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r

JOURNAL OF AN EMBASSY ^

, ^ FROM THE

GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA TO THE COURTS OF

SIAM AND COCHIN CHINA;

'• EXHIBITING A VIEW OF THE ACTUAL STATE OF THOSE KINGDOMS.

BY

JOHN CRAWFURD, ESQ., FRS., FLS., FGS., &c.

LATE ENVOY.

SECOND EDITION.

IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL I,

LONDON: HENRY COLBURN AND RICHARD BENTLEY, " NEW BURLINGTON STREET.

1830.

Just Published^ JOURNAL OF AN EMBASSY

FROM THE OOVERNOR-OENERAL OF INDIA TO THE

COURT OF AVA, IN THE YEAR 1827.

BY JOHN CBAWFURD, ESQ.

LATE ENVOY.

LONDON: PRINTED BY SAMUEL BENTLBT,

Doiaet Street, Fleet Street.

CONTENTS

OP THE FIRST VOLUME.

CHAPTER I.

Nature of the Mission.—- Departure from Calcutta. — Islands Preparis and Narcondam. — Sayer Islands. — Coast of Siam. — Arrival at Penang.-*-Inyasion of the neighbouring Ma- layan Principality by the Siamese. — Incidents at Penang.— Descriptionof the Settlement . . . • 1

CHAPTER II.

Departure from Penang. — ^Description of the Principality of Queda.— Description of the Dinding Islands. — Account of Perak. — ^Arriyal at Malacca. — Incidents there.— Description of the place.— Visit to the Carimon Islands.— Arrival at Singapore. — Incidents there. — Ancient Settlement of the Malays. — Chinese Navigation. — Account of the race of Ma- lays called Orang-laut • .41

CHAPTER III.

Departure from Singapore. — Passage to the Coast of Borneo.^ Malayan Islands in the ChanneL—^ Visit to Pulo*Ubi, and Description of it.-«Numerous Islands on the eastern coast of the Gulf of Siam. — Island of Phnkok described.— Arrival in the roads of Siam . . . .86

IV CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IV.

Communication of our ArriTal made to the Court of Siam. — Entertainment given to the Mission. — ^Negotiation for pro- ceeding to the Capital. — Ship ascends the River ; appearance of its Banks. — ^Arrival at Bangkok ; appearance of the phice. — Delivery of the Governor-General's Letter. — Visit to the Phraklang, or Foreign Minister. — Delivery of the Presents for the King.— The Mission lands. — Description of its Resi- ' dence. — Visit to the Prince Krom-chiat, now King of Siam. —Arrangement of the Ceremonial for our Presentation to the King. — Second Visit to the Foreign Minister.— The Mission presented to the King. — Description of the Cere- mony.— Inspection of the White Elephants^ &c. — The Mis- sion receives a visit, and is entertained by the Foreign Minister . . • • • . 109

CHAPTER V.

Mission visited by the Portuguese Consul. — Rapacity of the Court. — State of Parties. - Visit to the Portuguese Consul. —Visit to Siamese Temples^ and description of them. — Number and variety of the Votaries. — Their conduct. — Visit to the town of Bangkok. — Buddhist Temple. — Hindu Tem- ple.— Ancient Ruins. — Commencement of the Negotiation. — Relics of Gautama. — Despatches sent by the Mission across the Peninsula. — Visit to the Prince Krom-chiat^ and Conver- sation held with him. — Opinion entertained by the Siamese respecting our Indian Conquests. — Funeral of a Siamese. — Excursion to the Neighbourhood of Bangkok — Religious re- gard of the Siamese for Animal life. — Splendid Temple constructing by the Prince Krom-chiat. — Negotiation renew- ed.— King's Character and Employments. — Annual Cere- mony of the King's holding the Plough .^-Punishment of a Christian Interpreter. — ^Arrival of a Portuguese and an Eng- lish Merchant- vessel . . . . .160

CONTENTS. V

CHAPTER VL

Negotiation put off, owing to his Majesty's changing his resi- dence.— Acquaintance made with a Siamese Priest. — Arrival of a Ship belonging to the King of Siam from Bengal. — Anecdote illustrative of the Character of the Siamese Go- vernment.— Visit to a singular Temple. — Renewal of the N^otiation. — Arrival of Ambassadors from Cochin China, and their Reception. — Second Visit to the Siamese Priest, and Conversation. — Practice of kidnapping Strangers, and selling them in Siam for Slaves. — Death of a Princ^ from Cholera Morbus — Visit from some Brahmins, and an account of them. — Account of a Siamese Ceremony. — A Conference with the Phraklang, or Foreign Minister. — Siamese Letter- writing. — Visit from a Chief of Lao.— Setting in of the South-west Monsoon. — Siamese Reptiles. — Arrival of an American Ship. — Another Conference. — Cochin Chinese Am- bassadors visit the Phraklang. — Visit to the Catholic Bishop of Siam, and Conversation with him.— Another Conference with the Minister. — Final Conference with the Phraklang. — Answer to the Letter of the Governor- General, and Commer- cial Engagements ..... 213

CHAPTER VII.

Obstacles to European Trade in Siam. — Not applicable to that of the Chinese. — Ordination of Siamese Priests. — The wild race denominated Ka. — A Servant belonging to the Mission drowned. — Consecration of an image of Gautama. — ^Son of the Minister initiated into the Priesthood.— Visit from a Portuguese Christian. — Visit to the Phraklang. — Visit from a French Priest. — Anecdote of a late King of Siam. — Visit to the Prince Krom-chiat.— Departure from Bangkok. — Land in dropping down the River. — Colony of Peguans. — Mouth of the River and its neighbourhood infested by

vi CONTENTS.

MosqiiitoB. — Ship crosses the Bar of the River. — Descrip- tion of it. — Arrival at the Sichang Islands. — Incidents

there 268

«

CHAPTER VIII.

Departure from the Sichang Islands. — Description of them. — Crossing the Gulf of Siani.-*Samroi-yot« or the ''Three Hundred Peaks."*- Group of Islands called Pulo-panjang. — Mission visits Pulo-oondore. — Ruins of an English fieustory**— Pescription of Pulo»condore. — Cape St. James. — Arrival in the River of Saigun. — Intercourse with the Chief of Kandjru, and description of the place. — Visit to Saigun.-<-Audience of the Governor.— Elephant and Tiger fights, — Description of Saigun and its River. — Departure from Saigun for the Capital . . . .293

CHAPTER IX.

Voyage along the Coast of Cochin China* — Account of its Har- bours.— Arrival in Turan Harbour. — Visit from the Civil Mandarin of the place. — Description of the Town of Turan..— The Mission receives a Letter and Presents from tlie Gover- nor of Faifb. — Visits made to the villages in the neighbour- hood of Turan. — Invitation to the Court.— Voyage to Hufe, the Cochin Chinese Capital^ and arrival there • . 350

CHAPTER X.

Visit from the Intendant of the Port. — ^The Mission lands, and is placed in a state of surveillance. — ^Discusuon respecting the letter from the Governor-General to the King. — Mission jealously watched by the officers of Government. — Visit to the Mandarin of Elephants, or Foreign Minister, and account of the discussion which took place with him* — Mission re-

CONTENTS. vii

fused an audience of the King. — ^Viait to the fortifications of Hue, and description of them.-^Visits to the two French Mandarins.— Posthnmous honours paid to ciyil and military officers of distinction. — N^otiationa continued.— -Excursions in the environs of Hu6.— Royal Mausoleum.— Temples of Gautama. — Collation sent by the King to the Mission.*— N^otiations. — Cochin Chinese Cookery. — Opinion of Chi- nese residents respecting Cochin Chinese Ooyemment.— French Mission to Cochin China. — Another Visit to the Fo- reign Minister^ and discussions which ensued. — Commence- ment of the Monsoon with a gale of wind and heavy £edl of raiuj which inundates the town of Hue. — Visit from the two . principal assistants of the Foreign Minister, and discussion with them. — Final Visit to the Foreign Minister^ and termi. nation of the Negotiation.— Striking circumstance, in illus- tration of Cochin Chinese manners • • . 371

CHAPTER XI.

Departure from Hue. — Journey by land to Turan, and descrip- tion of the Route.—- Cochin Chinese Palanquin-bearers.— Ar- rival at Turan. — Presents for the Mission received.— Wor- ship of Buddha. — Visit to the town of Faifo.^ — Marble rocks and grottoes. — ^Account of the town of Faifo— Temples of Buddha.*-Acoount of the country between Turan and Faifo. — Typhoon. — Departure from Turan for Singapore.«-De- scription of Turan. — ^Land-birds met at Sea.— Anambas Islands.— Arrival at Singapore; departure from thence. — Arrival at Penang. — Island of Junk-Ceylon. — Arrival at Calcutta.*— General Reflections on our political relations with Siam and Cochin China . • * .

ILLUSTRATIONS.

VOL. I.

View of the Town and Roads of Singapore . To face the Title Map of Siam and Cochin China . .1

Malay Man and Woman . . . ,81

View of the City of Bangkok . . .121

Siamese Man and Woman . . , .176

Civil and Military Cochin-Chinese Mandarins in their

dresses of ceremony ..... 404 Ordinary Mode of Conveyance of Persons of Rank in

Cochin China ..... 454

Cochin Chinese Priest of Fo, Noviciate and Devotee . 446

VOL. IL

Eight National Portraits

Siamese and Pali Alphabets, &c. &c.

Pegu and Lao Alphabets, &c. &c.

Plan of the City of Bangkok

Cochin Chinese Lady and Mandarin of the Civil Order

King of Cochin China, and Deputy Governor of Kamboja 514

Map and Plan of Singapore .... 345

38

ib.

214

277

WOOD CUTS.

VOL. I.

Front of the Main Building of the King of Siam's Palace 109

White Monkey in the Elephant Stables

Siamese Temple .

A Prahchidi, or Sacred Spire

Spire of the Temple called Wata-naga

Cochin-Chinese State Boat

159

.160

To face page 212

213*

. 349-

VOL. IL

A Siamese Temple at Bangkok . . To face page I

Gautama represented dead, with one of his Disciples wor- shipping him . . . . .64 Cochin-Chinese Temple, near Saigun . . .271 Idol and Painting in a temple of Gautama, or Fo, at Faifo

To face page 301 Cochin-Chinese boats in the Bay of Turan . . 302

Vocabularies » at the end of the second volume. ^

mmmfm.

m

JOURNAL OF AN EMBASSY

TO

THE COURTS OF SIAM

AND

COCHIN CHINA.

CHAPTER I.

Nature of the Mission.— Departure from Calcatta.-^tslands Preparis and Naroondam. — Sayer Islands. — Coast of Siam. — ^Arrival at Penang. — Invasion of the neighboaring Ma- layan principality by the Siamese. — Incidents at Penang.— Description of the Settlement.

I B£TURN£D to India in the month of May, 1881, and in September was nominated by the late Marquis of Hastings, then Governor-general of India, to proceed on a mission to the Courts of Siam and Cochin China. The circumstances which led to this appointment are sufficiently de*- tailed in my instructions, which will be found in the Appendix to the present work. My com*- panions were Captain Dangerfield and Lieutenant Rutherford, of the Indian army, and Mr. Fin- layson, of His Majesty's Medical Service. Captain

VOL. I. B

\

S EMBASSY TO SIAM

Dangerfield was appointed my assistant, and to succeed in case of accident; Mr. Rutherford commatnded our small esooirt of thirty Sepoys; and Mr. Finlayson was attached to the mission in quality of medical officer and naturalist. I had the good fortune to find in Captain Dan- gerfield a skilful astronomer, surveyor, and geo- logist ; and Mr. Finlayson with zeal and talents had made highly respectable acquirements in botany and zoology. The John Adam, an In- dian-built ship of about S80 tons burthen, was appointed for the accommodation of the mission.

Haying received my instructions, and being charged with letters addressed from the Gover- nor-general to the Kings of Siam and Cochin China, accompanied by such presents as are re- quired by the usages of the East, we embarked, on the 21st of November, 1821, and dropped down the river with the ebb-tide, which took us as far as the Government manufactory of gun- powder, about eight miles below Calcutta, car- rpng us within a stone's throw of the left bank of the river, and along the most picturesque part of it ; that bend of the Hoogly which Eu- ropeans call Garden Reach, a series of beautiful and magnificent country-houses belonging to some of the principal merchants of Calcutta.

Nw. 28.-^There being no wind yesterday to enable us to stem the flood-tide, we could only make progress during the ebbs, and from the

AND COCHIN CHINA. 9

intricacy of the navigation, this only during day- light This morning a favourable bi:eeze sprung up from the north-east, which enabled us to stem the flood-tide, and tve successively passed Fultah and the James and Mary Sand> and anchored at Gulpee for the night. The passage of the James and Mary Sand, formed by the junction of the Rupnarain with the Hoogly, is the most dan- gerous part of the navigation of the river. The bank is a hard sand, and the channel constantly changing. In running down we had met the Forbes, a ship of 600 tons, which had struck upon it, and was consequently obliged to return to Calcutta for repair. No ship which draws above fifteen feet when loaded can navigate the Granges with safety and eccmomy. The ships of the East India Company, usually of the burthen of 1000 and 1200 tons, and drawing above twenty-two feet water, are totally unfit for this purpose ; they take in their cargo 100. miles from Calcutta, and, besides this inconvenience, com- monly lose many of their crew from the great insalubrity of the stations where they usually lie. Nov. 84.— Calms with light winds not ena- bling us to stem the flood-tides, we reached to- day no farther than the land which, with the north end of Saugor Island, forms Channel-creek, or Lackams Channel. In the evening, being dose to the shore, a small party of us landed. The country farther than the eye can see is

B S

4 EMBASSY TO SIAM

here covered with an almost impenetrable totest of low wood, the trees of which do not exceed eight or ten feet high. The timber which they afford is fit only for firewood. The soil is en- tirely alluvial, and the successive depositions of strata are distinctly preceptible on the shore. The land could not be less than twelve feet above the level of the sea or river at high- water, and might therefore be cultivated with advantage. The crew of the pilot-boat whidi accompanied us, assured us that the place abounds with deer and tigers, and that it was dangerous, on account of the latter, even to attempt to cut a little firewood withiii a few yards of the shore. We had not, indeed, penetrated above a few yards into the wood, when we discover- ed in the soft soil many traces of deer, and those of one tiger.

Nov 25. — ^We sailed from Culpee in the morning, and in the evening anchored below Kadegree, and opposite the Island of Saugor. Three years ago, a plan was set on foot to clear this island; and the Government of Ben- gal, knowing 'that its culture, on the part of the natives, was hopeless, departed from its usual policy, and made extensive grants to a sodety of English gentlemen and others at Calcutta, who subscribed a large sum towards the purpose of clearing and bringing it into culture. The project has been attended with

AMD COCHIN CHINA. 5

but veiy partial success, chiefly owing to na* tural obstacles. The island is low, being litde better than a sand bank, a few feet above high- water mark. The soil is scanty and sterile, and there is no command of water for artificial ir- rigation. In the first attempts at clearing it, the nearest lands to the shore were chosen; but so little coherence was there in the soil, when the roots of the trees were removed, that on more than one occasion the high tides, which took place during gales of wind in the S. W. monsoon, swept away the whole cleared land. When it is considered that abundance of un- reclaimed land of the finest description ex:i8ts in almost every part of India, the capital laid out on this unprofitable project may be consi- dered as little better than a sacrifice to the unwise and narrow-minded, anti-colonial policy of the East India Company.

Nov. 28. — ^During the two last days we moved by slow degrees, under the pilot's charge, over the reefs and sands which obstruct the entrance into the Hoogly. The pilot left us last night in nine and a half fathoms water, and we now proceeded under the auspices of the north-east monsoon, having a six-knot breeze, serene wea-^ ther, and a cloudless sky. In the complicated and difficult navigation of the Hoogly, it has taken us seven days to sail one hundred and forty miles ; which is the distance between the

6 EMBASSY TO SIAM

town of Calcutta, and what is called the Reef Buoy, the extreme Umit of the dangers of the river; With the assistance of a steam-baat, ships might he towed down in two days without difficulty. The freshes in the river, which con- tinue two months, and during which the ebb- tide is sometimes found to run at the rate of eight miles an hour, might prove an obstacle to their employment at that season ; but, at all other periods of the year, they might surdly be used to advanti^, whether for towing vessels or conveying passengers. Under such favour- able circumstances, and in a country where either wood or cods may be had for fuel, it is some reflection upon our want of enterprise in India, that steam-vessels have not yet beeii established** In quitting or approaching the Hoogly, it is impossible not to be struck with the extraor- dinary difficulties which the early European navigators had to contend against, in navigating it, before the establishment, as at pres^it, of an intelligent and experienced, although most costly dass of pilots. Some share of their suc« cess is to be ascribed to the convenient size of the very small vessels which they employed,

* The first steam-yesael used in India, waa built aboat three years after this passage was written. There are at present about ten, of all descriptions, in the Hoogly — some belonging to the Government, and others used for oonveving passengers, or towing ships up and down.

AND COCHIN CHINA. 7

and a large one to their courage and enter- prise. The reputation of the country to which it ^opened a road^ no doubt powerfully prompted them to the undertaking. With all the diffi- culties and dangers of the Ganges, the Englidi, if their Indian conquests- be any advantage to tiiem, owe almost as much gratitude to it as the Hmdoos themselves, for unquestionably to it they are indebted for their Indian empire. It is the great military road which, enabled us to conquer the richest provinces oi Hindustan^ the acquisition of which enabled us eventually to conquer and maintain the rest of our pos- sessions.

Dec. 8. — During the last four days we pro- ceeded on our voyage without any occurrence worth mentioning. This morning at daybreak the Island of Freparis appeared in sight, and being consid^^bly to windward, we bore down up<Ni it with the intentibn of landing, and avail- ing ourselves of the pppcartunity that offered of gaining some knowledge of the natural history of a place so near to the Indian capital, but of which, notwithstanding, little or notliing is known. We were^ however, disappointed; for the north-east wind blew so strcmgly upon the eastern shore, the only safe one to approach, that we could not venture to land. We came within a short mile, however, of two small is- lands lying to the northern extremity of the

8 EMBASSY TO SIAM

principal one, called by navigators the " Cow and Calf." At the depth of ten or twelve fathoms, the lead brought up fragments of coral rock, which we plainly saw under the ship's bottom, with some sharks swimming over them. We skirted the eastern shore of the large island itself, the highest part of which may be about two hundred feet above the level of the sea. It. is entirely covered with a forest of consi- derable height, leaving only a narrow beach of white sand, having a few ledges of rocks here and there scattered through it. The Island of Freparis is seven miles in length from north to south, and uninhabited except by monkeys and squirrels.

The western side and southern end are sur- rounded by a coral reef, which in several parts appears above water, and upon which three small islands have been formed. The approaches to the Preparis are imperfectly known and very dangerous, and have occasioned many shipwrecks. In the year 1817, the Francis and Charlotte, a transport, bringing part of his Majesty's 78th Regiment from Java, after the restoration of the Dutch colonies, stnick, at night, on the reefs to the southern end of the Freparis, and was lost. The troops were conveyed to the main island, where the greater part of them had to remain feeding on a little biscuit saved from the wreck, with some shell-^h picked up

AND COCHIN CHINA. 9

on the shore, and devoured at night by mos- quitoes, until relief was brought to them from Calcutta.

Dec. 4. — Last night we passed the Island of Ifarcondam, visible by moonlight, and this morn- ing had a fine view of it from the deck. The island rises in the form of a cone abruptly from the sea, and is of small extent : it bears all the exterior forms of a basaltic formation, and its summit even exhibits the appearance of the ex- hausted crater of a volcano. Barren Island, of similar size and appearance, lying within seventy miles of it, has a volcano, which has been in a state of activity since the year 1791. In ordinary weather Narcondam is visible, as we now experienced, at fifty miles distance, and in dear weather at seventy. By an observa- tion, not taken, however, under very favourable circumstances, we made its height 2589 feet above the level of the sea.

