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Title: Trade and Travel in the Far East
or Recollections of twenty-one years passed in Java,
Singapore, Australia and China.
Author: G. F. Davidson
Release Date: October 24, 2008 [EBook #27014]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRADE AND TRAVEL IN THE FAR EAST ***
TRADE AND TRAVEL
IN THE
FAR EAST;
OR
RECOLLECTIONS OF TWENTY-ONE YEARS
PASSED IN
JAVA, SINGAPORE, AUSTRALIA,
AND CHINA.
BY G. F. DAVIDSON.
LONDON:
MADDEN AND MALCOLM,
LEADENHALL STREET.
1846.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY MADDEN AND MALCOLM,
8 LEADENHALL STREET.
PREFACE.
The following pages were written to beguile the tediousness of a long
voyage from Hong Kong to England, during the spring and summer of 1844.
When I state, that the whole was written with the paper on my knee, for
want of a desk, amid continual interruptions from three young children
lacking amusement during their long confinement on ship-board, and with
a perpetual liability to be pitched to leeward, paper and all,--I shall
have said enough to bespeak from every good-natured reader a candid
allowance for whatever defects may attach to the composition. It is
necessary, however, that I should also premise, that the sketches are
drawn entirely from memory, and that the incidents referred to in the
earlier chapters, took place some twenty years ago. That my recollection
may have proved treacherous on some minor points, is very possible; but,
whatever may be the merits or demerits of the work in other respects, it
contains, to the best of my knowledge and belief, nothing but truth in
the strictest sense of that term; and, as imbodying the result of my own
personal observations in the countries visited, it may possess an
interest on that account, not always attaching to volumes of higher
pretensions.
My wanderings have been neither few nor short, and, perhaps, verify the
old proverb, that a rolling stone gathers no moss. I have crossed the
Ocean in forty different square-rigged vessels; have trod the plains of
Hindostan, the wilds of Sumatra, and the mountains of Java; have
strolled among the beautiful hills and dales of Singapore and Penang;
have had many a gallop amid the forests and plains of Australia; have
passed through the labyrinth of reefs forming Torres' Straits; and have
visited the far-famed Celestial Empire. My first idea, in endeavouring
to retrace my journeyings and adventures, was, that the personal
narrative might serve to amuse a circle of private friends. But the
notices relating to the openings for Trade in the Far East, and to the
subject of Emigration, together with the free strictures upon the causes
of the recent depression in our Australian colonies, will, I venture to
hope, be not unacceptable to those who are interested in the extension
of British commerce, and in the well-being of the rising communities
which form an integral part of the mighty Empire now encircling the
Globe.
Some parts of the work refer to coming events as probable, which have
since become matters of fact; but I have not deemed it necessary to
suppress or to alter what I had written. I am more especially happy to
find that my suggestions respecting Borneo have, to some extent, been
anticipated; and that the important discovery of its coal-mines has been
taken advantage of by Her Majesty's Government in the very way pointed
out in observations written at sea fifteen months ago. Since my arrival
in England, I have learned also, that the feasibility of the navigation
of Torres' Straits from west to east, has struck others more competent
to form a correct judgment than myself. Captain T. Blackwood, commander
of Her Majesty's ship, Fly, at present employed in surveying the coast
of New Holland, the Straits, and parts adjacent, has expressed his
determination, after refitting at Singapore, to endeavour to enter the
Pacific Ocean, during the north-west monsoon, by sailing through Torres'
Straits from the westward. I trust that this enterprising Officer will
succeed in the attempt, and thereby put beyond question the
practicability of the passage; which would not only shorten the distance
between Australia and our Indian territories, but contribute, more than
any thing else could do, to facilitate the transit of the Overland Mail
to Sydney. The Australians, I find, are still sanguinely bent upon
discovering an overland route from the present frontiers of the Colony
to Port Essington; but, although I heartily wish them success, my
opinion, as expressed in the subsequent pages, remains unaltered.
I observe, that the Singaporeans are already complaining of the
decrease of the number of square-rigged vessels that have visited their
port during the recent season, and of the falling-off of the
Chinese-junk trade, which they correctly attribute to the opening of the
trade with China; thereby verifying my predictions. I fear that they
will have still greater cause for complaint before twelve months shall
have rolled away. But the merchants of Singapore, it gives me pleasure
to add, are taking advantage of the times, by entering upon the China
trade, and seem determined not to suffer loss, if they can help it, by
the effect of Sir Henry Pottinger's famous Treaty. This is as it should
be.
With these few remarks on the motives which have induced me to write and
give to the world the following sketches, I now commit them to their
fate; trusting that they may serve to beguile an hour, to some of my
numerous friends in the different parts of the world they refer to, and
that, to the reader unacquainted with those countries, they may prove
both useful and entertaining. Before taking leave of the reader,
however, I must apologize for an unfortunate error my printer has fallen
into, (at p. 3 note), in misprinting the name of Mr. Mercus, one of the
best men that ever ruled a Colony, whether Dutch or English. This name
has been converted into Minns; and the error was not detected, till the
sheet had passed through the press.
As for the critics.--for any kind or friendly remarks they may make, I
shall feel grateful; while any of a contrary nature will neither
surprise nor displease me.
HULL, _January 1846_.
CONTENTS.
PREFACE P. i
CHAPTER I.
JAVA.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF BATAVIA--NARROW POLICY OF
THE GOVERNMENT--DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN AND
NEIGHBOURHOOD--ROADS AND POSTING SYSTEM--STATE
OF SOCIETY--CLIMATE AND SEASONS--TROPICAL FRUITS 1
CHAPTER II.
JAVA.
SAMARANG--A TIGER FIGHT--JAVA PONEYS--EXCURSION
TO SOLO--WILD SPORTS--DJOCKDJOCARTA--REMAINS OF
THE ANCIENT PALACE--IMPERIAL ELEPHANTS--EXPERIMENT
IN INDIGO-PLANTING--JAVANESE EXECUTION--A
PET BOA--ALLIGATORS--FOREST LABOUR--SLAVERY IN
JAVA--OPIUM-SMOKING--TEA--THE UPAS-TREE 16
CHAPTER III.
SINGAPORE.
ADVANTAGEOUS POSITION OF SINGAPORE--CULTIVATION
OF THE NUTMEG AND COCOA-NUT--ROADS AND SCENERY--
MOTLEY POPULATION--EUROPEAN RESIDENTS--CHINESE
EMIGRANTS--KLINGS--SAMPAN-MEN--PLACES OF
WORSHIP--TIGERS 39
CHAPTER IV.
SINGAPORE.
TRADE OF SINGAPORE--CHINESE TRADERS--BUGIS
TRADERS--SIAMESE AND COCHIN CHINESE--ARAB
SMUGGLERS--BORNEO--TRADE WITH CALCUTTA--
COMMERCIAL PROSPECTS. 53
CHAPTER V.
DUTCH SETTLEMENTS.
DUTCH SETTLEMENT OF RHIO--ISLAND OF BANCA--
BENCOOLEN--PADANG--CHINESE SLAVE-TRADE--NATIVE
TRIBES OF SUMATRA--PEPPER TRADE 73
CHAPTER VI.
MALACCA AND PENANG 94
CHAPTER VII.
CALCUTTA.
FIRST VIEW OF CALCUTTA--STATE OF SOCIETY--
MERCANTILE CHANGES--UNPLEASANT CLIMATE--SIGHTS
AT AND NEAR CALCUTTA--IMPROVEMENTS IN TRANSIT
AND NAVIGATION--CUSTOM-HOUSE NUISANCE--PILOT
SERVICE--CHARACTER OF THE BENGALEES--RIVER STEAMERS 101
CHAPTER VIII.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
VOYAGE FROM SINGAPORE TO SYDNEY--PORT JACKSON--FIRST
IMPRESSIONS PRODUCED BY SYDNEY--THE PUBLIC-HOUSE
NUISANCE--SYDNEY JURIES--CATTLE-DEALERS--TOWN
IMPROVEMENTS--LAWYERS, DOCTORS, AND CLERGY 117
CHAPTER IX.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
TOWNSHIP OF MAITLAND--THE PATERSON DISTRICT--WINTER
SPORTS--THE KANGAROO--AUSTRALIAN HUSBANDRY--CONVICT
SERVANTS--BENEFIT OF ENFORCING AN OBSERVANCE OF
SUNDAY--THE HOT SEASON 128
CHAPTER X.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
BUSH-RANGERS--THE DROUGHT OF 1838-9--THE SETTLER'S
TROUBLES--ORNITHOLOGY OF AUSTRALIA--ABORIGINAL
TRIBES 139
CHAPTER XI.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
THE HOT WINDS--PROJECTED MAIL-ROAD FROM SYDNEY
TO PORT ESSINGTON--SHEEP-FARMS--GRAZING IN
AUSTRALIA--HORSE-STOCK 155
CHAPTER XII.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
CAUSES OF THE RECENT DISTRESSES--CONDUCT OF
THE BANKS--MANIA FOR SPECULATION--LONG-ACCOUNT
SYSTEM--BAD SEASONS 169
CHAPTER XIII.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
ELEMENTS OF PROSPERITY STILL EXISTING--HINTS
TO THE COLONISTS--FUTURE PROSPECTS 182
CHAPTER XIV.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
CLASSES OF SOCIETY IN SYDNEY--DISAPPOINTMENT OF
EMIGRANTS--CHARACTERISTICS OF IRISH AND BRITISH
EMIGRANTS--AVAILABLENESS OF CHINESE
LABOURERS--AUSTRALIAN COAL MONOPOLY--TORRES'
STRAITS THE BEST PASSAGE FOR STEAMERS--BOTANY
BAY--PASSAGE FROM SYDNEY TO BATAVIA 195
CHAPTER XV.
CHINA.
DESCRIPTION OF MACAO--ITS MONGREL POPULATION--
FREQUENCY OF ROBBERIES--PIRACIES--COMPRADORE
SYSTEM--PAPUAN SLAVE-TRADE--MARKET OF MACAO--
NUISANCES--SIR HENRY POTTINGER'S REGULATION
DEFENDED--ILLIBERAL POLICY OF THE PORTUGUESE,
AND ITS RESULT--BOAT-GIRLS--BEGGARS--PICTURESQUE
SCENERY 216
CHAPTER XVI.
CHINA.
ADVANTAGEOUS POSITION OF HONG KONG--THE OPIUM
TRADE--IMPORTANCE OF THE STATION IN THE EVENT OF
A FRESH WAR--CHUSAN--HOW TO RAISE A REVENUE--
CAUSES OF ALLEGED INSALUBRITY--RAPID PROGRESS
OF THE SETTLEMENT--PICTURESQUE SCENERY--
MARKETS--SANATORY HINTS 237
CHAPTER XVII.
CHINA.
FIRST VIEW OF CANTON--DESCRIPTION OF THE EUROPEAN
QUARTER--HOSTILE FEELINGS OF THE PEOPLE--COMMERCIAL
PROSPECTS OF CANTON--AMOY--FOO CHOW--NINGPO--
SHANG-HAE--MR. MEDHURST--RESULTS OF THE TREATY
WITH CHINA 266
CHAPTER XVIII.
NECESSITY OF APPOINTING BRITISH CONSULS IN THE
SPANISH AND DUTCH COLONIES--NEW SETTLEMENT ON
THE WESTERN COAST OF BORNEO--IMPORTANT DISCOVERY
OF COAL ON THE NORTH-WEST COAST--CONCLUDING
REMARKS 287
APPENDIX I.
PLAN FOR THE ACCELERATION OF THE CHINA MAILS
(_i. e._ THEIR CONVEYANCE FROM _SUEZ viâ CEYLON_
TO _HONG KONG direct_) 303
APPENDIX II.
MEMORANDUM ON BORNEO, AND MR. BROOK'S SETTLEMENT
ON THAT ISLAND 305
TRADE AND TRAVEL IN THE FAR EAST.
CHAPTER I.
JAVA.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF BATAVIA--NARROW POLICY OF
THE GOVERNMENT--DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN AND
NEIGHBOURHOOD--ROADS AND POSTING SYSTEM--STATE OF
SOCIETY--CLIMATE AND SEASONS--TROPICAL FRUITS.
Early in the year 1823, I left England, quite a youngster, full of life
and spirits, bound for that so-called grave of Europeans, Batavia. Of my
passage out, I shall say nothing more, than that it lasted exactly five
months, and was, in point of wind and weather, similar to nine-tenths of
the voyages made to the same region.
Well do I remember the 5th of October 1823, the day on which I first set
foot on the lovely and magnificent island of Java. How bright were then
my prospects, surrounded as I was with a circle of anxious friends, who
were not only able, but willing also, to lend me a helping hand, and
who now, alas! are, to a man, gone from me and all to whom they were
dear. I was then prepared--I might say determined--to be pleased with
every thing and every body. At this distance of time, I can scarcely
remember what struck me most forcibly on landing; but I have a vivid
recollection of being perfectly delighted with the drive, in a light
airy carriage drawn by two spirited little Java poneys, from the wharf
to the house of the friend with whom I was to take up my abode. The
pluck with which those two little animals rattled us along quite
astonished me; and the novel appearance of every thing that met the eye,
so bewildered and delighted me, that I scarcely knew how to think,
speak, or act.
What a joyous place was Batavia in those days, with every body thriving,
and the whole town alive and bustling with an active set of merchants
from all parts of the world! The Dutch Government, at that time, pursued
a more liberal system than they have of late adopted; and, instead of
monopolizing the produce of the Island, sold it by public auction
regularly every month. This plan naturally attracted purchasers from
England, the Continent of Europe, and the United States of America, who
brought with them good Spanish dollars to pay for what they purchased;
so that silver money was as plentiful in Netherlands India, in those
days, as copper doits have since become. The enlightened individual who
now governs Java[1] and its dependencies, is, I have good reason to
think, opposed to the monopolizing system pursued by his Government: his
hands, however, are tied, and he can only remonstrate, while the
merchants can but pray that his remonstrances may be duly weighed by his
superiors. Java exports one million _peculs_[2] of coffee per annum, one
million _peculs_ of rice, and one million _peculs_ of sugar; besides
vast quantities of tin, pepper, hides, indigo, &c. Were its trade thrown
open to fair competition, as formerly, it is as certain that His Majesty
the King of the Netherlands would be a gainer, as that his adopting the
more liberal system would give satisfaction to every mercantile man
connected in any way with his East-Indian possessions. The experience of
the last three years ought to have taught His Majesty this lesson; and
we may hope he will take warning from the miserable result of his
private speculations during that period.
Batavia is not the unhealthy place it has been usually deemed. The city
itself is certainly bad enough; but no European sleeps a single night in
it out of a twelvemonth.
[Footnote 1: 1845. His Excellency Mr. Minns, since dead.]
[Footnote 2: A _pecul_ is a Chinese weight used all over the
Eastern Archipelago, and is equal to 133-1/3 lbs.
avoirdupoise.]
From four to five o'clock every evening, the road leading from the town
to the suburbs is thronged with vehicles of all descriptions, conveying
the merchants from their counting-houses to their country or suburban
residences, where they remain till nine o'clock the next morning. These
country residences are delightfully situated to the south of Batavia,
properly so called, extending inland over many square miles of country.
Every one of them has a garden (called here a compound) of considerable
extent, well stocked with plants, shrubs, and trees, which serve to give
them a lively and elegant appearance, and to keep them moderately cool
in the hottest weather. Servants' wages being very low here, every
European of any respectability is enabled to keep up a sufficient
establishment, and to repair to his office in his carriage or hooded
gig, in which he may defy the sun. Many of them, particularly Dutchmen,
have an imprudent practice of driving in an open carriage, with an
umbrella held over their heads by a native servant standing on the
foot-board behind his master.
Having resided several years in the suburbs of Batavia, I have no
hesitation in saying, that, with common prudence, eschewing _in toto_
the vile habit of drinking gin and water whenever one feels thirsty,
living generously but carefully, avoiding the sun's rays by always using
a close or hooded carriage, and taking common precautions against wet
feet and damp clothing, a man may live--and enjoy life, too--in
Batavia, as long as he would in any other part of the world. Many people
may think this a bold assertion; nevertheless, I make it without fear of
contradiction from any one acquainted by experience with the country.
One great and invaluable advantage over all our Eastern Colonies,
Batavia, in common with every part of Java, possesses, in the facilities
that exist for travelling from one part of the Island to another.
Throughout Java, there are excellent roads, and on every road a post
establishment is kept up; so that the traveller has only to apply to the
post-master of Batavia, pointing out the road he wishes to travel, and
to pay his money according to the number of miles: he obtains, with a
passport, an order for four horses all along his intended line of route,
and may perform the journey at his leisure, the horses, coachmen, &c.
being at his command night or day, till he accomplishes the distance
agreed for. Thus, a party going overland from Batavia to Samarang, a
distance of three hundred miles, may either perform the journey in three
days, or extend it to three weeks, should they wish to look about them,
and to halt a day or two at various places as they go along. In no part
of British India is there any thing approaching to such admirable and
cheap facilities for travelling. And what an inestimable blessing they
are to the Batavian invalid, who can thus, in a few hours, be
transported, with perfect ease and comfort, into the cool and delightful
mountainous regions of Java, where he may choose his climate, by fixing
himself at a height varying from one thousand to seven thousand feet
above the level of the sea! Java, from east to west and from north to
south, is a favourite region with me, and, I believe, with every
Englishman who ever visited it. Gin and brandy have killed five-sixths
of all the Europeans who have died in Batavia within the last twenty
years; but with pleasure I can add, that this destructive habit has
almost entirely disappeared: hence the diminished number of deaths, and
the more robust and ruddy appearance of the European inhabitants. The
surrounding country is both salubrious and beautiful, rising gradually
as you proceed inland, till you reach Buytenzorg, forty miles S.S.E. of
Batavia, where the Governor-General of Netherlands India generally
resides, in a splendid palace, surrounded with extensive and magnificent
gardens. The climate is cool and pleasant, more particularly in the
mornings and evenings, and the ground is kept moist by daily showers;
for it is a singular fact, that scarcely a day in the year passes
without a shower in this beautiful neighbourhood.
Buytenzorg is a favourite resort of the merchants of Batavia, who take
advantage of the facilities for travelling to visit it on the Saturday
afternoon, remaining the whole of Sunday, and returning to town, and to
the renewal of their labours, on the following morning. The scenery is
magnificent; and the view (well known to every visiter) from the back
verandah of the inn, is the finest that can be imagined. Standing on the
steps of this verandah, you have, immediately under your foot, an
extensive plain, thoroughly cultivated, sprinkled with villages, each
village being surrounded with evergreen trees, and the whole almost
encircled by a river. To the left of this valley rises an extensive and
picturesque mountain, cultivated almost to the summit, and dotted here
and there with villages and gentlemen's houses. Looking into the valley
at early morn, you will see the lazy buffalo, driven by an equally
indolent ploughman, dragging a Lilliputian plough through the slimy
paddy-field; the lazy Javanese labourer going to his work in the field;
the native women reaping, with the hand only, and stalk by stalk, the
ripe paddy (rice) in one field, while those in the next are sowing the
seed; the adjoining fields being covered with stubble, their crops
having been reaped weeks before. Upon the declivity of the mountain is
seen the stately coffee-tree, the plantations of which commence about
1300 feet above the level of the sea, and proceed up the hill till they
reach the height of 4000 feet. Nothing can be more beautiful than a
full-grown coffee-plantation: the deep green foliage, the splendid
bright-red berry, and the delicious shade afforded by the trees, render
those spots altogether fit for princes; and princely lives their owners
lead. One is always sure of a hearty welcome from these gentlemen, who
are ever glad to see a stranger. They give him the best horse in the
stable to ride, the best room in the house to occupy, and express regret
when his visit is drawing to a close. I speak from experience, having
put the hospitality of several of them to the test.
During my first stay at Batavia, from 1823 to 1826, the celebrated Java
war broke out, the so-called rebel army being headed by a native Chief
of Djockdjocarta, named Diepo Nogoro. Shortly after the first outbreak,
the then Governor-General, Baron Vander Capellen, called on all
Europeans between the ages of sixteen and forty-five to serve in the
_schuttery_, or militia. An infantry and a cavalry corps were formed,
and I joined the latter, preferring a ride in the evening to a walk with
a fourteen-pound musket over my shoulder. After a probation of pretty
tight drilling, we became tolerable soldiers, on "nothing a day and
finding ourselves," and had the good town of Batavia put under our
charge, the regular troops being all sent away to the scene of war. As I
do not intend to return to the subject, I may as well mention here,
that the war lasted five years, and that it would have lasted five years
longer, had Diepo Nogoro not been taken prisoner--I fear by treachery. I
saw him landed at Batavia, in 1829, from the steamer which had brought
him from Samarang. The Governor's carriage and aides-de-camp were at the
wharf to receive him. In that carriage he was driven to gaol, whence he
was banished no one knows whither; and he has never since been heard of.
Such is the usual fate of Dutch prisoners of state! Diepo Nogoro
deserved a better fate. He was a gallant soldier, and fought bravely.
Poor fellow! how his countenance fell--as well it might--when he saw
where the carriage drew up! He stopped short on putting his foot on the
pavement, evidently unwilling to enter the gloomy-looking pile; cast an
eager glance around; and, seeing there was no chance of escape, walked
in. Several gentlemen followed, before the authorities had the door
closed, and saw the fallen chief, with his _two wives_, consigned to two
miserable-looking rooms. Java has been quite tranquil ever since.
