair crop, though not equal to that
usually reaped near Maitland: it is, however, generally more than
sufficient for the use of the district, which may be called a
grain-exporting one. Some farmers sow wheat on land from which they
have just reaped a crop of Indian corn: this proves, I need scarcely
say, in the long run, very bad economy. On a farm where wheat, corn, and
tobacco are grown, there is always abundance of employment for old and
young. Should field labour be suspended by the inclemency of the
weather, or by any other cause, the farmer finds his servants full
occupation in husking maize, threshing wheat, stripping, shifting, and
curing tobacco. I used to keep my convict-labourers employed in light
work, such as the above-mentioned, till ten o'clock at night: this I had
no _right_ to exact; but my plan was, to keep a regular account current
with every convict on the place, giving him credit so much for every
extra hour he worked, and letting him know, every Saturday night, how
much was due to him, which I allowed him to take out in any shape but
money or spirits. Giving him the former, would have enabled him to
procure the latter. It was generally taken out in tea and sugar; and I
never had the slightest trouble in settling these little accounts. I had
ten convicts assigned to me by Government; and I confess that I would
rather have had those men than most of the free emigrants that came to
the Colony. Over the convict, the master has great power, the knowledge
of which on the part of the servant, with good treatment and a firm hand
held over him, will make him do a great deal of work. The Government
allowance of rations does not include tea, sugar, or tobacco; but most
masters allow two ounces of the first and last, and one pound of the
second per week; which not only makes the men contented, but gives the
master more hold over them, as they stand in fear of his stopping the
indulgence in the event of misconduct. From my own observation I should
say, that nine-tenths of the misdoings amongst convict-servants, that
one hears of in New South Wales, arises from bad masters. What, for
instance, can be expected from men assigned to a drunkard, who not only
drinks himself, but makes a point of inducing his servants, whether free
or bond, to take out their earnings in rum, of which he has always a
plentiful supply on hand? What from the servants of a master who neither
pays any attention to the Sabbath himself, nor makes those under him
observe it; who, on the slightest provocation, drags his men before the
magistrate, and swears literally to any thing, to have them flogged; who
never affords them the slightest indulgence, and whose whole aim is, to
get the greatest possible quantity of work out of them for the smallest
possible outlay? Nothing tends more directly to promote the good order
of a farm, than mustering everybody on it at noon on Sunday, for the
purpose of reading Divine service to them. Setting aside the moral
benefit that this practice may be supposed to produce, it puts an
effectual stop to distant wandering on that day. A man who has to appear
cleanly dressed on Sunday at noon, cannot stray far from home either
before or after that hour. On farms where this custom is not kept up,
the convict starts at daylight for some haunt where spirits are to be
had, to pay for which he has most probably robbed his master; there he
spends the day in riot and ribaldry, and reels home about midnight in a
state that renders him very unfit for resuming his work on Monday
morning. The convict-servant soon finds out what sort of a master he has
to deal with, and, to use their own slang, after trying it on for a bit,
in nine cases out of ten, he yields to circumstances. Two of mine tried
a few of their old pranks at starting; but a timely, though moderate
application of "the cat," put an entire stop to them. It is, however,
useless to say more on this subject, as the system of assigning servants
to private individuals has been done away with by orders from the Home
Government. The female convicts are much more difficult to manage than
the men, and often set their masters at defiance: they are generally of
the lowest and most wretched class of women.
The summer sets in in October, and wheat harvest begins in November. The
weather then becomes exceedingly hot, and the heat is occasionally
increased by the hot winds that blow from the north-west. These
generally (I speak of what I have observed on the Paterson) blow for
three days successively, with considerable violence, and do no small
injury to the farmer: they are very dry, make the lips crack, and the
skin feel as if about to crack; and should they come across a field of
wheat just shewing the ear, they would blight it to a certainty. After
expending their force for three days, they are usually succeeded by a
sharp southerly gale, which is frequently accompanied with rain, and
soon makes every thing not actually blighted look green again. Though
the sun, during summer, has, apparently, as much power as in India, I
have never experienced any injurious effects from it, though frequently
exposed to its rays all day, both on foot and on horseback. The European
labourer works in the field here through the day, the same as in
England, and does not seem to suffer from the heat. During the hot
winds, indeed, he is liable to an almost unquenchable thirst, to relieve
which, he may drink with perfect impunity a large quantity of sugar and
water; but those who have recourse to water only, are sure to suffer for
their imprudence, though not seriously.
November and December are the busy months at sheep-stations, all hands
being then employed in clipping the wool and preparing it for market.
CHAPTER X.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
BUSH-RANGERS--THE DROUGHT OF 1838-9--THE SETTLER'S
TROUBLES--ORNITHOLOGY OF AUSTRALIA--ABORIGINAL
TRIBES.
On the Paterson, we were never troubled with those dangerous characters
called in the Colony, Bush-rangers. I can give no reason for their
avoiding this neighbourhood, but know that they did avoid it, and that
none of the residents in the district ever gave them a thought. Other
parts of the Colony are not so fortunate; and loud complaints are
constantly being made, of want of protection against those daring
marauders. They are runaway convicts, who take to the bush, either to
get clear of hard masters, or from a love of old habits; and, now and
then, they keep a whole county in a state of alarm. Frequent instances
of their daring occurred during my residence in Australia, some of a
ferocious character, while others tended more to excite laughter. Three
of those scamps visited, at noon-day, a settler's house, and, coolly
walking in, called for luncheon, and made themselves quite at home.
While thus regaling themselves, they happened to see a violin hanging
against the wall, and asked their _host_, whether he could play. On
being answered in the affirmative, they made him strike up, while they
danced to his music. When tired of this amusement, they helped
themselves to whatever struck their fancy, and then went to the stable,
picked out three of the best horses, leaving their own tired jades
behind, and rode off. The master of the house was the only person at
home at the time, and was unarmed; all his men were engaged in a distant
field; and he was threatened with instant death, should he give the
slightest alarm. Resistance, therefore, was impossible. Such
depredations have latterly been much checked by the exertions of the
mounted police. This very efficient body is composed of men drafted from
Her Majesty's regiments stationed in the Colony, who are mounted and
dressed at the expense of the local Government, and trained for their
work. They patrole the country in all directions, and have captured and
brought to justice many of the most desperate Bush-rangers, as well as
given a check to the se
Showing first 200,000 characters. Full text: gutenberg.org/ebooks/27014