Dee. 7. — We sailed during the last two days with delightful weather and favourable winds; and early this morning found ourselves (the coast of Siam, visible for the first time in the distance, on our left) near the Sayer Islands, the most northerly of which is in latitude 8** 48' north, and in longitude 97"" 48' east: they are six in number. At noon one party landed on the largest island, usually called the Great Say- er, and another on that lying immediately west

10 EMBASSY TO SIAM

of it. The coasts of the whole group are boM^ and the navigatimi easy. A ship of large size might come within fifty yards of the Great Sayer, without danger. We found the two islands which we visited, to consist entirely of granite, — ^presenting an appearance of irregular stratification, — of. a very large grain, with nar* row veins of quartz running here and there through it. Immediately over the rocks, which are washed by the sea, v^etation c(»nmences; and the islands are covered with a forest of trees, rather undersized if compared with the magnificent woods of the great Indian Archi- pelago. The sea which surrounds them abounds in fish, and on the rocks are found a rich supply of shells, and some corals, of which con- siderable collections were made. A few straks, of a lead-blue colour, were the only birds we saw ; and the only inhabitant of the forest ap- peared to be the large bat (FesperHlioJ, of which great numbers were seen; which proves that wild fruits abound, as these constitute their prbidpal food. , The Sayer Islands are uninhabited, and deserve to be so, for the granite of which they, consist is covered with a mould so thin, that it would not suffice for raising a sufficient supply of the plants neces- sary to the subsistence of man. These islands are the last of the chain whidi extends along the coast of Siaiii for eight degrees, and which

AND COCHIN CHINA. 11

navigators have called the Mergui or Tennasse- rim Archipelago. They are also the last of the long chaui. which, with but a partial interrup* tion, the delta of the Irrawadi, covers the easton coast of the Gulf of BengaL It de- serves to be remarked) that a similar chain of islands extends along the eastern coast of the Gulf of Siam ; while the western coasts of both, but especially of the former, have comparative- ly few such islands along their shores. A similar observation may be made in regard to harbours. The eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal abounds with them, but there is not one on the western. There are several fine harbours on the eastern coast of the Siamese Gulf, but scarcely one which deserves the name on the western.

Dec. 8. — During the night we steered a course to bring us close to the shore of the mainland of Siam ; and in the morning found ourselves within a mile and a half of it, in the latitude of S"" 14' N., and within five miles of the narrow straits which divide Junk-Ceylon from the continent. The coast is here bold, and safe to approach. The. country inland, as far as we could see, was mountainous, leaving along the coast a narrow belt of two or three inUes of lower land; still elevated, however, perhaps eighteen or twenty feet above the sea. Nothmg was to be seen, at first, but one uni-

12 EMBASSY TO SIAM

versal forest of stately trees. We afterwards, however, saw one neat village within a mile of the Papra Strait. On the shore we observed a few fishermen drying their nets, while their canoes lay on the beach. One canoe pushed off, as we believed with the intention of coming on board; but in this we were disappointed, although we did not fail to endeavour to make our wish for an intercourse intelligible by sig- nals. At length we sent a boat to the shore ; and after considerable hesitation, two indivi- duals consented to come on board, but not until one of our men was left behind as a r hostage for their safety. This extraordinary-^ timidity arises from the situation in which these poor people are placed. They live on the territory disputed between the hostile Bur- mans and Siamese, and consequently are in a state of perpetual distrust and insecurity ; while they are rarely visited by European shipping. Our visitors proved to be a Siamese and a Creole Chinese of Siam, who had so much of the native blood of the country in him, that in complexion and features he was no longer distinguishable as a Chinese, and could only be recognized as claiming the name by the fa- shion in which he wore his hair. We ad- dressed them in Malay, but they understood but a few words, and we could carry on no conversation vidth them. The coast abounds in

AND COCHIN CHINA. IS

fishy and for the value of two rupees we ob* tained a very large supply of an excellent de- acription. As it fell calm, a party landed at ten o'docky to examine more nearly the appearance of the country. The beach is a beautiful white sandy with a few ledges of rocks interspersed at considerable distances. We landed on one of the latter, which appeared to proceed from a point of land elevated above the surrounding country, and which promised a favourable (opportunity for geological examination. We found both this point, and every other part of the coast which we examined, to consist of the same large-grained granite which composes the Sayer Islands, perhaps a little more diversified by the occasional appearance of gneiss, and of a darker and smaller-grained granite.

On coming on board in the afternoon, we made sail, still keeping dose to the shore, and soon passed the western opening of the narrow strait which divides Junk-Ceylon from the con- tinent. Sandy points form the mouth of the strait on each side, which is not more than half a mile broad. It was low water, and so shallow is it, that the sea was breaking over a reef which crosses it, and which, at all times, renders it unnavigable for large vessels : even boatSy indeed, can pass only at high-water. A severe squall forced us to keep at a respectable distance fix>m the coast of Junk-Ceylon, but still

14 EMBASSY TO SI AM

we had a distinct view of the shore,- and even of much of the interior. The shore is bold and precipitate, and the coast frequently so deeply indented, as to give to many of the headlands at a distance, the appearance of islands. The aspect of the country presents a perpetual succes- sion of hiUs or mountsdns, apparently so dose upon each other, that there can be little room for extensive valleys capable of affording room for profitable cultivation. The whole appeared covered with an immense forest, and not a sin- gle habitation or a single patch of culture was discernible. A view of the east^n or sheltered side of the island would, no doubt, have pre- sented a somewhat more favourable aspect, but it is sufficiently known that the island is but thinly inhabited and poorly cultivated.

Dee. 9. — During all night and to-day, we have had a great deal of rain and blowing weather. This prevented us from landing, as we intend- ed, on Junk-Ceylon, and other islands which we passed. We were now within the Straits of Malacca, and the limits of the Malay name and navigation. This is discovered by the sud- den alteration of names of places, always signi- ficant in the Malay language; and especially by the constant occurrence of the word Pulao, or Pulo, meaning an island, in the vernacular lan- guage of that people. In the course of the day

AND COCHIN CHINA. 15

we passed Puk) Raja, the Brothers, and Pulo Btttiing.

Hee. 11.— In the morning we had a near ^ew of Trutao, Langkawi, and Lada, large islands whidi ta*e inhabited. Langkawi in par<* ticular, not less than twenty-*fiv€ miles long, contains a considerable portion of the popuku tion of the Malay state of Queda. Fenang was visible in the course of the forenoon, and at ten o'clock at night we got into the harbour. This morning we landed, and our whole party was reoeived into the hospitable and elegant man-* sion of my friend Mr. Phillips, the Grovemor of the island. Mr. Phillips^s residence is called Suf* folk, after the native county of the first owner, Mr. Francis Light, the founder of the settle^ ment. In the time of this gentleman, the ground was litde more than an ordinary pepper garden, but the taste of Mr. Phillips has rendered it the most beautiful spot of the kind in India» after Banrackpooie, the country residence of the Go- veiTior^general : it is^ in short, an English gen* tleman^s mansion and park, where clove and. nutmeg trees (in full bearing during our visit) are substituted for oaks, elms, and ashes. The grounds contain from two to three hundred spotted deer.

We found the settlement in a state of alarm^ consequent upon an invasion of the territory of

16 EMBASSY TO 8IAM

the King of Queda by the Raja of Ligor, a dependent prince or chief of Siam, of which Queda is a vassal. This chieftwi, a few days before, had suddenly made his appearance at Queda in the night-time with an overwhelming force. A trifling scuffle ensued between his people and the Malays, in which some of the principal chiefs of the latter were kiUed, but the greater number of the people took to flight without ofiering the least resistance. The King, after leaving his treasure and property, of which he had more than usually faU to the lot of Malay princes, and having several of his fa- mily made prisoners, took refuge at Penan^ to which the Siamese chief sent an insolent and threatening message and letter, to demand him. In this letter he hinted pretty directly at the punishment of any one who should screen the fugitive prince. The terror of this threat alarm- ed the timidity of the native inhabitants, and the usual supply of grain and other necessaries, for which Penang almost entirely depends upon Queda, being interrupted, the settlement was subjected to considerable temporary inconveni- ence.

We had scarcely landed, when we were met by the commander and the pilot of a Siamese ship, thus far on her voyage from Calcutta to Bungkok. I had frequently seen these two men at Calcutta, and availed myself of my acquaint-

AND COCHIN CHINA. 17

anoe with them, to add to our information. They were both, especially the pilot, shrewd and well-informed men, and the details they commmiicated respecting their country, supplied more useful and practical knowledge than all we had before obtained from printed sources. They were descendants of Mohammedan settlers from Arcot on the Coromandel coast, and in- herited the religion and language of their cjountry. They told us that they had quitted Calcutta with a very favourable opinion of our nation; and they stated, that they had already communicated accounts of our mission to the Raja of Ligor, with the view of being trans- mitted to Siam.

P^nangy Dec* 12. — I had resided three years at Prince of Wales's Island, and then knew the place well, but I had not seen it for ten ; and when I went over George Town and the culti- vated part of the island this morning, I found the whole so much changed, that I could hardly recognize it. The town, which had been once almost entirely burnt down, was now constructed of more solid materials, and many new roads had been formed through the country ; which, how- ever, presented a less busy and active scene than in former times, and even exhibited some marks of decay, which I am told are since more evident.

Dee. 18. — ^Accompanied by Captain Danger- field and Mr. Finlayson, I made, this morning,

VOL. I. c

18 EMBASSY TO SIAM

an excursion to the falls of water at the foot of the hills which supply the flour-mills of I^we Ami, an old and enterprising Chinese inhabitant of the town. The bed of the rivulet which supplies the mills, afforded us an opportunity of examining the rock, which was throughout granite. The huge blocks of stone which were on the surface, were of red granite a good deal decomposed. The more deep-seated rock was a hard grey granite, exhibiting many distinct crys- tals of quartz and mica.

Dec. 17* — We paid this morning a visit to Mr. Brown, at Glugar, about five miles from George Town. Mr. Brown is the greatest proprietor in the island, and a person distinguished for his enterprise and intelligence. He raises on his own estates, yearly, about eight thousand picuk of pepper, or more than a million of pounds; worth, at the present time, not less than twenty thousand pounds sterling. The estate of Glu- gar is of a poor soil, and unfit for the growth of pepper. Mr. Brown has planted it with nut- meg and clove-trees, which are in full bearing, and have a very thriving appearance, the eflPect of skilful culture and of great care, despite of the sterility of the soil. Although it was not the usual season of the mangostin, Mr. Brown produced a few very delicious ones, hi^ly ac- ceptable to such of our party as had never tasted

AND COCHIN CHINA. 19

this fine fruit, the most acceptable to the Euro* pean palate of all tropical ones.

Dee. 22. — This morning we ascended the Flag- staff Hill, the height of which is 2223 feet above the level of the Government House at Suffolk, and about 2800 feet above the level of the sea. The ascent is steep, yet not abrupt or difficult. A stranger to the vegetation of warm climates is here presented with a very favourable view of the luxuriant and magnificent spectacle of a tropical forest. The greater part of Prince of Wales's Island consists of a rapid succession of hills and narrow valleys, clothed with a fo* rest of the tallest trees, in a livery of perpe- tual green. These trees, rising often to the height of a hundred and thirty feet, from the close pressure of the forest, are as straight as an arrow, and throw out no branches until within fifteen or twenty feet of their tops. Where the scnl is dry, the exclusion of the sun's rays pre- vents the growth of grass or underwood, with the exception of rattans and the gigantic para- sites, which, extending fantastically from tree to tree, give a tropical forest so singular and unex* p^cted a character. This scene, however, is more splendid than useful. The timber of the forest trees is generally of inferior quality, and very little of it is applicable to useful purposes. In passing through these woods, the paucity of ani-

c 2

20 EMBASSY TO SIAM

mal life is peculiarly striking : — it is seldom that those of Penang are disturbed, except by the loud shrill noise of the grasshopper, or the occasional chattering of a herd of monkeys.

On the top of the hill, water boils at 207^ of Fahrenheit At 1800 feet above the level of the sea, the character of the vegetation begins to change. The operation of forming the road ex- poses the external part of the structure of the mountain, which is a yellow-coloured clay, in- termixed with gravel, resulting from the disin- tegrated granite, of which the island seems en- turely composed. The granite itself is here and there exposed on the highest parts of the hill, and appears in abundance in the valleys.

Dec. 24, — Last night two messengers arrived from the Raja of Ligor, bearing a letter to my address. They waited upon us this morning, feigning the great joy of their master, the Go- vernor of Ligor, at hearing that the Governor- general of India was sending an envoy to Siam, They disclaimed, on his behalf, all hostile or unfriendly intentions towards us in the invasion of Queda. As ah eam^st of the Ligor chiefs sincerity, the messengers informed us that he had not failed to punish certain of his follow- ers, who had presumed to enter the British territories on the opposite coast in a hostile manner; the officer who commanded having re- ceived thirty strokes of a rattan, and each of

AND COCHIN CHINA. 21

the private soldiers five a-piece« In respect to the offenders in question, the fact was this: — A Siamese detachment, of an officer and thirty men/ had crossed the river which forms the boundary between the Queda and British ter- ritory, and, with or without authority, com- menced plundering our frontier villages. A native sergeant, with twelve sepoys, was sent in pursuit, and took prisoner and disarmed the whole Siamese party without resistance. They were sent back to the chief of Ligor, and their conduct disavowed. The appearance of the messengers was sufficiently uncivilized : — their dresses were scanty in amount, and not of the best description in point of quality. Above all, their bare and shaggy heads gave them a wild and unpromising aspect. Notwithstanding this, Mong Narrain, the principal, was a man of intelligence, and spoke with an air of much confidence and apparent frankness.

Dec. 28. — Juragan Soliman, an old Malay trader, came to call upon me. He had tra- velled into several parts of the interior of the Malayan peninsula, and often gone across it to the opposite coast. According to him, from Trang, on the western coast, to Ligor on the eastern, the distance, by elephants, is but three days* journey ; and a man on foot can travel despatch in two. From Queda to Sungora, the nearest Siamese province to the Malays,

22 EMBASSY TO SIAM

on the side of the Gulf of Siam, he says that merchandize is carried on elephants in five days. This last route is so safe and expeditious, that a great deal of merchandize is sent by it; and it is not uncommon for native vessels from Siam, to send back half their returns in this direction, as well for expedition as to di- vide the risk. The state of Queda is divided from Patani, the bordering Malayan principal- ity to the north-east, by a chain of moun- tains, one of the peaks of which, called J^Mh Bangsa^ is very lofty; I should suppose, from the comparison made by my informer with other mountains, not less than 6000 feet high. From the mouth of the river Muda, in the terri- tory of Queda, in lat. 5^ 40. N., to nearly the foot of the Patani hills, is a voyage of ninety- six hours in boats, by a very winding course. From thence four hours* journey on elephants carries the traveller acToss the mountains to KJroh, in the Patani territories, where there are tin mines. These mines are said to be rich, but unskilfully worked. The Juragan, that is to say, the trading commander, com- putes that they yield at present 1500 ba- hars, of three Chinese piculs each, annually, which I suspect is considerably exaggerated. When asked what manner of people the Pa- tanis were, he replied in a style very charac-

AND COCHIN CHINA. 23

teristic of the language and manner of the Ma« lays : " They are simple and uncultivated men, and you may hold them by a hair, if you have only the discretion not to pull it too hard.**

Hec. 29- — We paid a second visit to Mr. Brown at Glugan He brought to meet us an old Chinese inhabitant of Penang, named Che- wan, one of the few survivors of the original settlers of the island. Che-wan left his native country, the province of Fo-kien, at three-and- twenty, and has never since returned to it. He is now at the age of sixty, preparing for him- self a splendid tomb, after the Chinese fashion, cut from hewn granite, in a very beautiful and romantic spot. There is an inscription on it in Chinese and English; and this simple monu- ment will last for ages, and after many a re- volution of those ephemeral structures which Europeans raise in this country, for mere com- fort or utility. Che- wan in conversation is lively, communicative, and sensible. His details are characterized by a degree of European precision and good sense, which one rarely meets with in the East, except among his countrymen. He has visited many parts of the interior of the Malayan peninsula, and several provinces of Siam, as well as the capital of that country. He has a bad opinion of the court of Siam, and thinks the government inferior even to that

24 EMBilSSy TO SIAM

of Cochin China, which he has also visited ; or as he expresses it in the Malay language, ** There is less compassion for the people."

Jan. 4; 1822, — We took leave of our kind friends at Suffolk this morning, and re-em- barked to pursue our voyage; our party be- ing increased by the addition of three inter- preters. Two of these spoke and wrote the Siamese and Malay languages, through the last of which they interpreted to us. The third was a Chinese, who spoke both English and Malay fluently: he was to be our only me- dium of communication with the Cochin Chi- nese, for it was in vain to look for an inter- preter in the Anam language who spoke any dialect understood by us. < The government of Penang, conformably to the instructions received from Bengal, committed to us the conduct of a negociation for the settlement of their claim of sovereignty to the island, and for the adjustment of the disputes between Queda and Siam.

I shall take this opportunity of giving my reader a short account of the Island of Penang, or Prince of Wales's Island, a place of some importance in the commerce of the East, and of which there are no recent or authentic details before the public.

Penang is about sixteen miles in length from north to south, and from seven to eight in breadth, lying between the latitudes of 5\ 1&.

AND COCHIN CHINA. 25

and 5^ SO'. North. By far the greater part of the island is mountainous, rocky, sterile, and covered with a forest of tall trees. A portion of the south and of the eastern parts is level, and- these alone constitute the cultivated and inhabited quarter of the island. . The highest hills are above 2000 feet in height, and on these the thermometer is about ten degrees lower than on the plain. The harbour, which was the principal inducement to its occupation, is form- ed by the island, with the mainland two miles distant. The whole island, like the countries in its neighbourhood, is one mass of granite, exhi- biting very little variety. In the valleys, traces of alluvial deposits of tin are found. The soil is every where thin and scanty, seldom exceed- ing a few feet in depth, and often not many inches: it consists, in the plains, of disinte- grated granite washed down from the moun- tains, which, in a few favoured spots, where the best husbandry is conducted, is mixed with a little vegetable mould. The mountains, from the thin soil with which they are covered, and the impracticability of carrying on the labours of agriculture on their steep and precipitate sides and ridges, may be looked upon as con- demned to perpetual sterility. The seasons are irregular : rain is frequent throughout the year ; but the regular wet season is of short continue ance, b^inning with September and ending with

26 EMBASSY TO SIAM

November. The coldest months are December and January; and the hottest, Jime and July. In rural economy, the rainy season is the spring of the year ; and January, February, and March, constitute autumn. In the former the rice crop is sown, and in the latter it is reaped. But the great irregularity of the seasons is exhibited in the progress of the pepper plant towards fruc- tification ; for the same individual plant blossoms twice a-year, namely, in April and in October, and affords two crops, one of which is reaped in January, and the other in June.

The husbandry of Penang is favourably dis- tinguished from that of any of the rest of our Eastern possessions, and, when we consider the barren and limited nature of the spot, may be quoted as a remarkable proof of the ei&cacy, as well as safety, of European colonization. This colonization has sprung out of necessity or ac- cident. The land could not be cultivated with- out the aid of European enterprise and capital, and therefore Europeans were allowed, as a matter of mere exigency, to become proprietors of the soil. The landed proprietors of Penang consist, however, of persons of all the races which inhabit it ; but the chief proprietors, and the only improvers, are the two most industrious dasses — the Europeans and the Chinese. The terms of the grants of land are in perpetuity, on payment of a trifling yearly quit-rent to the

AND COCHIN CHINA. 2?

State, of one-fifth of a Spanish dollar for an orlong, a measure of one and one-third English acres* Fifteen hundred and seventy of these grants have been given, and about 1S,000 acres of the area of the island are in a state of cul- ture.

. Notwithstanding these favourable tenures, the natural barrenness of the island and the limited extent of its territory, necessarily exclude from its husbandry aU such productions as demand either peculiar fertility of soil or an extensive range for their growth. In an agricultural point of view, it may be strictly said to be unfit for the growth of rice or any other grain, — of the sugar-cane, cotton, cofiee, and indigo — the grand staples of tropical husbandry ; but» in the culture of articles where skill can compensate for natural defects, the agriculture of Prince of Wales's Island is much superior to that of any other country of Asia. This is especially seen in the culture of pepper, and in the production of such fruits as find a ready market from the frequent resort of strangers. So neat and perfect a specimen of husbandry nowhere exists in the !East as the pepper culture of Penang, — the jcrint effect of the superintending activity of Europeans, and the industrious labour of the Chinese. In Penang, the average of all pepper vines gives an annual product of two catties, or forty-two and two-thirds of an ounce avoirdu*

S8 EMBASSY TO 8IAM

poise. In Malabar, the produce of a vine is no more than seven and one-fifth of an ounce, and according to the monopoly culture of Bencoolen, but six and a-half ounces. Agreeably to this estimate, an acre planted with pepper yields, at Penang, 2040 lbs., in Malabar, 844 lbs., and in Bencoolen, 310 lbs. In the expense of cul- ture, there is, to be sure, a wide difference. To clear ah acre of land at Penang, to supply the young plants, and to plant themselves, and their vegetating props, costs a hundred and twenty Spanish dollars. After incurring all this charge, with loss of interest of capital for four years, until the gardens begin to bear, they are let to Chinese cultivators on lease, the farmer pay- ing one-third of the net produce as rent, and restoring the pepper gardens in good order. It is evident that very little of what is strictly rent enters into the elements of the proprietor's revenue, which is chiefly composed of the profits of stock.