The society of Batavia, at the time I am referring to, was both choice
and gay; and the influence of my good friends threw me at once into the
midst of it. The Dutch and English inhabitants did not then (nor do they
now) mix together so much as would, in my opinion, have been agreeable
and mutually advantageous. A certain jealousy kept the two parties too
much apart. Nevertheless, I have been present at many delightful parties
in Dutch families, the pleasures of which were not a little heightened
by the presence of some ten or a dozen charming Dutch girls. Charming
and beautiful they certainly are while young; but, ere they reach
thirty, a marvellous change comes over their appearance: the
fair-haired, blue-eyed, laughing romp of eighteen has, in that short
period of ten or twelve years, become transformed into a stout and
rather elderly-looking matron, as unlike an English woman of the same
age as one can well fancy. When I look back on those gay and pleasant
parties, and think how few of the individuals who composed them are now
alive, the reflection makes me sad. What a different class its English
inhabitants of the present day are from those of 1823-1826! I may be
prejudiced in favour of the former state of society; but, in giving the
preference to it, I shall be borne out by any of the few survivers who
knew Batavia at both periods. From 1823 to 1835, the Governor's parties
were thronged with our countrymen and countrywomen. Let any one enter
His Excellency's ball-room now-a-days, and he will not meet with more
than one or two English of the old school, and not one of the new. The
causes of this change are obvious: it arises from the different class of
people that now come out from Liverpool, Manchester, and Glasgow,
compared with the British merchant of former times, and from the total
deficiency of the most common civility, on the part of our countrymen,
towards the many highly respectable, agreeable, and intelligent Dutch
families that form the society of the place. It is with pain I write
this; but, as a citizen of the world, who has seen a good deal of life,
in recording my sentiments on these matters, I cannot avoid telling the
plain truth as it struck me from personal observation.
The vicinity of Batavia affords the most beautiful drives; and hundreds
of vehicles, from the handsome carriage and four of the Member of
Council to the humble buggy of the merchant's clerk, may be seen every
evening, from five till half-past six, that being the coolest and best
time for taking out-of-door exercise. The roads are excellent, lined on
both sides with trees, which keep them shaded and cool nearly all day.
The scene is altogether gay, and affords a gratifying indication of the
wealth and importance of this fine colony. By seven o'clock, the drives
are deserted; and, immediately afterwards, lights may be seen glittering
in every dwelling in the neighbourhood, while, in every second or third
house, the passer-by may observe parties of pleasure assembling for the
evening. The Dutch have adopted the social plan of exchanging friendly
visits in the evening, avoiding our more formal ones of the morning. At
these chance evening parties (if I may so term them), the company are
entertained with music and cards, and other diversions; and should the
visiter be too old to join the young folks in their gayety, he will find
one or two of his own standing snugly seated in the far corner of the
verandah, where he is sure to be supplied with a good cigar and the very
best wine. These groupes are perfect pictures of comfort and content.
With all his good qualities, however, "John Dutchman" is jealous of
"John Bull," and cannot help shewing it, particularly in commercial
matters. How short-sighted his policy is, in this point of view, it
would be no difficult task to prove.
The pleasantest months of the year, in Batavia, are, June, July, and
August, when the sun is to the northward. I have frequently found a
blanket necessary at this season: indeed, the nights, throughout Java,
are generally sufficiently cool to allow the European to enjoy a
refreshing sleep, after which he will find no difficulty in getting
through a hot day. The public health is generally very good from May
till September inclusive. In April and October, strangers, particularly
the recently arrived European, are apt to suffer from colds and fever,
caused, in a great measure, by the breaking-up of the monsoon, which
takes place in those months. In November or December, the north-west
monsoon brings on the rains, which certainly then come down in torrents,
and render the city of Batavia a perfect charnel-house for those poor
Natives and Chinese who are unfortunately compelled to remain in it. I
have seen it entirely flooded with water, to the depth of four or five
feet in some parts. The malaria occasioned by the deposit of slimy mud
left all over the town by the water, on its retiring, causes sad havoc
among the poorer Chinese and Malays, who reside in the lowest parts of
the town, and inhabit wretched hovels. These floods seldom annoy the
inhabitants of the suburbs; yet I well remember, in the season of 1828,
a friend of mine lay down on a sofa and went to sleep, about eight
o'clock in the evening: at three next morning, he awoke with the water
just reaching his couch, much to his surprise and no small alarm, till,
on becoming collected, he bethought him of the cause. The neighbouring
river had risen, from mountain rains, whilst he was asleep, and had
completely flooded his house, to the depth of eighteen inches, together
with the garden and neighbourhood.
I know no market, east of the Cape of Good Hope, better supplied with
fruit than that of Batavia. Among the choicest, I would name the
mangistan, the durian, and the pumaloe or shaddock. The first is unknown
beyond eight degrees from the Equator, and is, perhaps, the best fruit
with which nature has blessed the tropical regions. It is about the size
of an orange, its rind of a dark purple, and its pulp divided into parts
like the contents of an orange, as white as driven snow. Its taste I
cannot attempt to describe, knowing nothing to which I can compare it.
The best quality of the mangistan is its perfect harmlessness. The
patient suffering from fever, liver complaint, consumption, or any of
the numerous ills that flesh is heir to, may, with perfect impunity,
cool his parched tongue with a dozen of this delightful fruit; and no
one who has not been laid on a sick bed within the tropics, can
appreciate this blessing. The rind, when dried, and made into tea, is an
excellent tonic, and is often successfully used in cases of dysentery,
by Native as well as European practitioners. The durian is a favourite
fruit with most people who can overcome its smell, which certainly is no
very easy matter. Natives of all classes are passionately fond of this
fruit, and almost subsist on it when in plenty. Strange to say, goats,
sheep, poultry, and even the royal tiger, eagerly devour the durian, of
which I confess myself, notwithstanding the aforesaid smell, an admirer,
in common with many of my countrymen. Its size is that of a cocoa-nut,
husk and all; its rind is very thick, of a pale green colour, and
covered with strong sharp thorns; its interior is divided into
compartments, each of which contains three or four seeds about the size
of a pullet's egg; these seeds are covered, to the thickness of a
quarter of an inch, with a pale yellow pulp, which is the part eaten.
The taste resembles, according to the description of those who like the
fruit, that of a very rich custard, and, according to those who have
never succeeded in overcoming their antipathy to the smell, that of a
mixture of decayed eggs and garlic. This fruit cannot be eaten in large
quantities with impunity by Europeans, being of a very heating nature.
With me it never agreed; nor do I remember a single instance of its
agreeing with my countrymen, when eaten freely. Half a one is as much as
most people can manage at a time. The durian seeds, when roasted, make
an excellent substitute for chestnuts.
The shaddock of Java is a magnificent fruit, and surpasses those of any
other country with which I am acquainted. In addition to these three
prime fruits of Java, I may mention the pine-apple, soursop, rambutan,
rose-apple, guava, dookoo, and sixty different kinds of plantain and
banana. These, and many others, thrive and abound on this favoured
island. With poultry, butchers' meat, fish, and vegetables, Batavia and
Java generally are abundantly supplied; while the residents on its
mountains may enjoy strawberries and cream in perfection.
CHAPTER II.
JAVA.
SAMARANG--A TIGER FIGHT--JAVA PONEYS--EXCURSION
TO SOLO--WILD SPORTS--DJOCKDJOCARTA--REMAINS OF
THE ANCIENT PALACE--IMPERIAL ELEPHANTS--EXPERIMENT
IN INDIGO-PLANTING--JAVANESE EXECUTION--A PET
BOA--ALLIGATORS--FOREST LABOUR--SLAVERY IN
JAVA--OPIUM-SMOKING--TEA--THE UPAS-TREE.
Between three and four hundred miles eastward of Batavia, on the north
coast of Java, is the small, neat, old-fashioned town of Samarang,
which, when I visited it in 1824, was the residence of several English
merchants: now, there is only a single one remaining, so completely has
monopoly destroyed mercantile enterprise! The harbour is a safe one in
the south-east monsoon, but the reverse when the north-west winds
prevail. It is, however, constantly visited by European shipping, which
take cargoes of coffee, sugar, rice, &c. &c., to all parts of Europe,
Australia, Singapore, and China.
The circumstance at this distance of time most clear and distinct in my
memory, in connection with my first visit to Samarang, is a
tiger-fight, which I will attempt to describe. The exhibition took place
on an extensive plain near the town, just after daybreak. A square of
men, armed with the native spear, was formed three deep, and one hundred
yards across. Inside this square was placed a box resembling in shape a
coffin, but much larger, containing a royal tiger fresh from his native
forests, which had been brought to town the day previously for this
express purpose. Imagine every thing ready, the square formed, the box
in its centre, and a silent multitude looking on,--some perched on
trees, some on the coach-boxes of the numerous carriages, others on
horseback, and thousands on foot; whilst the native chief of the
district, with his friends, and the European officials of the place,
occupied a gay pavilion, placed in an advantageous situation for viewing
the coming strife. A native Javan, in full dress, is now seen advancing
into the square, followed by two coolies or porters, one carrying a
bundle of straw, the other a lighted torch. The straw is thrown over the
box, and the torch-bearer stands ready to set fire to it at the end
where the tiger's head is, the box being too narrow to permit his
turning round in it. The leading native then lifts a sliding door at the
other extremity of the box, carefully covering the opening thus made
with mats, to prevent the light from penetrating, and inducing his royal
highness to back out too soon. This operation completed, the straw is
set on fire. The native and his two coolies now retire slowly, keeping
time to Javanese music as they make their way outside the square. By
this time, the fire has got fair hold of the box, filling it with smoke,
and the tiger begins his retreat, his berth becoming rather warm.
Presently, his hind quarters appear issuing through the sliding doorway,
its covering of mat readily yielding to the pressure: by degrees, his
hind feet gain firm footing outside, and his whole body is soon
displayed. On appearing, he seemed rather confused for a few seconds,
and, laying himself quietly down, looked all round upon his foes, and
gave a roar that made the welkin ring, and my young heart quake a
little. He then rose, deliberately shook himself, turned towards the
rising sun, set off first at a walk, then at a trot, which he gradually
increased to a smart canter, till within a few yards of the points of
the spears pointed at him; he then came to the charge, and made a spring
that surprised me, and, I fancy, every one present. I am afraid to say
how high he leaped, but he was on the _descent_ before a single spear
touched him. This leap was evidently made with the intention of getting
clear over the heads of the men and their spears too; and he most
certainly would have accomplished it, had he not leaped too soon, and
fallen within the square, the height of the spring being quite
sufficient for the purpose. As it was, when on the descent, the spears
of the six men nearest him being pointed at his breast, one of them
inflicted a frightful wound. On reaching the ground, the noble beast
struggled hard for his liberty; but, finding his efforts of no avail, he
ultimately started off at full gallop to the opposite side of the
square, where he renewed his exertions, though with less vigour than
that displayed on his first attempt, and with no better success. He then
galloped twice round the square, just at the point of the spears. Not a
man advanced to touch him, it being the rule, that the tiger must come
within the range of the spears before they can be used. He was
ultimately killed while making a third attempt to escape; and thus ended
the sport. His first charge was very brilliant and exciting; his second
much less so; his third and last was very feeble.
Immediately after the tiger's death, the same ceremonies were gone
through with a leopard, who took the spear-men rather by surprise, and,
instead of trying to leap over their heads, darted in under their
spears, got among their feet, and effected his retreat, to the no small
consternation of the surrounding multitude, who soon scattered in all
directions. He was, however, pursued by the men he had baffled, and was
killed under a bridge in the immediate neighbourhood.
Tigers are frequently pitted by the native chiefs of Java against
buffaloes, but I never was fortunate enough to witness one of those
conflicts. The buffalo is generally the conqueror, and is sure to be so,
if he succeeds in getting one fair butt at his adversary, whom he tosses
in the air, and butts again on his fall. Occasionally, the tiger
declines the combat altogether, when his tormentors rouse him by the
application of lighted torches to the tenderest parts of his body: but
even this extreme measure has been known to fail; in which case the
terrified animal is withdrawn, and another is put forward in his place.
These are cruel pastimes, though they may be thought not more so than
dog-fighting and cock-fighting, which were formerly so much practised in
Britain; and not so barbarous as a pugilistic combat between two hired
brutes called prize-fighters.
The society of Samarang is neither so extensive nor so attractive as
that of Batavia: it is, however, a pleasant and healthy place,
notwithstanding its proximity to an extensive swamp. Its safeguard
against the malaria we might naturally look for in this situation, is
the tide, which flows over the marsh twice a day, and keeps it sweet.
During the Java war, a small volunteer corps of cavalry was formed here,
the members of which, in their zeal, offered their services to join a
party who were proceeding to Damak, (a small village about forty miles
off,) to put down a body of armed rebels. Poor fellows! they went out in
high spirits, but trusted too much to their unbroken horses, which took
fright, and threw them into inextricable confusion on hearing the first
volley. The sad consequences of this rash though gallant day's work,
were, the death of seven young English gentlemen, all highly respected,
and sincerely regretted by their countrymen. They were all personal
friends of my own. I well remember the gloom which the intelligence cast
over the society at Batavia.
In and about Samarang may be collected any number of the beautiful Java
poneys, animals unsurpassed for symmetry in any part of the world.[3]
The work they perform is beyond belief. Ten miles an hour is the common
rate of travelling post: four of them are generally used for this
purpose, and the stages are from seven to nine miles, according to the
nature of the country. When within half-a-mile of the first house where
relays are kept, the native coachman cracks his long, unwieldy whip,
which can be heard at a great distance. At this signal, the grooms
harness the four poneys whose turn for work it is; and, by the time your
carriage halts under the shed that crosses the road at every post-house,
the fresh poneys are to be seen coming out of the stable, all ready for
the next stage. Your attention is then attracted by a man with a stout
bamboo, some eight feet long, in his hand, full of water, which he pours
over the naves of the wheels, to cool them. By this time, the tired
poneys are unhooked, the fresh ones put-to, and away rattles the
carriage again with its delighted passengers. I know nothing more
exciting and agreeable than a ramble amongst the mountains of this
favoured isle, under the direction of the post establishment.
[Footnote 3: The Java poney in Her Majesty's stable at Windsor,
is certainly no fair specimen, being the worst-favoured brute
under the sun.]
From Samarang, early in 1824, I posted with a friend to Solo and
Djockdjocarta, the ancient seats of the Emperors and Sultans of this
part of Java. They are now shorn of their splendour; but they still
possess novelty enough to attract a stranger. On our route, we visited
some beautiful coffee-plantations, and passed through the pretty and
romantic-looking village of Salatiga.[4] We had a splendid view of the
far-famed _Gunung Marapi_, or fire-mountain; and, on every side, we saw
evidence of the thriving condition of this magnificent part of Java.
At Solo, I was so fortunate as to be present at the then Emperor's
marriage; a scene which brought painfully to mind the fallen state of
the chiefs of this neighbourhood, by its being superintended by the
Dutch Resident at the Court. There were three days' feasting, royal
salutes from the imperial guard, Javanese music, and dancing girls in
great numbers; but I found the whole affair very fatiguing. Fallen as
was the Emperor's state at that time, it subsequently became much more
reduced, in consequence of his having been found guilty of being
secretly concerned in the late war or rebellion. He has long since
followed his friend and coadjutor, Diepo Nogoro. A tool of the Dutch
Government now reigns in his stead, who cannot even leave his house for
twenty-four hours without permission from the Resident at his Court.
[Footnote 4: A name derived from the Malay words, _sallah_, "a
fault or crime," and _tiga_, the numeral "three"; consequently
meaning the "third fault." How this pretty spot came by such a
name, I never heard.]
One day, I accompanied a party of friends to see the Emperor's tigers, a
number of which animals he generally had ready for exhibitions similar
to those already described. We found one very noble fellow confined in a
house some fifteen feet square, formed of the trunks of cocoa-nut trees,
placed about five inches apart. On looking through, we saw the tiger in
the position usually chosen by a dog when he wants to warm his face at
the fire. Hearing our approach, he stared us steadily in the face for
about a minute, and then made a spring at us, so suddenly that he came
with his whole force against the bars, before we had time to move a
step. The shock shook the building, as well as our nerves, not a little,
though we were of course scatheless.
At Solo, I first tasted the Javanese "Findhorn haddock," which is, in
fact, a trout caught in the beautiful Solo river. After being cleaned,
it is wrapped up in a bundle of rice-straw, which is forthwith set on
fire; and as soon as the straw is consumed, the fish is ready for
eating, and really resembles in flavour its celebrated name-sake.
In the neighbourhood of Solo, a bold sportsman may find game to his
liking, and willing natives to guide him in his search after tigers,
wild hogs, the huge boa, deer, snipe, and quail. In pursuit of the last,
too many a fever is caught, through the imprudence of young men in
staying out too late in the day, and in keeping on their wet and soiled
clothes and shoes during their ride or drive home. A little attention to
such apparent trifles would save many a valuable life. Deer and wild-hog
are generally pursued and shot by a party armed with rifles, who post
themselves along one side of a jungle, while a party of natives advance
from the opposite, driving the game before them with long poles and
shouting. Great care must be taken by the sportsman, on these occasions,
not to fire too soon: if he fires into the jungle, he runs the risk of
shooting one of the bush-beaters; if to the right or left, he may plant
his bullet in the breast of one of his companions. He must reserve his
fire till the game is fairly out of the bush, and in rear of the line of
rifles, when he may turn round and deliver his charge. I recollect a
fatal accident happening near Salatiga, through a gentleman's deviating
from the strict rule, never to change your position when once placed by
the leading sportsman. A party were out after hogs by moonlight, when
one gentleman, thinking he heard a noise as of an approaching porker on
his left, very imprudently got on his hands and knees to crawl round in
the hope of getting the first shot. The sportsman stationed next to him
got a glimpse of him on the path, and mistaking him in the uncertain
light for a hog or other wild animal, fired his rifle without a moment's
hesitation, and mortally wounded his unfortunate friend, who lived just
long enough to acknowledge his error, and to beg that no blame might be
attached to the individual who caused his death. Poor fellow! he paid
dearly for his imprudence.
Solo is protected by a small fort, which is always garrisoned by
European troops, the Government not choosing to trust native soldiers in
that part of the country. For this, no one can blame the Dutch; for the
chiefs require looking after, and are apt to give trouble. While the
Island was held by the British Government, a mutiny broke out at Solo
among the Bengal sepoys: on its suppression, it was found they had been
tampered with by these chiefs, and that numbers had been gained over to
their cause.
Nothing can exceed the hospitality of the Dutch inhabitants of this part
of Java: their houses are always open to the stranger, of whom they
think too much cannot be made. The Resident's establishment is a
splendid one, and to his liberality and hospitality I can testify from
personal experience. Indeed, our countrymen, in many parts that I could
name, might, with great advantage to themselves and to travellers in
their districts, take lessons from their Dutch brethren in office.
From Solo, I went to Djockdjocarta, distant forty miles, in a gig. A
kind friend having placed relays of horses on the road for me, I
performed the journey with perfect ease, without the aid of a whip, in
four hours. The poney I had the last stage, was the best little animal
in harness I ever sat behind: he literally flew along the road. At one
point, I came to a bridge, which, as I could see at some distance, had
been broken, so as to render it impassable. While meditating how I was
to get across the river, not knowing there was a ford in the
neighbourhood, my poney, which had come the road in the morning to meet
me, settled the question, by suddenly darting off, through a gap in the
hedge at the road-side, down the river bank, at the top of his speed,
and, before I could collect my scattered senses, was across the stream
and up the opposite bank, to my no small surprise and pleasure. He was a
noble little animal, of a mouse colour; and was originally purchased
from a native dealer for twenty-eight guilders (about 2l. 6s. 8d.).
At Djockdjocarta are to be seen many ancient residences of the Javanese
Chiefs; amongst others, the celebrated _Cratan_ or palace, the taking of
which, in 1812, cost General Gillespie a hard struggle. It is surrounded
with a high wall, which encloses an area of exactly one square mile:
outside the wall runs a deep, broad ditch. The place could offer but a
feeble resistance against artillery, in which arm Gillespie was
deficient when he attacked and took it. Another curious building is that
in which the Sultans, in days of yore, used to keep their ladies: it is
composed entirely of long narrow passages, with numerous small rooms on
each side; each of which, in the days of their master's glory, was the
residence, according to tradition, of a beautiful favourite. To prevent
the escape of the ladies, or the intrusion of any gallants, the whole
pile is surrounded with a canal, which used to be filled with
alligators: the only entrance was by a subterranean passage beneath this
canal, and which ran under it for its whole length. When I visited the
place in 1824, the canal, passage, &c. were all in good order, though
the latter was getting damp from neglect;--a proof that the masons and
plasterers of Java, in old times, must have been very superior workmen.
Djockdjocarta was the birth-place of Diepo Nogoro, and the scene of his
earliest warlike movements against the Dutch. So unexpected and sudden
was his first attack, that he caught the garrison napping, and had them
within his grasp before they knew he was in the field.
In the _Cratan_, the Sultan had, in 1824, three noble elephants, each
kept under a separate shed. I went, with three other visitors, to see
those animals; and we passed sometime amusing ourselves by giving them
fruit and other dainties. We did not remark, however, that one of our
friends had been for sometime teasing one of them, by offering him a
plantain, and constantly withdrawing it just as the poor animal was
laying hold of it with his trunk. We had not gone twenty yards from the
spot, when the elephant's keeper approached, and gave him a couple of
cocoa-nuts, (minus the husk, but with the shells,)--part of his daily
food, I presume. The elephant took one of these, and, with a wicked look
at the gentleman who had been teasing him, threw the nut at him with
great force. Fortunately he missed his aim. The nut struck a post within
six inches of the teaser's head, and was literally smashed: had it
struck where doubtless it was meant to do, it would certainly have
proved as fatal as an eighteen-pound shot. So much for teasing
elephants. We beat a speedy retreat, not choosing to risk a second shot.
