238 ACCOUNT OF CELEBES , AMBOYNA, &C.

The prefent foveragn. of Boni has brought it fo far that one of his grandfons hasafcended the throne of the powerful kingdom of Loehoe, and which the Companyhave been obliged to wink at; perhaps the danger to their interefts, which lies in thisvail increafe of the power and influence of the Bouginefe monarch, has not been fuffi-ciently infilled upon by their fervants, or it may even be, that it has been reprefentedin a favourable light.

Hereby, and by feveral other circumftances, the authority of the Company has fomuch declined in Celebes , that their pofleflions in the ifland may be confidered as veryinferior in importance to others. Little regard is now paid to the treaty of Boni,upon which every thing hinged heretofore. The King of Boni has even prefumed to^prefer a claim upon the campon Baro, clofe to the fort, becaufe he refided for fornetime in it, when he had fled to the Company for proteftion againft his filler Aroe•Palacca. It is not impoffible, that when this prince is dead, other darker clouds mayarife : for this is certain, that all the native princes are jealous of the footing whichthe Company have obtained upon the ifland, and envy them their pofleflions; and ifthey could but remain .united among themfelves, they would not let flip any opportu-nity of freeing themfelves from their dependence, by expelling the Dutch from Celebes ,or at leaft curtailing their power and influence. This it is what conflitutes the moilimportant, as well as the moll difficult and delicate, part of the adminiftration atMacafler, namely, to infpire the principal nations with jealoufy and diflruft of each otherat the fame time preventing and avoiding, as much as poffible, all actual hoftilities andinterference, in order not to be forced to join either one or the other.

The Company are not only menaced on this fide, but their hereditary rivals in trade,the Englilh, feek likewife to eftablilh themfelves here, which they had nearly effected,about the river of Sadraboni, a few years ago. The Bouginefe, Wadjorefe, and Mand-harefe are much attached to them, and affift them in the purchafe of fpices fromCeram and other iflands. Their new eftablifhment at Balambangang gives them op-portunities of connexion with the merchants and other individuals of the differentnations who refort to Paflir and Soeti, or have fettled there, and of drawing them overto their interefts: and if they were to perfevere in their endeavours, it would be verydifficult to prevent them from obtaining a footing in Celebes ; efpecially upon confider-ing what happened with refped to the little Englilh Hoop of war, the Swallow, in 1768,whofe flay at Macafler I mentioned in my former voyage ; and though the circum-ftances attending it, were contradi&ed to me now that I was at Macafler, it was infuch a manner as rather confirmed my belief in the credibility of Captain Carteret; ifa little Hoop of twelve guns, with a fick and exhaufted crew, was enough to caufe fuch.an alarm, what would be the event if a greater force were to appear in thefe feas*.

If

* When Csptatn Carteret reached Macafler, from the South Seas, his (hip’s company were in a dying•condition, and it was in order to procure refrefhment for them, and (helter againft the approaching badmonfoon, that he touched there. His arrival excited the greateft alarm, and all the (loops and veffels that-were proper for war werefltttd out with the utmoft expedition. He, however, thought to have been anovermatch for their whole lea-force, had all his people been well; but they were fo reduced, that a boathaving been difpatched on (hore, the united flrength of the remaining men was not fuflicient to weigh theanchor, though a fmall one, in order to proceed nearer to the town. As foon as it was known who hewas, he was commanded, by a letter from the governor, “ inttantly to depart from the port, withoutcoming any nearer to the town ; and not to anchor on any part of the coaii, or permit any of his peopleto land in any,place that was under the governor’s jurifdi&ion and notwithftanding all his remonllrances,and occular demondration of the emaciated and diltrcfled date of the crew, the (hort and final anfwer of thedeputies of the governor, who brought the letter, v as, “ that they had abfolute and indifpenfable orders

fro«