The fruits cultivated at Penang, in the greatest perfection and quantity, are the orange, the plantain, and the pine-apple ; all excellent, but the two last better than I have any where else found them. Both are in season throughout the year, and a hundred pines, of a middling size, are procurable in the market for a Spanish dol- lar. Those weighing six and seven pounds may be had at the rate of fifty for the same money.

AND COCHIN CHINA. 29

The mangusteen and durian, the two most costly fruits, are imported from the neighbour- ing coasts of the peninsula, but are cheap and abundant in their season.

The fisheries at Penang constitute a valuable property among a population, the great bulk of which consumes no other animal food, and a large proportion of this. The Chinese are the fishmongers, and the Malays and other islanders are the fishermen. The modes of taking fish .are innumerable. The smaller kinds are caught by hand-nets, a few with the line, but the greater quantity by the seine, and, above all, by stake-nets, with which a portion of the shal- lowest part of the harbour is covered. The most delicate, and one of the most abundant, of the fishes taken is the pomfret.

When the English took possession of Pe- nang, in 1786, it was wholly uncultivated, and had no other inhabitants than a few occasional Malayan fishermen. It now contains* about 899OOO, according to a regular yearly census, taken ever since 1815. This population con- sists of the following motley ingredients, vi2. Indian islanders, Chinese, natives of the Coro-

* By the census taken in 1824^ the population of the island^ including the annexed territory on the opposite coasts waa found to have increased to 55^000> chiefly in consequence of emigra- tion from the Malay state of Queda, produced by the invasion of the Siamese.

30 EMBASSY TO SI AM

mandel and Malabar coasts, usually called Chou- liahs by Europeans, natives of Bengal, Burmans and Siamese, Europeans and their descendants, with a few Arabs, Armenians, Persees, and Airi* can negroes, to which is added a floating popu- lation of about 1500. The Indian islanders amount to 15,456, and have greatly increased within the last few years, in consequence oi the anarchy and disorder prevalent in some of the neighbouring Malayan states. The tribes of which they chiefly consist are l^falays, Achi- nese, Battaks, and Bugis. They find employ- ment as fishermen, woodcutters, constructors of native houses, and field-labourers. We seldom find them employed as artisans, and not often as traders. The Chinese amount to 8595, and are landowners, field-labourers, mechanics of al- most every description, shopkeepers, and ge- neral merchants. They are all from the two provinces of Canton and Fo*kien, and three- fourths of them from the latter. About five- sixths of the whole number are unmarried men, in the prime of life : so that, in fact, the Chi- nese population, in point of efiective labour, may be estimated as equivalent to an ordinary population of above 37»000, and, as will after- wards be shown, to a numerical Malay popu- lation of more than 80,000! The Chouliahs amount to 6417 ; they are employed as porters, field-labourers, as clerks and police-ofiicers, as

AND COCHIN CHtNA. SI

shopkeepers and as merchants, and, occasionally, as mechanics. The natives of Bengal amount to 4624, and form a far less valuable part of the population than the two last classes. About 1700 consist of military and camp followers, about ISOO are convicts, and the remainder set- tlers, employed as labourers, domestic servants, and shopkeepers. The rate of wages paid to the difierent classes, when engaged in similar la* bour, affords a very striking picture of their relative skiU, industry, and physical strength — in a word, perhaps of their relative state of civilization. A Malay field-labourer works only six and twenty days in the month, and receives but two dollars and a-half as wages; a Chou- liah works twenty-eight days, and receives four doUars; and a Chinese works thirty days, and receives six dollars. The labour of a Chinese, therefore, to himself and the public is worth fifty per cent, more than that of a Chouliah ; the Chouliah's, seventy-five per cent, more than that of a Malay ; and the Chinese no less than one hundred and twenty per c«it. beyond the latter. When skiU is implied in the labour to be performed, the disparity is still more re- markable. A Chinese carpenter at Penang re- ceives fifteei dollars ar-month, a Persee also fif- teen, a Chouliah eight, and a Malay six. I have little doubt but a scale might be constructed upon this principle, which would exhibit a very

32 £MBA8&\r TO SiAM

just estimate of the comparative state of civi- lization among nations, or, which is the same thing, of the respective merits of their different social institutions.

Notwithstanding the deaths by the cholera morbus, which carried off 1131 persons, or near one thirty-second part of the inhabitants, the population of Penang has increased since 1815, the first year in which an accurate census was made, by 5243. The cholera first made its appearance at Penang in October, 1819> in the midst of the rainy season, and disappeared in the end of February,— thus continuing tor a period of four months. It chiefly raged during the first, second, third, and fourth weeks, and in the fifth began sensibly to diminish. It re- appeared in the beginning of May, 1821, in a season perfectly the reverse, and continued for two months, with a character of far less viru- lence, however, than on the first occasion. The weak, the ill-fed, and the ill-lodged, were as usual the principal victims. The natives of the continent of India, evidently the weakest of the inhabitants in point of physical frame, lost in the first attack between a fourteenth and a fifteenth part of their whole numbers; the Malays and other islanders, certainly ill-fed and lodged, but with frames more vigorous and better suited to the climate, lost but one forty*secdnd of their number; the Chinese, well-fed, well-

AND COCHIN CHIXA. < S3

lodged, with robust' frames, lost but one one- hundred-and-thirteenth part of their numbers; and, lastly, the mortality among Europeans and their immediate descendants, amounted to no more than one in two hundred. The morta- lity was incomparably greatest in marshy and swampy situations; and the deaths most fre- quent after a rainy night. The mortality in the town was five and two-thirds in a hundred, and in the country but one and one-third.

Penang is supplied with rice from Bengal, from Achin ; but, above all, from the territo- ries of the King of Queda. The Achin rice is of VCTy inferior quality; but the Bengal and Queda bring nearly the same price in the Pe- nang market. It may be considered about twen- ty-five per cent, dearer than at Calcutta, and above thirty-five per cent, dearer than at Queda. The whole, under proper arrangements, ought to come from the latter country ; but the Prince of Queda, in contravention of an existing treaty, 4nd contrary to good policy, charges a duty of twenty per cent, on all the nee exported to Penang; and contrives, by arbitrary regu- lations, to restrict the production to certain districts in which the impost cannot be evaded, while the trade is in the hands of petty dealers, . who are incapable of conducting it with skill and economy. The daily consumption of rice in Penang, excluding the military population, about

VOL. I. D

S4 EMBASSY TO SIAM

one thousand seven hundred^ is 32,000 pounds, which gives a consumption for each individual of seventeen-twentieths of a pound. There should be deducted from this calculation the small portion of wheat used jby a few oi the inhalntants, and the rice consumed in the dis- tillery of arrack and by cattle, which is, how- ever, inconsiderable. Perhaps three^uarters of a pound a^y will be very near the real con- sumption per head. I am thus particular in giving this statement, because nowhere else is there afforded an opportunity of ascertaining a fact of this nature, with so mudi predsion.

The history of this little estaUishment is very shortly told. After the war which ended in the peace of 1783, and during which we had had to struggle for naval superiority with the French, the want of a good harbour in the Bay of Bengal, as a resort for our ships of war, became evident; and Penang, after other abor- tive and injudicious attempts had been made, was at length fixed upon, under the admi- nistration of Sir John Macpherson. The per- son who recommended it to the attention of the Government of India, was a Mr. Francis Light, who had traded and resided for a niun- ber of years at Siam and Quedi^ and who had a title of nobility from the former country. The settlement was formed in the year 1786, and this gentleman appointed to the charge of

AND COCHIN CHINA. 85

it» under the title of Superintendant There 18 no foundation whatever for the idle stoiy which has gained currency, of Mr. Light's hav- ing received Penang as a dowry with a daughter of the King of Queda. It was made over to the East India Ccxnpany, in consideration of a yearly payment of 6000 Spanish dollars, to compensate for any loss of revenue which might arise to this petty prince from its occupation. It soon rose to considerable prosperity; and in the year 1791, five years after its occupation, we were already at war with the Prince of Queda on account of it. In the year 1800 we received an accession of territory by a cession of waste and uninhabited land on the opposite shore, three and twenty miles along the coast, and three miles inland, which now contains near €000 |inhabitants. The place still conti- nued to prosper, to increase in wealth and po- pulation, and to prove of much utility to the gaieral interests of Indian commerce. In the year 1805, however, this utility was strangely exaggerated, and an extensive plan formed for converting it mto a grand naval depdt and dock- yard, though neither the island nor its vici- nity produced a stick of timber fit for ship- building. The authorities at home thought themselves warranted, on some vague conception of its merits, to create it into a separate Pre- sidency, and to load it with a burthensome and

D 2

36 EMBASSY TO SIAM.

expensive civil establishment. On a reduced scale, the civil establishment even now amounts to the enormous sum of five and Jifly thcu- sand pounds sterling a-year! and the military charge, which cannot be so correctly estimated, is certainly not under thirty thausandj — ^making an aggregate expenditure of eighty five thousand pounds sterling a-year /*

The real utility of Penang consists in its being a place of convenient resort for both our military and commercial navy, espedally in time of war ; but, above all, in its constituting a de- p6t, or emporium, at which is concentrated, for the convenience of the distant and general tra- der, the scattered traffic of numerous petty and barbarous tribes, separately trifling; but when thus united, of real importance. In none of these views, however, was it probably the most eligible situation which might have been selected. In passing through the Straits of Malacca from the west, it is a good deal out of the direct track, and the time wasted in visiting it is consider- ably increased by some difficulties in entmng and quitting the harbour. The Island of Junk- Ceylon would, as a naval station, have been greatly preferable ; and for commercial purposes, Singapore is incomparably superior. Junk-Cey-

* The settlements of Singapoor and Malacca Have been re- cently annexed to Penang, and an enormous increase made to the ciyil and military establishments wholly uncalled for.

AND COCHIN CHINA. -37

Ion is, however, not likely to be a competitor ; and Penang, although it will lose, by means of l^gapore, the more valuable native commerce that comes from the East, will preserve, from its situation, the trade of its immediate neigh- bourhood, which will embrace the greater por- tion of the pepper trade, the trade in Areca nut, and a very considerable share of that in tin. A respectable opinion will be formed of the utility of Prince of Wales's Island as an empo- rium, when it is stated that the value of its ex- ports and imports in 1820 amounted to 4,808,688 Spanish dollars.* '

The whole revenue afforded by Prince of Wales's Island amounts to about two hundred thousand Spanish dollars, or very little more than one half the expenditure, Financial re« sources so respectable, however, ought to be adequate to the maintenance of an establish- ment on a plan still sufficiently liberal, and infinitely better suited to the purposes of good government than the present cumbrous and bur- thensome one. * -

The sources from which the Penang revenue is derived are — duties upon the trade ; and ex- cise duties, in the form of licences or monopo- lies, with a variety of minor items, such as quit-

' * In 18S4-25y the exports and imports had increased to 5,265,902 Spanish dollars.

38 EMBASSY TO SIAM

rents, &c. The imposts upon trade amount to about 90,000 dollars, and the excise duties to about 96,000. In a port, the great utiMty of which consists in the facilities which it should afford to the common trade of the nation, and the commerce of which is but a mere transit trade, no duties whatever ought to be levied upon merchandize, because, however trifling their amount, the very act of subjecting the petty cargoes of the ignorant native traders to the examination and control of the officers of customs is, from the vexation necessarily attend- ing it, a serious obstacle to their resort A trifling duty upon tonnage, if any duty at all be worth levying, would be less easily evaded, more easily and cheaply levied, and in all proba- bility equally productive.*

The excise duties are levied upon the eon- sumption of opium, spirits, hemp used as an in- toxicating drug, betel and pepper leaves, and pork. The monopoly of the vend of each of these is sold to a farmer by pubKc sale from year to year. Some of these objects of taxation

* The Ciutom-House duties have recently been aboliahed at Fenang, but the formalities somewhat unreasonably kept up. The abolition of this impost arose out of an attempt of the local Government to levy duties on the trade of Singapoor and

Malacca. The subject was brought forward in Parliament

the Home Authorities interfered^ and the imposition of duties at all the three settlements was judiciously piohibited.

AND COCHIN CHINA. 99

are themsdves very injudiciously selected. The tax on pork can be no better than a capitation tax on the Chinese, in a situation where the bulk of the rest of the population is Mohammedan. The tax on betel-leaf, which, besides being ex- tremdy unproductive, is one which falls pecu- liarly heavy upon the poorest class of the popu- lation, and exempts many of the rich. The most judidous and suitable subjects of taxation are opium, spirits, and hemp used as an intoxi- cating drug. The great consumers of opium are the Chinese and the Malays, and to a smaU- er extent the Siamese, Burmans, Chouliahs, and Bengallis. The regular and constant consumers of arrack, or native spirits, are the Chinese, but they seldom or never drink to the extent of inebriety. The native Christians, the Chouliahs, and the BengaUis, drink irregularly, but when they do, always to excess. The Burmans and Siamese are looked upon as hard drinkers. The Malays are extremely temperate.

In former times a tax was levied on gamb- ling, more productive than all the rest put to- gether; but on the instituticm of the Court of Justice, it was presented by the Grand Jury as a nuisance, and abolished. This was, perhaps, being too fastidious. The Chinese, the Malays, native Christians, Burmans, and Siamese, are vio- lently, and without a revolution in their man- ners, not certainly to be brought about by mere

40 EMBASSY TO SIAJtf

municipal regulation, incurably addicted to gamb> ling. The Chinese especially, habitually repair to the gaming-table after a day of severe toil. It would, perhaps, have been better to have re- gulated and controlled this propensity, than vain- ly to have attempted to eradicate it. The con- sequence of attempting the latter has been, that gaming still goes* on clandestinely — heavy fines are levied by , the police, and its officers are afforded a pretext for vexatious interference in the private concerns of the inhabitants.

The industry, activity, and energy of the popu- lation of Penang, in comparison to that of other Asiatic countries, is exemplified in its capacity to pay taxes. Excluding the military and con- victs, amounting together to above 3000, and who scarcely in any respect contribute to the finances, the population of Fenang pay, exdu- sive of custom-house duties, 112,759 dollars, which exhibits a rate of taxation of three dol- lars, thirteen cents, per head.*

* The inhabitants of our territorial dominions on the Con- tinent, Custom-house duties included, pay only five shillings per head, or about a third part of the amount stated in the text> yet they are the most heavily taxed of the two.- The annual revenue of our Continental dominions is about 22,000,000 sterling. Were our subjects there as well governed or as indus- trious as even the inhabitants of Penang, the revenue ought to be 6^000,000, and the people less oppressed !

AND COCHIN CHINA. 41

CHAPTER II.

Departure from Penang. — Description of the Principality of Qneda. — Description of the Dinding Islands. — ^Account of Perak. — Arrival at Malacca — ^Incidents there. — Descrip- tion of the Place. — Visit to the Carimon Islands.-^Arrival at Singapore. — Incidents there .^Ancient settlement of the Malays. — Chinese Navigation. — ^Account of the race of Ma- lays called Onrang-laat.

Jan. 5. — We went out of the harbour of Pe- nang by the Southern channel, through which ships drawing no more than eighteen feet may always pass without risk, and thus save a day or two in their route to the Eastward. In passing out we landed upon the little island of J^ijak, about a mile and a half long, and separated from Penang by a deep and narrow channel. We found it to consist, like other places which we had visited in the neighbour- hood, of the usual grey granite. It was at this place that the construction of naval docks was contemplated; but neither here, nor any where else in the vicinity of Penang, is there

43 EMBASSY TO SIAM

a sufficient rise and fall of the tide, or any other peculiar advantage f(»r such a purpose.

Jan. 7* — During the three last days our pro- gress had been impeded by calms, and light or unfair breezes, a very usual occurrence in these places. To-day we passed the southern limits of the Malay state of Queda. The principality of Queda, of which a rapid sketch will not here be out of place, is about one hundred and ten geographical miles m length, from north to south. Its breadth is unequal, and every where incon- siderable; for the utmost width of this por- tion of the peninsula itself is but one hundred and thirty miles ; and this it shares every where with Fatani, a chain of high mountains running north and south, dividing its breadth between them. The boundary to the north, between Queda and Siam, is Onggu, in latitude 6^ 50', and that between it and Ferak Eurao, about the latitude of 5". Besides the territory on the main, several large islands belong to this state. The principal of these is Liingkawi, which is twenty-five miles long, and which has a cooisi- derable share of culture and population. Trutao, the next in size, is fifteen miles in length, and has but few inhabitants. The character of this territory in general is, that of being extremdy woody, marshy, and mountainous. From L#^ng- gu to Kurao, inclusive— for both these give names to rivers— there are counted not less than

AK]> COCHIN CHINA. 43

six-ancUthirty streams. Six of these are of very considenble size, and might be useful both to commerce and agriculture. In the range of hills in the interior, there are many mountains of a great height; and JSxai, a detached one near the western coast, is supposed to be six thousand feet high. Although the country is little cultivated, it does not seem to be desti- tute of fertility ; and its capacity of production is satisfactorily shown in its power of supply- ing the principal consumption of Fenang, now possessed of a population nearly equalling its own. The country is supposed to contain from 40 to 50,000 inhabitants, divided, according to ancient custom, into one hundred and 'five petty districts, each of forty-four families. By ano- ther old institution, the country was classified and sub-divided into petty divisions, each of twenty-four houses.* If we can rely upon the information of Commodore Beaulieu, who visit- ed this country in 1680, it must have contain- ed, seven years before his visit, a popidation of 60,000 souls ; for he tells us that an epidemic which raged about that time, carried off 40,000, or two-thirds of the whole number.

The indigenous inhabitants of the territory of Queda, consist of four classes ; namely, Malays,

* Galled t&ngga^ or stain; erery direUing-hoiise having a stair to it«

44 EMBASSY TO SIAM

Samsams, Siamese, and S&mangs ; but chiefly of the two former, among whom the iseoond are said to be the most numerous. By Samsams are meant people of the Siamese race, who have adopted the Mohammedan religion, and who speak a language which is a mixed jargon of the languages of the two people; a matter which, in the opinion of the latter, brings some reproach with it. The following is a specimen. ** Saya ha pai naik keh bun gunung." ** I want to ascend the mountain ;" in which the first word is Malay, the two next Siamese, the fourth Malay, the fifth and sixth Siamese, and the seventh or last Malay again. *

The Siimang are the same Negro race found from the Andamans to New Guinea. They are here distinguished into two races, the S^mang and Bila; the latter holding no intercourse what- ever with the inhabitants of the plains, but the forrhei' frequenting the villages, and carrying on some traffic with the more civilized inhabitants. Neither have any fixed habitation, and roaming through the woods, exist chiefly on the produce of their hunting, feeding indiscriminately upon every description of animal, whether quadruped or reptile. They appear to be a timid and harm- less race.

The revenue of the petty chief of Queda amounted to about 42,000 Spanish dollars a- year. The country, from the earliest know-

AND COCHIN CHINA. 45

ledge of Europeans, has been a tributary or vas- sal state of Siam; and, besides contributing in war to the assistance of the paramount state, in men, arms, and provisions, by immemorial usage, the King of Queda sends to Siam, in common with other Malayan princes, a triennial token of submission, in the form of a little tree of gold, which hence comes to be applied by the Malays of these parts to any tribute what- ever. About the beginning of the seventeenth century, Queda was conquered by Achin, which held it for some years in a state of vassalage.