Djockdjocarta can hardly be called a town; yet it is more than a
village. The houses of the European inhabitants are much scattered, and
many of them occupy very pretty situations. The climate is delicious;
and exercise on horseback may be taken with impunity from six to nine
A. M., and from three to seven P. M. It is not uncommon to see Europeans
riding about during the intervening hours; but this is generally avoided
by old residents.
A successful attempt was made here, by a countryman of mine, in 1823, to
grow indigo. The quantity produced was limited, but the quality was
excellent; and, but for some vexatious regulations of the Government
regarding the residence of foreigners in this part of Java, which drove
the spirited individual alluded to from the neighbourhood, I have no
doubt he would speedily have realized a handsome fortune. Since that
period, indigo-planting has been carried on in various parts of Java to
a large extent. The quantity produced annually is now about one million
and a half of pounds; and the quality is such as to command the first
prices in the continental markets. Indeed, the Bengal planters are
becoming quite jealous of those of Java.
Shortly before my arrival at Djockdjocarta, a daring house-robbery, by
a band of Javanese, took place in the neighbourhood. Six of the robbers
were afterwards caught, tried, convicted, condemned, and executed _à la
Javan_ on the scene of their crime: they were tied hands and feet to
separate stakes, and _krissed_ by a native executioner, who performed
his dreadful office so scientifically that his victims died without a
groan. The cool indifference with which five of the unfortunates
witnessed the execution of the first sufferer, and successively received
the _kriss_ in their own bosoms, was quite surprising, and shewed with
what stoical composure the Mohammedan fatalist can meet a violent death.
The forests of Java are inhabited by the rhinoceros, tiger, black tiger,
leopard, tiger-cat, boa-constrictor, and a variety of animals of milder
natures. The elephant is not found in its wild state in these woods,
though numerous in those of the neighbouring island. I am not aware of
any other animal that may be called dangerous to man in these unrivalled
forests; nor is there much to be apprehended from occasionally coming in
contact with either of those above-named, though accidents happen now
and then. I have known a carriage and four attacked on the main road
between Batavia and Samarang, by a tiger, and one of the poneys killed
by the fierce onset. This, however, is a rare occurrence, and can happen
only when the tiger is hard pressed for food; which is seldom the case
in the woods of Java, overrun as they are with deer, wild-hog, and other
royal game. The boa is harmless to man, unless his path is crossed, when
a speedy retreat is advisable. A friend of mine in Samarang once kept
one of these monsters as a pet, and used to let him crawl all over the
garden: it measured exactly nineteen feet. It was regularly fed twice a
month, viz. on the 1st and the 15th. On the first day of the month, a
moderate-sized goat was put into his house. The poor animal would
scream, and exhibit every symptom of extreme terror, but was not kept
long in suspense; for the snake, after eyeing his victim keenly, would
spring on it with the rapidity of thought, coil three turns round the
body, and in an instant every bone in the goat's skin was broken. The
next process was, to stretch the carcass to as great a length as he
could before uncoiling himself; then to lick it all over; and he
commenced his feast by succeeding, after some severe exertion, in
getting the goat's head within his mouth. In the course of twenty
minutes, the whole animal was swallowed: the snake would then lie down,
and remain perfectly dormant for three or four days. His lunch (as I may
call it) on the fifteenth of the month, used to consist of a duck. This
snake was given, in 1815, to Lord Amherst, on his return from China, and
reached the Cape in safety: there it was over-fed to gratify the
curious visitors, and died in consequence before the ship reached St.
Helena.
While on the subject of wild animals, I may mention a leopard that was
kept by an English officer in Samarang, during our occupation of the
Dutch colonies. This animal had its liberty, and used to run all over
the house after its master. One morning, after breakfast, the officer
was sitting smoking his hookah, with a book in his right-hand, and the
hookah-snake in his left, when he felt a slight pain in the left hand,
and, on attempting to raise it, was checked by a low angry growl from
his pet leopard: on looking down, he saw the animal had been licking the
back of his hand, and had by degrees drawn a little blood. The leopard
would not suffer the removal of the hand, but continued licking it with
great apparent relish, which did not much please his master; who, with
great presence of mind, without attempting again to disturb the pet in
his proceeding, called to his servant to bring him a pistol, with which
he shot the animal dead on the spot. Such pets as snakes nineteen feet
long and full-grown leopards are not to be trifled with. The largest
snake I ever saw was twenty-five feet long, and eight inches in
diameter. I have _heard_ of sixty-feet snakes, but cannot vouch for the
truth of the tale.
In my enumeration of animals dangerous to man, I omitted the alligator,
which infests every river and muddy creek in Java, and grows to a very
large size. At the mouth of the Batavia river, they are very numerous
and dangerous, particularly to Europeans. It strikes one as
extraordinary, to see the copper-coloured natives bathing in the river
within view of a large alligator: they never seem to give the animal a
thought, or to anticipate injury from his proximity. Yet, were a
European to enter the water by the side of the natives, his minutes in
this world would be few. I recollect an instance that occurred on the
occasion of a party of troops embarking at Batavia for the eastward,
during the Java war. The men had all gone off, with the exception of
three sergeants, who were to follow in the ship's jolly-boat, which was
waiting for them at the wharf: two of them stepped into the boat; but
the third, in following, missed his footing, and fell with his leg in
the water, and his body over the gunwale of the boat. In less than an
instant, an alligator darted from under the wharf, and seized the
unfortunate man by the leg, while his companions in the boat laid hold
of his shoulders. The poor fellow called out to his friends, "Pull; hold
on; don't let go"; but their utmost exertions were unavailing. The
alligator proved the strongest, and carried off his prize. The scene was
described to me by a bystander, who said, he could trace the monster's
course all the way down the river with his victim in his immense mouth.
The inhabitants of Java are, generally speaking, a quiet, tractable
race, but rather lazy withal. The Dutch Government could never have made
the Island produce half the quantity it now yields of either sugar,
coffee, or rice, without a little wholesome coercion;--coercion that
seemed somewhat tyrannical at first, but which has ultimately pleased
all parties concerned, and done wonders for Java. If my memory serves
me, it was in the time of Governor Vandenborch that this system of
coercion commenced. The inhabitants of the villages, in various parts of
the Island, were compelled by an armed force, when milder means had
failed, to turn out at day-light, and labour in the fields planted
either by Government itself or by Government contractors, which
naturally caused a great deal of discontent; but, as the labourers were
regularly paid in cash for their day's work every evening, they very
soon became reconciled to a system that not only provided amply for
their families, but gave them the means of indulging in their favourite
pastime, gambling. To this vice, all classes are passionately addicted;
and nothing is more common than to see a gang of coolies sit down in the
middle of the road, and gamble for hours on the few pieces they may have
just earned for having carried a heavy burthen a couple of miles. The
inhabitants of the districts in which the coercion I speak of has been
put in force, are now better satisfied with their rulers than ever they
were before.
The extent to which the growth of coffee and sugar has been carried, has
rather checked that of rice, which has been twenty-five per cent. dearer
the last fifteen years, than during the preceding twenty: it is,
however, still cheap enough as an article of food, though the price is
too high to compete, in the China or Singapore markets, with the produce
of Lombok, Bally, Siam, or Cochin China.[5]
[Footnote 5: By the last overland papers from Singapore (Sept.
1845), I observe, the Dutch Government has been importing rice
from Pondicherry to Java;--a proceeding quite unprecedented in
my time, and to be accounted for only by the extent to which
the cultivation of sugar, indigo, and coffee is carried, in
order to satisfy the constant demands on the colonies of the
Netherlands for money. To this cause may be added, however, the
occurrence of one or two dry seasons;--a rare phenomenon within
the tropics, and attributable, probably, in some degree, to the
vast extent of country recently cleared of forest and jungle to
make way for the plough. No policy can be so blind as that
which compels the poor Javanese to eat imported rice, while
living in a country capable of yielding food for all Europe.]
Slavery still exists in Java, and every Dutch family has its domestic
slaves. The law forbids the importation of fresh ones, and provides for
the good treatment of those now in bondage. It also prohibits the
slave-owner from separating a family; so that the wife and husband
cannot be parted from each other, or from their children, except in the
case of a crime having been committed by a member of the family. In that
case, the guilty party is, on application to the chief magistrate, put
up to auction, and sold to the highest bidder. This, however, is a rare
occurrence, though I have witnessed such sales. The slaves, knowing well
the consequence of an act of dishonesty, are cautious how they venture
to trespass on the rights of _meum_ and _tuum_. I may safely say, I have
never, in all my wanderings, seen a race of people better treated than
the slaves of Java: they are well fed and well clothed; and adults of
both sexes receive a monthly allowance of two guilders (3s. 4d.) under
the name of pocket-money. This sum may seem small; but, when we take
into consideration, that a free man can be hired for eight guilders per
month in Batavia, and for six in the country, on which sum he has to
feed and clothe himself and his wife and children, it will be
sufficiently evident that the slave's allowance is ample, his master
feeding and clothing him and his family. I object _in toto_ to slavery
in any form; but I confess I do not think the slaves of Java would be
benefitted, were their liberty given them to-morrow.
The natives of Java are by no means free from that prevalent Eastern
vice, or luxury, opium-smoking; and the Dutch Government derives an
immense revenue from the article. I have, in various parts of the
Eastern world, seen the evil effects of opium-smoking; but am decidedly
of opinion, that those arising from gin-drinking in England, and from
whisky-drinking in Ireland and Scotland, far exceed them. Let any
unprejudiced European walk through the native towns of Java, Singapore,
or China, and see if he can find a single drunken native. What he will
meet with are, numbers of drunken English, Scotch, and Irish seamen,
literally rolling in the gutters, intoxicated, not from opium, but from
rum and other spirits sent all the way from England for the purpose of
enabling her worthy sons to exhibit themselves to Chinese and other
nations in this disgraceful light. That spirit-drinking at home is no
excuse for opium-smoking abroad, I admit; but I would recommend the
well-intentioned persons who have of late been raising such an outcry on
the subject of opium, to begin at home, and attempt to reform their own
countrymen: they may then come to China with a clear conscience, and
preach reform to the poor opium-smoker.
Among other improvements in Java, its rulers have lately turned their
attention to the cultivation of tea, and with considerable success so
far as regards the quality, I have no means of ascertaining the quantity
of tea at present produced yearly; but have no doubt it will, before
long, become an important article of export from the Island.
Before quitting Java, I must say a word about the far-famed upas-tree.
Such a tree certainly exists on the island; but the tales that are told
of its poisoning the air for hundreds of yards round, so that birds dare
not approach it, that vegetation is destroyed beneath its branches, and
that man cannot come near it with impunity, are perfectly ridiculous. To
prove their absurdity, a friend of mine climbed up a upas-tree, and
passed two hours in its branches, where he took his lunch and smoked a
cigar. The tree, however, does contain poison, and the natives extract
the sap, with which they rub their spear and _kriss_ blades: wounds
inflicted with blades thus anointed, are mortal. Such I believe to be
the origin of the many fabulous stories that have passed from hand to
hand, and from generation to generation, about the upas-tree of Java.
CHAPTER III.
SINGAPORE.
ADVANTAGEOUS POSITION OF SINGAPORE--CULTIVATION
OF THE NUTMEG AND COCOA-NUT--ROADS AND SCENERY--
MOTLEY POPULATION--EUROPEAN RESIDENTS--CHINESE
EMIGRANTS--KLINGS--SAMPAN-MEN--PLACES OF
WORSHIP--TIGERS.
In the month of May 1824, I returned from my trip to the eastward, and
was kept tightly at work in Batavia, till fate sent me wandering in July
1826. Singapore was the first place I visited; and to it, therefore, I
must devote the next few pages of these retrospective lucubrations.
Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles deserved a great deal of credit and praise
from the mercantile community of Britain, for having established this
emporium of trade. A more lovely or better situation could not have been
chosen; and its surprising prosperity has more than realized its
founder's expectations, sanguine as they were. Since 1826, I have
resided some considerable time in Singapore; have witnessed its progress
towards its present nourishing condition; and am sufficiently well
acquainted with its trade and its inhabitants to enable me to speak
confidently respecting them. The Island itself, though only seventy-six
miles from the Equator, enjoys a delightful climate, and is remarkable
for salubrity. Its proximity to the Line secures frequent refreshing
showers, and its foliage is in consequence always in the full bloom of
summer. During an acquaintance with it of eighteen years, I have never
known a drought of more than three weeks' duration. Its soil, with
little tillage, produces the nutmeg, the clove, coffee, the cocoa-nut,
the sugar-cane, the pepper-vine, gambia or terra japonica, and all the
fruits common to Malacca and Java. The East-India Company's regulations
regarding land checked, for a few years, the spirit of the
agriculturist; but, within the last ten years, a few spirited and
praiseworthy individuals have laid out considerable sums of money in
nutmeg, coffee, sugar, and cocoa-nut plantations. It is a somewhat
doubtful point, in my opinion, whether sugar or coffee plantations on
this island will ever pay; but, of the nutmeg and cocoa-nut groves, I
have the best opinion, and think their proprietors have a very fair
chance of ultimately being well paid for their outlay. Of the nutmeg
gardens, that of Dr. Oxley's is by far the finest on the island. This
gentleman has spared neither trouble nor expense in bringing his plants
forward, and has now five thousand of the very finest nutmeg-trees I
ever saw. Nothing can be finer than their beautiful position, tasteful
outlay, and luxuriant foliage. It is now eighteen months since I last
saw those trees: they were then just coming into bearing; and they are
now, I hope, paying their spirited proprietor for his monthly outlay at
all events, though it may be a few years yet before they return him
interest for his money, and adequate remuneration for his trouble.
A plantation of ten or fifteen thousand cocoa-nut trees is a more
valuable property than many people imagine. As soon as they come into
bearing, which they do in five years from seed, they are worth
three-quarters of a dollar each per annum net profit, after paying the
labourers: thus, fifteen thousand of them will yield their proprietor
10,250 dollars per annum, (_i. e._ at the moderate calculation of 4s. 2d.
to the dollar, 2135l. 8s. 4d. sterling,) a sum that would cover all the
outlay incurred during the five nonproductive years, and be a secure
revenue to the owner of the estate for ever, provided that he is careful
in replacing the old trees, as fast as they die, with new plants.
My reasons for doubting the success of coffee-plantations in Singapore
are, that there is not sufficient depth of soil for the tree, and that,
if there were, labour is too high to enable the planters to compete with
those of Java. As regards sugar, Singapore being a sugar-importing
colony, its own produce pays, on being imported into England, 8s. per
hundred-weight more duty than the produce of non-importing British
colonies.[6] The high price of labour is also against the sugar-planter.
An able-bodied labourer costs, in Singapore, four dollars per month,
while the same man can be had in the mountains of Java for three
guilders in money, and the value of two in rice. Thus, the Singapore
planter pays more than double the rate of wages for his labour; and, as
his lands are not so rich as his neighbour's, he stands, I fear, but a
poor chance in the competition with him.
[Footnote 6: Since my arrival in England, an Act has been
passed, removing, in some measure, this bar to the prosperity
of the Singapore sugar-planter;--I allude to the recent
reduction in the duty on all sugars, excepting slave-grown. The
Singaporeans are naturally anxious to be allowed to send their
sugars to the English market on the same terms as their
brethren of Prince of Wales' Island have lately been permitted
to do. This they can hardly expect, however, while they
continue to be such large importers of Siam and other foreign
sugars as they are and always have been. To require them to
give up this foreign trade, would do them far more injury than
the granting of their planters' petition would benefit them.]
To the eastward of the town of Singapore, extends a considerable plain,
on which the sugar and cocoa-nut plantations stand. To the westward and
inland of the town, the country consists almost entirely of hill and
dale; and its aspect is very striking and picturesque. On many of these
miniature (for they are but miniature) hills, stand pretty _bungalows_,
surrounded with nutmeg and fruit trees: they are delightful residences,
and have the very great advantage of cool nights, when the tired planter
or merchant can enjoy a sound sleep after the fatigues of a hot day.
A great deal has been done for Singapore by gangs of convicts from
Bengal, Madras, and Bombay, who, under an experienced and able
superintendent, have cut and made excellent roads, that now extend east,
west, north, and south, for several miles. Cutting these roads has
drained, and thereby rendered available, large tracts of land that were
recently quite valueless: they also add much to the enjoyment of the
Singaporean, by enabling him to extend his ride or drive of an evening.
The scenery along the different roads consists of hills and dales,
covered with the richest and most luxuriant foliage, with here and there
a clearing, where some industrious China-man has squatted, in defiance
of tigers and East-India Company's regulations. Now that land can be got
on better terms than formerly, these clearings are being purchased by
Europeans of the squatter,--whose prior right the Government always
protects to the extent of a fair remuneration for his labour,--and are
being turned into gardens or plantations. This drives back the
squatter, who, like his brethren all over the world, is ever willing to
sell and move further inland; thus materially increasing the extent of
cleared land from year to year. The primeval jungles of Singapore are so
thickly timbered and covered with underwood and large, tough creepers,
that the man who undertakes to clear them has before him an Herculean
task. According to the best information I could obtain, it requires a
cash outlay of sixty dollars to clear a single acre; and even that large
sum does not thoroughly stump it (_i. e._ clear off all the large roots
and stumps of the larger trees) for the planting of coffee, nutmegs, or
pepper. For these, however, this is less necessary, as the plants are
placed at a considerable distance from each other: for sugar, it is very
desirable to have every stump taken out.
Swamps abound on the island: fortunately, they are all salt-water
swamps, and flooded daily by the tide, which keeps them sweet, so that
no one suffers from residing in their neighbourhood.
A full description of the inhabitants of Singapore would fill a volume,
they are of so many countries. Here may be seen, besides Europeans of
different nations, and Americans, the Jew, the Armenian, the Persian,
the Parsee, the Arab, the Bengalee, the Malabaree, the China-man, the
Malay, the Javanese, the Siamese, the Cochin Chinese, with the native of
Borneo, of Macassar, and of every island of the Eastern Archipelago;
all in the costumes of their respective countries, and forming motley
groupes that can nowhere be surpassed. With the exception of the
Europeans, Americans, and Armenians, each class occupies a distinct
quarter of the town, mixing but little with the rest, except in business
hours, when one and all may be seen in eager converse on the
all-important subject of money-making.
Europeans generally live in garden-houses in the suburbs. The favourite
situation is along the beach to the eastward of the town, from which the
merchant has a full view of the harbour, as well as of both its
entrances, and can see every vessel that comes or goes. Pleasant,
however, as is this part of the suburbs, it is gradually being deserted
for country situations, where the hot winds of July, August, and
September are not so much felt, and where the nights are cooler than on
the sea-shore. The houses generally occupied by these gentlemen, are
large and roomy, with verandahs in front and rear, enclosed with
Venetian blinds: these are kept shut from ten A. M. till four P. M., which
darkens the house so much that a visiter can with difficulty see his
host or hostess for two or three minutes after entering a room, till the
pupils of his eyes, contracted by the glare on the road, expand, and
enable him to distinguish objects. This custom keeps the house
wonderfully cool, and is universally adopted by newcomers after the
first few months of their residence. The Chinese occupy the next best
part of the town, and many of them have built substantial and commodious
houses. A portion of this class are the descendants of Chinese who
settled at Malacca two hundred years ago: they have never been to China,
and speak Malay much more fluently than they do their own language.
Numbers of them keep their families at Malacca, having superstitious
objections to a final removal far from the graves of their ancestors.
The real Chinese emigrant looks on Singapore only as a temporary home,
and invariably remits something every year, according to his means, to
his aged parents, wife, or sisters. He usually consoles himself for his
absence from his wife, by taking to himself another of the country he
resides in: the offspring of this second marriage is always properly
cared for on the father's return to China, where he probably takes the
eldest boy to be educated.
The Chinese junks bring annually to this part of the world, from six to
eight thousand emigrants, ninety-nine-hundredths of whom land without a
sixpence in the world beyond the clothes they stand in. The consequence
of this is, that those who cannot succeed in obtaining immediate
employment, take to thieving, from necessity; and some daring gang
robberies are committed every year. They do not, however, long continue
this mode of life; for the eight thousand new comers soon scatter, and
find employment either on the Island, in the tin-mines of Banca, or on
the Malayan peninsula.
Ship-loads of these men have been sent to the Mauritius, where they have
given general satisfaction; and no better class of emigrants could be
found for the West Indies. A tight curb on a China-man will make him do
a great deal of work: at the same time, he has spirit enough to resist
real ill treatment. All the mechanics and house-builders, and many
boatmen and fishermen of Singapore, are Chinese.
Of the other inhabitants, the most numerous are the Malabarees, who are
principally employed as shopkeepers, and are as knowing in the art of
bargain-driving as any tradesmen of London or Paris. They generally go
here under the denomination of "_Klings_," an appellation synonymous, in
the Singapore vocabulary, with "scamp," to which I have no inclination
to dispute their title. The boats employed to carry cargoes to and from
the shipping in the harbour, are almost all manned by these _Klings_;
and excellent boatmen they are. When pulling off a heavily-laden boat,
they cheer their labour by a song, led, in general, by the steersman,
the crew joining in chorus. They are a willing, hard-working race,
though rather given to shut their eyes to the difference between _meum_
and _tuum_. The original Malay inhabitants of this Island are now the
most insignificant, both as to numbers and as to general utility, of the
many races that are found on it. From this remark must be excepted,
however, the _sampan_-men, who are of great service to the mercantile
community. In their fast-sailing _sampans_ (a superior sort of canoe,
peculiar to the place), they go out ten, fifteen, and even twenty miles,
to meet any ship that may be signalized as approaching the harbour. They
are usually employed to attend a ship during her stay here, few masters
choosing to trust their crews on shore in boats. Of late years, reports
have been in circulation of a suspected connection between the
sampan-men and the Malay pirates in the neighbourhood; but I question
their having any foundation in fact. Those Malay families whose young
men are thus employed as _sampan_-men, are called _Orang-Laut_, or
"People of the sea," from their living entirely afloat. The middle of
the river just opposite the town of Singapore, is crowded with boats
about twenty feet long by five wide, in which these poor people are
born, live, and die. They are wretched abodes, but are preferred, from
long custom I fancy, by their inhabitants, who, if they chose, could
find room on shore to build huts that would cost less than these marine
dwellings.
