20 6

ACCOUNT 4 OF JAVA AN» BATAVIA.

The Company’s poffeffions on the coaft of Malabar are under a commandant. Thechief produce is pepper, which is efteemed the bell of all India *.

From the weft coaft of Sumatra are brought gold, camphor, and pepper f.

Bantam is a commandery from which the Company draw the greateft quantity ofpepper.

On the inner, or eaftern coaft of Sumatra, they have a fetdement at Palembang ,whence they receive pepper and tin J.

Moft

• Mr. Stavorinus enlarges refpefting Bengal, in the next book ; refpefting Surat in the 2d and 3dbooks of his fecond voyage j and refpedting the coaft of Malabar, in the 13th and 14th chapters of the4th book. Tr.

•j- Befides Lampon, which has been mentioned among the dependencies of Bantam, the Dutch have afettlement at Padang, on the weft coaft of Sumatra , to which the faftories at Pulo Chinco, Priamam, andAdgerhadja are fubordinate. At Padang there is a fort, with a garrifon of fifty or fixty men, and thechief of the fettlement has the rank of merchant. Some pepper, camphor, and benzoin are furniihedfrom this coaft, but ever fince the eftablifhment of the Englilh fettlement at Bencoolen in this neighbour-hood, the Dutch complain that pepper is procured in very fmall quantities ; they, however, likewife col-lect and export annually to Batavia, about two thoufand five hundred tials of gold, the quantity neverexceeds three thoufand tials, nor falls ihort of two ; a tial is twenty-fix pennyweights twelve grains ; thepurchafe price is high, being nearly 3I. 3s. flerling, per ounce. There is a vein of gold which runs clofeto Padang , and fome years ago it was worked, but not finding returns adequate to the expence, the Com-pany let it to farm, and, in a few years, it fell into fuch low repute as to be difpofed of at a rent of twoSpanifh dollars, by public au&ion. In 1779 the books of Padang fhewed a balance in favour of theeftablifhment of/.20,902, about 1900I. fterling, the charges being /.51,675, and on the other hand, theprofits accruing on the fale of piece-goods, fait, &c. /• 74-577 ; which is fufficient to defray the expence offending a fhip thither annually from Batavia, with neceffaries for the fettlement. Padang and its depen-dencies are, at prefent, in the hands of the Englifh. The whole eftablifhment of the Dutch on the weftcoaft of Sumatra , including Lampon, was, in 1776-1777, thirty perfons in civil employments, five fur-geons and affiftants, two belonging to the artillery, thirteen marines, one hundred and four foldiers, andtwenty-one mechanics ; in all, one hundred and feventy-five Europeans , befides ninety-feven natives in thefervice of the Company. Tr.

J Palembang lies about ten or twelve days fail from Batavia. The dominions of the King of Palem-bang are extenfive ; they reach as far as the hills of Lampon to the fouthward, and comprehend theifland of Banca, which lies oppofite to the river of Palembang . This ifland is celebrated throughout Alia forthe fame caufe, its tin-mines, to which England owed its celebrity in Europe , in very ancient times, beforeits arts and arms had fpread its fame around the globe.. The tin-mines in Banca , which were firft dif-covered in 17:0 or 1711, have yielded immenfe quantities of ore, and appear inexhauftible. There arefeven chief places where it is dug, which are under the direction of Chinefe managers, who provide andpay for the labour of the miners, who are alfo, in general, of that nation. The tin is delivered by thefechiefs to the King of Palembang , for five rix-dollars per one hundred and twenty-five pounds, and by himto the Dutch for fifteen rix-dollars, equal to about 58s. fterling per hundred weight Englifh. The Com-pany do not, however, always take all that is brought ;,for in 1770 the government at Batavia refolved,

not to receive more than twenty-five thoufand picols of one hundred and twenty-five pounds each, fromPalembang every year, and as 50C0 picols more had been delivered that year, no more than twenty thou-fand fhould be accepted in the next, of which due notice fhould be given to the King.” And yet theDutch endeavour to prevent the tin from being difpofed of to any others, and keep veffels continuallycruifing along the (hores to prevent the fmuggling of it; but their vigilance is eluded, and the commerceis largely participated by private adventurers. Raynal and others Bate the quantity of tin received bythe Dutch Company at two million pounds ; but from the above it appears, that they take at lead threemillion pounds. But very little of it comes to Europe j in 1778, feven hundred thoufand pounds were•fold in Holland at f.\% per hundred pounds ; the greateft part goes to the China market, where it is pre-ferred to European tin, and the profit upon it is fuppofed by a late i itelligent traveller, Sir George Staun-ton, not to be lefs any year than 150,000!. fterling, though, by the Dutch account of their China trade,which is given a little farther on, this feems to be an extravagant computation. The King is under ftridlengagements to the Dutch , to allow them au exclufive trade throughout his dominions, and to deliver allthe tin and pepper produced in them at Batavia, fending them thither in his own (hips, and at his ownexpencc. The quantity of pepper brought annually from Palembang is about two million pounds, whichis purchafed at the rate of two ftivers per pound. The Company likewife take about one thoufand carats<of rough diamonds, and a confiderable quantity of canes and rattans. Very few goods are given in ex-change