Jan. 9. — Yesterday morning we were in sight of the islands usually called in the maritime charts the Bindings, (correctly Fangkur, for Dinding is the name of a place on the opposite main,) and the group of islets farther south, called by the Malays, Fulo Sambilan, or the Nine Isles. We gratified our curiosity by land-^ ing on the largest Dinding. The sea-breeze carried us in between this island and the main- land of Ferak, with which it forms a beautiful and safe harbour, running north and south, and seemingly sheltered from every wind. After rounding the south point of the island, of which we sailed within one hundred yards, we came upon a little cove, with a sandy beach, and here landed. The island consists of abrupt hills of a few hundred feet high, clothed with tall wood almost to the water's edge. Except in one or

46 EMBASSY TO SIAM

two spots, such as that on which we landed, th^re was no beach, the ooast being fonned of great Uocks of granite, the only rock which we any whane parceived. Tin ore is asserted to be found on the island. It is utterly uncultivated and uninhabited ; but near the landing-place we observed two or three temporary and unoo^i- pied huts thrown up, consisting of a few boughs of trees and some long grass. This is a famous haunt of pirates, and our Malay interpreters in- formed us that these huts were of their con* struction. In the seventeenth century, the Dutdi occupied the island as a post to control the trade of ihe country, and chiefly to secure a monopoly of the tin of the Malay principality of Perak. Dampier, who visited this place in the year 1689, gives an accurate description of it. Relying upon his known fidelity, we sought for the re* mains of the Dutch fort, and found it exactly as he described it The brick walls are still stand- ing after a lapse of one hundred and thirty-two years; concealed, however, from the first view, by the forest which has grown round them. The fort was merely a square building of masonry of about thirty feet to a side. A platform, about sixteen feet high, contained the guns and troops, and in the walls were eight round embrasures for cannon, and sixteen loop-holes for fire-arms. The governor and officers' apartments were in the upper-story. There was but one entrance

AND COCHIN CHINA. 47

m

to the fort, and this hy a flight of steps to- wards the sea-side. Dampier tells us that the governor had a detached house near the sea, where he passed the day, but which, for secu- rity, he always abandoned for the fort at night ; and accordingly we found, in the situation he mentions, the terrace on which the house in question sftood, with fragments of broken bot- tles and coarse china-ware scattered here and there in its neighboiurhood. The whole appear- ance of the place conveyed a very good* picture of the state of alarm and distrust in which the garrison perpetually lived — the effect of the law- less and unprofitable object in which they were engi^igedi. Dampier tells a very ludicrous story to this effect : — While the captain of his ship and a passenger, with his wife, were ^itertained by the Dutch governor, in his house without the fort, an alarm was given of- the appearance of Malays ! His Excellency, without any warning to his guests, bolted out of one of the windows, and ran off to the fort, followed by all his ser- vants and attendants. The feast was left stand- ings and the garrison began to fire the great guns, by way of ^vihg the Malays to understand that they were prepared for them. The year after Dampier visited it, the garrison was cut off, nor have I heard that it was ever re-established. We discovered that the place had not been without some occasional European visitors, for on the

48 EMBASSY TO SIAM

plaster of the embrasures were carved the initials of several names, and in very plain figures, the years 1727, 1754, and 1821. This island, like others in these latitudes, affords a rich field for the botanist. Mr. Finlayson here discovered a new epidendron, of gigantic dimensions. The flowering stem was six feet long, and had from ninety to one hundred flowers upon it, each of which was two and a half inches broad, and four inches long, of a rich yellow colour, spotted with brown, and emitting a very agreeable fragrance. Deer and wild h<^s seem to abound in the is- land ; for we discovered many of their tracks in the sand.

As an European establishment, with which viev? it has been contemplated, this island, though the harbour be good, more easily accessible than any other which has been named for such a pur- pose, and far more in the direct track of active commerce than Penang, is certainly, upon the whole, unsuitable. It is, on the one hand, too far within the Straits for a place of resort and refreshment for our navy coming from the Bay of Bengal; and, on the other, much too far to the west, to be an emporium for the commerce of the nations to the eastward of the Straits of Malacca. Independent of these primary ob- jections, there seems scarcely a spot in the island level enough for cultivation, or even for con- venient and comfortable habitation. The pros-

AND COCHIN CHINA. 49

pect of deriving any benefit from the working of tin-mines in this island, even under an !p^u~ Topean Gtovemment, supposing the ore to exist in sufficient abundance, appears to nie to be more than questionable. The whole island is an abrupt hard granite rock, from which ore could not be extracted with any. profit in the state of skill and industry which exists among the natives of the country, or even among the Chi- nese; themselves. In Banca, and other places where abundance of tin is produced, the ore is found in situations extremely different, that is, in streams through the soil of the low lands, from which it is easily extracted, readily smelted, and finally when smelted, affording a metal of supe- rior value to what is obtained by the laborious process of mining in rocky districts.

Jan. 11. — We had now passed the territories of Perak and Salangore. Perak contains one hun- dred and five mokims, or petty parishes, and is said to be more populous than Queda. It ex- tends about seventy-five miles along the coast, in by far the broadest part of the whole penin- sula. This is the most productive part of the western coast in tin. I have never heard any exact statement of the quantity it yields, but of the 15,000 piculs, or about 2,000,000lbs, imported yearly into Penang, a very large share is from

VOL. I. E

50 EMBASSY TO SIAM

this country.* Perak, like Queda» is a vassal of Siam, and being refractory, about two years ago» was reduced to subjection by the Queda Chief, in consequence of orders from the Lord Para- mount.

Salangore extends about ninety-six miles along the coast, where the peninsula begins to grow narrow. This is a very petty state, and inferior in population to Ferak and Queda. Thexdgn- ing family is Bugis of the Waju race that is of the most commercial and enterprising of the na- tions of Celebes. In this state, at a place called Lukot, situated immediately to the north of Cape Rachado, a valuable tin mine has lately been dis- covered, and is now worked.

Jan. 13. — Last night we came into the roads of Malacca, saluting a Dutch sloop of war and. the fort ; and this morning, about ten o'clock, we landed in the Dutch Governor's accommodation- boat, which had been politely sent for us. On landing, we were received on the wharf by the Governor's secretary, charged with an invitation from Mr. Timmerman Tysen, the Governor, whom I had had the pleasure of knowing scrnie years before at Batavia. Such of our party as could be accommodated accepted the invitation, and the rest took up their residence in the town.

* Its produce is reckoned at 4000 piculs^ of ISSjlbs. of avoirdupois.

AND COCHIN CHINA. 51

This morning I walked round the hill of Malacca; and surveyed those ruined fortifications which, under the Portuguese, had resisted twelve sieges; On the top of the hill, which is about a hun- dred feet high, are the ruins of the Portuguese church of St. Paul, still a conspicuous landmark in approaching the roads. It was built soon after the Portuguese conquest, and towards the be* ginning of the sixteenth century. The Dutch, after getting possession of Malacca, used it as a Protestant church and burying-ground ; and hence the unusual spectacle which it jM-esents of the tombs of conqvierors and conquered, Catholics, and heretics, blended together in one spot. With* out reading the inscriptions, the tombstones of the respective people are to be recognised by their age, and the different materials of which they consist. The Portuguese tombs are of gra- nite from China, and the Dutch of a hard black trap rock from the Coromandel coast, for neither Malacca nor its vicinity afford either. Among the tombstones we read, in very distinct charac- ters, and in the Latin language, the inscription on that of Dominus Petrus, second Bishop of Ja- pan, who is stated to have died in the Straits of Singapore, in the year 1598. The body of. St. Francis Xavier, the Apostle of the Indies, who died in China, once reposed here, but the isacred lelic was disinterred and finally conveyed to Goa. Jmu 14r. — I called upon Mr. Milne this fore- £ 2

63 EBfBASSY TO 8IAM

noon. This industrious and highly respectable character is an Englishman by birth, and the second in rank of the Protestant Mission to China, in connexion with the Malay, denomi- nated the UltnuGangetic Mission. This frater- nity has been established at Malacca since the year 1815, and since 1818 an Anglo-Chinese College has been established, the chief object of which institution is the cultivation of Chinese and English literature, and the diffusion of Christianity in the countries and islands lying to the eastward of Penang. Mr. Milne is one of the best Chinese scholars living, and the result of his indefatigable labours is, a versicm of the Scriptures, in great progress, a periodical work in the Chinese language, another in English, called ** The Indo-Chinese Gleaner," and a little volume, entitled, "A Retrospect of the First Ten Years of the Protestant Mission to China," which last contains some excellent remarks on the manners and literature of the Indo-Chinese nations. These have all issued from the press of the semi- naiy itself at Malacca. The labours of such men as Mr. Milne, Dr. Morrison, Dr. Carey, and Mr, Marchman, are of incalculable benefit to the cause of humanity and civilization, while it is acknowledged on every side, that their means and motives are equally unexceptionable and pure. Mr* Milne, in conversation, furnished us with some valuable hints respecting the objects

AND COCHIN CHINA. 53

of our Embassy to Cochin Chinas and with notes on the geography and commerce of that country; the result of his inquiries among the traders from thence, who have of late years visited the Straits of Malacca. >

Jan. 16. — Last night Mr. Timmerman, the Go- vernor, gave a ball and supper, in compliment to tlie departure of the militaiy officers of the station, relieved by fresh troops from Batavia. Besides the inhabitants of the place, the party consisted of the officers oX. three Dutch men-of- war lying at the time in the Roads. This occa- sion gave us an opportunity of observing the manners and appearance of the colonists. Out of thirty-seven ladies, two or three only were Europeans, and tlie rest bom in the country, with a large admixture of Asiatic blood. The female dress, of the younger part, was in the English fashion; and a very few only of the elderly ladies dressed in the Malay kabaya, a sort of loose gown, or wore the hair in the Malay fashion. The long residence of the English in the Dutch colonies, — ^the influence of the French, and lately, of their own more polished country* women, — have nearly banished these external marks of barbarism. Before the last ten years^ the habits and costume of the female Dutch colonists partook more of the Asiatic than the European. Instead of Dutch, they spoke a barbarous dialect of Malay ; they were habited,

54. EMBASSY TO SI AM

as I have described, in the dress of that people ; they chewed the pawn-leaf publidy, and even in the hall-room each fair dame had bef<»e her an enormous brass ewer to receive the refuse of her mastication.

- Jan. 17. — We re-embarked last evening, the Dutch Governor politely attending us to the wharf, and at eight at night, a fine sea-breeze having set in, we weighed and made sail to- wards Singapore, in company with a Dutch corvette, —The following is a short sketch of the place we had just left, the result of pre- vious inquiry, as well as of examination on the spot. The territory of Malacca is forty miles in length along the sea, and extends thirty miles inland. The principality of Salangore boimds it to the north at Cape Rachado. Jehor bounds it to the south, at the river Mora, and the territory of Rumbo to the east. The largest mountain in the territory of Malacca is Ledang, which the Portuguese, and other £ujx>peans in imitation of them, have denominated Mount Pphir. This is distant from Malacca twenty- four miles, in a straight direction, and thirty- two by the windings of a vjpry bad road. Its height is about 4000 feet. Besides a number of petty streams, there are in the territory of Malacca two considerable rivers, namely. Mora, aheady named, and Langituah, the embouchure gf which is a little to 'the south of Cape Ba-

AND COCHIN CHINA. 65

chado. The granitic formatioD, which charac- terises the countries we. have hitherto visited, partiaUy^ disappears at Malacca; the whole terri- tory of which, as far as we could learn, is one uniform mass of cellular iron-ore. The valuable minerals found within the territory of Malacca Me gold and tin ; but the first, nowhere in suf- ficient abundance to have fixed the imperfect industry of the native inhabitants; of the se- cond, it is said to produce 4000 piculs. The ioil must be considered as decidedly deficient in fertility, for at no period of its history does Malacca appear to have been capable of sup- plying its own scanty population with bread com. Bad government must not be assigned as the sole cause, for Malacca has had various forms of European government; all of them, however bad or imperfect, generally superior to the native governments of several neighbouring countries, producing an abundant supply of grain. Fruits, the perfection of which depends more, in these latitudes, upon the culture they receive than upon the quality of the soil, and which are never skilfully cultivated but by Eu- ropeans, are produced in great excellence and variety at Malacca. Seventy-two species have been produced at once at a dessert; but, of course, the greater number very worthless* The mangustin and pine-apple are unrivalled at this place. The durian, the orange, the plantain, the

56 EMBASSY TO SIAM

shaddock, idid the dukuh, are also very fine. Poultry and hogs are of good quality, and in abundance, but sheep do not exist, and homed cattle are scarce.

The present population of the town of Ma- lacca and its territory is 22,000; a number which does not seem to have varied for at least the last six-and-twenty years ; a fact which pro- claims in intelligible language the decrease of wealth, or at least the absence of prosp^rity^ A place which has been the seat of European commerce for three centuries, and was for more than two centuries and a half before in the possession of an active and commercial race of nativies, and yet contains little more than eigh- teen inhabitants to a square mOe, must be con- sidered as labouring under some natural, and perhaps insuperable defects.*

The permanent inhabitants of Malacca are the Malays, a brown-coloured race of savages, with lank hair, called Benua and Jakong; a race of Hindu colonists from Telinga; the descendants of the Portuguese conquerors ; and those of the Dutch. To this list may be added the usual admixture of Chinese, and of Mohammedans of the coast of Coromandel. To a brief account

♦ While we occupied Malacca, during the war, its popula- tion was estimated at 25,000. The Dutch estimated it^ as stated in the text, at 22,000. By a census, or estimate, made IP 1827, it is reduced to 16,000.

AND COCHIN CHINA, 67

of these, I shall premise a short sketch of the history of Malacca. — About the middle of the twelfth century, when Europeans were as yet in ignorance of the existence of such a people, a colony of Malays, from Menangkabao, or per- haps more correctly from the north coast of Su- matra generally, are said to have settled at 8m<^ gapura, at the extremity of the Malay peninsula, the very spot on which we ourselves have lately formed an establishment. After a residence short of a century at this place, they were driven from it by the Javanese, and retiring to the west- ward, founded Malacca in the year 1252. Four- and-twenty years after this event they were con^- verted to the Mohammedan religion, and two hundred and fifty-nine years later they were con- quered by the Portuguese, who, after one hun^^ dred and twenty-nine years possession, were expelled by the Dutch. The Malay popula- tion of Malacca are the reputed descendants of the first colonists from Sumatra. The Jakong and the Benua are wild races of men living in the deep forests of the interior of the pen- insula, being spread over the territories of Ma- lacca, Rumbo, and Jehor. They exist principally in the hunter state, some of the least uncivilized practising a little rude husbandry. Their per- sons are nearly naked, and their habitations ex- tremely rude. A death happening in a tribe is always the signal for abandoning their habi*

58 EMBASSY TO SIAM

tatioDs, and taking up a new encampment. They appear to practise no cruel rites, and in their manners to be altogether extremely inof- fensive. What renders this wild i>eople most remarkable, is their differing totally in language and physical form from the Negro races which inhabit the interior of the more northern parts of the peninsula. They are, in fact, Malays in the savage state. Doctor Leyden, who visited them in 1811, on oiur way to the conquest of Java, could discover in their language but seven- and*twenty words which differed from common Malay ; and on examination of the specimens he gives, I find, that at least six or seven of these are extremely doubtful ; while two or three ap* pear original Malay words, for whidi Sanscrit mies have been . substituted in the more modem dialect. Whether this rude people be the true original stock of the wide-spread race of the Ma^ lays, or a degenerated one from the colonists of Sumatra, before their conversion to Mohamme- danism, is a matter not very easily detomined With respect to the Malays of the neighbouring state of Bumbo having emigrated from Sumatra, there is .no question made. Other Malays deno- buiiate them "people of Menangkabao ;" th^ speak tlie precise language of the people of this last country, ending their words always with a short o instead of a short a, as done by other Malays.. A friendly intercourse is alwaya maior

AND COCHIN CHINA. 59

tained between the two states; Menangkabao being acknowledged the paramount one» and the Prince of Rumbo receiving a regular investiture from that country.

The Hindus of Malacca are the only ultrama- rine colonists of that people of whom I have heard. The popular notion of its being forbidden to Hindus to quit their country by sea, is suffi- ciently contradicted by their existence ; and how indeed, without supposing such emigration, are we, in common sense, to account for the once wide spread of their religion among the distant islands of the Indian Ocean. The Malacca colony amounts at present to about two hundred and fifty families, and in the more prosperous days of the settlement, is said to have been far more nu« merous. The colonists are of the Telinga, op Kalinga nation, and at present composed only of the third and fourth, or mercantile and servile classes of the Hindu orders. Not a great many years ago, there were still a few Bramins and Chatrias among them. The Malacca Hindus practise all the ordinary rites of the Hindu worship ; they refuse to eat with persons of other religions ; and in their food reject beef and pork, but consume fish, goat's flesh, and fowls. Those of the mercantile order employ themselves as traders, accountants, and assayers of gold, in which last occupation they have a high reputation both for skill and fidelity. Persons of the lower

60 EMBASSY TO 8IAM

order ure employed in the usual occupations of the servile class, including agriculture. The fa- mily of Bisara Seti, the present chief of this tribe, from whom I derive my information, settled in Malacca one hundred and forty-three years ago ; but he can give no information respecting the establishment of the first colonists. He states generally, however, that the greater number set- tled at Malacca during the Portuguese rule. When the Hindu settlers fijpst came over, they were unattended by their families, and formed connexions with the women of the country, par- ticularly with those of Celebes ; they soon how- ever abandoned this practice, as is evident enough from their preserving the genuine Hindu features, and a stature considerably beyond that of the islanders.

The Portuguese amount to 4000, and are all of the lowest order. Although with a great ad- mixture of Asiatic blood, the European features are still strongly marked in them. I have no doubt there are among them many of the lineal descendants of the haughty, intolerant, and brave men, who fought by the side of Albuquerque; but they certainly inherit no part of the character of their ancestors, and are a timid, peaceable, and submissive race. They offer to us a spectacle not frequently presented in the East — that of men bearing the European name, and wearing the European garb, engaged in the humblest occu*

AND COCHIN CHINA. 61

pations of life, for we find tbem employed as domestic servants, as day labourers, and as fisher- men.

Malacca is probably doomed to sink into still greater insignificance than that into which it has already fallen, but it is associated in our minds with one of the most interesting events in the history of our species — the discovery of a new route to the Indies, and the heroic achievements of the Portuguese which immediately followed it. We cannot, as Europeans, but survey with pride the spot on which stood the bridge by which Albuquerque, at the head of 700 Europeans, stormed walls and intrenchments that were guard- ed by 30,000 barbarians — an achievement superior to any of those of Pizarro, inasmuch as the Ma- lays were»a braver and even more civilized enemy than the Americans. An Englishman will siee, with some mortification, the ruins of the fortifi- cation which the Portuguese constructed shortly ufter the conquest. It surrounded the little hill, on the top of which was the church of St. PauFs, already mentioned. The walls were of solid ma- sonry, and of the iron-stone of the country* To the west it was protected by the sea, to the north by the river, and it had a moat to the other two sides. This specimen of the art of fortification in the beginning of the sixteenth century, the only one existing in these parts, and the pride and trust of the native inhabitants, was, by a piece

62 EMBASSY TO SIAM

of policy, equally barbarous and unneoeasary, Uown up by us in the year 1 807.

The Dutch support at Malacca a most unne^ cessary civil and military establishment, which, in- dependent of the revenue of the place itself, costs them three lacks of rupees, or near 30,000/. a- year. In a place remarkable for the peaceable character of its inhabitants, arid without an enemy, ' European or native, they have an effective body of 400 troops, besides keeping on foot a militia or burgher corps. Fifty regular soldiers would have been quite adequate to the protection of the place, and a mimicipal establishment upon the humblest scale the most suitable for its good government.*

. Malacca, in every stage of its liistory, owed its prosperity to its being the only port in the Straits of Malacca, where there was tolerable se- curity for life and property. The Dutch them- selves did much towards its ruin by the highly illiberal system of exclusive trade, which they long persevered in. The establishment of Pe- nangi on different principles, brought the mattar nearly to a crisis, and that of Singapore has com-

* Shortly after this passage was written, the Dutch judici- ously reduced both their ciril and military establishments. The place, as is sufficiently known, is now a British possessioa, and although not likely to be of much value> it may be render^ at least not burthensome to us^ if its establishments be kept within the bounds of moderation. For taking an opposite course^ it would be extremely difficult to find any pretext.

AND COCHIN CHINA. 69

pleted its fall. The s3rniptoms of decay are too striking to escape observation^ and the travellei^ who has quitted either of those settlements, con-^ not fail to contrast their industry and activity with the Hfeless duhiess which reigns at Malacca* Jan. 18. — At daylight this morning we bad Fuk) Pisang behind us» Pulo Kakab to our left, and the Carimons and other islands to our right, with Tanjung Bulus, (correctly, Buros,) the most southern extremity of the continent of Asia, in latitude 1^ Ifl' north, before us. We bore down upon the Cariimons, with a view of making somie inquiry respecting them; and at ten o'clock landed upon the Little Carimon, the latitude of the northern end of which is l"" 8^' north; This island is. about two miles long, and the highe&t part of it perhaps about 500 feet in height. The whole is high land, coviered with a lofty forest, and the coast steep and rocky. The island is uninhabited, and indeed, from its formation and aspect, does not appear a fit resi-> dence for man in any stage of civilization. The Great Carimon is divided from the little one by a very narrow and deep gut. It is twelve miles in length, by five in breadth ; has a great deal of low land, apparently suited for culture ; and two peaked mountains about the centre, the highest of which did not appear to us to be less than 1800 or 2000 feet high. I am told there are a few Malay settlers upon it. To the west of

64 EMBASSY TO SLAM

the Carimons are distinctly visible many islands, the very names of which are unknown to Eu* ropeans.