Each different class of the inhabitants of the Island have their own
place of worship. The English Church, built in 1836 by a contribution
from the Government and a subscription among the European inhabitants,
is a handsome building in a central situation, capable of holding four
times as many people as are likely to be ever collected within it: it is
neatly fitted up, but lacked a steeple, or even a belfry. This
deficiency, however, is about to be supplied by a subscription raised at
the suggestion of the Bishop of Calcutta, during his last official visit
to this portion of his immense diocese.[7]
[Footnote 7: Since this was written, the Chapel has been much
improved, and an elegant steeple added to it. There seems to be
some fatality attaching to Clergymen at Singapore. The last
three incumbents, Messrs. Burn, Darrah, and White, all died
young, and of the same complaint, namely, diseased liver. My
own opinion is, that they were all three too strict adherents
to teetotalism. In warm climates, a moderate and rather liberal
allowance of wine, I believe to be absolutely necessary.]
The Chinese pagoda is a splendid building, according to the celestial
taste in such matters, and is really well worth seeing: the carving and
general fitting-up of the interior are very beautiful, and substantial
enough to make one believe they will last a thousand years, as the
Chinese say they will. In the centre, the Queen of Heaven is seen decked
forth in robes of the most superb figured satin, richly embroidered
with gold; robes that the wealthiest dames of the proudest cities of
Europe might envy, but the like to which they never can possess. Her
Majesty was brought from China; and the owner of the junk in which she
came, would not receive a penny as freight for the room she occupied. On
her arrival in Singapore harbour, the whole Chinese population of the
Island turned out to see her land, and paraded her through the town,
with all the noise they could by any possibility extract from about a
thousand gongs. The building in which she has taken up her quarters,
cost 40,000 Spanish dollars, and does credit to the Chinese workmen of
Singapore. One day, shortly after the building of this temple, I asked
an intelligent and wealthy Chinese, how often he went to it. His answer,
in broken English, ran thus: "Sometime one moon, sometime two moon.
Suppose I want ask God for something, I go churchee. Suppose I no want
ask any thing, what for I go?" On my asking whether he never went to
return thanks for past favours, he seemed to think my question a very
silly one, and said, "No use."
The American Chapel is a remarkably neat little building. Besides these,
there is no other place of worship in Singapore worthy of notice.
Before quitting the subject of the inhabitants of this land of perpetual
summer, I must mention one class which the others would gladly get rid
of: I allude to the tigers of a large size which abound here, and which,
having cleared the jungles of wild-hog and jackalls, and nearly so of
deer, have lately commenced preying on man, to whom they have become a
most formidable and dreaded foe. Were I to set down the number of
unfortunate individuals who have, since 1839, been killed by these lords
of the forests, I should scarcely expect to be credited. Let any one
look over the newspapers of the Island for the last five or six years,
and they will tell him a tale of horror that will make his blood freeze.
Many of the more distant gambia-plantations have been deserted by their
proprietors in consequence of the ravages of these monsters. Government,
in the hope of remedying or mitigating the evil, offered a reward of one
hundred dollars for every tiger brought in alive or dead; but so dense
are the jungles in which they seek shelter, that their pursuers have
hitherto been far from successful. One is brought in now and then, for
which the captor receives his reward, and sells the flesh for some forty
dollars more; for the reader must know, that the flesh of a tiger is
readily purchased and eagerly eaten by the Chinese, under the notion
that some of the courage of the animal will be thereby instilled into
them. Some time before I left the Island, a Malay fell in with two tiger
cubs in the woods, and captured one of them: next day, he went back,
like a fool, alone, in search of the other, when the dam captured and
made a meal of him; a lesson to his countrymen, which has effectually
cured them of meddling with tiger-whelps. On another occasion, a
China-man, having set a trap for tigers, took a walk out about midnight,
to see if his plan had been successful. He paid dearly for his temerity,
being carried off by some prowling monster; and his mangled body was
found near the place a few days afterwards.
CHAPTER IV.
SINGAPORE.
TRADE OF SINGAPORE--CHINESE TRADERS--BUGIS
TRADERS--SIAMESE AND COCHIN CHINESE--ARAB
SMUGGLERS--BORNEO--TRADE WITH CALCUTTA--
COMMERCIAL PROSPECTS.
The trade of Singapore has, until within the last three years, gone on
increasing; but it has now, in the opinion of many people, reached its
ultimatum. The harbour is visited regularly by native vessels from all
the neighbouring islands, as well as from the Continent; and I shall
proceed to notice the nature and value of their trade, respectively,
class by class.
And first as to the China junks. These unwieldy vessels visit the Island
in numbers varying from one hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty
per annum, their size ranging from fifty to five hundred tons: they are
manned and navigated entirely by Chinese. They of course come with the
monsoon, and reach Singapore in the months of January, February, and
March. Their cargoes form a very material item in the trade of the
place, and consist of tea, raw silk, camphor, Nankin (both yellow and
blue), immense quantities of coarse earthenware, and supplies of all
kinds for the myriads of Chinese that reside on this and the
neighbouring islands. The season of their arrival is one of great
activity in the Chinese bazaars, and gives an impulse to the trade of
the importer of Manchester and Glasgow manufactures. Their commanders
and supercargoes are cautious dealers, and usually sound the market well
before disposing of their commodities. Sometimes, however, they
overstand their market, and suffer by refusing the first offers made.
This was particularly the case in the season of 1841, in the article of
tea, which fell in price with every overland mail that came in, making
these wary men rue their having declined the offers that had been made
them previously. Most of them are opium-smokers; and their countrymen,
with whom they deal, take care to keep them well supplied with this
luxury, and obtain many a good bargain from them when under its
influence.
The export cargoes of this class of vessels consist principally of raw
cotton, cotton yarn, cotton goods, opium, béche-de-mer or sea slug,
pepper, tin, rattans, edible birds'-nests, deers' sinews, sharks' fins,
fish maws, &c. Of the first three articles, they have of late taken
annually the following quantities:--raw cotton, 20,000 bales of 300
lbs. each; cotton goods, 50,000 pieces of 40 yards each; opium, 2000
chests of 164 lbs. each; the aggregate value of which I put down, in
round numbers, at two millions of dollars.
Many of the small junks that arrive with the last of the north-east
monsoon in April, are fast-sailing craft, and come expressly for opium,
to pay for which they bring nothing but bullion: they take their
departure early in May, and smuggle the drug into Canton by paying the
usual bribe to the Mandarins. All the large junks have sailed on their
return voyage by the end of June. Some few of them that waited in 1841
till the middle of July, in the hope of getting opium cheaper than their
neighbours who sailed earlier, encountered heavy gales in the Chinese
sea; and one or two of them were lost with valuable cargoes. This lesson
has not been lost upon their successors, who have since taken care to
run no such risks. Advantage is taken of the opportunity afforded by the
return of these junks, every season, by the Chinese residents, to make
remittances to their families in China; and the masters of them are
entrusted with their remittances, which usually consist of money,
though, occasionally, rice and other useful articles are sent. The
shipper pays the master a per-centage on the sum transmitted; and
instances of fraud on the part of the latter are extremely rare. A boy
about fourteen years of age whom I had as a servant in my house at
Singapore, used to ask me for a month's wages in advance, to send to his
mother in Macao. Hundreds of similar instances might be adduced. This is
one of the bright traits in the Chinese character.
The native traders next in importance to the Chinese, are the Bugis.
These arrive in October and November, bringing in their uncouth-looking
vessels, large quantities of coffee of very good quality, gold-dust,
tortoise-shell, native clothes (celebrated all over the Archipelago for
their durability), béche-de-mer, deer-sinews, rice, &c. They come from
the different ports on the islands of Celebes, &c., but principally from
Macassar. They are a shrewd race, but are no match for their Chinese
competitors. On the arrival of a boat, her _hakoda_ (or commander) lands
with nearly every man on board; and he may be seen walking all over the
place for a few days before making any bargain. They are a troublesome
set to deal with, and require the exercise of more patience than a
European in these parts generally possesses. They are, however, always
received with a hearty welcome by the Chinese of the Island, who,
inviting them to be seated, immediately hand round the _siri-box_
(betel-nut, arica leaf, &c.) among them; and over this universal luxury,
they will sit and talk on business matters for hours, during which time
it may be fairly calculated that both host and guests tell a lie per
minute, without betraying by their countenances the slightest
consciousness of having been thus engaged. This strange sort of
preliminary negotiation goes on, probably, for a week; at the end of
which the passer-by may see the contents of the different Bugis boats
entering the Chinese shops or stores, as the case may be. On getting rid
of his import cargo, the Bugis trader takes a few days more to rest and
refresh himself, before he begins looking round for a return cargo,
which usually consists of opium, iron, steel, cotton yarn, cotton goods,
gold thread, &c. He seldom or never takes money away with him. On an
average, two hundred of these boats come to Singapore in the fall of the
year, each manned by about thirty men. Their crews are not allowed to
land armed with the _kriss_ or any other weapon; a wise precaution, as
they are rather too fond of having recourse to them in the event of any
quarrel or misunderstanding with those with whom they deal.
Notwithstanding this salutary regulation, I have witnessed serious
disturbances, ending, on more than one occasion, in bloodshed, between
these traders and the bazaar shopkeepers of Singapore. What I refer to
occurred many years ago, however, and is not very likely to happen
again, as the reins are kept much tighter over them than of yore. They
are essentially a maritime people, and are not, as far as I have ever
heard, addicted to piracy. They generally sail in small fleets, and are
quite prepared to defend themselves against the common Malay pirate, who
meets a stout resistance when he meddles with them. Like most, or, I may
say, all the inhabitants of this part of the world, they deal more or
less in slaves; and it would not be difficult to prove their having sold
boys and girls in Singapore within these ten years, though I firmly
believe that the disgraceful traffic has been put an entire stop to of
late. These men visit, during the months in which the south-east monsoon
prevails, Torres Straits, and the numerous islands in that
neighbourhood, for the purpose of gathering béche-de-mer and
tortoise-shell. They pick up, also, slaves from Papua (New Guinea), for
whom they find a ready market in Celebes. Our settlement of Port
Essington has long been a favourite resort of the Bugis trader; and were
the Government to encourage Chinese and other settlers, by giving them
grants of land, to establish themselves there, there can be no doubt
that it would soon become a very important place, instead of a mere
military station, or rather place of banishment, for some fifty royal
marines. As for its being a refuge for shipwrecked seamen, I have never
heard of an instance of a crew of the numerous vessels annually lost in
Torres Straits seeking shelter there. This state of affairs would be
altered, however, were the port thrown open to the commercial world. As
it is, a shipwrecked crew landing there, might have to remain a
twelvemonth for an opportunity to get away again; consequently, every
seaman placed in that unfortunate position, pushes on in his open boat
to the Dutch settlements on the island of Timor.
Next in importance to the Bugis, I may rank the Siamese and Cochin
Chinese traders, who arrive at Singapore during the north-east monsoon.
The trade of these two countries used to be carried on entirely in junks
peculiar to each of them respectively; but the state of things has been
materially altered of late. The sovereigns of Siam and Cochin China have
recently built and fitted-out several square-rigged vessels, those of
Siam being commanded by Europeans, and manned by natives of that
country. These vessels are the private property of the kings whose flags
they bear, and are loaded on their account and at their risk. Their
cargoes consist principally of sugar and rice, which find ready
purchasers in Singapore. The sugar of Siam is of very superior quality,
and is sent up in large quantities to Bombay, whence it finds its way up
the Indus and the Persian Gulf. The rice of Siam is a superior article,
and has of late been sent in considerable quantities to London. The
grain is liable to the disadvantage of not keeping so well as that of
Bengal or Java; but this fault might, I think, be obviated, partially at
all events, by adopting the Calcutta plan of putting a pound or two of
rice-dust and lime into each bag: this not only tends to preserve the
rice, but repels the destructive weavil; a little black insect that
makes its appearance in wheat and rice, in immense numbers, in those
warm latitudes.
The Cochin Chinese ships generally bring each four thousand _peculs_ of
sugar, which is of three qualities; namely, sixteen hundred _peculs_ of
first quality, the same quantity of second, and eight hundred _peculs_
of the third sort. The first two are good articles, though not equal to
the sugars of Siam. The cargoes of these ships are so carefully put up,
that I have purchased and re-shipped them without opening or weighing
more than five bags out of each hundred, and have never had cause to
repent the confidence thus placed in the seller, who is an _employé_ of
His Cochin Chinese Majesty. In addition to sugar and rice, the Siamese
vessels bring gamboge and cocoa-nut oil of a superior quality: the
former is bought up for the London and Continental markets, and the
latter for consumption in the Straits' settlements. Notwithstanding the
monopolizing system of the sovereigns of the two countries just
mentioned, the trade by junks is still carried on to a limited extent:
their cargo consists of the same articles as the kings' ships bring; and
their owners make money in spite of monopoly and of the iron rod with
which they are ruled.
At the commencement of the rupture between Great Britain and China, His
Siamese Majesty thought proper to follow the example of his Celestial
Brother, and to interdict the trade in opium, which used to flourish in
his dominions. His proclamation prohibiting the trade, came so suddenly
upon the parties concerned in it, and took effect so immediately, that
many of the opium-traders went into his capita of Bang-kok with their
usual cargoes, in utter ignorance of what had taken place, and found
their vessels seized, their cargoes confiscated, and themselves put in
irons and thrown into prison, where they were kept till the interference
of the Singapore Government procured their release as British subjects
trading under the English flag. The restriction on this trade has not
yet been removed (1844); nor is it likely to be, till the king finds
himself in want of money, when he will be glad to allow his subjects to
resume a traffic that yielded him a large revenue in former days.
Siam produces teak timber of excellent quality, which can be had on very
reasonable terms; and of this, the ship-builders of Singapore do not
fail to take advantage. A portion of the Cochin Chinese trade is
carried on in vessels so small and so frail, that it is astonishing that
men can be found to navigate with them the dangerous Chinese Sea: they
do not exceed thirty tons burthen. Being wholly unprovided with
defensive weapons of any description, many of them are annually taken by
the Malay pirates as soon as they make their appearance inside Point
Romania, at the mouth of Singapore Strait. They are lateen-rigged with
mat sails, are fast sailers, hold a good wind, and have a very pretty
appearance when entering the harbour in fleets of fifteen or twenty
sail.
Singapore is annually visited by a large fleet of vessels from all parts
of Java: the most important of these are what are commonly called Arab
ships, that is, ships fitted out and owned by Arabs residing in Java.
They carry the Dutch flag, are commanded by Arabs, and manned by
Javanese. If fame does not belie them, these Arab commanders are
notorious smugglers. This is certain; that they take goods from
Singapore in exchange for the coffee, sugar, rice, &c., which they bring
from Java, and that they give prices that would leave them no margin for
profit, if His Netherlands Majesty's duties were paid on them. For this
sort of illicit trade, the coast of Java offers many facilities in its
numerous small rivers, with which the Arab ship-master is intimately
acquainted. The article of opium, though strictly prohibited by the
authorities of Java, is taken by the Arabs from Singapore in
considerable quantities, notwithstanding the pains and penalties
attached to its being found on board their vessels; and smuggled into
Java the drug most undoubtedly is, let the Dutchmen boast of their spies
and custom-house establishment as they will. These Arab ships are built
of teak, ranging from one hundred and fifty to five hundred tons per
register, and are altogether remarkably fine vessels.
From the islands of Lombok and Bally, directly eastward of Java, the
market of Singapore receives a large annual supply of rice of fair
quality, a small quantity of coffee, and some coarse native cloths, to
which I may add, a few good stout poneys. The boats from these islands
resemble those from Celebes, and are sometimes classed among the Bugis
traders: they carry back, as return cargoes, opium, muskets, copper
cash, a little gold and silver thread, cotton yarn, and cotton
manufactures. These islands have their own Rajahs and laws, but are
narrowly watched and kept in check by their neighbours, the Dutch.
Borneo, notwithstanding its vast extent and immense internal wealth, has
but a limited external trade. Boats from Sambas, Pontianack, and Borneo
Proper, visit Singapore every year, from May till October, and bring
with them black pepper, Malay camphor, gold-dust, rattans, &c. Most
wretched boats they are, and, according to the accounts given to me by
their _hakodas_ (commanders), very difficult to keep afloat when laden.
Little can be said in favour of the natives of the sea-coast of Borneo,
which is, and has been for ages, the haunt of pirates. Many vessels,
particularly native _proas_, have been plundered, and their crews
murdered or carried into slavery, by the marauders of this inhospitable
shore; and it is not twenty years since a visit to it was considered as
highly dangerous even in a well-armed vessel. Whole fleets of piratical
boats ascend from time to time the rivers of this island, and plunder
the native villages, carrying off the females and children as slaves,
murdering the adult males, and setting fire to the houses. The
proceedings of these vagabonds have received some severe checks, of late
years, from the operations of a spirited and enterprising individual,
Mr. James Brooke, whose well-known zeal and activity are beyond all
praise. An occasional visit also from one of Her Majesty's ships, has
done much good; and the recent operations of Capt. Keppel of the Dido,
gave them a check they will not soon get over. The ascertained existence
of extensive veins of coal on the banks of the river of Borneo Proper,
will render that neighbourhood of great importance, on the completion of
the line of steam communication from Ceylon to Hong Kong, _viâ_
Singapore. I believe there is no doubt either as to the large quantity
of coal to be had there, or as to its superior quality. But, upon the
subject of Borneo, I shall have a few words more to say hereafter.
The trade between Calcutta and the Straits' settlements, is both
extensive and important. Vessels from the Hooghly visit Singapore
throughout the year, bringing large supplies of raw cotton, Indian
cotton goods, opium, wheat, &c. In return, they carry back vast
quantities of gold-dust, tin, pepper, sago, gambia, and treasure. It is
no unfrequent occurrence, to find the Singapore market pretty nearly
cleared of the circulating medium after the departure of two or three
clippers for the "City of Palaces." Indeed, treasure and gold-dust are,
in nine cases out of ten, the only safe remittance from the Straits of
Malacca to Calcutta; and those who remit in other modes, frequently
sustain heavy losses, which not only affect the individuals concerned,
but check the trade generally.
I have now given a rapid view of the principal features of the native
trade of Singapore, without pretending to give a perfect account of it.
Before taking leave of this pretty little Island, I will add a few
general remarks upon its condition and prospects. Its actual state, when
I left it in 1842, was far from being as prosperous as I could wish. An
emporium of the trade of the whole of the Eastern Archipelago, its
aggregate imports and exports may be estimated, in round numbers, at
three millions sterling per annum. Trade by barter is the system
generally adopted; and notwithstanding long-continued exertions on the
part of the European mercantile community to establish the cash system,
their success has been so very partial, that nine-tenths of the
remittances to Europe and India in return for goods consigned here for
sale, are made in produce. Severe losses have been sustained here, from
time to time, by the European mercantile firms, in consequence of their
giving credit, to an almost unlimited extent, to Chinese and other
dealers, many of them mere men of straw. During last year, these losses
have amounted to very considerable sums. This has led to renewed and
more strenuous exertions to establish a cash system, but, I fear, with
indifferent success. The present state of the bazaars is very far from
satisfactory: my last accounts state, that no one knows who can be
trusted. The natural consequence of such a state of things is, a serious
decrease in the amount of sales; and had it not been for the demand for
Glasgow and Manchester manufactures, caused by the high price of those
articles in China, the importers would have had four-fifths of their
stocks left on hand.
Of the state of the public health in Singapore, I am able to report
most favourably. Let any one go there and see the European residents of
sixteen and twenty years' standing, and he will be able to judge for
himself. During an intimate acquaintance of eighteen years with this
part of the world, I have never known any endemic disease to prevail;
never heard of more than one European dying of cholera, or of more than
three Europeans being attacked with that disease; never knew but one or
two cases of liver-complaint in which the sufferers had not their own
imprudence to thank for the attack; and, as far as my memory serves me,
cannot reckon up two deaths among the European inhabitants in that long
period. Some one may here whisper, "Look at the state of your Singapore
burying-ground." My reply is, that it is filled by the death of numbers
who have, from time to time, arrived from Calcutta and other parts of
India in a dying state, and who would have died six months sooner, had
they not come to breathe the pure air of Singapore. On this point, I
boldly challenge contradiction.
As to the commercial prospects of this Island, I have some misgivings.
The recent establishment, by Her Majesty's Government, of the British
colony of Hong Kong, and the opening of the northern ports on the coast
of China, will, I fear, give its commerce a check: indeed, it seems
inevitable that it should suffer from these causes. When we consider
the vast importance of the Chinese junk-trade to Singapore, and take
into account the cheaper rate we can supply them, now their ports are
open, at their own doors, with every commodity they require from the
Malay islands, the risk, trouble, and expense they will save by
supplying their wants or disposing of their superfluities, in the
harbours of Shang Hae, Ningpo, Foo Chow, or Amoy, instead of undertaking
the long voyage to the Straits of Malacca for that purpose,--one is at a
loss to conceive on what grounds the sanguine expectation can rest, that
the opening of China will do Singapore no harm. Some of its merchants
evidently share in my anticipation, as they have completed arrangements
for forming establishments at Hong Kong, in order to avail themselves of
the change they expect to take place in the course of the trade. It will
not be this year, nor, probably, the next, that this change will take
place; but, that it must ultimately come to pass, I can see no room to
doubt.[8]
[Footnote 8: Sept. 1845.--Recent accounts from Singapore in
some measure confirm this view. It is noted, among other
things, that the quantity of tea imported by the Chinese junks
in the season of 1844-45 was only 6000 quarter-chests; whereas,
in that of 1843-44, the imports exceeded twenty times that
quantity. Camphor, however, continues to come in as large
quantities as ever. The opium trade again, has diminished
three-fourths; and my prediction that pepper &c. would be
carried to the northern ports of China in European vessels,
has been fulfilled, though, from this branch of commerce,
Singapore, or its merchants, will still derive benefit as
carriers. The Chinese of Singapore have taken up this trade
with great spirit, and will doubtless continue it.]