We examined, with considerable attention, that side of the Little Carimon on which we landed. The rock of which it is composed is porphyritic homstone, varying in appearance as the grain is larger or smaller: it is extremely hard and flinty^ and exhibits a conchoidical fracture. The surface of the rock has every where a honeycombed appearance ; and the hol- lows, when examined, are discovered to be drusy cavities, many of them containing portions of secondary limestone. One of these cavities I measured, and found to be four feet three inches long, two feet broad, and eighteen inches deep.*

Jan. 19.— At twelve o'clock to-day we passed the narrow channel of the Rabbit and Coney, the western entrance of the Straits of Suiga- pore, and soon found ourselves surrounded in every direction by beautiful verdant islands. The sea was smooth, the sky dear, and the whole prospect equally novel and pleasing. From the

* In the autumn of 1825, while resident of Singapore, I yi-^ sited the Carimon Island (correctly written Krimun) ; the hom- •tone mentioned in the text la confined to the coast, and is merely a partial and overlaying formation. The interior is com* posed of granite, with veins of white quartzl, and abounds in tin-ore. The inhabitants of the larger island amount to 400 in number.

AND COCHIN CHINA, 6S

deck there could be counted between fifty and sixty green and woody iskmds of various dimen- sions, and from the mast-head above seventy. I do not believe there is any part of the world which can afford a prospect, in its way, of su- perior beauty, and this indeed has been observed and confessed by all voyagers. At six o'clock we anchored in Singapore Roads.

Jan. 21. — Last night my old friend Colonel Farquhar, resident of Singapore, sent his staff, Captain Dairies, on board to invite us on shore. We landed this morning ; and Mr. Scott, a mer- chant of this new settlement, and the son of my respected friend, Mr. Robert Scott, an experi- enced and most intelligent merchant of Penang, hospitably and obligingly gave his house up for our accommodation. In the evening we dined with Colonel Farquhar, and went through the greater part of the new settlement. Notwith- standing the state of abeyance in which the poli-^ tical question regarding the settlement was in- volved, there was universally an air of animation and activity. Several miles of new road were already formed, and the habitations were so nu- merous, and the population so great, that we could hardly imagine that the whole was the cre- ation of three short years.

Jan. 28. — We had to-day a visit from some individuals of the race of Malays, called Or^ng- laut, — that is, " men of the sea." They have a

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66 EMBASSY TO SIAM

rough exterior, and their speech is awkward and uncouth ; but, in other respects, I could ^observe little essential difference between them and other Malays. These people have adopted the Mohammedm religion. They are divided into, at least, twenty tribes, distinguished usu- ally by the straits or narrow seas they princi- pally frequent. A few of them have habitat tions on shore, but by far the greater number live constantly in their boats, and nearly their sole occupation is fishing; those who are most civilized cultivating a few bananas. They are subjects of the King of Johore, and the same people who have been called Orang SaUat^ or, '' men of the straits ;" — the straits her^ alluded to being, not the great Straits of Malacca, which are extensive beyond their comprehension, but the narrow guts running among the little islets that are so abimdantly strewed over its eastern entrance. Under this appellation they have been notorious for their piracies, from the earliest knowledge of Europeans respecting these coun- tries.

Ji«». 27. — We went yesterday morning along the coast, to the westward, and visited the new harbour, or S^t Panikam, as it is called by the Malays. This harbour is formed by Singa^* pore and the islets which lie off the western limit of the roadstead. The entrance is narrow and difficult; but when a ship is once moored

AJfD COCHIN CHINA. 6?

within it, she is secure from every dmg^r, — from rocks, elements, and even from an ene- foj, for half a dozen guns would make it im« pregnable to any attack from sea. The pros* pect we had on entering it was beautiful and unexpected. We found ourselves completely landlocked, in every direction, by the grqen and woody shores of the islands surrounding us ; and the sea, though considerably ruffled with- out, was here as smooth as glass. This is a favourite retreat of the OrSng-kut Oii our arrival, their proas were lying along the shore; but as the flood-tide made, they advanced into the middle of the channel, and began to fishv Their principal mode of taking fish is by spear* ing, and hence the native name of the Strait, which has this meaning. The* larger fish are followed by the proas, and easUy traced through the water, which is perfectly dear and trans- parent. They. are speared with a long trident, and with sudi dexterity as to be seldom miss* ed. This mode of taking fish must be tedi-^ ous and unproductive. It is suited, however, to the poverty of the people, who, perhaps, cannot afibrd the necessary supply of nets, and, I have no doubt, is strongly recommended to them by the pleasure they derive from the pursuit. They complain, I understand, of the numerous stake- uets erected by the industrious Chinese, in the harbour of Singapore, as detrimental to their

F 2

68 EMBASSY TO SIAM

employment, pretty much in the same way as European labourers complain of the introduc- tion of new machinery, and with the same jus- tice. The boats of the Or«ng-laut are mere canoes, covered by a light shed of palm -leaves. We saw their whole families on board, men, women, and children; and both in their fishing and management of the boats, the women ap- peared to take as active a share as the men.

Feb. 2, — A junk which arrived a few days ago, had on board a native Cochin Chinese mer- chant, a man of respectability and intelligence, who paid us a visit to-day. According to his statement, the French are in considerable num- bers in different parts of the Cochin Chinese empire, but they are mostly religious persons. He states that a French frigate came to the Port of Han, or Turan, in 1819^ and made a demand for that place and its adjacent territory. The king replied, that he was not a petty Ma- lay prince to barter his dominions for money, and ordered the ship to depart forthwith. Se- veral French merchant-ships have also visited Cochin China since the peace; and two Ame- rican ships have obtained full cargoes at the Port of Saigon, or Longnai, as it is called by the Chinese.

Feb. 8. — I walked this morning round the walls and limits of the ancient town of Singa- pore, for such in reality had been the site of our

AND COCHIN CHINA. 69

modem settlement. It was bounded to the east by the sea, to the north by a wall, and to the west by a salt creek or inlet of the sea. The inclosed space is a plain, ending in a hill of considerable extent, and a hundred and fifty feet in height. The whole is a kind of trian- gle, of which the base is the sea-side, about a mile in length. The wall, which is about sixteen feet in breadth at its base, and at pre- sent about eight or nine in height, runs very near a mile from the sea-coast to the base of the hill, until it meets a salt marsh. As long as it continues in the plain, it is skirted by a little rivulet running at the foot of it, and forming a kind of moat ; and where it attains the elevated side of the hill, there are apparent the remains of a dry ditch. On the western side, which ex- tends from the termination of the wall to the sea^ the distance, like that of the northern side, is very near a mile. This last has ^ the natural and strong defence of a salt marsh, overflown at high- water, and of a deep and broad creek. In the wall there are no traces of embrasul'es or loop-holes ; and neither on the sea-side, nor on that skirted by the creek and marsh, is there any appearance whatever of artifidal defences. We may conclude from these circumstances, that the works of Singapore were not intended against fire-arms, or an attack by sea ; or that if the lat- ter, the inhabitanta considered themselves strong

TO EMBASSY TO SIAM

in their naval force, and therefore thought any other defences in that quarter superfluous.

Feb. 4. — On the stony point which forms the western side of the entrance of the salt creek, on which the modern town of Singapore is building, there was discovered, two years ago, a tolerably hard block of sand-stone, with an in- scription upon it. This 1 examined early this morning. The stone, in shape, is a rude mass, and formed of the one-half of a great nodule broken into two nearly equal parts by artificial means ; for the two portions now face each other, separated at the base by a distance of not more than two feet and a half, and reclin- ing opposite to each other at an angle of about forty degrees. It is upon the inner surface of the stone that the inscription is engraved. The workmanship is far ruder than any thing of the kind that I have seen in Java or India; and the writing,^ perhaps from time, in some degree, but more from the natural decomposition of the rock, so much obliterated as to be quite illegible as a composition. Here and there, however, a few letters seem distinct enough. The character is rather round than square. It is probably the Pali, Qsr religious character used by the followers of Buddha, and of which abundant examples are to be found in Java and Sumatra ; while no monuments exist in these countries in their re- spective vernacular alphabets. The only remains

AKD COCHIN CHINA. 71

of antiquity at Singapore, besides this stone, and the wall and moat before mentioned, are contain* ed on the hill before alluded to. After being cleared by us of the extensive forest which cover- ed it, it is now clothed with a fine grassy sward, and forms the principal beauty of the new set- tlement. The greater part of the west and northern side of the mountain is covered with the remains of the foundations of buildings, some comr posed of baked brick of good quality. Among these ruins, the most distinguished are those seat- ed on a square terrace, of about forty feet to a side^ near the summit of the hill. On the edge of this terrace, we find fourteen large blocks of sand-stcme; which, from the hole in each, had probably been the pedestals of as many woodeui- posts which supported the building. This shows us, at once, that the upper part of the structure was of perishable materials ; an observation which, no doubt, applies to the rest of the buildings as well as to this. Within the square terrace is a dreular indosure, formed of rough sand-atones, in the centre of which .is a well, or hollow, which very possibly ccHitained an image; for I look upon the building to have been a place of w(H*ship, and, from its appearance, in all likeli- hood, a temple of Buddha. I venture farther to conjecture, that the other rdics of antiquity on the hiU, are the remains of monasteries c^ the priests of this religion. Another terrace, on

72 EMBASSY TO SIAM

the north declivity of the hill, nearly of the same size, is said to have been the burying-place of Iskandar Shah, King of Singapore. This is the prince whom tradition describes as having been driven from his throne by the Javanese, in the year 1252 of the Christian era, and who died at Malacca, not converted to the Mohammedan religion, in IS?^ ; so that the story is probably apocryphal. Over the supposed tomb of Iskan- dar, a rude structure has been raised, since the formation of the new settlement, to which Mo- hammedans, Hindus, and Chinese, equally resort to do homage. It is remarkable, that many of the fruit-trees cultivated by the ancient inhabi- tants of Singapore are still existing, on the east- em side of the hill, after a supposed lapse of near six hundred years. Here we find the durian, the rambutan, the duku, the shaddock, and other fruit-trees of great size ; and all so degenerated, except the two first, that the fruit is scarcely to be recognized.

Among the ruins are found various descrip- tions of pottery, some of which is Chinese, and some native. Fragments of this are in great abundance. In the same situation have been found Chinese brass coins of the tenth and eleventh centuries. The earliest is of the Em- peror of Ching chung, of the dynasty of Sung- chao, who died in the year 967. Another is of the reign of Jin-chung, of the same dynasty^

AKD COCHIN CHINA. 73

vr ho died in 1067 ; and a third, of that of Shin- chung» his successor, who died in 1085. The discovery of these coins affords some confirma* tion of the relations which fix the establishment of the Malays- at Singapore, in the twelfth cen- tury. It should be remarked, in reference to this subject, that the coins of China were in circulation among all the nations of the Indian islands before they adopted the Mohammedan religion, or had any intercourse with Europeans. They are dug up in numbers in Java, and are stUl the only money used by the unconverted natives of Bali.

Feb. 6. — ^We made an excursion yesterday to some coral banks lying am6ng the islands which form the western boundary of the harbour of Singapore. These banks exhibit the strangest and most fantastic forms of organic life that can be imagined, in the various shapes of corallines, madrepores, asteria, and sponges. In still deeper water, and off the southern extremity of the island, there are found those gigantic sponges, which are peculiar to the coast of Singapore, and which Europeans have called Neptunian cups. The natives brought them to us in great numbers.

Feb. 7.-^1 had yesterday a farewell visit from the commander of the Siamese ship and his pilot, whom I had so often met at Calcutta, and more recently at Fenang. They had ar-

74 EMBASSY TO SIAM

rived at this place before u^ and had be^ waiting, like ourselres, for the abatement of the strength of the north-east monsoon to ^t)- ceed. They were determined, if possible, to reach Siam before the vernal equinox; --the period of a great festival of the worshippers of Buddha, and which, by all accounts, is celebrated at Siam with much solemnity. Parts of their invest- ment were intended for the celebration of the festival; and as they had been absent fourteen months, they had some apprehension of the bas- tinado, or something worse, if they did not arrive without farther loss of time. I had before ob- tidned from them a great deal of useful informa- tion ; but as we approached Siam they became much more shy and reserved, and now oom- mimieated nothing without a strict injunction to secrecy. They constantly resisted our solici- tations to assist in translating the Governor- general's letter into Siamese, — observing, that the communication of his Majesty's titles would be considered as the divulgement of a state se- cret, which might cost them their lives. The commander, who spoke Hindustani imperfectly, passed his hand over his neck on such occa* sions, to represent the operation of a sword, that no doiibt might be entertained of the na- ture of his apprehensions.

Feb. 10. — Mr. Finlayson and I visited, this morning, a Cochin Chinese, a Chin-chew, or Fa-

AND COCHIN CHINA. 75

kien, and a Siamese junk.* Our interpreter accompanied us, and we had therefore an op- portunity of making some interesting observa^ tions regarding their internal economy, ma- nagement, and trade. We were received by all with uncommon civility and attention ; but the people of Fo-kien, who are least accus- tomed to Europeans, were remarkable for the earnestness of their hospitality, which much more than compensates for the rusticity and bluntness of their manners. They pressed us to sit down, to eat with them, to drink tea with them, and to smoke their pipes ; and when we apologized for the number of our inquiries, the commander assured us, that we did them honour by taking an interest in their affairs. It is the custom, when persons of any respec^ tability visit the Chinese junks, to beat the gongs at their arrival and departure; and this compliment was paid to us. The Cochin Chi- nese junk carried 4000 piculs, or was of the bur- then of about 240 tons. Her crew consisted of the commander, two officers, and thirty-two men ; and the sailors were paid for the voyage from Saigun to Singapore, calculated to last about three months, at the rate of twenty Spanish dollars a-head, which gives about seven Spanish

* Junk is apparently an European corruption of the Malay word jungy the common term for any large vessel.

76 EMBASSY TO SIAM

dollars a-month, being equal to the wages of an able seaman in our country ; whereas, the quan- tity of labour he performs, even in his own way, amounts numerically to only one half; twice the number of Chinese being required to the same amount of tonnage as there would of European mariners. The Chinese sailors are of course fed, and at sea receive salt pork, salt fish, occasionally poultry, with rice, and sour or salt krout; and when in harbour, they receive fresh animal food and fresh vegetables. The charge of feeding a sailor from Cochin China is reckoned at a dol- lar and a quarter a-month, but from Canton it amounts to full three dollars* The Fo-kien junk was a small vessel of 1600 piculs, or near ninety- five tons; and the Siamese junk was of 1500 piculs, or about ninety tons. The first, cost in the river of Kamboja, where she was built, 4000 dollars ; and would have cost in Canton, had she been constructed there, 5000. The second was built in Fo-kien, and cost no less than 3000 dollars. The Siamese junk was built in the river of Siam, and cost only 1350 dollars. The cost of building per ton, according to this state^ ment, is at the following rates :

DoIUn. Cents.

per ton.

Siamese junk	15
Cochin Chinese do. .	16	66
Canton do.	20	83
Fo-kien do.	30	58

AND COCHIN CHINA. 77'

It ought, however, to be remarked, that the Chi- nese junks are built of fir ; whereas, the Siamese one has her upper works entirely of fine teak, and her lower of a hard, durable wood, the name of which I could hot ascertain. Admitting, how- ever, that the materials of both were of the same quality, we have here exhibited a fair com- parative scale of the price of food, labour, and materials in the different countries in question ; for the degree of skill must be supposed to be the same, the Chinese being, in all these cases, the architects and workmen. Labour and mate- rials are cheapest in Slam and Kamboja ; twenty- five per cent, dearer at Canton ; and more than one hundred per cent, dearer in Fo-kien, which has, notwithstanding, by far the largest share of the foreign Asiatic trade of China.

All Chinese junks are, with trifling variation, built on one model, indescribably awkward and clumsy; but from which, notwithstanding, it is forbidden by law to deviate. In point of con- venience of structure, they are much inferior to the trading craft of the rudest tribes of the Indian islands; a circumstance which, notwithstanding the superiority of the Chinese in industry, in- telligence, and enterprise, proves a serious and indeed insuperable obstacle to any great success in their foreign commerce. The hold of a junk is, as is well known, divided into compartments, across the vessel's length. The number of these

78 EMBASSY TO SIAM

varies. The large Cochin Chinese junk which we had just inspected was divided into six compart- ments, and the small Fo-kien junk into no les8 than fifteen. All the compartments are sepa- rately watei'proof, and their sole intention is to add strength to the ship, and, ih case of leaking, to prevent the water from extending beyond the subdivision in which the leak actually takes place. The Chinese are ignorant of the use of the pump on board a ship, and have no means of discharging the water but by hand-buckets.

The only guide of the Chinese mariner appears to be the compass. Each of the junks we visited had a small one divided into twenty-four parts, as usual. This was placed close to the little temple near the stem of the ship, dedicated to the pro- tecting deities of the winds and seas, which is invariably found in Chinese vessels. They have no instruments whatever for observing the hea- venly bodies, nor any means even of determining a vessel's dead reckoning, and they keep no log or journal. When the wind is not tolerably fair, they Can make little progress. When the wind is aft, however, they sail tolerably well. The commander of the Cochin Chinese junk told me, that at the height of the north-east monsoon, he sailed right before the wind from Pulo Kon- dor, on the coast of Kamboja. to Pulo Timun, on the coast of the Malay peninsula, in three days and a half, a distance of about four hun-*

AVD COCHIN CHINA. 79

dred and thirty miles, which is at the rate of one hundred and twenty-three miles a-day, or little mcnre than five miles an hour. With the winds which he had, it is not improbable that an or- dinary English merchant-ship would have sailed at least eight miles, and a good one perhaps twice the distance of the Chinese junk. By the same person's account, the ordinary rate at which money can be borrowed in Cochin China, for ma- ritime adventure, is forty-eight per cent, and the expected rate of profits is proportional, — namely, from eighty to one hundred per cent.

The commander of a ship is usually part ow- ner of her, and the goods are received on freight, the shippers commonly embarking with their own property, which, however, is always under charge of the commander during the voyage, the pro- prietors having no access to them. On the Co- chin Chinese junk, the rate of freight paid for goods I found to be as follows: fine goods, as cottons and silk stufis, five per cent. ; tea, ten per cent. ; sugar, twenty per cent. ; and rice, forty per cent. In the Fo-kien junk, the freight paid for black tea was one dollar forty cents per picul; which, allowing nine and a half pi- culs for each ton, is at the rate of thirteen dol- lars thirty cents.

While on the subject of the trade and naviga- tion of the Chinese, I may take the opportunity of mentioning the very singular species of ad-

80 EMBASSY TO SIAM

venture carried on by them in the Straits of Ma- lacca, in large row-boats, commonly known by the native name of prahu pukat* One of these which I measured, was about sixty-five feet long, nine feet in the beam, and about four feet in depth, and carried a cargo of from one hundred and eighty to one hundred and ninety piculs, or near twenty tons. She was rowed by twelve oars and fourteen paddles, and had the occasional as- sistance of a sail with fair winds. She had a crew, consisting of the conunander and twent}'- six rowers. Such a boat is usually the property of the commander, and the cargo belongs to the crew, each according to the capital he has con- tributed to the joint adventure. There is not one idle person on board ; for the commander steers, and each of the adventurers has his oar or his paddle. Their adventures are confined be- tween the islands at the eastern extremity of the Straits of Malacca, and tlie town of that name, out of the influence of the monsoons, and under the protection of the variable winds which cha- racterize these latitudes.! From the rapidity of their course, they are quite secure from the at- tack of pirates. The voyage backwards and for-

* liitendly a seine-boat, — ^tbis description of vessel having probably been first used for fishing with a net of that descrip- tion*

t In the westerly monsoon they often pass out of the Straits of Malacca, visiting the different trading ports on the eastern shore of the Malay Peninsula.

:/: a.^LA..'k

AND COCHIN CHINA. 81

wards, may, of course, be performed at every season. In fair weather, one of them will sail between the Island of Linga and Singapore in two days ; and in the least favourable weather, in six ; performing the voyage, therefore, on an average, in four days. The distance is about one hundred and eighty miles; so that these boats go, under the most favourable circum- stances, at the rate of ninety miles a-day,^or close upon four knots an hour, and, at an average, forty-five miles a-day. Three voyages may be performed in a month, if the state of the markets do not occasion extraordinary delays. When pepper is the cargo, as very frequently happens, the adventurers are contented, I am told, with a profit of three-fourths of a dollar per picul, when the selling price of this commodity is ten dollars. This supposes a profit of 8ro per cent, on each adventure.

During the last month I had many personal and favourable opportunities of inquiring into the manners and habits of the Or^ng-laut. The term is used to characterize the race of Malays who have their habitations exclusively on the sea, in opposition to those who have fixed abodes on shore, — the Or&ng-darat, or " men of dry land." They are sometimes called Or^ng-sS.lat, or ** men of the straits,** under which appella- tion they have been stigmatized for their piracy as long ago as the time of John De Barros, whose

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82 EMBASSY TO SIAM

work was composed in the sixteenth century. At other times we hear them called ByoU^ or ♦* Subjects ;" — that is to say, subjects of the kmg of Jehar ; but under this name, too, their repu- tation is no better, for the Western Malays use the term Jehor as synonymous with that of pi- rate or robber. I had no conception that any of the tribes bearing the Malay name were in so low a state of civilization ' as these people are. By far the greater number of them are bom, live, and die in their miserable canoes, and the few who live occasionally on shoie are scarcely more comfortably situated. These are ignorant of the culture of rice, and plant very few roots, neither do they cultivate the cocoa nut, a plant which conduces so much to the comfort of the other tribes of the eastern islands. The plantaui, or banana, from the rapidity of its growth, and the volume of food which it supplies, is the great object of their attention in an agricultu- ral view. Whether their habitation be on land or water, fishing is the great employment of the Od(ng4aut; and what Jhey do not consume themselves, forms the only fund from which they are supplied with the other common necessaries of life. In their general character, they are indo- lent, improvident, and defective in personal clean- liness. Like the other islanders, however, they are neither selfish, cunning, nor mendacious. In their external demeanour they are clownish^ their,

AKD COGfilN CHINA. 88

Planners unoeremotiiaus, and their dialect un- eouth ; but, withal, their behayiour is neither rude nor disrespectful. Of the character they e!jchifait in their predatory excursions, I am not oomipe^ tent to judge, but it is sufficiently bad.

A more accurate test, however, of this people's state in society than can be conveyed by a gene* ral description, is afforded by a short sketch of the actual expense of their mode of life. A house costs about five dx>U&rs, and the best sel- dom above twenty. A dwelling boat costs no mofe than six dollars, and a fishing canoe about four. The only ^imiture, if there is any at all, is a bedstead and pillows, worth four doU lars, and a cast-iron cooking-pot, of Chinese or Siamese manufactiure, worth about half a dollar. With the art of weaving these people are ut* teily unacquainted, and, as far as they are do* thed at all, they are clothed in foreign manu<^ fiactures. The sarong, or lower garment^ of both sexes, is the manufacture of Celebes; it costs four dollars, and lasts four years. The turban» or rather handkerchief, which binds the head of the men, is the manufacture of the same coun* try ; it costs half a dollar, and lasts at least as long as the sarong. The vest of both sexes is white doth of Coromandel, or at least what has once been white. The principal vegetable food of the (Mng-laut is crude sago, which is not the produce of their own country, but received

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84 EMBASSY TO SI AM

by them from certain low islands on the north coast of Sumatra, where it is produced in great abundance. Rice is looked upon as a superior food, and even as a luxury ; as much so, at least, as wheat would be considered by an Irish pea- sant. Sago is purchased on the coast of Suma- tra, in cakes weighing about seventeen pounds each, at the rate of something less than half a dollar a picul of 1S8^ pounds, and is commonly consumed by the Or^ng-laut, at the price of about two-thirds of a dollar for the same quan- tity. A moderate price for rice among the same people is S^ dollars per picul ; so that this grain is weight for weight five times the price of sago. It is however considered 2^ times more nutri- tious, or each portion of rice goes as far as 2} portions of sago, — ^making the real cost of sago, considered simply as an article of nutrition, equal to If dollar per picul. The difference of price beyond this is supposed to be made up by the superior agreeableness of rice as an article of diet J have no doubt, the cheapness of sago, and the facility of obtaining fish, contribute materially to impede the progress of civilization among them. Did they not live in a state of great anarchy and disorder, it is probable that with such food they would become as numerous as abject. The ^ggf^g&te eixpenses of one of these demi-savages, it may be inferred from the statement now given, will not exceed a dollar and half monthly ; and

AND COCHIN CHINA. 85

this in a situation where the lowest description of vegetable food, on which he can exist, will alone cost him nearly three-fourths of this amount*

* It is proper here to observe, that the establishment of the European settlements has produced a great and salutary ehange in the habits and manners of such of these people as reside neari or at our establishments. The change which a few years have effected at Singapore is very striking.

86* EMBASSY TO SIAH

CHAPTER III.

Departure from Singapore Passage to the Coast of Borneo- Malayan Islands in the Channel. — Visit to Pnlo-Ubi, and Description of it. — Numerous islands on the eastern coast of the Gulf of Siam.— Island of Phu-kok described — Arri- val in the roads of Siam.

Feb. 25. — ^The violence of the easterly mon- soon detained us at Singapore until this day; when, the weather becoming more moderate, we weighed anchor and sailed in prosecution of our voyage. At night, the ebb-tide failing, we an- chored off the coast of Jehor, about thirty miles distant from the town of that name, where tlie Malays established their Government, when driven by the Portuguese from Malacca, in the begin- ning of the sixteenth century. That place is si- tuated ten miles up a navigable river, the mouth of which is opposite to the east end of the Island of Singapore. It has been long abandoned as the seat of Gk)vemment, and is at present no more than a poor village of fishermen.

Feb. 26. — We weighed anchor this morning,

AKD COCHIN CHINA. 87

and, in passing down, spoke the Topaze frigate,^ the ship which had an affray with the Chinese, in which some lives were lost, and which occa^ sioned a considerable sensation, both in England and in India. She had been but eight days from Manilla; which afforded us, going in an opposite direction, no -very favourable prospect of a speedy passage.

Feb. 27. — We anchored again last evening. Being dose to the shore, Mr. Finlayson, Mr. Rutherford, and myself, landed. The spot was within a few mUes of the extremity of the peninsula. Here the shore was bold, and the land elevated ; but the chain of mountains which pervades the northern part of the peninsula, has long ceased, and the formation of the land is scarcely hilly. The same deep forest prevails as elsewhere, and, as far as the eye could see, no trace of human habitation was discoverable. On the coast, frequent ledges of rock ran into the sea, between which are small sandy bays, where it is easy to land. The wood was so close, that we found it difficult to penetrate ; and we were dissuaded from persevering in the attempt, from observing on the sand the tracks of hog and deer, and of a leopard, or young tiger. The rocky formation is porphyritic homstone, containing small grained crystals of felspar of a pink co* lour. From its hardness it would admit a fine polish, and is probably well fitted for statuary

88 EMBASSY TO SIAM

and ornamental architecture. The wild and de- solate woods of this part of the peninsula are known to be inhabited by a few naked and wan- dering savages. The whole coast, from Johor to the extremity of the peninsula, affords good an- chorage and shelter, and several situations not inferior, in convenience for a commercial empo- rium, to Singapore itself.

We weighed anchor early this morning, and at eleven o'clock passed Cape Romania and Pe- dro Branca. We had no sooner lost the shelter of the Malay coast, than we felt the full force of the monsoon. There was a heavy swell of the sea, and a strong southerly current The course along the western shore of the Gulf of Siam was evidently difficult or impracticable. We there- fore stood across for the coast of Borneo, in- tending tp make our northing under shelter of that island, and then to stand across the China Sea for the Point of Kamboja, from whence an easy passage might be effected to the head of the Gulf of Siam.

Feb. 28. — The wind keeping well to the north, favoured our passage to Borneo. At noon, the little island called Victory in the charts, was vi- sible from the mast-head, and at eight o'clock at night we passed close to windward of Saddle Island, which lies in latitude l"" 16' north. This small island rises abruptly and precipitately from the sea to the height of four or five hundred feet.

AND COCHIN CHINA. 89

We passed witliin three hundred yards of it^ and observed the white surge breaking loud and high upon its rocky coast. Situated as we were, it would have been more prudent to have passed to leeward of it ; for any trifling accident might have driven us upon its coast, and this, from the state of the weather, must have been at- tended with the total loss of the ship.

March 1. — Early this morning, the Island of Tambilan was visible on our lee-quarter. This is inhabited by true Malays, very poor and very inoffensive. It forms a portion of the territory of Jehor.

March S. — The high land of Borneo was in flight yesterday afternoon, and at daybreak this morning we found ourselves within a few miles of the coast, opposite to three conical mountains of great elevation. Our meridian observation made us in l"" 33' north ; so that we were twenty miles to windward of the entrance of the great river of Sambas, between which and that of Pontiana lies' the country so well known in these parts for its extensive production of gold. We had no sooner approached the coast of Borneo, than the water became smooth, the winds variable, and there was no longer a southerly current.

March 4. — High Island, or Sapata, so adled in the maritime charts, and the most southern of the group denominated the Natunas, was visible yes- terday, and we passed this iboming within a few

90 EMBASSY TO SIAH

hundred yards of a small island lying off its ooast Sapata is the island called Sarasan by the Malays; and the great Natuna, a very large island, they denominate Bangoran. The name Natuna is not known in their language, and, it is probable, was imposed by the Portuguese. The Natunas, like Tambilan, are inhabited by true Malays, subject to Johor. As we passed dose to Sarasan, we had a good opportunity of observing its general as- pect It is about seven or eight miles in length, with a bold coast, and it is high land throughout. A few fields of mountain-rice were discernible towards the south end.

Early this morning we passed a dangerous reef, two miles in length, which was not laid down in our charts. This part of the coast of Borneo has not been much frequented by Eu- ropean navigators. Off the north end of Sara^ san, there are no less than six islands not deli- neated in the ordinary diarts. The north-east monsoon having returned with considerable fcMQpe, our progress was very slow.

March 7. — On the morning of the 6th, the sky was overcast, and the wind veering round to the south-west, with much thunder and rain, we were unable to stand our course ; but to-day the mon- soon, returning, blew so favourably as to enable us to stand at once for the Cape of Kamboja.

Mturch 10. — ^The wind continuing favourable, we crossed the China Seas with clear, serene, and

AND COCHIN CHINA. 91

pleasant weather, the thermometer at noon heing seldom above seventy-nine. At six- o'clock this morning, Pulo Ubi was in sight, and at noon we saw the shore of Kamboja, the lowest land which it is possible to imagine ; for the trees ap- pear as if they were actually growing out of the water; and this indeed is no doubt the fact, those on the border of the sea probably consist* ing, as usual * within the tropics, of the rhizo- phora, or mangrove. As we approached the land of Kamboja^ — and the same appearance prevailed until we passed Pulo Ubi,. — the water was as disturbed and muddy as at the mouth of the Ganges, in the westerly monsoon. This, as I afterwards understood, was occasioned by the nver of Camao, called by the Kambojans, from the abundance of mud which it carries along with it, Takmao, or the "black stream." At three in the afternoon, we landed on Pulo Ubi, and spent two or three hours in rambling over the hills. In a little sheltered cpve and valley/ within a short distance of the place where the ship lay at anchor, we saw a single but, with some persons moving round it, and we rowed towards the spot. As we approached the shore; a Uttle elderly mm, with a long grey beard, ran out upon a pier of stones cloise to the landing- place, ai)d with many gesticulations, but in a language whioh none of our party understood, ^e^med to warn us pot to land. We payed no

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attention to his remonstrances, but landed with- out hesitation. On observing this, he came up to us with an air of entire confidence, and in- vited us to his hut, earnestly pressing us to partake of his simple hospitality. After this first meeting, there was neither shyness nor distrust displayed by the poor inhabitants of Pulo Ubi. These proved to be eight Cochin Chinese, and two Chinese of the Island of Hai- nan. Through the latter we made oiurselves in- telligible. One of the party only was a woman, and there were two or three children, of whom she was the mother. In the little valley whidi surrounds the bay, tliere is a scanty cultivati<»i of maize, sweet potatoes, and some coarse escu- lent greens; but all this was evidently inade- quate to the subsistence of the inhabitants, who derived their chief supply from the charity or piety of the Chinese traders, who are in the ha- bit of touching at the island to water, in their voyages up and down the Gulf of Siam. It is not improbable they may derive occasional as- sistance from the use of a species of dio9carea, with an enormous root, which grows wild in the woods. These weigh forty and fifty pounds each. The pits from which they had been dug out, were seen by us in several places as we walked through the woods. The only domestic animals which we saw were a few hogs. Some European writers have reported, that the inhabi-

AND COCHIN CHINA. 9S

tants of Pulo Ubi are persons banished for their crimes ; but there seems no foundation whatever for this opinion. The old man, our first ac- quaintance, turned out to be a priest. He had, by his own account, been twenty years on the island ; and his business was to officiate at a small temple, dedicated to a certain deity, called Ma^ho-po, a sort of Chinese Amphitrite. Chi- nese mariners make votive offerings to this wor- thy, whose image we saw in the temple in ques- tion, with a wax taper burning on each side. Close to the image was suspended on strings twenty or thirty small painted boards, with in. scriptions on them; — the offerings of as many junks which had touched at Pulo Ubi to water or take a fresh departure, in the course of the season.

Pulo Ubi has several smaller islands lying off it, and is itself about two miles in length ; bold elevated land every where, the highest hills ap*. p^aring about eight hundred feet above the level of the sea. The thin soil seemed every where to rest upon an extremely hard, small grained, grey granite, — a circumstance which, taken to- gether with the extreme steepness of the hills, seems naturally to account for the unsuitable- ness of the place for culture and occupation. The woods on the hills of Pulo Ubi are com- posed of trees of a dwarfish size, and there is no large tiiober. A species of banana, or plan-

94 EMBASSY TO SIAM

tain, the muM trcglodytarum, was frequoit in the forest. The only quadruped which these woods afford, according to the natives, is a smaA .species of squirrel, of which we saw several individuals. Close to the sea*side were ev«y where to be seen flying from tree to tree num- bers of white pigeons, with the end of the wings and tail, to the depth of three or four inches, of a jet black. This bird is an inhabitant of the coasts of many of the smaller islands of the Indian Archipelago, and has been described un- der the name of Colomba UttaraUs. The name Pulo Ubi is Malay, and not improbably derived from the large species of dioscorea, or yam, to which I have above alluded ; — the term mean- ing, in Malay, literally, the Island of Yams. From very early ages, an intercourse has ex- isted between the Kambojans and the Malays; and considerable numbers of the latter are not only at present settled at Kamboja, but Malayan rovers still continue to infest its coast by their depredations. The island, in the language of Kamboja, is called Ko Tam-bung; in Cochin Chinese, Kon-gui ; and in Siamese, Ko-Man ; — all of which terms, I understand, have the same signification as the Malayan name.

We embarked in the afternoon, and the na** tives soon followed us on board ; which gave us an opportunity of requiting their kindness^ by

AND COCHIN CHINA. 9fi

presenting them with a little rice, tea, dothea, and some money.

March 11. — We sailed from Pulo Ubi last night, and this morning passed false Pulo Ubi^ in the latitude of 8% 56; and longitude 104% SS' east The land of Kamboja was still as low as when we first discovered it, but the water was no longer muddy and discoloured. We had now regular land and sea breezes, and the weather was remarkably fine.

March 12. — Having discovered, in the course of this day's sailing, that the coasts and islands, were, as indeed we expected, very erroneously laid down in the ordinary charts, we resolved not to proceed at night, but come to an anchor, which we did at ten o'clock in six fathoms. At day-lM'eak this morning we found ourselves surrounded by islands of various size, from mere rocks with a few trees upon them, to those that were five and six miles in length. The eastern coast of the Gulf of Siam was probably never muich frequented by European navigators, and has not, that I know of, beep visited by them at all within the last century. It is no won* der, therefore, that it should be erroneously deli- neated.

At six in the morning we weighed anchor, and weiie soon in sight of a very singular group of islands, consisting of one large island.

96 EMBASSY TO SIAM

ntbout four miles in length, encircled by a ring of smaller islands, of which I counted twenty. This is the group called in the charts Hon- co-thron; but correctly, Hon-co-tre. The name is from the Anam, or Cochin Chinese laii« guage. At ten o'clock it fell cahn, and we landed on a small island close to us. This, which was not a mile in circumference, was covered with low trees. The rocky formation was potstone, with compact feldspar: I found, however, a rolled piece of granite on the shore, although no vestige of this rock was <[iscoveN able in the interior, which we travelled over.

In the evening we again landed upon another islet not far from the last. This also was en- tirely composed of potstone. On both these islets we found, in great numbers, the same white pigeons which we saw at Pulo Ubi. Three sail of vessels were seen in the course of the day, which we took to be Chinese or Cochin Chinese junks.

March 18. — We came to an anchor again last night, being still surrounded by innumerable islands^ respecting which, both our charts and directions were silent. We sailed this morn- ing in the direction of a large island which lay north-west of us.

March 14. — ^We anchored close to the large island, and conjectured, from the number of fish- ing4x)ats which were sailing up and down the

AND COCHIN CHINA. 97

coast, that it was inhabited. Several of these boats came close to us this morning, and the people seemed anxious to pay us a visit; but, their fears being greater than their curiosity, they finally left us, without venturing to come on board. We were compelled at length to lower one of our boats, and on holding out a white flag from it, a few, at length, visited us. They proved to be Cochin Chinese ; and through the few words of Siamese which they knew, they gave us to understand, that if we landed we should receive a hospitable reception.

A large party of us accordingly landed at one in the afternoon, purposely unaccompanied by any part of the military escort, that no alarm might be excited. Some of the natives waited our arrival on the beach, armed -with long spears^ and, by their gestures and vociferations, warned us to keep off. We took no manner of notice of these remonstrances, but leaped on shore, and walked up to them at once. They soon recognized among our party our Chinese in« terpreters and servants, and some of themselves being Chinese of the Island of Hai-nan, all was soon confidence and cordiality betwixt us. They informed us that our s was the first European ship which they had ever seen; and we learn* ed, that upon our first appearance they had sent their women and valuables into the forest. The first surprise being over, they invited us to their

VOL. I. H

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houses, and offered us both food and betel. We gained their favour by oflPering them small spe- cimens of English cutlery and other trifles. I observed that the women and children crowded round us as well as the men, and that the for- mer betrayed no symptoms of Oriental reserve or fastidiousness. In their persons, these peo- ple, of both sexes, were short, squat, and ill- favoured. They paid small attention to deanli- ness, either in their dress or habitations. They were evidently very poor, and, after they had experienced our little bounty, made no scruple in asking for every little trifle about our per- sons that excited their notice. After walking several miles along the coast, and looking at every thing we thought worth seeing, we re- turned on board in the evening, two of the principal people accompanying us. These per- sons were so well pleased with their reception, that they insisted upon passing the night on board. They partook heartily of our fare, and especially made free' use of our brandy and li- queurs, to the neglect of tea and all other thin beverages. They were as communicative on the subject of the island, as our imperfect means of understanding each other would admit. This consisted in one of the Chiefs and our Chinese interpreter writing question and answer in the Chinese character, without attempting to ex- change one syllable with each other orally. The

AND COCHIN CHINA. 99

Chinese character is, as is well known, a lim- guage only to the eye, and understood by all •the nations from the spot we were now in, to Japan and Corea eastward, who in this sort of pantomime can understand each other, howev^ different their vernacular languages.

The place which we had now visited is called by the Cochin Chinese, Fhu-kok, and by the Siamese Koh-dud, or the ** far island ;'' the last name having reference to its relative distance, compared to other islands, from the coast of Kamboja. In the Kambojan language it is call- ed Koh-trol, or ** shuttle island," which is evi- dently the Quadrole of the old maps. It is the largest island on the east coast of the Gulf of Siam, being by our reckoning not less than thirty-four irdles in length. It is commonly bold high land, the highest hills rising to seven or dght hundred feet. A few spots here and there on the coasts only are inhabited, — the rest being, as usual, covered with a grciat forest which, we were told, contained abundance of deer, hogs, wild bu£Paloes, and oxen, but no leo- pards or tigers. Its most valuable produce, how- ever, is the lignum aloes, or agUa. All the hilly countries and islands on this part of the coast of the Gulf of Siam abound in this production. We used every endeavour to obtain specimens of the tree in a fit state for botanical descrip- tion, but without success. The ligni^m aloes*

H 2

100 EMBASSY TO SIAM

- by the account of the natives^ is a diseased por- tion of the wood. The tree, one of the tallest of the forest, is sufficiently common ; but not so the individuals in a diseased state ; and henoe the high price of the odoriferous substance. They showed us several large portions of the timber in its ordinary state, and presented us also .with pieces of the fragrant wood, recently ex- tracted.*

The inhabitants of-Phu-kok were desmbedto us as amounting to from four to five thousand, ^ of the true Cochin Chinese race, with the ex- -ception of a few occasional Chinese sojourners. They grow no species of com, and their hus- bandry is confined to a few coarse fruits, and esculent green vegetables, and farinaceous roots. Of the last, the best and most abundant was the Convolvulus Batata. They import their rice from Kang-kao, which lies opposite, and is an abun- dant grain country. The inhabitants of Phu-kok seemed to us to be all fishermen, and the east- ern shore of the island had the appearance of a place well suited for their occupation. It was an extensive bank, having frequent overfalls. The fishing-boats were seen sailing, in considerable numbers, up and down the coast. "These were managed with much dexterity, and were alto- gether the smartest vessels of the kind which I

* Tlic tree is frequent in tlie woods of Singapore.