In other branches of its trade, Singapore will, probably, not suffer so
much from the late arrangements with China; but it will suffer more or
less. It is extremely likely, that a large portion of the rice of Bally
and Lombok, the pepper of Borneo, and the béche-de-mer of Celebes, will
be carried direct to China in European vessels, instead of passing, as
hitherto, through the hands of the Singapore merchants. Whenever a new
mart is opened, there is no want of men, money, or ships to take
advantage of it; and we can place pepper from Borneo, and rice from
Bally, in any port on the coast of China, for less money, by carrying
them there direct from the place of growth, than the Chinese can by
carrying them from Singapore in their junks. These vessels only make one
voyage in the year; whereas a square-rigged vessel can make three with
ease; and it is on account of the greater service performed by the
latter, that she can carry goods to market cheaper than a junk. I
repeat, therefore, that I think the trade of Singapore has reached its
maximum; and that the town has attained to its highest point of
importance and prosperity. Indeed, it is at this moment rather
over-built. A beautiful and healthy town, however, it is; and that it
may not suffer materially or permanently from the causes above
mentioned, but continue to prosper as formerly, is a wish that comes
from the very bottom of my heart.
Singapore is under a Governor, (who also rules over Malacca and Penang,)
Resident Councillors, a Police Magistrate, and some half-dozen
under-strappers. The establishment is altogether an economical one, and,
on the whole, well conducted. It has, moreover, a Court of Justice, with
civil, criminal, and Admiralty jurisdiction, which is presided over by a
Recorder appointed by the Home Government. His authority also extends
over the neighbouring settlements of Malacca and Penang. The Governor
and three Resident Councillors are members of this court. In the absence
of the Recorder, they can and do hold court, and, in extreme cases,
carry into execution sentences of death passed on their own
responsibility. The late Governor, the Honourable S. G. Bonham, held the
post for many years, and left the Island with the good wishes of every
inhabitant. To his credit and honour be it said, that, out of the many
hundreds of civil cases tried and adjudicated by him, I never heard of
one in which his decision was reversed, in the event of the parties
petitioning for and obtaining a new trial from the Recorder. Such
petitions, owing to the well-known love of litigation inherent in the
Asiatic character, were very numerous; but, in nine cases out of ten,
the Recorder saw no reason to grant a new trial; and the few who
succeeded in obtaining new trials, would have been better off without
them, as Mr. Bonham's verdict was always confirmed.
Five, ten, fifteen years ago, the society of Singapore was much more
agreeable than it is now. Not that the parties who composed it then,
were more pleasant people than the present residents; but we met oftener
in those days, and were more sociable when we did meet, and, perhaps,
opened our doors to the stranger oftener than is practised at the
present time. One is apt, however, to be biassed in favour of the times
and the people that seemed to ourselves the most agreeable; I shall
therefore say no more on this delicate subject.
The revenue of Singapore is more than sufficient to pay its expenses: it
arises principally from land-sales and land-tax; from farming out the
privilege of retailing opium and spirits; from the rent paid for public
markets; and from pawnbrokers' licenses. The sums derived from these
sources are increasing every year.
The local police are paid, and roads and bridges are maintained, from a
fund raised by an assessed tax of eight per cent, on the annual value of
fixed property. From this fund, Mr. Tom C---- withdraws a few thousand
dollars occasionally, in order to build a new bridge or to make a new
road; a proceeding that does not give entire satisfaction to the
rate-payers, and is indeed hardly fair towards them, since the new
bridges and roads render available large tracts of land that would
otherwise be valueless, and for which Tom C----'s honourable masters
obtain a handsome price in consequence. The inhabitants grumble at these
proceedings, but can do no more, the sole and whole management of the
fund in question being in the hands of the local Government.
Singapore is a free port; and vessels of all kinds and from all nations
come and go, without paying one penny to Government in any shape. All
that is required of them is, to give in a list of the goods they either
land or ship. This regulation is intended to enable the authorities to
keep a correct statement of the trade of the place; but it is, I am
sorry to add, often evaded by ship-masters and their consignees, who
seem to think that no trade can be profitably conducted without a
certain portion of mystery attaching to it.
CHAPTER V.
DUTCH SETTLEMENTS.
DUTCH SETTLEMENT OF RHIO--ISLAND OF BANCA--
BENCOOLEN--PADANG--CHINESE SLAVE-TRADE--NATIVE
TRIBES OF SUMATRA--PEPPER TRADE.
In September 1826, I visited China for the first time; but, having
recently paid that country a much more extended visit, I shall reserve
for a future chapter my observations upon Chinese affairs; and shall now
proceed to give an account of some of the smaller Dutch colonies or
settlements which I visited about this time.
About forty miles to the eastward of Singapore, on the island of Bintang
(Star), is Rhio, a small Dutch settlement, producing a large quantity of
gambia and some thirty thousand _peculs_ of black pepper per annum. The
bulk of the former article finds its way to Java, where it is
extensively used for dying purposes. Nearly all the pepper is sent to
Singapore in small trading-boats, and is bought up there for the London
and Calcutta markets. My visit to Rhio lasted only thirty-six hours,
during which time I was too busy to be able to look much about me; but
I have since frequently sailed past the town, and through the beautiful
strait of the same name, and can vouch for it, that the lovers of
picturesque scenery will find objects in abundance to attract their
attention. Shortly after entering Rhio straits from the southward, the
navigator is completely land-locked, and appears to be sailing in a
large lake, amid the richest possible scenery; nor can he discern the
slightest appearance of an outlet from this fairy scene, till he is
within half a mile of the west end of the island of Luborn, when, all at
once, the view opens at that part which leads him into the straits of
Singapore. Rhio has the character of being very healthy, and, from its
soil and position, might be rendered productive. It is governed by a
Dutch Resident, and protected by a small garrison and fleet. Of the
activity of this little fleet against the neighbouring pirates, I am
glad to be able to speak most favourably; and I am bound to add a word
in testimony to its Commander's hospitality and kindness to shipwrecked
British seamen, which have been frequently put to the test of late
years, and have on more than one occasion called forth from the
Singapore Chamber of Commerce a vote and letter of thanks.
Shortly after the establishment of Singapore, the Dutch Government
proclaimed Rhio a free port. This measure, fortunately for us, was
adopted rather too late in the day to do any injury to the trade of Sir
Stamford Raffles's pet settlement, or much good to its neighbour. It
must be somewhat galling to the good folk of Rhio, to see some hundreds
of vessels of all descriptions under the Dutch flag sail past their
harbour every year, bound for Singapore, where they transact business to
a large amount; favouring this port, probably, with a short visit on
their return, for the purpose of purchasing a few hundred _peculs_ of
gambia for the Java market.
On the north-east point of Bintang, is a dangerous reef, on which the
clipper-bark Sylph struck in 1835, and on which she lay for four months,
defying the fury of the north-east monsoon and the heavy rolling swell
from the Chinese Sea; thus proving beyond a doubt the great strength of
a teak-built ship. An English ship in the same circumstances would not
have held together a week; as was subsequently proved in the case of the
Heber.
Mintow (Muntok according to the Dutch) is the capital of the island of
Banca, so long celebrated for its tin-mines. This is a poor town, and
very unhealthy: it is situated on the west side of the island, and faces
the straits of Banca, having the low, swampy shore of Sumatra opposite.
When Banca was occupied in common with the other Dutch colonies by the
British, it proved fatal to nearly the whole of the garrison. The Banca
fever is, perhaps, one of the most dangerous diseases with which man is
afflicted: those who are fortunate enough to recover from it, are
subject for life to severe nervous attacks at the full and change of the
moon. I well remember two gentlemen in Batavia, who could scarcely lift
their hands to their heads at these periods, though twenty years had
elapsed since they had had this terrible fever. The Dutch troops still
continue to suffer severely from this cause; and to be sent to Banca
from Java, is looked upon as the hardest lot that can befall a soldier.
Its tin-mines continue to be very productive, and yield 60,000 _peculs_
of pure metal per annum. From this source, the Dutch authorities derive
a considerable revenue. They employ Chinese miners, to whom they pay six
dollars for every _pecul_ of tin delivered on the coast in a pure state,
which they sell readily in Java for sixteen dollars per _pecul_; thus
getting ten dollars clear profit, less about half a dollar per _pecul_,
which it costs to send the tin to Batavia for sale. As far as I know,
Banca yields nothing else; and the rice eaten by the Chinese miners, is
sent regularly from Java.
The rivers on this island are infested by very large alligators, which,
from the scarcity of food, become highly dangerous. Their hunger drives
them sometimes to attack boats, as they are rowed up the rivers; and
serious accidents occur from time to time in this way. I could tell one
or two marvellous tales about the ferocity and bold attacks of these
river-monsters, but refrain from doing so, lest they should lead the
incredulous reader of these rambling sketches to doubt my veracity. The
straits of Banca were at one time the resort of numerous Malay pirates:
the activity of the Dutch cruisers has, however, rendered their once
dangerous neighbourhood perfectly safe, so far as the attacks of these
marauders are concerned. I have sailed many times through the straits of
Sunda, Banca, Rhio, Dryan, Malacca, and Singapore, since 1823, and have
known some few European vessels and many native proas taken; but, in all
my voyages up and down, I never saw a boat or proa that I felt certain
was a pirate. I have, indeed, seen many very suspicious-looking craft
off Singin, and between that island and the north end of Banca; but, as
they never molested us, I am willing to let their characters pass free,
so far as I am concerned.
The once thriving settlement of Bencoolen, (or Fort Marlborough,) which
I visited at different times between 1828 and 1830, I found, even then,
to have declined very seriously from its former prosperity. Previously
to its transfer, in 1825, to the Dutch, great exertions were made to
render this settlement important for its exportation of spices of all
descriptions; and, so far as regards nutmegs, mace, and cloves, those
exertions were eminently successful. Planters and others, however, soon
found that, on the hauling down of the British flag, and the hoisting of
the Dutch, their prospects underwent a very material change, arising
from duties and other charges laid on the commerce of the place. Most of
the capitalists retired with the British establishment, of which,
indeed, they formed a part. A hard struggle was maintained by those
planters who remained behind, but without success; and the place is now
very little more than a station for a Dutch Assistant-Resident and a
small garrison.
Bencoolen harbour is a dangerous one, particularly during the prevalence
of the boisterous north-west monsoon, which blows with such violence on
this part of the west coast of Sumatra. Ships generally anchor close
under the lee of Rat Island and reef, where they find smooth water,
unless the weather is unusually severe. This anchorage is seven miles
from the wharf where merchandise is landed, and considerable risk is
occasionally incurred by the cargo boats in making good this short
distance. In very stormy weather, ships and boats also are compelled to
seek shelter in Pulo Bay; a vile, unhealthy place situated about twelve
miles south-east of Rat Island, and surrounded with a low, swampy,
agueish-looking country. The Siamese suffer severely in this harbour
from fever and ague, and ship-masters are glad to leave it as soon as
the weather moderates. In my time, there was a convenient covered wharf
at Bencoolen for landing goods, but not a vestige now remains: it was
originally built by the English, and the Dutch have not cared to
preserve or replace it. In the present wretched state of the settlement,
indeed, it is of trifling consequence, since little difficulty can be
found by the few merchants from Java who from time to time visit
Bencoolen, in landing the small quantities of goods they may have to
dispose of.
The climate of Bencoolen is the worst it has been my fortune to
encounter since I left Europe. The land wind that sets in about seven
P. M., is the most trying breeze I ever encountered. To sit in an open
verandah when it is blowing, is quite out of the question; at least with
impunity. I tried the experiment more than once, and never escaped
without a severe seizure of trembling something like ague, within less
than half an hour. The injurious effects of this land wind may be traced
to the swamps between the hills in the vicinity of the town, which,
unlike those of Singapore, are formed by fresh water, and are no better
than stagnant puddles. In passing over these, the wind becomes of course
charged with malaria, which it distributes in every house between it
and the sea; and woe betide the European who fails to keep out of its
way! Most places that I have visited, have a healthy, as well as an
unhealthy season. Bencoolen is an exception to this rule, being
unhealthy all the year through. Even vegetation suffers here from the
south-east monsoon; and a nutmeg-plantation exposed to its dry, parching
influence, has the appearance of a plantation of heather-brooms more
than of any thing else.[9] The natives do not appear to suffer from the
climate, but seem to be as healthy and long-lived as Asiatics generally.
Of the character of these natives, I can say little that is favourable.
They are indolent, proud, though poor, gamblers, vindictive, and far too
ready with the knife on little or no provocation; they are very fond of
dress, and not over scrupulous how they gratify this taste; for which
purpose I have known them have recourse to theft, lying, robbery, and
even murder. Had they one single spark of energy in their composition,
they might be a thriving and contented people, possessing as they do a
boundless extent of rich virgin soil, which they are too lazy to clear
and cultivate. The place is overrun with a race of petty Rajahs and
other nobles, who are a social pest, being poor, and yet too proud to
strain a nerve to support themselves and their families. Sir Stamford
Raffles succeeded in rousing the ambition of these men a little, by
giving some of them commissions in the local corps, which gratified
their taste for gay attire, and supplied them with a few hundred rupees
per month to keep up a little state. From my sweeping reproach of the
chiefs, I would except these _Radins_[10] with whom I have spent many
pleasant evenings, and who really possessed gentleman-like feelings and
tastes.
[Footnote 9: This remark applies to the side of the tree that
faces the south-east only. The north-west side is perfectly
healthy-looking and green, when its opposite is the very
picture of blight and decay.]
[Footnote 10: Radin, a noble next in rank, in the Malay world,
below a Rajah.]
The transfer of this settlement to the Dutch (in exchange for Malacca)
in 1825, was a severe blow and great disappointment to all the natives,
both high and low. At a meeting of chiefs held at the Government house,
at which the English and Dutch authorities were both present, for the
purpose of completing the transfer, the senior Rajah rose to address the
assembly, and spoke to the following effect:--"Against this transfer of
my country I protest. Who is there possessed of authority to hand me and
my countrymen, like so many cattle, over to the Dutch or to any other
power? If the English are tired of us, let them go away; but I deny
their right to hand us over to the Dutch. When the English first came
here, they asked for and got a piece of land to build warehouses and
dwelling-houses upon. That piece of land is still defined by its
original stone wall, and is all they (the English) ever got from us. We
were never conquered; and I now tell the English and Dutch gentlemen
here assembled, that, had I the power, as I have the will, I would
resist this transfer to the knife. I am, however, a poor man, have no
soldiers to cope with yours, and must submit. God's will be done." This
was a bold, straight-forward speech; but it was thrown away upon the
callous ears of the hearers. Delivered in pure Malay, it sounded
stronger than in this translation. The speaker was an old man, with
whose power and will for mischief, in former days, the British had good
cause to be acquainted.[11]
[Footnote 11: This chief will long be remembered in Bencoolen
for his reckless daring, when a desire of vengeance for any
insult, real or imaginary, stirred the devil within him. Many a
midnight murder was laid at his door, and with justice too, if
I am not very much mistaken. The last time I saw him, he was
very near his end, and spoke of his death as calmly and
tranquilly as if he had lived the purest life imaginable. He is
long since in his grave, and his family has sunk into
insignificance. I do not believe a more thorough villain ever
walked the earth.]
The country round Bencoolen is, with the exception of the
spice-plantations, covered with a thick forest. The soil is rich, and,
as I have said, might be turned to good account, by means of a small
portion of energy on the part of the natives. The forests abound with
the tiger and the elephant. The former finds plenty of game to feed on,
and, consequently, seldom molests man. It is not an unusual occurrence
for a single tiger to attack a herd of cattle when grazing in the
neighbourhood of their owner's grounds: singling out his intended
victim, he pursues it to the last, without, in general, attempting to
injure any of the rest As soon as the cattle see or smell the
approaching tiger, they become quite wild, and run at their full speed
towards their herdsman, whom they surround apparently for their own
protection, and continue in great commotion, though without attempting
to run, till their enemy is either driven away, or has succeeded in
capturing one of their number. The elephant is here of a large size, and
is occasionally caught in snares by the natives for the sake of his
tusks, which I have seen weighing one hundred and twenty pounds each.
This huge animal is not dangerous to man, unless his path is crossed,
when, particularly if a single male one, he becomes a formidable
neighbour. He is easily tamed; but the native here is too indolent to
trouble himself with the task. The only one I ever saw made use of, was
sent by the King of Acheen to Sir Stamford Raffles, and was, in my time,
the property of my friend, Mr. Robert Bogle. Strange stories are told
of the power, sagacity, and cunning of this monarch of the woods. Among
other feats, the natives say, it is not uncommon for one elephant to lie
down, and let another stand upon his back, in order that he may reach
higher up a cocoa-nut tree, and have a better chance of pushing it down.
I tell the tale as it was told to me, not caring to vouch for its truth.
Bencoolen is occasionally visited by the hill tribes from the mountains
in its neighbourhood: they come down in bands of ten, fifteen, or twenty
men, bringing with them gold-dust to barter for opium. As neither rice
nor cocoa-nuts grow in the elevated region inhabited by them, they
usually bring also a few bags of potatoes to exchange for those
luxuries. They are a hardy race of men, strongly built, of middle
stature, and have very thick black beards; a singular feature in an
inhabitant of this island. I am sorry to add, that they sometimes visit
the coast for other and less legitimate purposes than barter; and that
their kidnapping children to make slaves of, is no uncommon occurrence.
Several instances of this kind took place in 1829, within my certain
knowledge.
I have frequently heard it said, "Go where you will, you are sure to
find a rat and a Scotchman." My having visited Bencoolen enables me to
contradict this aphorism; for I there found abundance of rats, one
Englishman, and not a single Scot. I must confess, however, that this is
the only place in which I have ever found the Englishman without the
Scot.
Cock-fighting is carried on to a great extent here, and is indulged in
by the natives, high and low. On market-days, vast numbers of natives
may be seen wending their way to the cock-pit attached to each market or
bazaar, with one of the celebrated Malay game-cocks under their arms. At
the pit, some hundreds of these birds may be seen in the hands of the
fanciers, who weigh and examine them thoroughly before betting on them.
As soon as the bets are arranged, the two birds first on the list are
brought into the centre of the pit, and armed by their owners with a
fearful spur about four inches long, of the shape of a scythe, and as
sharp as a razor. The combat seldom lasts a minute, the first charge
generally rendering one, and frequently both the combatants
_hors-de-combat_, by inflicting on them mortal wounds. Then begins the
most disgusting part of the scene. The owner of each bird takes him up,
blows into his mouth and eyes, and uses every exertion to make the poor
tortured victim give the last peck to his adversary. Failing this last
peck, the battle is a drawn one. Bets are usually paid, particularly in
the country, in gold dust, which is weighed out in small ivory
steelyards kept for the purpose. The Dutch, with their usual policy,
derive a revenue from every cock-pit within their boundary here. For my
own part, I am not inclined to blame them, and think our revenue at all
the three Straits' settlements might be materially increased, and the
scamps of those places kept in better order, by having every
gambling-house in them registered and subjected to a tax. To put a stop
to gambling in any Asiatic town, is beyond the power of man; and the
attempt to do so, only drives the gamester to the secret haunts where he
may indulge his propensity, and where, I fear, too often he becomes a
witness of, if not a participator in deeds of blood. As a grand juror in
Singapore, I have had evidence enough of this.
From Bencoolen, I proceeded to Padang, another Dutch settlement, about
two hundred miles up the coast of Sumatra. Padang, as its name implies,
is situated in a plain, and is a very few feet above the level of the
sea; yet, it is a healthy place. It was once in possession of a
considerable trade, but this has diminished of late years, in most
articles, except coffee, of which I am told it now exports 60,000
_peculs_ per annum. The harbour or anchorage is about five miles from
the mouth of the small river on the banks of which the town stands, and
is a dangerous one in boisterous weather, having little or no protection
from the fury of the north-west monsoon. The trade from Java to this
part of Sumatra, consists principally of rice, salt, native clothing,
and a few supplies for the European and Chinese inhabitants of the
place: in return, it sends coffee and pepper. There is a disgraceful
traffic carried on between Padang and the island of Nias, a little
further up the coast, by Chinese, who visit that island, and purchase
hundreds of its inhabitants, for whom they find markets all along the
coast. Those brought to Padang, are not, indeed, sold as slaves; but
they are registered at the Resident's office, and held as bond-debtors
for different terms of seven, fifteen, and even twenty years: during
this servitude, they are treated as slaves, but are free at its
expiration; they have also the option of buying their liberty in the
meantime, if they can raise the means; and the proprietor is not at
liberty to refuse a sum equivalent to the value of the unexpired term of
service. This value is fixed thus: on the registering of a debtor, a
certain sum is put down as his value or debt; say 400 rupees; of this
sum, a certain proportion, say 20 rupees, is placed to his credit for
every year he serves; so that, if he serves his master for five years,
his debt is reduced to three hundred rupees; and this sum, the master is
compelled to accept as the price of his liberation. If a debtor has a
hard master, he is at liberty to induce another to buy his services; and
the transfer cannot be declined, if the sum due is forthcoming. These
Nias people are, men and women, a much fairer race than Malays, and
speak a language of their own. Many of the men become expert carpenters,
bricklayers, blacksmiths, &c., which enables them to earn money and
purchase their freedom; and for such skilled artisans, the master can
demand no more as the price of their freedom than the balance due upon
their services. I have seen boat-loads of these poor creatures landed at
Padang, consisting of old men, women, boys, girls, and mere infants,
looking wretched enough, and marched off to the police-office to be
registered and sold. This is a black spot in the Dutch administration of
affairs in Sumatra.