AMD COCHIN CHINA* 101

had seen in any part of India. Their rigging consisted of two shoulder-of-mutton sails, made qf a very white mat^ which had a neat appear* ance. The fishery of tripang, or hedi-de-mar, was conducted near the shore in two and three feet water. This was carried on in small canoes, in which there was one person only, who stood up in the boat with a spear in his hand, and struck the animals as they presented themselves. . Num* bers of persons were thus employed as we came- oflP in the evening.

March 15. — Our guests took leave of us this morning, and at eight o'clock we set sail with the intention of going round the southern ex- tremity of the island. The natives had indeed informed us, (and we afterwards found, from good information, their statement to be perfectly cor- rect,) that there was a good navigable channel between Fhu-kok and the main ; but we did not think it safe to place implicit reliance upon this account. We now sailed, therefore, in a south- erly direction along the coast of Phu-kok, and in the evening, when it fell calm, we anchored off a small bay, close to the south end of the island. Several fishing-boats were seen, and at night the lights from a village in the bay were sufficiently distinct.

. March 16. — At eleven o'clock last night, a stiif gale of wind c^me on from the south-east, mak* ing the island a lee-shore, and the ship dragged

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her anchor. This obliged us to get under weigh, which we effected with considerable difBcully. The heavy swell compelled us to wear the ship, in which manoeuvre the water shoaled so ra- pidly, as to put us to considerable risk of suf- fering shipwreck. As we sailed along, we now saw that much of what we had hitherto consi- dered as portion of the great island, was a chain of islets^ twelve in number, extending from its southern extremity. The water, as we approached these, deepened so as to enable us to sail within two or three hundred yards of them, in twelve and thirteen fathoms. The gale of wind which we experienced through the night was of short continuance, and at one o'clock we had a dead calm; this gave us an opportunity of landing upon several of the small islets in question. The rocky formation here was sand-stone, with immense masses of imbedded conglomerate. We had no opportunity of making any geological re- marks at Phu-kok itself, the coast where we landed consisting every where of a long sandy plain, in which no rock was exposed; and the hills in the interior being every where distant several miles, as well as rendered difficult of access by a deep forest. At the small islets, the rise and fall of the tide struck us to be re- markably great for so low a latitude. It ap- peared from the high-water mark on the rocks, not to be less than eighteen feet; whereas the

AND COCHIN CHINA. 103

usual rise in this part of the world, within a few degrees of the equator at least, seldom exceeds eight or nine feet. The hotany of these islands, proved extremely interesting. Among other forest plants we found the cashew-nut tree (Ana- cardium)y which is commonly supposed to be exclusively a native of America, in full beaiv ihg. A greater quantity ci sea-fowl than usual, so near the equator, were seen upon the rocks interspersed amongst the islands. They consist- ed of gulls (Larus)^ sea swallows (Sterna)^ and noddies (Sterna stolida). Several of the last^ with their usual stupidity, lighted on the ship, and suffered themselves to be taken without difficulty. All these small islands seemed des* titute of inhabitants.

My poor friend, Mr. Finlayson, caught, from the severe exertions he made to-day under a burning sun, the malady which afterwards proved fatal to him ; and which, during the remainder of the voyage, unfortunately depriv* ed me of the active exercise of his valuable talents.

March 17. — This morning we stood on our course to Siam, along the western side of the island of Phu*kok, with a favourable breeze from the east. Just as we were making sail, a very smart Chinese junk, which had lain at an* chor dose to us during the night, came down and spoke us with perfect confidence. She be-

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longed to |the island of Hai-nan, being one of the many junks which trade between that place and the capital of Siam, to which last port she was now bound like ourselves. We met two more junks in the course of the day. At three in the afternoon we had reached the northern extremity of Phu-kok, which is divid-^ ed by a narrow channel from another island, the first of a chain running in a northerly direction to the distance of seventeen or eigh- teen miles. In the course of this day's sailing we saw a few fishing-boats. At dusk, a group of islands, seven in number, caUed, in the Sia- mese language, Hwi-su, distant about seventeen miles, was in sight. No notice whatever is taken of this group in the ordinary charts. Indeed, the whole of this coast is perhaps less known to European navigators than any portion of the globe of equal magnitude and importance. Our charts and maps, indeed, are thickly studded with islands; but they are without names, and put down at random, all that is known re- garding them, being that they exist in great numbers.

March 18. — As every thing now appeared clear ahead of us, we did not anchor last night, as wef had done for some days before, but pro- ceeded without interruption. The Chinese junk which spoke us yesterday morning, was still close to us, although we had a seven*knot breeze

AND COCHIN CHINA. 105

during the night* This afforded us an oppor-^ tunity of judging what this description of vesw sels is capable of doing, when going with a fair wind, as upon the present occasion. Some of them, it would appear, are nearly a match for an European vessel. On the other hand, from their flat construction, the Chinese junk is quite incapable of beating against a foul wind, and of course in the utmost danger when such a re- source is called for.

March 20.— During the 18th and 19th we were out of sight of land, but to-day close in with the continent in the latitude of 12^ 88' and longitude 101 ** 30' East. Two ranges of mountains, of considerable height, formed the background before us, between which and the sea was an extensive tract of lower land. The mountains which we now saw, were those which lie to the northward of Chan-ti-bon, one of the most productive and populous districts of the kingdom of Siam, abounding in rice, pepper, gamboge, and cardamums. This portion of the coast, in opposition to that which we had be- fore passed, was open and unsheltered. One small rocky island was close to us, and upon this a party landed, while we waited for the sea-breeze« • It was so surrounded by reefs that, although perfectly calm, it was difficult to find a place to land upon. Its shores had every^- where the appearance of a place much fre-

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quented by fish— the sea for miles in the neigh- bourhood being covered i¥ith spermatic animal* culas. There were numbers of sea-fowl on the rocks, and shoals of porpoises sporting about the shore. Some of the latter pursued their prey into such shallow water, that we were en^ couraged to make our boatmen wade out, with the hope of intercepting th^n and forcing them to run ashore, but in this expectation we did not succeed. Several fishing stakes were set on the shore of the island next to the conti- nent, and the fresh footsteps of the fishermen were visible in the sand; but we saw nobody, and there were no habitations. This island is formed of granite and quartz rock, and is about five miles distant from the mainland.

March 21. — A numerous group oi islands lay before us last evening, and we found it therefore prudent to come to ^ anchor for the night We weighed at four this morning, and at ten came up with the islands in question. With the view of shortening our course, we passed the channel which divides them from a promont<»7 on the main, caUed by the Siamese, Sam-me-san, and in our charts, Lyant This channel, which is about a quarter of a mile wide, and about two miles in length, we passed with a light, but a leading wind, encountering no dangers, and never having less than four and a half fathoms water. Our boat went ahead of us all the way, sounding.

AND COCHIN china; 107

We found two small junks lying at anchor here, and we afterwards heard that the channel was a common route for the largest vessels of this de^ scription. The scene, as soon as we entered, was striking and picturesque. The shore on each side consisted of a series of sandy coves, and the country of a succession of hills, here and there bare of wood, pressing upon each other down to the sea. No habitations were to be seen, except those of a few fishermen on the coast, and the interior seemed to be an universal wilderness. We spoke one small vessel, with a Siamese crew, two days from Bang-kok, and from her we acquired the names of some of the principal islands and head-' lands. The group of islands now passed is much frequented by turtle, the collection of the eggs of which is a business of some importance, and is said to bring a considerable revenue into the Siamese treasury. We found the latitude of Cape L3rant to be ISr 86' 80", which is ten miles farther north than it is laid down in the charts, and its longi- tude, by two good chronometers, 101** 11' East, being sixteen miles farther west than it is usually delineated.

March 22.— A great many islands were in sight last night, and we had them this morning on our starboard, for we did not think it safe to proceed during the night in the channel between them and the main. This, however, we afterwards learned is a common route of the largest Chinese

108^ EMBASSY TO SIAM*

junks, and is perfectly safe. Many of the largest islands in question are inhabited, such as Ko* kram and Ko-han. The inhabitants are a mixture of Siamese and Cochin Chinese, for the latter people, although the country be under the domi- nion of Siam, have penetrated thus far to the north. At noon we were in the latitude of 18** 8'. The high mountains of Bang-pa^-soe were in sight to tlie eastward, but no land ahead. By our reckon- ing, however, we were within a few miles of the roads of Siam, and at five in the afternoon we QBtme in sight of them, which we only ascertained by discovering three large Chinese junks lying at anchor, for the land at the head of the gulf was extremely low, and not yet visible. At seven o'clock we anchored in 3f fathoms water, close to tlie junks^ having thus performed the voyage from the Straits of Malacca with ease in twenty- thi:ee days.

Tiik « *1 VI » I

Ifont of the main Boilding of the King of 8Um^ Palaco.

CHAPTER IV.

Communication of our Arrival made to the Court of Siam. — Entertainment given to the Mission. — Negotiation for proceeding to the Capital — Ship ascends the River^ ap^ pearance of its Banks. — Arrival at Bang-kok, appeanuu^ of the place. — Delivery of the Governor-general's Letter. — Visit to the Prah-klang, or Foreign Minister — Delivery of the presents for the King. — The Mission lands. — De- scription of its Residence. — Visit to the Prince Krom- chiat^ now King of Siam. — Arrangement of the Ceremo- nial for our Presentation to the King. — Second Visit i» the Foreign Minister. — The Mission presented to the King. — Description of the Ceremony. —Inspection of the White Elephants, Sec, — The Mission receives a visits an^ is entertained by the Foreign Minister.

March 24. — As soon as we had come to an anchor, we prepared a letter for the Pxah-

110 EMBASSY TO SIAM

Idang)* or minister \irho conducts the affairs of strangers. In this we briefly informed him of our arrival, the number of our party, and such other particulars of the same nature^ as we were given to understand would be expected. This was trans- mitted, early yesterday morning, by one of the officers of the ship to Fak-nam,f the first sta- tion in ascending the river. The officer re- turned this morning with a civil message from the Chief of Pak-nam, accompanied by a present of fruit, and he brought with him a pilot to conduct us over the bar.

March 25. — At seven o'clock this morning we weighed anchor, and attempted to cross the bar ; but when about half-way over, the ship struck in the soft mud, in which, as the tide fell, she sunk four feet. We had, at the same time, not above four feet water. As the evening tide made, she floated, and we crossed the bar without sus- taining any injury. A strong and favourable breeze soon carried us to the mouth of the Menam, a distance of not less than ten miles from the outer edge of the bar, ploughing al- most all the way through the thin ooze ; and at seven o'clock at night we anchored off the village of Pak-nam, about two miles and a half from the mouth of the river, upon its left bank.

* Literally^ Lord or Master of the Warehouses, t The word means mouth of the river^ or rather water ; it u» applied to the debimcheur of aaj river.

AND COCHIN CHINA. Ill

March 26. — A Portuguese interpreter, dis- patched from the Court, came on board this morning. He brought a message from the Chief of Fak-nam, the purport of which was, that he had received instructions from the Court to en^ tertain us, and that a barge had been sent down to bring us to the Capital, but that before the ship proceeded it would be necessary to land our guns, according to invariable usage in such cases. We returned a dvil answer, and sent the chief a small present, taking this occasion to remonstrate against the landing of our guns, as well as to sig* nify to him that one boat was totally inadequate to the accommodation of so large a party as ours. In the forenoon his nephew came on board, to wait upon us. He stated that the orders of the governor on the subject of landing the cannon of foreign ships were peremptory, and could not be dispensed with, but that a reference would be made to the Court for instructions. On the sub^* ject of the barge, it was explained that the numbers of our party were not known, or more accommodation would have been furnished. This Was not true, for we had stated the exact num- ber of the party in the letter to the Prah-klang, and the circumstance of sending a single boat only, was evidently an early attempt to underrate the Mission and the authority by which it wad sent. A temperate resistance therefore, ^however unpleasant, became necessary.

im EMBASSY TO SI AM

Our visitor had brought an invitation to our party to land in the evening, and partake of an entertainment which the chief had prepared for us. This, after some hesitation, was accepted, and at the landing-place we were met by the Go* vemofs nephew, who escorted us to the chiefs house. A crowd of men, women, and children, were collected out of curiosity, the greatest share of which seemed to be directed toward^ out Indian servants, whose neat, gay, and dean attire, formed a striking contrast to their own rude and slovenly semi-nudity. After passing a short way through mean lanes crowded with huts, we came upon the dwelling of his Excel- lency the Grovemor, formed of the same mean and perishable materials as the rest. We were ushered into a large apartment, raised a few feet from the ground, on a platform of split bamboos, which formed the floor. The thatch within was ill concealed by broken and soiled Chinese paper-hangingSy and from the roof was suspended a motley collection of old Dutch chandeliers of miserable glass, and Siamese and Chinese lamps, covered with dust, with cobwebs, and with the smoke of oil, incense, and tobacco. The Cover- nor civilly met us at the door,> and shook liands with us very heartily in the European fashion. Chaii'S were placed for our accommodation. This chief was a man about forty-five years of age, of rugged features, but cheerful manners, and

AND COCHIN CHINA. 113

he seemed desirous to please. His nephew, who had ushered us in,* and his secretary, sat upon a carpet before him. A messenger, who had jiisi arrived from the Court, and who was deputed to conduct iis thither, was also present. The name, or rather the title, of this person, with whom the Mission had afterwards a good deal of intercourse, was Luang kochai-asa-hak, formerly Nakhoda Ali. He was one of those Mohamme- dan adventurers whose ancestors had come several ages ago from the coast of Coromandel. He had visited Queda, Penang, and Calcutta, and spoke the Malayan language tolerably, for which reason it was that he was selected to attend us^. In the centre of the apartment we found a table laid out in the European fashion, under the direction of the Portuguese interpreters, with plates, knives, forks, silver spoons, and some toler^ able English glass-ware. It was loaded with viands, such as pcnrk, fo.wls, ducks, egg, and rice, and with abundance of fruit, particularly man« goes, oranges, and lichis, all of which were iii season.

A curtain, which was suspended across one end of the apartment, attracted our notice. We were told, to our surprise, that behind it lay in state the body of the late chief of Pak-nam. This person was brother to the present chief, and the father of the young person who had visited us' in the forenopn. This last, indeed,

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had then informed iis that his father had died five months ago; that his body was lying em- balmed at Pak-nam, and that his funeral would take place on the 24th day of the present moon; but we had certainly no idea that we were to be favoured with the presence of the deceased during the repast to which we had been invited. Mr. Finlayson and Mr. Ruther- furd, when they landed the following morning, their curiosity being strongly excited on the sub- ject of the body which was lying in state, ven- tured to make some inquiry concat)ing it Their questions were by no means taken amiss by the son, to whom they were addressed, but considered rather complimentary; and he invited them without ceremony to view the body. It waS lying in a coffin, which was covered with tinsel and white doth, and the lid of which when removed exhibited the corpse wrapped up in a great many folds of cloth, like an Egjrptian mummy, apparently quite dry, and covered with such a profusion of aromatics, that there was nothing offensive about it,

The chief alone sat down at table with us, but without partaking of our fare. He was assi« duous in pressing us to the good things which were placed before us. My interpreter explained to me, that he requested us to ** eat hearUly and not be abashed'' — a customary form of compli- ment, it appears, among the Siamese, in address-

AND COCHIM CHIXA. 115

ing a guest. No questions respecting the objects of the Mission were put to us during the enter- tainment, and I considered the visit as a matter of mere form and etiquette, but in this I was much deceived ; for the repast was no sooner over, than question followed question with great vivacity. We were first bluntly asked what was the object of the Mission. We answered in ge- neral terms that the English and Siamese nations were ndghbours, and that on our part we were desirous that a friendly and frequent intercourse should subsist between us, and that we were de- puted to request such an intercourse. This did not satisfy the diief ; he urged us over and over to state what particular request or demands we had to make of the Court upon the present oo- casion. We declined giving him the satisfaction he required; observing, that in proper time and place we should explain ourselves fully. We were next requested to state the quality and amount of the presents brought for the IQng, and a secretary placed himself behind the chief to take notes of what was said on this subject-— one apparently of the first interest. We evaded ^ving any answer, except in very general terms* but were cross-questioned with dexterity and per^ severance. I had noticed that among the pre- sents there were some fire-arms. The chief begged to know their number. I said a few hundreds. He begged me to conjecture some

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116 EMBASSY TO SIAM

approximation to the actual number, I added, probably three or four hundred. The answer was, *'be good enough to say either the one or the other." I endeavoured to divert the chiefs attention from the detail of muslins, broadcloths, crystal, looking-glasses, and such matters, by caU« ing his attention to an English horse, which was one of the presents. He immediately requested to know his height, his age, his colour,' the Iragth of his tail, and finally, what fortunate or unfortunate marks he had about him« We put an 'Cnd to all this importunity, by inform- irig the Governor, that as soon as we returned to. the ship, we would direct a derk to make out a list of the presents for his satisfaction. " This conversation afforded an early, but a good specimen of the indelicacy and rapadty which we afterwards found so characteristic of the Siamese Court and its officers, upon every ques^ tion of a similar nature.

After the discussion respecting the presents, the chief reminded us of the compliment which his Siamese Majesty had paid the Mission, in so promptly dispatching an accommodation^boat to convey us to Bang-kok ; and he entreated us to make no difficulty about accepting this gracious mark of royal attention, while he be^ isoitght us also to comply with the established usage in landing the gims of the ship. We

AND COCHIN CHINA. 117

repeated what we had said before, of the total inadequacy of a single boat to accommodate our large party, which consisted of seventy-four per- sons. With respect to landing the cannon, we stated that a Portuguese man-of-war had, two years before, been permitted to visit the capital, and that a Mission from the British Government had a right to be treated with equal favour. Much pains were taken to convince us, that it •would be proper to comply with the wishes of the Court, but we persevered in our objections. With this discussion our visit ended. It was a striking contrast to European usage, that the whole of this demi-official' conversation passed in the presence and hearing of a great crowd of the lower orders, who occupied the entire area of the court, opposite to the place where we sat. The people indeed pressed up to the ,very door of the saloon. The chiefs by no means checked their curiosity, and on their part they listened to what passed with respectful at^ tention.

What we saw in our visit to Pak-nam, was not calculated to impress us with a very exalted opinion of the prepress of *the Siamese nation in the arts which conduce to the comforts or reason- able enjoyments of life. The cottage of an Eng- lish peasant, not on the brink of a workhouse, possesses more real comfort than did the mansion

118 £MBASSY TO SIAM

of the Gk)vemor of Pak-nam, who, as we were told, exercised an arbitrary authority over 50,000 people,

March 28. — As soon as I had returned to the ship after my visit to Pak-nam, I addressed a let- ter to the Prah-klang, recapitulating what I had urged to the chief of that place, on the subject of our conveyance to the capital and the landing of our guns. Yesterday no answer was received, but this morning Kodiiai-asa-hak, who, in the in- terval, had been at Bang-kok, came on board, to inform us that the Court had given us per- mission to ascend the river with our cannon, or, in case we prefixed going in boats supplied by the Court, that a sufficient number would be sent down in a few days. We adopted the plan of going up in the ship, as the most independ- ' ent, speedy, and commodious ; and at ten o'clock we began to ascend tiie river against the tide, but with a strong breese in our favour. The liver at its mouth and up to Pak-nam is about a mile wide, but shortly after diminishes to one^ liaJf of this width, — a breadth which, with few exceptions, it preserves all the way to Bang- kok. Opposite to Pak-nam tiiere is a sand-bank, bare at low- water,* and a few miles beyond it the

* Oar oontesl with the Burmans «o dlAraned ihe Siaiaese, that during its progress they fortified Pak-nam with the sand- bank mentioned in the text. On these works there are said to be mounted about 200 pieces of heavy ordnance, some of which

AKB COCHIN CHINA. 119

ruins of a small brick fort, built by the Dutch^ about a century and a half ago, when they car<- ried on a trade with Siam. This last, by the enr croachment of the river, is now within the stream, and covered at high-water. These two, and they are easily avoided, constitute the only dangers of the M^iam, from its mouth to the capital. Af- ter passing them, a ship may range from side to inde of the river, with from seven to ten fa- thorns water, approaching so near to the banks diat her yards may literally overhang them. At one o'dock we reached a couple of forts, or re^ doubts, of Qoasonry, — one on each side of the river, — which is here considerably contracted* The neighbourhood is occupied by a colony of Uie people of Fegue and Lao, refugees from the territoiy disputed between the Burmans and Sia- mese. A flag was hoisted from both forts, imd we were serenaded by a Peguan band <^ music as we passed. A well-dressed chief, in the Bur- man or Fegue costume, came on board here, bringing us two boat loads of fruits and other refreshment.