The proceedings of the Dutch on the coast of Sumatra, are a sore subject
to the Singaporeans, as having interfered with their trade with the
north-west coast of the island. By means of the extension of the Dutch
posts from Padang into the interior, they compel the native to carry his
coffee thither, instead of taking it, as formerly, down the Siak river,
and thence to Singapore. This accounts, in a great degree, for the
increase in the export of that berry from Padang, from thirty to sixty
thousand _peculs_ per annum, between the year 1828 and 1838.
Padang is very subject to frequent earthquakes, being surrounded with
volcanic mountains. To look at its houses, one would think that a single
shock would level the whole town. The best of them consist of a frame
of wood, each post standing on a single stone, which is simply laid on
the ground, not let into it; the vacancies between the posts and the
cross-pieces of framework, are filled up with lath and plaster; and the
roof is almost invariably of thatch. They resemble huge stools resting
upon stones, to keep the legs from sinking into the earth, and look as
if the first breeze would upset them. An earthquake shakes them, and
makes them vibrate, but seldom or ever injures them; whereas a brick and
mortar house, subjected to the same severe trial, would certainly give
way, unless it were of very substantial workmanship. I have experienced
several severe shocks of earthquakes, both here and at Bencoolen, and at
first felt very much disposed to quit the house; but custom reconciles
one to almost every thing, even to seeing your dwelling-house dancing,
or "Jumping _Jim Crow_."
Since the Dutch got possession of this part of Sumatra, they have almost
constantly been at war with a neighbouring tribe of natives, who, from
their fanatical zeal in the cause of the Mohammedan faith, have obtained
the name of _Padres_; and the war is called the _Padre_ war. These men
have occasioned the Government a vast deal of trouble, and cost it a
mint of money, as well as many valuable lives. When beaten in the field,
they suddenly disperse and retreat to their mountain fastnesses, where
they remain to strengthen themselves, and watch their opportunity to
make a fresh attack on the Dutch posts. In this manner they harass their
opponents, and occasionally inflict upon them a very severe blow. I
heard at Padang, that, when the country was ceded to the Dutch, in 1818,
these _Padres_ had said, they would never submit to their power; and
well have they kept their word.
Sumatra, were it under a European power, and peopled as well as Java is,
would soon rival that island. Its soil is, for the most part, equally
fertile, and yields coffee, pepper, nutmegs, &c. Only a small portion of
the territory is subject to the Dutch: the remainder is inhabited by
various tribes, who speak different languages, and mix but little
together. They are mostly an indolent people, and require driving by
their chiefs to make them work for a day or two now and then. The
comparatively small produce exported from this large and fertile island,
is obtained almost entirely by forced labour.
The pepper trade of the ports to the northward of Padang, has ceased to
be a profitable one, and is now neglected. European shipmasters used to
complain bitterly of the roguery practised upon them by the native
dealers; but who taught the native his roguish tricks? Who introduced
false weights? Who brought to the coast 56lb. weights with a screw in
the bottom, which opened for the insertion of from ten to fifteen pounds
of lead, _after their correctness had been tried by the native in
comparison with his own weights_? Who made it a regular rule, in their
transactions with the native dealer, to get 130 _catties_ of pepper to
the _pecul_, thus cheating him of thirty per cent, of his property? I
challenge contradiction, when I assert, that English and American
shipmasters have for thirty years been addicted to all these dishonest
practices. The cunning and deceit of the native traders, at the pepper
ports of Sumatra, have been taught them by their Christian visiters, and
forced upon them in self-defence. An acquaintance of mine, who had made
some purchases from a native, went on shore next morning to receive the
goods. When the pepper was being weighed, he told the native clerk, he
was cheating. The man denied it, and told the party he lied. The
European raised his fist, and threatened to chastise the native, who
coolly put his hand on his ever-ready _kris_, and said, "Strike, sir."
The raised hand dropped to its owner's side, and well it was that it did
so; or the party would not have lived to tell the tale of his having
threatened the clerk of a Sumatra Rajah. A large portion of the pepper
used to be paid for in dollars; and it is a singular fact, that,
notwithstanding the number imported in this way, no one ever saw a
single dollar exported, or seems to know what becomes of them. It is
generally supposed, that the Rajahs buy them, and that they often die
without revealing where their treasure is deposited. Be this as it may,
it is very difficult, under any circumstances, to extract a dollar from
the chiefs of this coast.
The trader in this part of the world, works hard for whatever he may
earn, having to encounter much severe weather, and to go through a heavy
surf every time he lands. Indeed, so heavy and dangerous is the surf,
that few ships' boats are fit to go through it. The shipmaster generally
rows to the back of it in his own boat, and obtains one from the shore
to land in. Of this, the native does not fail to take advantage in the
event of any dispute, knowing that his customer cannot leave the shore
without a boat, to be had only through his influence; and it is no
uncommon thing for the European to be detained all night, and made to
settle accounts in the morning before going off. The coast of Sumatra,
from Acheen Head to Flat Point,(its two extremes in this direction,) is
a highly dangerous one, being iron-bound, with a heavy surf and many
reefs off it. I envy not the man who has to make his voyage here against
the north-west monsoon. The Dutch are extending their ports on the
sea-board from Padang northward, and will ere long reach Acheen Head;
when they will have a struggle, if the Acheenese people possess a
moderate portion of their ancient gallantry and hatred of
Europeans.[12]
[Footnote 12: Since my return home, I have seen an account of
the proceedings of two of Her Majesty's sloops on the coast of
Sumatra from Acheen eastward. Sir W. Parker, with his usual
promptitude, sent them there from Penang, to punish the
perpetrators of some acts of piracy lately committed on British
vessels. The service has been most effectually performed; and
the marauding native has been taught, that, distant as he may
be, punishment is the certain result of meddling with the flag
of England. The ships of war in and about the straits of
Malacca, would do much good to the commerce of their country by
an occasional visit to Acheen and the coast of Pedir. There is
nothing like the sight of a few eighteen-pounders for keeping
the domineering Malay Rajah in check.]
CHAPTER VI.
MALACCA AND PENANG.
Malacca, which I first visited in 1829, and have repeatedly revisited,
is completely shorn of its ancient glory, and is no longer of the
slightest importance, either as a military position or as a trading
mart. Penang, at one end of the Straits, and Singapore at the other,
have destroyed its prosperity; and it is now a poverty-stricken place,
with little or no trade. The town is built in the old Dutch fashion,
each house with its out-offices forming a square with a yard in the
centre. The Government offices are still held in the ancient
Stadt-House, a venerable pile built by the worthy Dutch burghers some
hundred and fifty years ago, and retaining to this day its ancient
furniture of ebony, many pieces of which, by the way, have lately
supplied patterns for modern sofas and other furniture. The European
population is composed almost entirely of the civil servants of the
Government and the military men, who reside principally in the immediate
neighbourhood of the town, not liking their Malay neighbours well enough
to feel inclined to spread far into the country. Some few attempts have
been made, within the last fifteen years, to establish nutmeg and other
plantations at Malacca; I fear, without much success. Not that the trees
do not thrive, but that labour is scarce, owing to the prevailing
indolence of the people in this part of the world. Moreover, occasional
disturbances among the natives render a residence on the spot (without
which little success can be expected) any thing but pleasant. The place
is a burthen to the East-India Company, as its revenues do not pay half
its expenses.
The country round Malacca is mountainous, and covered with large timber.
In its neighbourhood are several tin-mines, which yield a metal some
twenty per cent. inferior to that of Banca. This tin finds its way, like
every thing else in the Archipelago, to Singapore, where it has of late
fetched only thirteen dollars and a half _per pecul_.
There is a race of men at Malacca, who appear to be the descendants of
some natives of Malabar who settled there a century ago, and Malay
women; a bad breed certainly, and the men I speak of seem to possess all
the _devilry_ of both races. Numbers of them visit Singapore from time
to time, bringing among other things, thousands of the Malacca canes
which are so much esteemed in England. They have other employments, if
fame does not belie them, not quite so creditable to their characters.
Here, also, may be found many descendants of the old Portuguese
inhabitants, who have here, as elsewhere all over the East, degenerated
sadly, and, but for their dress, could not be distinguished from the
other natives, except that the latter are a much finer race. These
Portuguese are, for the most part, wretchedly poor, and, apparently,
will soon become extinct. Very few of the descendants of the old Dutch
inhabitants are to be found here now: those still remaining are
principally shopkeepers, and are much more respectable in every way than
their Portuguese fellow subjects. Slavery, until lately, existed in a
domestic form in Malacca; it has, however, been completely done away
with through the representations and exertions of the late Governor, Mr.
Bonham.
Malacca forms a pretty picture from the sea, and, to the passer-by,
seems an attractive spot: his disappointment, on landing, however, would
be great, and few inducements to prolong his stay will be found,
excepting the climate. This, to the invalid from Bengal, is a treat, on
which I have heard many expatiate in glowing terms after their return,
with renewed health, to Calcutta.
Penang, or Prince of Wales Island, is, perhaps, the most beautiful of
the three Straits settlements, though it is certainly not the most
salubrious, being occasionally visited by a very severe fever, which, in
my time, carried off many of the European inhabitants.[13]
[Footnote 13: At this moment, I cannot recal to recollection a
single existing resident of Penang who has not arrived there
since 1829. The Europeans of that time have all, or nearly all,
been removed by death.]
Here, the nutmeg and the clove come to perfection; and the produce of
Penang commands higher prices in the London market, than the spice of
any other country with which I am acquainted. The estates of Mr. Brown
are the finest on the Island; and the hospitality of their proprietor is
unsurpassed. Of late years, the profits of spice-plantations have become
somewhat precarious, as the supply in the European markets has exceeded
the demand. This has turned the attention of several of the leading
people on the Island to the sugar-cane, which thrives here well, and is
now to be seen covering large tracts which very recently were lying
waste. The sugar-planter here, however, labours under the same
disadvantage, as to import-duty in England, as his brother planter of
Singapore, which, if not altered, will mar his prospects. Strong
representations on the subject have been made to the Bengal Government,
and (I believe) to the Court of Directors, as yet without effect.
The revenue of Penang is derived from the same sources as that of
Singapore, but falls short of the annual expenses of the place. This may
be accounted for by the falling off in its trade, and the decrease in
its population, since the establishment of the last-named settlement. It
still retains a considerable trade with Sumatra, the coast of
Coromandel, and Calcutta, but its direct trade with England is almost
entirely cut up. It is also the _dépôt_ for the tin collected at
Junkseylon, and other places on the Malay coast immediately opposite.
Altogether, however, the establishment of Singapore has very much
injured Penang, and thinned its population, rendering its houses of
little or no value, and giving to its streets a deserted appearance from
which they will never recover.
The plain on which the town stands, is bounded on two sides by the sea,
and, beyond the town, is dotted over with pretty garden-houses: it is
intersected in all directions by good roads, which are lined throughout
with the prettiest of all hedges, composed of the dwarf bamboo. Beyond
this plain, the country becomes hilly and covered with woods, except a
spot here and there, where the spice-planter has made his clearing, and
built his bungalow. On the tops of several of these hills, which are
higher and more extensive than those of Singapore, may be seen bungalows
for convalescents, approachable only by a bridle path, up which the
stout little poneys of the Island carry bravely the health-seeking or
pleasure-seeking party. These spots are delightful residences; and the
climate is cool enough at night to make a blanket on the bed most
welcome and comfortable, I have my doubts whether these are fit places
for the invalid to resort to, particularly if his complaint be of a
pulmonary nature. Immediately after sun-set, the hill top is enveloped
in a dense fog, which makes every thing in the house feel damp, and
which does not disappear till ten A. M. next day. It were worth while to
ride up one of these hills, for the sole purpose of watching the
clearing off of the fog in the morning: the visiter taking his stand in
the verandah about nine A. M., and looking down, in the direction of the
plain, on the dense mass of fog hanging over the town and suburbs, sees
it by degrees clear away like a curtain slowly withdrawn, and the
houses, roads, bridges, &c., appear below him as if springing up there
by magic. Add to this, the fleet of shipping in the harbour, the
opposite plains of Province Wellesley, and the distant mountains
towering in the sky beyond, and a scene may be imagined, that can
scarcely be described; at least, not by my feeble pen. When I first
visited Penang, Province Wellesley was a wilderness, inhabited only by a
thin Malay population and numerous tigers.[14] It now wears another and
more pleasing aspect, large tracts of its fertile soil having been
cleared and brought under cultivation. I know no better spot for the
culture of sugar; and if it does not pay the planter here, those of
Penang or Singapore have but a poor prospect.[15] Penang harbour is a
very commodious and safe one, formed by the narrow strait between that
island and the main land. Ships of three hundred tons may here lie
within pistol-shot of the wharf in perfect safety. I have never seen the
phosphoric light occasionally thrown out by salt-water, so brilliant as
it is here. I recollect being very much struck with it, while sailing
out of the harbour about eight o'clock P. M. We had a fresh breeze, and
each tiny wave looked like a flash of very bright flame, while the
ship's wake resembled the tail of a brilliant comet, more than any thing
else. I leave the naturalist to account for this.
[Footnote 14: Although the jungles of Penang abound with
tigers, I have seldom heard of their preying on man, as they do
in the neighbouring settlement.]
[Footnote 15: Oct. 1845.--Penang has increased in importance
since the foregoing was written. Its sugar-planters have
continued their exertions with energy, sparing neither trouble
nor expense to make their plantations profitable investments.
It gives me much pleasure to be able to add, that their success
seems certain, and that their perseverance in petitioning
Government on the subject of duties, has at length been
rewarded, as it ought sooner to have been.]
CHAPTER VII.
CALCUTTA.
FIRST VIEW OF CALCUTTA--STATE OF SOCIETY--
MERCANTILE CHANGES--UNPLEASANT CLIMATE--SIGHTS
AT AND NEAR CALCUTTA--IMPROVEMENTS IN TRANSIT
AND NAVIGATION--CUSTOM-HOUSE NUISANCE--PILOT
SERVICE--CHARACTER OF THE BENGALEES--RIVER STEAMERS.
In 1829, I visited for the first time the far-famed city of Calcutta,
and have since then paid it four visits. So much, however, has been
written about the "City of Palaces," that it must be nearly as well
known to the English reader as London itself; and I shall therefore say
less respecting it.
The feeling I experienced on first making the land at the mouth of the
Hooghly, was extreme disappointment. To a stranger coming, as I did,
from Java, Singapore, and Penang, nothing can have a more dreary and
desolate appearance than the land about and below Kedgeree. The very
sight is almost enough to bring on the ague; and the abominably filthy
water of the holy stream heightens the feeling of disgust. From Kedgeree
to Diamond Harbour, the view on the low banks of the river improves but
little. Above Diamond Harbour, the river banks are somewhat higher,
buildings are more numerous, and the country appears more cleared and
brought under cultivation. On arriving at Garden Reach, the stranger may
begin to imagine that not wholly without reason Calcutta has acquired
the proud title of the "City of palaces." From the lower part of this
Reach, on the right, the river bank is laid out in large gardens, each
with a handsome mansion in its centre; and the whole scene speaks of
opulence and splendour. Of late years, these magnificent residences have
been much neglected, and what was once the most fashionable part of the
suburbs, has been nearly deserted by the great folk. The reason assigned
for this, is, that the river, in very wet seasons, overflows its banks,
breeding malaria and fever, from which, at the time of my second visit,
the inhabitants suffered not a little. For a year or two, these mansions
stood empty; but, when I last saw them, in 1840, they were nearly all
occupied by mercantile men, who find them pleasant retreats from the
bustle of the city, and seem willing to brave the chance of fever. On
approaching the head of Garden Reach, the stranger all at once beholds
Fort William and the town of Calcutta spread out before him; and a
splendid view it is. Should he arrive in the month of November or
December, he will behold, perhaps, the finest fleet of merchant shipping
the world could produce. Here are seen, besides the flag of Old England,
those of America, France, Holland, Spain, Portugal, and Arabia. I must
not forget to mention the floating taverns or large passenger ships,
which carry home from twenty to forty passengers every voyage; and
besides the fleet of large ships, the river presents steamers,
pleasure-boats, and native craft of all sorts and sizes, from the gay
_budgerow_, to the wretched and more than half rotten _dhingy_. The
scene has, however, its drawbacks. The stranger is shocked and disgusted
at the sight of some half-dozen dead bodies floating down the river, in
all stages of decomposition, some with a vulture perched on them,
gorging himself as he floats down the stream on his hideous raft.
Government has placed people above the town, for the express purpose of
sinking dead bodies and similar nuisances; but they have not succeeded
in effecting their object The last time I went up the river, four human
corpses passed my boat between Kradd's Dock and Colvin's Grant, a
distance of two miles.
Nothing strikes the stranger, on landing for the first time in Calcutta,
so much as the extraordinary aggregation of palaces and mansions,
ordinary dwelling-houses, warehouses, shops, bazaars, stables, huts, and
hovels, all mingled together in glorious confusion, a few streets
forming the only exception. This is a great eye-sore even to the old
resident. I know no part of the world where society is divided into so
many ranks and classes as it is here, nor where pride and pomp hold
their heads higher. To hear some of the great ones of this city talk,
you would think they had sprung from a long line of princely, or, at
least, of noble ancestors. It is often observed, however, that they
seldom or never mention their immediate progenitors, nor the whereabouts
of their birth-place, which, in nine cases out of ten, would be found to
be some humble cottage on the bank of a modest brook in England, or burn
in Scotland. The more obscure or lowly their origin, the more difficult
of access they are generally found. The real gentleman is easily
discovered by his superior breeding and genuine urbanity.
In former days, a young man arriving at Calcutta as a writer, had no
difficulty in raising money by borrowing from some wealthy _circar_; and
many of those very young men are still hampered with debts they can
never pay: though high in office, and enjoying large salaries, they are
tied to the country by their creditors, to whom they are obliged to give
a large portion of their earnings. Times have now changed, and the
native has learned from dear-bought experience, that the European is not
always so worthy of confidence as he at one time thought him.
When I first knew Calcutta, some half-dozen mercantile firms swayed the
trade of the place, and carried every thing before them. Their influence
with the monied natives was great, and their command of ready cash was
proportionably large. This led them into all sorts of wild speculations,
and ultimately proved their ruin, the whole of these houses having
failed (if my memory does not deceive me) before the end of 1832. In
spite of these failures, (which ruined hundreds of widows and orphans,)
the confidence of the natives was not utterly shaken till very recently,
when another batch of similar misfortunes took place, in which many of
the old hands were concerned under new firms. This has entirely broken
up the system, and scattered the commerce of Calcutta among numerous
smaller establishments, setting the wits of the native capitalist to
work to find other employment for his cash. Many of them have entered
upon the opium trade, principally as speculators on the spot, who buy at
the public sales, and re-sell at a small profit; preferring this to
running the risk of the China market. Previously to the mercantile
break-up just mentioned, the members of the leading firms were, with few
exceptions, as exclusive in their society as the leading civilians:
their fall has upset these lofty pretensions, and the mercantile society
of the place is much improved in consequence.
For the hospitality of Calcutta I cannot say much; nor do I know a place
where a friendless stranger landing without good introductory letters,
would meet with a more chilling reception. I do not speak from
experience, having fortunately been properly provided with credentials;
but I do not say it without good authority. Of the hospitality of the
military gentlemen of the Presidency, and especially of the Dum Dum
Artillery, I have pleasure in reporting more favourably. Calcutta has
its theatre, its clubs, its races, and its fox-hounds. On the
race-course may be seen some fine specimens of the Arab horse, small
compared to the English racer, but unsurpassed for spirit and symmetry.
Its amusements and attractions, however, are so outweighed by its
wretched climate, that I would rather pass my days growing sugar in
Singapore, than live amid all the splendour of this proud city.
From April to October inclusive, the weather is oppressively hot, with a
closeness in the atmosphere that renders respiration difficult, and
existence, without a punkah, almost insupportable. I have sat for days
suffering from the heat, and longing for sun-set in hope of relief which
never came; for, even through the long night, the thermometer did not
fall one degree. This extreme heat is occasionally relieved by a
thunder-storm accompanied with a deluge of rain, which clears the
atmosphere, cools the burning soil, and renders breathing an easy
process. The European inhabitants have many ways of rendering the
interior of their dwellings cooler than the external air; but, with all
their means and appliances, they are generally terribly exhausted before
bed-time comes. During this period, the European lady suffers more than
the gentleman, and, by the time the cold weather approaches, looks
haggard and woebegone. Children also suffer much during the summer. In
November, the weather becomes cool, and people begin to think of balls
and other gayeties. The winter, however, is not, in my opinion, a
healthy season, as the bills of mortality will indicate. A heavy fog
then settles over the city and neighbourhood every night, through which,
at sun-rise, one can hardly see ten yards, producing not a bracing cold,
but a chilling damp. This does not last all day, for the heat is severe
from ten A. M. till three P. M., even in mid-winter. The lower class of
natives suffer much, and great numbers die during this season of the
year, as they are very careless, bathe in the river daily as usual, and
are too poor to make any change in their dress, which is far from
sufficient to protect them from the damp nights. The wealthier native
wraps his shoulders in an ample cashmere shawl; but even he leaves his
legs and the lower half of his person with only summer clothing.