Close to the river, and at least for twdve

are good English guns^ but the greater Dumber brass-cannon, cast at Bang-koky and of die worst description. In the hands of a people of anj courage or military skilly these fortification^ would reader the access to the capital impregnable. Sudi, howeyer, is the ignorance and pusillanimity of the Siamese^ that, in all likelihood, they would prove no serious impediment to an attack by European sapping.

ISO EMBASSY TO SIAM

miles up, the land appears to be unfit for cul- ture, owing to the saltness of the water, which occasionally overflows it. All this tract is occu- pied by rhizophoras, and by the cocos-nypa, the leaf of which is so abundantly used by the inha- bitants of tropical India as thatch. Beyond this again, and all the way to the capital, the banks of the river are more elevated, and the coun- try as far as we could observe it, presented every where a rich extent of cultivation, consisting of rice-fields, interspersed with numerous villages, surrounded by orchards of palm and fruit-trees. The rice stubble was on the ground, for the crop had been reaped two months before, and among it were grazing numerous herds of buffaloes, the only description of cattle which were to be seen. This appearance of fertility and industry formed a pleasing contrast to the waste of rocks, moun- tains, and impenetrable and unprofitable forests, to which we had been accustomed for the last three months.

At four o'clock we came to an anchor for a couple of hours, waiting for the flood-tide, and took this opportunity to land. The .fields af- forded a great number of birds of different de- scriptions, and we were successful in adding several specimens to our collection. The na- tives, wherever we met them, received us with kindness, and betrayed no symptoms of distrust

I

AND COCHIN CHINA. 121

or timidity. As soon as the flood-tide had made, we weighed, and at twelve o'clock at night reach- ^ the town of Bang-kok.

March 29. — The morning presented to us a very novel spectacle — the capital of Siam, situ- ated on hoth sides of the Menam. Numerous temples of Buddha, with tall spires attached to them, frequently glittering with gilding, vrere conspicuous among the mean huts and hovels of the natives, throughout which were interspersed a profusion of palms, ordinary fruit-trees, and the sacred flg (ficujf religiosa). On each side of the river there was a row of floating habita- tions, resting on rafts of bamboos, moored to the shore. These appeared the neatest and best de- scription of dwellings; they were occupied by good Chinese shops. Close to these aquatic habi- tations were anchored the largest description of native vess^, among which were many junks of great; size, just arrived from China. The face of the river ' presented a busy scene, from the number of boats and canoes of every size and description which were passing to and fro. The number of th&e struck us as very great at the time, fof we were not aware that there are few or no rdads at Bang-kok, and that the river and canals form the common highways, not only for goods, but for passengers of every description. Many of the boats were shops ccxitaining ear-

128 EMBASSY TO SIAM

thenware, Uachang^* dried fisb» and fresh pork. Venders of these several commodities were hawk- ing and cr3ring them as in an European town. Among those who plied on the river, there was a large proportion of women, and of the priests of Buddha ; the latter readily distinguished hy their shaved^ and bare heads, and their yellow vestments. This was the hour in which they are accustomed to go in quest of alms, which accounted for the great number of them which we saw.

In the course of the morning, a boat was secsi coming alongside with two persons of distinction in her.. These were the son and nephew of die Minister, lads not above fourteen years of age, who were sent on board to compliment us on our arrival. They brought us a present of fruit and fine tea, and communicated a request ixom the Minister, that the ship would drop down a few hundred yards, and <^posite to his own house, where a deputation would be sent on board to receive the letter of the Gov^nor-general. The son of the Minister was a spri^tly and intelli- gent lad, but seemed to have been grei^tly in- dulged. They were served with coffee and sweet- meats, and after this repast chewed betel^ and smoked tobacco profusely, so as to give us ra-

* A foetid condiment in very general use in the countries beyond the Gknges, and generally composed of bruised slurimps and other small fish.

AND COCHIN CHINA. 183

ther an unfavourable impresfsion of the educa- tion and hshits of a young Siamese nobl^nan.

In the course of the day a secretary came on board well attended. He had his note-book and his pencil in his hand, and the object of his visit was to examine the English horse, which was <»ie of the presents, and to take minutes for the information of his Majesty, from whom^ and not the Minister, he took care to infonn us, he was directly sent. His Majesty, it ap- pears, had heard of the horse, and not being able to restrain his curiosity, had sent this person for the express piupose of drawing up a formal de- scription of him.

In the evening, according to the intimation which had been given, a deputation came on board to receive the letter of the Governor-ge- neral. The principal member of it was Pia^ipat kosa, the deputy of the Fweign Minister, a fine- looking old man, above seventy years of age, of frank and pleasing manners. Siamese and Euro- pean notions on the subject of fordgn misrions differ essentially. Among the Siamese, the prin- cipal honours are paid to the letter which is brought, and not to the envoy who brings it, and who is considered in little better light than tbat of an honourable messenger. In delivering the letter of the Governor-general, it was ne- cessary to advert to this circumstance, and to see liiat every proper ceremony was attended to.

124 EMBASSr TO SI AM

The chief of the deputation began by infonn- ing us, that according to Siamese etiquette, let^ ters from foreign States must be delivered to the oflBcers of Government before presentation to His Majesty, for the purpose of being authenti- cated and translated. We requested to know if a copy would not be sufficient. We were told, in reply, that the letter itself must be seen, that it might be ascertained that all necessary forms had been complied with. These forms have especial reference to the shape and quality of the paper, and envelope, titles, and such like matters. We then stated, that we expected the letter would be returned to us previous to our audience, in order that we might have the ho- nour of presenting it personally to the King. We were informed that this was contrary to usage, but a pledge was given that the letter should be produced at the audience, and a Sia- mese translation of it read in our presence. The Govemor-general's letter was now produced, and taken by the old chief in a gold vase brought for the purpose.. It was received by the escort on the quarter-deck under a salute, and handed into the boat, where it was deposited under a state umbrella.

Ko-chai-asa-hak, who formed one of the depu* tation, stayed behind until the other members had gone away. His object was to deliver to us a message from the Minister, requesting I

AND COCHIN CHINA. 125

would favour him, in the evening, with a pri- vate interview. I agreed to this/ with some hesitation ; and Captain Dangerfield and I land- ed, accordingly, at six in the evening,- and pro* ceeded to the Minister's house, immediately on the river side. In compliment to us, he met us at the door, offering us hi& hand in the Eu- ropean fashion. He seated himself upon a siilk cushion, and pointed to one opposite, which Captain Dangerfield and myself took posses- sion of. None of his attendants or family came within several yards of him, but lay prostrate on their knees and elbows in an attitude par- ticularly undignified and servile. The hall in which we were received was neat and well- furnished beyond our expectation. The win- dow-curtuns consisted of a handsome English chintz. The room was lighted by a pair of good cut-glass English chandeliers, and by se- veral handsome Chinese lanterns.

Suri-wrung-kosa, for this was the Foreign Minister's name^ was a man about thirty-eight years of age, rather a heavy figure, inclining to be corpulent, and of a complexion dark for a Siamese. His features were expressive of good sense, but there was an air of suUenness and reserve in them not calculated to gain confi- d^ice. His person was without ornaments, and, indeed, it may be said, nearly without dress; for he wore nothingi saving a piece of crimson

126 EMBASSY TO >8IAM.

silk, which was wrapped round his loins. Al- together, whether in person or manner, he had very much the appearance of a frugal Hindoo of the mercantile cast, in good circumstances. His questions, upon this occasion, were sensible and pertinent throughout, and evinced none of the troublesome importunity which I experi- enced from the Chief of Pak-nam. His prin- cipal inquiries were directed to the objects of the Mission; and he seemed satisfied with the explanations which were given. He requested us, as we had made a long voyage, to repose ourselves for a few days, when we should be presented to the King. It would, however, he added, according to the custom of the place, be requisite that we should be previously intro* duced to the Prince Kromchiat, the eldest son of the King, who superintended the foreign and commercial department. Our conversation was carried on in Malay, through the medium of Ko-chai-asa-hak ; for our interpreters, although they accompanied us, were not allowed to act Before we took our departure, a very neat dessert of choice fruits, sweetmeats, and tea, were served up to us.

The report made by the secretary, respecting the English horse, had so strongly excited the curiosity of His Siamese Majesty, that he was unable to repress it until, the regular delivery of the presents; and a polite message was sent

AND COCJIIN CQ^IKA. 187

to request that he might be allowed to land. One of the boats employed to convey elephants* ¥riith a train of attendants, was sent to receive him» and he was safely landed last evening ; the first of his race, I am sure, that ever reached the shores of Siam. He was a handsome tho- rough-bred entire horse, about fifteen liands high. Such an animal, in a country where horses are rare, and the few that exist mere ponies, was necessarily an object of much curiosity.

March 81. — In the morning, Seignor De Sil- veira, a gentleman who had been reidding at Siam as Portuguese Consul during the last two years, sent his assistant, or secretary, to wait upon us ; excusing himself from coming in per- son, as it was contrary to Siamese etiquette for a person in his situation to visit us before we had been honoured with an audience of the King.

We should now, after a long confinement on board of ship, have beeii glad to have gone abroad, and gratified ourselves with an inspec- tion of the many novel objects which seemed to offer themselves, but this was contrary to etiquette. We were not indeed forbidden to go about, but it was stated to us, that to do so, before a public audience had placed us under the immediate protection of the Court, might expose us to be treated with rudeness by the populace.

128 EMBASSY TO SIAM

April 1. — ^The presents for the King were landed this morning, at the particular request of the Court. The pretext for this, was to af- ford ' an opportunity of examining and register- ing them before they were presented at the au- dience, but I am afraid the real motive was no other than an anxious desire to be put in im- mediate possession. A trifling circumstance, which took place in delivering them, afforded a singular Example of indelicacy on the part; of the officers of the Siamese Government Among a great many pieces of British muslin, which constituted an article of the presents, it was alleged that there was a short delivery of four, as the numbers did not correspond with the list given in at Fak-nam. This ^erioM defalcation was communicated to me by a formal message,, and a hope expressed that the deficiency would be made up. At the saiiie time, no notice was taken of two pieces of iGne Genoa velvet, which were delivered beyond thcf quantity: .expressed in the list, although of ten- times the value of the muslins ! As soon as our clerk brought this last circumstance to the notice of the messengers, not another word vtas said about the alleged defalcation in the muslins !

In the course of the morning, two of the Court interpreters called upon us ; the one a Christian and the other a Mohammedan. They^ dealt very freely with one another's character,-

AND COCHIN CBINA. 129

and each assured us, in his turn, that the other was totally unworthy of confidence.

April 2. — Our party landed last night» and took possession of the dwelling allotted to us^. It was a new house, of very coarse masonry, with a tiled roof, and consisting of four lower and as many upper apartments, all small and inconvenient. A house of a similar size and appearance was supplied, a few days afterwards, for the accommodation of such of our party as could not, upon the present occasion, find room. The Prah-klang had furnished our apart- ments after the Siamese taste ; hut so little to ours, that we soon discovered the necessity of landing our own furniture, and by this means made oiu^elves as comfortable as our situation would permit. Our new dwelling was within a few yards of the river, of which, as well as of the most populous part of the town, it af- forded an extensive view to the front, while behind it overlooked the court-yard of the Prah- klang's house and his chamber of audience, so that, without exercising an impertinent curiosity, we were afforded an opportunity of witnessing, from time to time, a good deal of what passed. I had a message in the morning, to request that I would favour the Prah-klang with another visit. I declined doing so, as he had not re- turned the first visit paid to him; although he explained that his not doing so was in compli-

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ance with the etiquette of the Court, which for- bade all open intercourse with foreign agents, until publicly recognized.

April 8. — The ceremony of our presentation to the Prince Krom-chiat was fixed for this night, and, as had been previously arranged, a twelve-oared barge came at eight in the even- ing to convey us. Mr. Rutherfurd alone ac- companied me, the other gentlemen being in- disposed and unable to attend. The Prince's palace is situated a little beyond that of the King, about two miles up the river. Upon our arrival, we were received in an anteroom by Pia-pipat-kosa, the aged officer whom I have described as coming on board to receive the Grovemor-general's letter. We were not long detained here, but soon summoned to the Prince's presence, by a message, conveyed to us in a few words of broken English, by the Intendant of the port, a native Christian, whom I had not before seen. We ascended the hall of audience by a flight of two or three awkward steps. Fronting the door of this apartment, was a large wooden skreen, to preserve the privacy of the interior. As soon as we had passed this skreen, we had a view of the Prince, sitting in full court, and offering a spectacle rather singular and imposing. The hall, which appeared about eighty feet long, and of a well-proportioned breadth, was covered with

AND COCHIN CHINA. ISl

a profusion of gilding and vermilion. At the upper end of it there was a handsome altar- ^ece^ which, we were informed, contained a small golden image of Gautama, but it was concealed from our view by a crimson satin curtain. To our left ^hand, and about the middle of the room, there was an elevated pulpit, and from this we were told that the Talapoins chant their hymns, and deliver their moral discourses, when the Prince is disposed to receive instruction, which frequently happens, for he has the reputation of being very devout. The haU was decorated with European lustres of cut-glass, with European and Chinese mirrors, and with a profusion of Chinese lan- terns. The Prince, a heavy and corpulent figure, about thirty-eight years of age, but having the appearance of fifty, sat on a mat towards the upper part of the room, leaning against a pillar, which was one of a row that divided the hdl by its whole length. His countenance was sen- sible and good-natured ; but, destitute as he was of becoming attire, he had but a mean and un- dignified appearance. The courtiers kept at a great distance, crouching to the very ground, with their hands clasped before them. Among these were several Mohammedans of the sect of Ali, descendants of emigrants from the Coromandel coast. These people, who from education and circumstances are naturally subtle and intriguing, have considerable influence in the foreign de-

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1S2 KMBASSY TO 8IAM

partment of the Siamese administration. Among the courtiers, the Prah-klang alone was a little in advance, but prostrate like the rest. Mr. Ru- therfurd and I sat down upon a carpet which was pointed out to us, between the Prince and his courtiers. Near us we found the presents of the Governor-general to the Prince. We were no sooner seated than the Christian Inten- dant of the Port directed us, in a toae of au- thority bordering on rudeness, to make the cus- tomary obeisance. I fi^lt under the necessity of rebuking him, by observing, that unless he could express himself with more propriety and deco- rum, he must not presume to address us at all. This had the desired effect, for we were not again importuned by him during the rest of the evening.

It had been provided that our interpreters should be admitted, but this was a promise which was by no means intended to be kept. To be admitted to the presence of the Prince, was considered too great an honour for persons of their condition, and besides a very inconvenient restraint upon the conversation which would ensue. Accord- ingly, when they attempted to follow us into the hall, they were jostled by the attendants and forced to withdraw. I even found that Ko- chai-asa-hak was not of sufficient rank to address the Prince directly. Another Mohammedan of superior rank, who was a little in advance for this

AN13 COCHIN CHINA. 18S

purpose, received the Prince's words, and Ko- chai-asa-hak, who lay crouched behind us, ren- dered them to me in the Malay language. I was first asked if peace or war prevailed in Hin- doostan, and then followed a number of ques- tions, which were personal towards the Gover- nor-general,—such as inquiries after his health, how long he had governed India, what was His Excellency's age, and whether or not he was bro- ther to the King of England ? When these in- quiries were satisfactorily answered, the Prince observed, ** I have heard of his reputation for justice and wisdom, from the merchants, of all nations, who have of late years resorted to this country."

The Prince after this referred to a subject of less dignity, but one which interested him more, — the fate of a ship, which, about fourteen months before, he had sent on a commerdul speculation to Bengal. This was the vessel which we had seen at Calcutta, Penang, and Singapore, and which had left the latter place before our- selves, although she had not yet arrived. He asked whether we had seen her, when she might be expected, and whether or not she had an Eu- ropean pilot on board. After this last question, he wished to know whether we thought Euro- pean or Indian mariners most skilful. The an- swer was not difficult; and he explained, in a tone of compliment, " When I speak of Euro-

134 EMBASSY TO SIAM

peans in general, I do not mean the English, for their superiority over all other people, in this re- spect, is well known." One question touching the subject now introduced was calculated to ex- cite a smile. The Prince desired to know whe- ther, during his residence at Calcutta, the com- mander of the Siamese ship had dressed in the English fashion, and conformed to the manners and customs of Europeans. The individual from whom this compliance with foreign manners was expected, was an unwieldly old Mohammedan of sixty, and of most uncomproinising Oriental habits.

The next question put, touched slightly on the subject of European politics, and the Prince was especially solicitous to know, whether the British and Portuguese were at present at peace. It was readily answered, that the English and Portuguese «ations had been friends and allies for many ages, and that there was every probability of their con- tinuing so. The Siamese naturally form an undue estimate of the power of the Portuguese nation, from having at all times seen and heard more of them than of any other European people ; and this accounts for the present questions.

We were asked after this, what objects we had in view after quitting Siam ? This question af- forded an opportunity of explaining the real ob- jects of the Mission. The Prince observed upon this, in a strain of compliment, ** It is wise in the

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Goveraor-rgeaeral of India, to seek friendship and commerce with distant nations."

Besides these, many trifling and miimportant questions were also put — such as the ages of the different gentlemen composing the Mission, the length and nature of their services, the number of JSuropean and Indian languages, which they had acquired, &c. The audience lasted nearly two hours, and was not over until between eleven and twelve o'clock at night. These late hours, as we afterwards found, are the favourite ones amongst the Siamese for the transaction of business. Dur- ing this visit, no repast was served to us ; but we had no sooner reached home, than we found eight large tubs of sweetmeats, sent to us as a present by the Prince.

AprU 5. — The 8th was appointed by the King for granting us an audience, and the ceremonial of our introduction was, in a good measure, arranged to-day. It was settled that a barge should be sent, to convey us from our residence to the land- ing-place opposite to the palace, and that from thence we should be conveyed in palanquins or litters. I had wished to stipulate for elephants ; but we found that the use of these, so general in all other parts of the country, had been long dis- continued at the modem capital, or, at least, in- terdicted to all but a few of the chief officers of Government. To ride on horseback, we found, was not considered respectable. We experienced,

136 EMBASSY TO SIAM

in the discassion of this question, a striking ex- ample of the singular and extravagant national vanity of the Siamese. This people, of half-naked and enslaved barbarians, have the hardihood to consider themselves the first nation in the world, and to view the performance of any servile office to a stranger, as an act of degradation. We had a hundred examples of this during our stay at Siam ; and upon the present occasion, it was not without the greatest difficulty, and the utmost reluctance on the part of the chiefs, that they were at last brought to consent to allow us a few carriers to convey our litters.

I had apprehended much embarrassment about the nature of the obeisance which would be re- quired of us at our presentation ; but, upon the whole, this matter was arranged without any ex- traordinary difficulty. The Siamese officers, <mi their part, had great apprehensions that we should give offence by persisting in following our own customs in disparagement of their's. It was finally determined, that upon appearing in the presence, we should make a bow in the European fashion, seat ourselves in the place usually assigned to foreign missions, make an obeisance to His Ma- jesty, when seated, by raising the two joined hands to the forehead, but, above all things, take care not to exhibit our feet, or any portion of the lower part of the body, to the sacred view of his Siamese Majesty.

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AprU 7. — I had yesterday evening an urgent ecnnmiinication from the Frah-klang, intreating I would wave ceremony, and meet him at his house, as he had matters of considerable im^ portance to communicate. I was extremely un- willing to throw any unnecessary obstacle in the way of the Mission, in the present stage of its progress ; and therefore assented to his wish. I visited