During the autumn, Calcutta is a very gay place, and makes up for its
dullness during the summer. This is the season for horse-racing,
hunting, shooting, and theatrical amusements, into which the numerous
indigo-planters who come to town from their plantations about this time,
enter with spirit, if the crops have been good and prices fair.
Among the sights in and around Calcutta, I would recommend the visiter
to make a point of seeing, the Mint, the native Bazaars, the Dum Dum
Artillery Station, the Ishapoor Gunpowder Manufactory, and Mr.
Wakefield's farm at Acra. I mention these as having been myself
gratified with examining them. The Mint is, perhaps, the finest in the
world. Captain (now Colonel) Forbes, who kindly shewed me over every
part of it, said, I think, they could turn out 500,000 coins in
twenty-four hours. In the different bazaars, the stranger will find the
most extraordinary collection of commodities, Indian, European,
American, Chinese, and of other countries, that he could ever have
conceived. The zeal of the different vendors in crying up and bepraising
their own goods at the expense of their neighbours, will amuse him,
while he will feel not a little surprised at the cheapness of many
European articles, such as crockery, millinery, hosiery, &c. &c. Should
he be a military man, his visit to Dum Dum will delight him, that
station being the head-quarters of the Bengal Artillery, and its
officers are celebrated for their kindness and hospitality to
strangers. With my visit to Ishapoor, I had every reason to be pleased.
I not only saw the whole process of powder-manufacture on a very large
scale, but met with a hearty welcome from Major Timbrel, of the
Artillery, who at that time superintended the establishment. The river
scenery near Ishapoor is much superior to what it is lower down; and a
good view of the pretty town of Chinsurah,[16] on the opposite bank of
the Hooghly, is commanded from Major Timbrel's verandah. Acra farm is
situated some twelve or fifteen miles below Calcutta. I visited it as a
stranger, while waiting in a ship for the flood tide; and its proprietor
gave me a most hospitable reception. Mr. Wakefield has completely
established the practicability of curing meat all through the year in
this climate, so as to keep at sea for three years. He told me, he
killed 25,000 hogs per annum; and, on my asking whether he suspended
operations during the hot months, his reply was, "No, we go on at all
seasons." I can vouch for the goodness of the hams, bacon, sausages,
lard, &c. &c., which he exports, and shall be very glad if these remarks
should lead a purchaser to his door. The muddy creeks near Acra farm
swarm with alligators, (whether attracted by the smell of blood or not,
I cannot say,) and they occasionally become very troublesome. The day
before my visit, Mr. Wakefield had had a mortal combat with one sixteen
feet long, which he succeeded in destroying single-handed, and had
brought home in proof of his prowess.
[Footnote 16: Chinsurah was, until 1825, a Dutch settlement;
and we then obtained it and Malacca in exchange for
Bencoolen.]
One of the most remarkable objects in or near Calcutta, is the
celebrated Banian-tree in the East-India Company's Botanical Garden on
the banks of the Hooghly, immediately opposite Garden Reach. This tree
is, without exception, the most splendid vegetable production I ever
saw: and its immense size and great age may be judged of, when I
mention, that a friend in whom I place the utmost confidence told me, he
measured the circumference of the space it shaded at noon-day, and found
that, allowing eighteen inches square per man, there was sufficient room
for eighteen thousand men to stand under the shade of this venerable
patriarch of the forest. This could be effected, however, only by
removing the many stems of the tree which now occupy nearly the whole
space covered by the branches, and are so numerous and thick, that it is
impossible to trace the parent one. It is a mighty tree, and worthy of
the proud place it occupies in the first botanical garden in the world.
What a wonderful change a few short years bring about in these days of
improvement! When I first knew Calcutta, there was no such thing as an
overland conveyance for letters; and, as for sending a ship to China
against the monsoon, no one ever dreamed of it. The whole world is now a
witness of the regularity of the monthly communication with England
_viâ_ the Red Sea; and the passage to and from China is made at all
seasons of the year, in defiance of monsoons and all other impediments.
The spirited owner and commander of the barque, "Red Rover," has the
credit of first shewing to the world, that the north-east monsoon in the
Chinese Sea was to be conquered by perseverance in a small vessel: his
success exceeded, I believe, his own sanguine expectations, and it is
pleasing to add, that he was amply rewarded in a pecuniary point of view
for his exertions. His example was soon followed by other parties
connected with the opium-trade; and the communication between China,
Calcutta, and Bombay is now regularly kept up all the year through, by
as fine a fleet of clippers as ever rode the sea, commanded by men who
appear to defy the weather. They make their passages in a wonderfully
short period of time, and stand high in the opinion of the mercantile
community of India. They are well paid, as they deserve to be, for the
trying work they have to go through; and many of them have recently
returned to their native country with comfortable, if not ample
independencies.
Another improvement of great importance to the trade of Calcutta, is the
facility with which powerful steamers can now be procured, to tow ships
up and down the Hooghly. Any one who has gone up and down this river,
must be aware of the dangerous nature of its navigation, owing to the
many mud banks, shifting sands, and very rapid current; and must be
sensible of the comfort of having a powerful steamer towing ahead. The
saving of time by leaving the port under steam, is immense. I remember,
on one occasion, overtaking, in thirty-six hours from town, two ships
that had left three weeks before us. The number of lives saved every
year by these steamers, is beyond calculation. This is now so well
understood, that passengers make a point of ascertaining whether a
steamer is to be employed, before taking their passage in any ship; and
the under-writers willingly contribute towards the expense thus
incurred, considering themselves as repaid by the great saving in what
is called "River Risk."
I have heard many complaints against Dutch Custom-houses, but the
Customs in Calcutta, I can state from my own knowledge, are far more
troublesome and unreasonable. Go to any Dutch Custom-house in
Netherlands India, and produce your invoice through some known agent;
your goods will be cleared and passed without further trouble. At
Calcutta, no man's word is taken, but every package landed or shipped
must actually _pass through_ the Custom-house. Even opium purchased from
Government, and delivered to the purchaser from a Government warehouse,
is subjected to this annoying process. Surely the authorities might
allow merchandize purchased from themselves, and delivered from their
own premises, to be taken direct to the wharf, and put on board ship. A
Custom-house officer might accompany the drug, if it was deemed
necessary, and see it fairly afloat before leaving it. The present
arrangement involves a useless waste of the merchant's time and trouble.
The Semaphore established from Kedgeree to Calcutta, is of very great
advantage to the shipping interest of the place. Any vessel getting on
shore, or coming from sea in distress, can send intelligence of her
situation to town in fifteen minutes, and have a steamer down to aid her
in twelve hours.
It would hardly be fair to leave Calcutta without saying a word in
praise of the pilot service. The pilots here are paid by Government, and
are a highly respectable body of men: they enter the service when very
young, as volunteers, and rise by degrees to the rank of masters and
branch pilots, the latter being the highest grade. Branch pilots
generally command pilot brigs, which cruise off the mouth of the Hooghly
for the purpose of supplying vessels that come from sea with pilots to
take them up the river, and of taking the pilots out of ships bound to
sea. Master pilots, mates, and second mates are engaged in taking
vessels out and in, while the youngsters are employed in heaving the
lead, and studying the navigation of the rivers. The whole service is
remarkably well conducted. The work undergone by its members is very
hard during the south-west monsoon; and they are generally short-lived.
This may be easily accounted for, in such a climate, by their constant
exposure to heat and rain, to say nothing of gales of wind and frequent
sound duckings from the spray of the sea.
The natives of Bengal are not favourites of mine: they are much given to
lying and thieving, and are sad cowards. It is true, they are not
pirates, like the Malays; but this is owing, I suspect, to want of
courage, more than of inclination. A Malay servant, should his master
threaten to strike him, will say: "Cut my pay, sir, or turn me away if I
am in fault, but (emphatically) don't strike me." A Bengalee, under
similar circumstances, would cringe under his master's feet, _salaam_ to
the ground, beg to be whipped, but "Oh," would be his cry, "don't cut my
pay, sir." Nothing used to annoy me so much as this excessive servility
of the Bengalee servants: they will do any thing for _pice, pice_; that
word being repeated by them at least ten times oftener than any other
in their vocabulary. With all this, they are lazy, and require more
looking after than any other servants I know. They certainly work for
little pay, but that little is sufficient to supply their families with
the necessaries of life, and to leave a trifle to put by, if the head of
the family does not gamble. The palanquin-bearers are the most useful
men to a stranger: for thirty-five rupees (3l. 10s.) he will get a
palanquin and six men who will carry him all over the town, a whole
month, for that trifling sum; they will take him out in an evening, wait
patiently in the street till he is ready to return home, and be at his
door by six the next morning, ready to obey his orders. The _circar_,
too, is a useful character, but, generally, a sad scamp: he will conduct
the stranger all over this vast city, shew him where any thing is to be
had, pay his bills for him, and save him a world of trouble; which he
makes answer his purpose by deducting one _pice_, or about two per cent,
from every rupee you may order him to pay for you, and by charging a
_moderate_ per-centage on what he may be commissioned to procure for
"Master." It is astonishing how quickly these _circars_ find out when an
old customer or "Master" returns to Calcutta. I have been visited by
mine within an hour after reaching town. In one instance, I had come up
the river in an express boat, and had arrived as soon as the mail; but,
presently, in came Master's _circar_, bowing low, and "hoping Master
has had a pleasant voyage, and made too much money."
The mighty current of the sacred Ganges is now thoroughly conquered by
all-powerful Steam; and the Indian officer ordered up the river to join
his corps, can now perform in three weeks, the journey that, fifteen
years ago, would have taken him as many months. Never having travelled
in the river steamers, I can say nothing about the voyage; but, from
their being constantly filled with passengers and cargo, I presume they
give entire satisfaction. The fact of their carrying the European
traveller so much more rapidly than the native boats can do, through the
unhealthy Sunderbunds, is of itself sufficient to induce every wayfarer
to take advantage of them.
CHAPTER VIII.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
VOYAGE FROM SINGAPORE TO SYDNEY--PORT JACKSON--FIRST
IMPRESSIONS PRODUCED BY SYDNEY--THE PUBLIC-HOUSE
NUISANCE--SYDNEY JURIES--CATTLE DEALERS--TOWN
IMPROVEMENTS--LAWYERS, DOCTORS, AND CLERGY.
Circumstances induced me, in the early part of 1836, to proceed to New
South Wales, where I passed three years; at the expiration of which I
returned to the Straits in much better health than I had enjoyed for
years before.
The voyage from Singapore to Sydney, _viâ_ Java Head and Bass's Straits,
occupies generally from sixty to seventy days; a much longer period than
it ought to do, considering the distance, but much time and space are
lost in getting southward from Java Head. Crossing the south-east
trade-wind, a ship makes nearly as much westing as she does southing,
and of course has all the former to run back again on getting the
westerly winds in the latitude of 38° to 40° south. We were unfortunate
in this part of our voyage, and got no westerly winds till we reached
the forty-first parallel of south latitude: from that point they took us
to within a few miles of the entrance to Bass's Straits, where we met a
strong easterly gale, which detained us several days. This was in March;
and I would advise ships bound from India to New South Wales, in the
month of January, February, or March, to go to the southward of Van
Diemen's Land altogether: they will thus carry the strong westerly winds
longer, avoid the easterly gales that blow during these months in Bass's
Straits, and probably shorten their passage ten or twelve days. Up the
bold and iron-bound shore of this mighty island, from its south-east
promontory to the heads of Port Jackson, we ran with a strong southerly
gale, and entered the most magnificent of harbours after a seventy days'
passage.
The entrance into Port Jackson is between two rocky heads, called, the
North and South Head. As the former projects rather further into the
Pacific than the latter, and somewhat overlaps it, the stranger would
have some difficulty in finding his port, were it not for the
light-house on the South Head; but, even with this guide, the
inexperienced eye cannot perceive the entrance till right opposite it.
We ran in with a heavy sea outside, and had scarcely got a ship's length
inside the Heads, when we were in water as smooth as a mill-pond. The
steep black rocks on our right looked fearfully near to us, but the
water is deep close to them, and no difficulty is experienced in beating
up to Sydney Cove, a distance of six miles. The only danger in the way
is a shoal or reef, bearing the strange name of the "Sow and Pigs": on
it, however, there is a light-vessel, so that it may be safely passed,
even at night.
Were all the fleets in the world congregated in Port Jackson, they would
not half occupy it. From the Heads to a mile above Sydney Cove, there is
a succession of beautiful bays, with deep water close to the rocks, and
good anchorage in all directions. The scenery is magnificent, though, to
an eye accustomed to that of Singapore, the green is not quite brilliant
enough. A succession of hill and dale, with here and there a neat
cottage perched on some rocky point, the soil clothed with trees, the
waters of the many bays glistening in the sun, and the distant view of
the heights and windmills beyond Sydney, form a picture that can
scarcely be surpassed.
On landing in Sydney, the traveller from India is ready to exclaim,
Surely this is not a town some seventeen thousand miles from England!
Every thing reminds him of home: he sees English servants, English
tradesmen, English shops; in a word, a regular English town, with its
inns and every thing conducted on the English principle. I took up my
quarters with my family at the Pulteney Hotel, where we were made very
comfortable, and found the terms moderate: the only thing that
disappointed us was, the smallness of the bed-rooms. Sydney is a
regularly built town, its spacious streets running at right angles with
each other. The houses are well built, close to each other, with narrow
fronts, and generally three stories high. Here we have George street,
Prince's street, King street, Pitt street, Hyde Park, the Surrey
Hills,--all recalling, by their appellations, the mother country. Hyde
Park, though it comes far short of its namesake in London, is
nevertheless a very pleasant spot for a promenade, being nicely shaded
by trees planted during Sir R. Bourke's government, and is an ornament
to the town. "Government Domain" is a piece of ground in the rear of the
Governor's house, reserved by Government for a garden and
pleasure-grounds: it is tastefully laid out, and intersected with
numerous walks, which are open to the public; and many a pleasant party
is formed by the industrious classes, who have only Sunday to spare for
a little recreation in the open air. The Surrey Hills are being fast
covered with gentlemen's houses, for which a better situation could
scarcely be chosen. _Woolloomoolloo_, or Darlinghurst, as it is now
called, is the favourite suburb, and boasts of many handsome mansions,
each with its garden. Among these are the respective residences of the
Chief-Justice, the Bishop of Australia, and other members of the _élite_
of this metropolis. These houses all command a fine view of the harbour
with its shipping and the surrounding scenery.
Sydney has its theatre, its club-house, its stage and mail coaches,
while steamers ply all about the harbour, and up and down the coast; an
immense convenience to the inhabitants of the northern districts of the
Colony. It has a large and well-supplied market, where the gardeners,
farmers, &c. from the neighbourhood collect their produce for sale, and
where, in good seasons, (that is, seasons in which rain has been
abundant,) the housekeeper may procure supplies on reasonable terms.
There is also, immediately outside the town, a hay and cattle market,
where large herds of cattle and flocks of sheep are constantly for sale,
and generally find ready buyers among the numerous emigrants who are
daily landing on these shores.
The greatest drawback upon the prosperity of the lower orders in Sydney,
arises from the public-houses, of which there are some three hundred,
nearly all filled, from morning to night, with men and women, too often
spending the last penny they possess in the world. The magnitude of this
evil may be estimated from the fact, that, in 1838, the revenue derived
from ardent spirits and public-house licences amounted to the enormous
sum of 110,000l. sterling. No stranger can take a walk through Sydney
without remarking with astonishment the number of these nuisances; and
the list of drunkards exhibited at the police every Monday morning, will
increase his surprise and disgust. So enormous is this evil on the
sabbath-day, that bands of constables patrole the streets for the
purpose of clearing them of drunken men and women, whom they consign to
the "lock-up." These constables, by the way, are extremely brutal in
their manner of handling any unfortunate wight that may fall into their
hands; and I have been frequently disgusted at their barbarity. What
better conduct, however, can be expected from men, nine-tenths of whom
either are or have been convicts? When I was at Sydney, the jail was a
most wretched place, not half large enough for the many unfortunate
beings it had occasionally to receive. A more commodious one has since
been erected, with space enough to allow of the separate classification
of debtors, highway robbers, bush-rangers, and felons, which could not
be always attended to in the old building. The jail is cleared four
times a year by holding criminal courts. The calendar is usually very
heavy, and the crimes are generally of a heinous nature. The prisoner
has the privilege of choosing whether he will be tried by a civil or by
a military jury. Many prefer the latter, knowing that, whatever the
verdict may be, it will be a conscientious one. The civil jury is
generally composed of publicans, and is always chosen by the Sydney
scamps, in the hope that a _chum_ or _pal_ may be found in the list,
which is not unfrequently the case. The hardest task the
Attorney-General has to perform, is, to get together a respectable jury.
When it is composed of civilians, the prisoner is sure to challenge
every respectable man in the box. By this means, he generally succeeds
in getting twelve men sworn, of whom two or three are of the stamp he
requires,--men that will, in vulgar phrase, "swear through a six-inch
plank" to get him off. It is no uncommon case for Sydney jurors, on
retiring to consider their verdict, to exclaim that their minds are made
up, and that they will be d----d if they will give a verdict of guilty.
Another source of trouble to all persons concerned with a court of
justice here, is the extreme difficulty experienced in extracting truth
from witnesses. It is almost impossible to conceive the effrontery with
which nine-tenths of these men will swear any thing: they invariably
prevaricate and contradict themselves when cross-examined, and are not
unfrequently sent from the witness-box to prison, to take their trial
for perjury. I remember, on one occasion, seeing a father, mother, and
three grown-up daughters, who came into court to sustain a charge
against a farmer for an assault on one of the daughters, committed for
perjury, while the prisoner was released without a stain on his name.
The crime of cattle-stealing, probably, comes oftener before the Judges
of New South Wales than any other, particularly since the punishment for
it has been changed from death to banishment for life. When death was
the penalty, many graziers put up with their loss, rather than prosecute
the offender: now, the cattle-stealer is shewn no mercy, from one end of
the Colony to the other. The Judge has no discretionary power with this
class of offenders, but, in the event of a verdict of guilty, must pass
the sentence of banishment for life. If the prisoner came free to the
colony, he is banished to Van Diemen's Land: if, on the other hand, he
is an old convict, he is sent to rusticate for the remainder of his days
on Norfolk Island. Whole droves of stolen cattle are, nevertheless,
continually offered for sale in the neighbourhood of Sydney, and ready
purchasers are found for them, the risk of being brought up as a
receiver not being so great as might be supposed. The regular
cattle-stealer has stations in the bush, where he collects his
ill-gotten herds, defaces and alters their brands, and keeps them till
the new brand has healed and assumed the usual appearance; he then
boldly starts for market in open day, and, though he may be met by the
former owners of the beasts he is driving, he fears nothing, proof of
identity being a difficult task, when a P has been made into a B, and,
perhaps, three or four other brands have been added.
During the administration of Sir Richard Bourke, great improvements were
made in the streets of Sydney, particularly in the direction of the
different wharfs, from which the ascent used to be frightfully steep. To
remedy this evil, and at the same time to improve the appearance of the
town, Sir Richard cut away the brows of the ridges, and filled up the
hollows with the rubbish. This proceeding caused a great outcry among
those persons who had property where the cuttings took place, and whose
dwellings, in some cases, were many feet above the new level of the
street. In the course of time, these proprietors descended from their
airy posts, knocked down their old unsightly tenements, cut down their
ground to the proper level, and built new and more sightly houses; so
that the Governor's proceedings have improved both the streets and the
general appearance of the town, as well as enhanced the value of the
property wherever the cuttings were made.
Sydney abounds with doctors, lawyers, and parsons, all of whom thrive
here. The lawyer especially reaps a rich harvest among a population
notoriously fond of litigation, and prone to give cause for it in
various ways. As usual, however, the supply has of late exceeded the
demand; and the barristers do not now lounge in such stylish carriages
as they were accustomed to be seen in some years ago. The medical men's
harvest, a sickly season, is not a rare occurrence in Sydney, though the
Colony generally is remarkable for its salubrity. The last summer I
spent there, the deaths were very numerous, and cast a gloom over the
place. Influenza and fevers were the prevailing complaints, and were
probably attributable to the dry, hot winds prevalent at the time,
together with the badness of the water in common use, and the
intemperate habits of the people. The want of a supply of good water is
much felt. Every house has its pump, but the water is not fit for any
thing but washing, and is, for the most part, so hard, that soap will
not dissolve in it. Government had commenced laying pipes to supply the
town with this necessary article; but, when I left the Colony, they had
not been brought nearer than to within a mile; and I have not heard of
their being since carried any further. Water-carts go round, selling
water at a penny or sometimes three halfpence per bucket, which is of a
good quality.
Previously to the arrival of Sir Richard Bourke, the clergy of the
Church of England were the only persons in the Colony that were
authorized to marry, to bury, or to christen. Sir Richard put an end to
this extraordinary state of affairs, by his celebrated Church Act; and
now, every one may be married by the minister of his own persuasion, and
follow, in religious matters, the dictates of his conscience. Strange
as it may appear, Sir Richard's proceedings in this matter gave great
offence to the magnates of the Church of England; and the Archdeacon
went home to remonstrate with Her Majesty's Government on the subject.
His Reverence took nothing, however, by his motion, Lord Glenelg, the
then Secretary for the Colonies, highly approving of all that had been
done. But the Archdeacon returned to the Colony a Bishop, and, when I
left it, was busily engaged in erecting a cathedral by public
subscription.
CHAPTER IX.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
TOWNSHIP OF MAITLAND--THE PATERSON DISTRICT--WINTER
SPORTS--THE KANGAROO--AUSTRALIAN HUSBANDRY--CONVICT
SERVANTS--BENEFIT OF ENFORCING AN OBSERVANCE OF
SUNDAY--THE HOT SEASON.
From Sydney, I proceeded northward, by steam, to Maitland, on the river
Hunter, and thence up the country bordering on those pretty little
rivers, the Paterson and the Allyn.
Maitland puts a Scotchman in mind of the "lang toon of Kirkaldy,"
consisting of merely one long street. From its situation, at the head of
the navigation of the Hunter, and the centre of the very first
agricultural district of New South Wales, it is likely to become a
large, thriving, and important place. The country in the immediate
neighbourhood is flat, and the soil rich, yielding most luxuriant crops
of wheat and Indian corn.
The season of 1838-39 was a poor one for the farmer: flour rose in
price to 60s. the cwt.; and the quartern loaf, before I left the Colony,
was selling as high as two shillings and eight-pence. This was a time to
test the fertility of the soil round Maitland, as well as the benefit it
derives from its proximity to the sea. During this summer, the whole
district was favoured with occasional refreshing showers; its crops were
forward, and the yield good; and while crops in the southern districts
had failed from drought, the Hunter-river farmers were sending their
surplus produce to Sydney for sale.
The township of Maitland is divided into two towns or villages, called,
East and West Maitland. The former has been fixed upon as the site of
the town by Government, and the latter by the public, who have, as
usual, shewn more wisdom in their choice than their masters have,
inasmuch as they have planted their town within a few hundred yards of
the head of the navigation; whereas the Government town is three miles
further up the river, and is unapproachable by steamers, or even by
small craft. The two, however, will be joined together ere long, (most
likely they are by this time,) as they are rising rapidly into
importance. For the beauty of the country between Maitland and the sea,
I cannot say much: it used to remind me of Lower Bengal, being so very
flat, and, in some places, so low as to be frequently flooded.
Like the houses in almost all new towns, those in Maitland form a motley
assemblage of buildings of all sizes, shapes, and colours. Many of the
smaller and inferior ones were, however, disappearing, even in 1839; and
more sightly as well as more commodious buildings were rising up in
their place. The traveller will find comfortable accommodation at either
the Union or the Rose Inn; and the charges are moderate. He will also
have the advantage of meeting settlers from all parts of the
neighbouring country, from whom he will readily obtain any information
he may require. Frequent cattle-sales are held here; and the beasts are,
without trouble or much expense, conveyed to Sydney by steam in twelve
hours.
The country from Maitland, going up the Paterson, is undulating and
generally fertile; particularly the flat lands on the banks of the
river. As you proceed towards the village of Paterson, you observe
numerous prettily situated farm-houses with their smiling gardens in
front, and fields of wheat between them and the river. At the village,
the navigation of this little river ceases; and the country becomes more
and more hilly as you proceed higher up: the banks of the river,
however, maintain their high character for fertility all the way to its
source, and many thriving establishments are seen as the traveller
pursues his journey. This part of New South Wales, being so hilly, and
consequently somewhat humid, does not answer the sheep-farmer's
purposes; but the grazier finds his cattle and horses thrive well on
these hills, and the agriculturist finds the valleys yield him excellent
crops of tobacco, wheat, and maize. The first is becoming an article of
great importance to the Paterson farmer, and has helped many of those
gentlemen through the difficulties from which the Colony has been
recently suffering.
Land on the Upper Paterson was selling, in 1837, at 20s. per acre, in
lots of six hundred and forty acres, of which not more than forty or
fifty were arable land, the rest being what is called here, common bush
land, thinly covered with trees, and affording tolerable pasture for
cattle. Purchasers of land at the above-named rate, have, I believe,
found their bargains profitable, notwithstanding the heavy expense they
had to incur in clearing and fencing the arable portion of it, in
addition to the outlay for a dwelling, out-offices, &c. The settler on a
small farm of this description is almost sure to do well, if he is
industrious, and provided that he keeps clear of that colonial pest, the
public-house. He will have very hard work the first two years; but his
returns will well repay him even in moderately favourable seasons,
while, in good times, they will be very profitable. A neighbour of mine
raised, in the season of 1837-38, on eighteen acres of fresh cleared
land, a crop of tobacco, which he cured and manufactured into
negro-head on the spot: it yielded one hundred and fifty kegs of 100lb.
weight each; and the whole was sold at 1s. 4d. per pound, thus giving a
total of 900l. This farmer had fifteen hands, who, in addition to the
tobacco, enabled him to cultivate wheat and maize sufficient to supply
the farm, and to leave 200l. worth for sale. The outlay for the twelve
months, including every thing, did not exceed 350l.; and I have shewn
the returns to have been 1100l. This slight sketch will afford an idea
of what an industrious farmer may do in the Paterson district. As soon
as he can collect a few pounds, they may be profitably invested in the
purchase of some good cows, which will not only supply him and his
family with butter and milk, but will pay well by their annual increase.
In 1838, stock was worth, in this neighbourhood, as under:--Cows, 5l.;
Fat Cattle, 7l. 10s.; Working Oxen, 10l.; Brood Mares, 40l.; good
Roadsters, 40l.; Sheep,--Ewes, 2l., Wethers, 17s. 6d. Things have
changed since that time: but more of this hereafter.
During the three years I resided in Australia, I lived almost entirely
on the banks of the Paterson, and the reader may therefore depend upon
the correctness of my information regarding every thing in that
neighbourhood. It bears a high character for the salubrity of its
climate; and very justly so, according to my experience. Not a member of
my establishment was ill the whole time we were there; nor do I
recollect a serious case of illness among our neighbours. The winter is
mild,--just cold enough to make a fire comfortable; while the fine
frosty mornings do great good to one who has arrived from India. I used
to enjoy them exceedingly, and invariably walked out before breakfast to
breathe the fine clear air. The cold weather sets in in April, and
continues till September. This is the season to enjoy a gallop in chase
of that most extraordinary animal, the kangaroo. Notwithstanding that
this part of the country is rather hilly, the hardy horses manage to
carry their riders across it in safety. The river abounds with wild duck
at this season, as well as with perch and a small fish here called
herring, from its resemblance to that fish. The settler may thus not
only find amusement for himself in shooting or fishing, but may make a
very agreeable addition to his bush fare by his morning's ramble. The
flesh of the kangaroo is literally good, for nothing: the tail makes
very good soup, but the carcass of the full-grown animal is otherwise of
no value to the European, though the native contrives to make an
occasional meal of it. The young kangaroo of two or three months old,
makes a tolerable substitute for jugged hare, and is frequently on the
tables of the settlers. As population advances up the country, the
kangaroo retires. I have, however, seen some hundreds of a large size
in their native woods, skipping about, and bounding off on the approach
of man. The notion, that a kangaroo makes use of his tail in leaping, is
a mistaken one. I have watched them bounding along a plain, and could
see distinctly that the tail never touched the ground. The female, when
pursued, will retain its young one in the pouch with which nature has
provided it, till very closely pressed by the dogs: it will then drop
the little one, leave it to chance, and make off with increased speed. A
full-grown male ("old man," the aboriginals call them) is more than a
match for a single dog, and will frequently severely punish a couple of
assailants before surrendering. These animals are easily tamed, and make
very pretty pets in a garden. Speaking of a garden, we had an excellent
orchard, which supplied us with abundance of apricots, peaches,
nectarines, figs, green-gages, apples, pears, and oranges, while the
garden furnished many a dish of strawberries: for gooseberries, the
climate is not cold enough.
In March and April, the farmer is busied in preparing his fields for
wheat-sowing, which ought to be finished by the middle of May. Of this
grain, the ground here yields a fair crop, though not equal to that
usually reaped near Maitland: it is, however, generally more than
sufficient for the use of the district, which may be called a
grain-exporting one. Some farmers sow wheat on land from which they
have just reaped a crop of Indian corn: this proves, I need scarcely
say, in the long run, very bad economy. On a farm where wheat, corn, and
tobacco are grown, there is always abundance of employment for old and
young. Should field labour be suspended by the inclemency of the
weather, or by any other cause, the farmer finds his servants full
occupation in husking maize, threshing wheat, stripping, shifting, and
curing tobacco. I used to keep my convict-labourers employed in light
work, such as the above-mentioned, till ten o'clock at night: this I had
no _right_ to exact; but my plan was, to keep a regular account current
with every convict on the place, giving him credit so much for every
extra hour he worked, and letting him know, every Saturday night, how
much was due to him, which I allowed him to take out in any shape but
money or spirits. Giving him the former, would have enabled him to
procure the latter. It was generally taken out in tea and sugar; and I
never had the slightest trouble in settling these little accounts. I had
ten convicts assigned to me by Government; and I confess that I would
rather have had those men than most of the free emigrants that came to
the Colony. Over the convict, the master has great power, the knowledge
of which on the part of the servant, with good treatment and a firm hand
held over him, will make him do a great deal of work. The Government
allowance of rations does not include tea, sugar, or tobacco; but most
masters allow two ounces of the first and last, and one pound of the
second per week; which not only makes the men contented, but gives the
master more hold over them, as they stand in fear of his stopping the
indulgence in the event of misconduct. From my own observation I should
say, that nine-tenths of the misdoings amongst convict-servants, that
one hears of in New South Wales, arises from bad masters. What, for
instance, can be expected from men assigned to a drunkard, who not only
drinks himself, but makes a point of inducing his servants, whether free
or bond, to take out their earnings in rum, of which he has always a
plentiful supply on hand? What from the servants of a master who neither
pays any attention to the Sabbath himself, nor makes those under him
observe it; who, on the slightest provocation, drags his men before the
magistrate, and swears literally to any thing, to have them flogged; who
never affords them the slightest indulgence, and whose whole aim is, to
get the greatest possible quantity of work out of them for the smallest
possible outlay? Nothing tends more directly to promote the good order
of a farm, than mustering everybody on it at noon on Sunday, for the
purpose of reading Divine service to them. Setting aside the moral
benefit that this practice may be supposed to produce, it puts an
effectual stop to distant wandering on that day. A man who has to appear
cleanly dressed on Sunday at noon, cannot stray far from home either
before or after that hour. On farms where this custom is not kept up,
the convict starts at daylight for some haunt where spirits are to be
had, to pay for which he has most probably robbed his master; there he
spends the day in riot and ribaldry, and reels home about midnight in a
state that renders him very unfit for resuming his work on Monday
morning. The convict-servant soon finds out what sort of a master he has
to deal with, and, to use their own slang, after trying it on for a bit,
in nine cases out of ten, he yields to circumstances. Two of mine tried
a few of their old pranks at starting; but a timely, though moderate
application of "the cat," put an entire stop to them. It is, however,
useless to say more on this subject, as the system of assigning servants
to private individuals has been done away with by orders from the Home
Government. The female convicts are much more difficult to manage than
the men, and often set their masters at defiance: they are generally of
the lowest and most wretched class of women.
The summer sets in in October, and wheat harvest begins in November. The
weather then becomes exceedingly hot, and the heat is occasionally
increased by the hot winds that blow from the north-west. These
generally (I speak of what I have observed on the Paterson) blow for
three days successively, with considerable violence, and do no small
injury to the farmer: they are very dry, make the lips crack, and the
skin feel as if about to crack; and should they come across a field of
wheat just shewing the ear, they would blight it to a certainty. After
expending their force for three days, they are usually succeeded by a
sharp southerly gale, which is frequently accompanied with rain, and
soon makes every thing not actually blighted look green again. Though
the sun, during summer, has, apparently, as much power as in India, I
have never experienced any injurious effects from it, though frequently
exposed to its rays all day, both on foot and on horseback. The European
labourer works in the field here through the day, the same as in
England, and does not seem to suffer from the heat. During the hot
winds, indeed, he is liable to an almost unquenchable thirst, to relieve
which, he may drink with perfect impunity a large quantity of sugar and
water; but those who have recourse to water only, are sure to suffer for
their imprudence, though not seriously.
November and December are the busy months at sheep-stations, all hands
being then employed in clipping the wool and preparing it for market.
CHAPTER X.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
BUSH-RANGERS--THE DROUGHT OF 1838-9--THE SETTLER'S
TROUBLES--ORNITHOLOGY OF AUSTRALIA--ABORIGINAL
TRIBES.
On the Paterson, we were never troubled with those dangerous characters
called in the Colony, Bush-rangers. I can give no reason for their
avoiding this neighbourhood, but know that they did avoid it, and that
none of the residents in the district ever gave them a thought. Other
parts of the Colony are not so fortunate; and loud complaints are
constantly being made, of want of protection against those daring
marauders. They are runaway convicts, who take to the bush, either to
get clear of hard masters, or from a love of old habits; and, now and
then, they keep a whole county in a state of alarm. Frequent instances
of their daring occurred during my residence in Australia, some of a
ferocious character, while others tended more to excite laughter. Three
of those scamps visited, at noon-day, a settler's house, and, coolly
walking in, called for luncheon, and made themselves quite at home.
While thus regaling themselves, they happened to see a violin hanging
against the wall, and asked their _host_, whether he could play. On
being answered in the affirmative, they made him strike up, while they
danced to his music. When tired of this amusement, they helped
themselves to whatever struck their fancy, and then went to the stable,
picked out three of the best horses, leaving their own tired jades
behind, and rode off. The master of the house was the only person at
home at the time, and was unarmed; all his men were engaged in a distant
field; and he was threatened with instant death, should he give the
slightest alarm. Resistance, therefore, was impossible. Such
depredations have latterly been much checked by the exertions of the
mounted police. This very efficient body is composed of men drafted from
Her Majesty's regiments stationed in the Colony, who are mounted and
dressed at the expense of the local Government, and trained for their
work. They patrole the country in all directions, and have captured and
brought to justice many of the most desperate Bush-rangers, as well as
given a check to the several organized bodies of cattle-stealers.
Those parts of the Colony most distant from the capital, are, naturally,
most annoyed by bad characters of all description; and many of the
settlers trust to their own strength, more than to the police, to defend
their property. A friend of mine residing in Wellington Valley, three
hundred and fifty miles west of Sidney, used to arm himself and his
groom, and sally out in search of any desperate character he might have
heard of as being in the neighbourhood: he was more than once
successful, and became quite a noted man among the Bush-ranging
fraternity, who took good care to keep at a respectable distance from
him. Were some other settlers blessed with as much nerve and courage as
the gentleman I allude to, Bush-rangers would soon become less numerous.
A settler's life in an agricultural district, is pleasant enough, but it
has its drawbacks. A season of drought makes sad work in his fields, and
among his flocks. In the season of 1838-39, water became so scarce, that
many of the best pasture-lands in our neighbourhood were of necessity
abandoned, and the sheep as well as cattle were kept down on the banks
of the river, then reduced to a mere chain of pools, the intervening
channel being quite dry. The herbage was completely eaten up, and the
trees in many parts were cut down, in order that the hungry animals
might eat the leaves. One of my neighbours, to save his flocks, turned
them on his half-grown crop of wheat, by which means he saved some
thousands of sheep, but lost his wheat. Tens of thousands of sheep and
cattle, all over the country, died during this season; and grain crops
failed everywhere, except on the banks of my three favourite rivers;
namely, the Hunter, the Paterson, and the Allyn. There was scarcely a
settler on either of these rivers, that had not a little to spare;
while, in less favoured parts of the Colony, the farmer had to pay
enormous prices for flour to feed his men; and the cart-hire came to
nearly as much as the cost of the flour. I knew one gentleman who
despatched from Sydney four drays loaded with stores for his stations
near Bathurst, each dray drawn by seven oxen; and so great was the
scarcity of water and fodder on the road, that only four of the poor
animals reached their journey's end, the others having died on the road
from sheer starvation. Flour rose during this season to 60l. per ton,
and the quartern loaf in Sydney was sold at 3s. 4d.
One of the greatest discomforts attendant upon a summer's residence in
the bush of Australia, arises from the swarms of flies, large and small,
that infest the house. The large blow-fly is a serious nuisance: many a
good joint of meat they spoil, in spite of every precaution. These
insects find their way everywhere, and destroy whatever they come near.
In the dairy, the greatest care is necessary to prevent these pests from
reaching the milk and butter, which they will taint in a second.
Scarcely less of a plague than the swarms of flies, are the myriads of
fleas which torment the tired farmer, and cheat him out of many an
hour's sleep: these noisome disturbers are in the soil, and not all the
care the best housewife can bestow, can diminish the number.
While on the subject of the settler's troubles, I may mention, that the
cockatoos annoy the farmer in Australia, as much as the crows do in
England: they attack his wheat and maize when the grain is ripening, by
hundreds; indeed, I may say, by thousands; and it requires a very active
watchman to keep them from doing serious injury to the crop, not so much
from the quantity they eat, as from what they destroy and scatter. These
birds, which, by the bye, furnish an excellent dish that occasionally
formed part of our dinner, are remarkably cunning: while the flock are
busily feeding on the farmer's wheat, two of their number are left on
some neighbouring trees to keep watch; these, on the approach of danger,
give a loud, shrill scream, which at once puts the thieves to flight,
and renders it very difficult for the sportsman to get a shot at one of
them. Besides the common white red-crested cockatoo, the woods are the
home of the black species; a rare bird, that I have never seen
elsewhere. Those brought to Singapore by the Celebes traders, are a
bastard species. On what they feed, I am not aware, never having seen
them in the wheat or maize fields. During the winter months, neither
white nor black cockatoos are to be seen; nor have I ever heard to what
place they migrate. The bird-fancier might here make as beautiful a
collection as I have ever seen. The different varieties of the parrot
tribe are countless, and extremely pretty: the king-parrot, the lowrie,
and the mountain parrot, are, perhaps, the most beautiful. Then, there
is the pretty little diamond sparrow, so called from its size, its
habits, resembling those of the common sparrow, and its plumage, which
exhibits a diamond pattern of black, white, and blue. Of the hawk tribe,
the varieties are numerous: the largest is the eagle-hawk, which now and
then carries off a lamb from the flocks of careless shepherds. Were I an
ornithologist, I might write a goodly volume on the birds of this
country; but I must content myself with these few notices; not
forgetting, however, to mention the stately black swan, a bird becoming
every year more rare.
We used frequently to be visited by tribes of the aboriginal inhabitants
of this vast continent. They are, without exception, the most complete
savages I have ever come across. They have no homes, no occupation
beyond procuring food for the day, and think nothing of to-morrow, which
they literally leave to take care of itself. They resist almost every
attempt to induce them to labour, and, if clothed to-day by some good
Samaritan, will, in all probability, appear naked at his door to-morrow,
having given away their clothes to some convict, in exchange for a pound
of flour or an ounce of tobacco. In their habits, they are literally
wanderers on the face of the earth, shifting their camp from place to
place as game grows scarce. In rainy weather, the only precaution I ever
saw them take, with a view to protect themselves from wet, was the
building a small hut, not much larger than a bee-hive, constructed of
the boughs of trees, with a small aperture on one side, into which the
"black-fellow"[17] thrusts his head and shoulders, and sleeps as sound
as a top, his legs and the lower half of his body being exposed to wind
and rain. In winter, they may be seen encamped round a fire after their
day's hunting, all naked, and stretched on the ground, with their feet
towards the fire; the men smoking, if they have any thing to smoke, and
the wretched-looking women composing themselves to sleep in the same
_natural_ state as their lords and masters.[18] They suffer much,
occasionally, from hunger, and may then be induced to do a day's work
about the farm, for which they will consider themselves well paid by a
pound of flour and an ounce of tobacco each. This reward must not be
given them, however, till their work is done: give it beforehand, and
not a hand's turn will they do, but decamp at once to enjoy their
dinner. As soon as they have eaten their bread, they light the pipes,
and never cease smoking till their tobacco is finished. Some of the men
are remarkably well made, and strong, able-bodied fellows. One who spent
a week now and then in my kitchen, doing any thing the cook told him,
for the promise of a supper, was a tall, good-looking fellow, named
Jamie. They are one and all christened in the bush by any European they
may ask for a name. A father applied to me one day for a name for his
little boy, and I forthwith called him "Donald;" at which the old man
and the rest of the tribe laughed heartily, saying, "All same your
horse." I had then a pony called Donald. To resume: Jamie was frequently
clothed by me, and was asked to sleep in the kitchen, or in one of the
out-offices, but all to no purpose: his clothes, he never kept a week,
and he invariably took his departure at sun-set to sleep in the open
air. In our district, I believe, the blacks were harmless people; but,
on the Upper Hunter, on Liverpool Plains, they have been not only very
troublesome, but even dangerous neighbours. Many settlers have suffered
severely from their depredations; and several shepherds and
stock-keepers have been murdered by them. Would they content themselves
with killing a single bullock or two or three sheep, when suffering from
hunger, one might excuse them; but I have known twenty-five cows killed
by a single tribe in one night, the fat and kidneys taken away, and the
carcases left on the ground. This, to say the least of it, was a
mischievous waste of property; and such proceedings naturally led the
settlers to retaliate. The consequences were serious, and led to extreme
measures, ending, in more than one instance, in bloodshed. There seems
to be no room for doubt, that many of these poor creatures have been
murdered by stock-keepers on the mere suspicion of being concerned in
such crimes. This fact, however, does not justify the Government in
offering a hundred pounds reward for the discovery of the offender, when
a black happens to be murdered by a white, and only twenty-five pounds
reward, when the murderer is black, and the victim white.
[Footnote 17: The name given to the aborigines in Australia.]
[Footnote 18: It is a singular fact, that the aboriginal
natives of New South Wales, as well as the cattle that roam at
large in its woods, invariably choose the top of a moderately
elevated hill to sleep on during the winter months. The reason
is, that the hills are _always_ warmer than the valleys, and
are consequently resorted to in winter; while the latter are
chosen in summer as camping-ground by man and beast. I have
often been surprised, when riding about the bush in winter, at
feeling a current of warm air on the top of a range of hills,
having myself just ascended from the neighbouring valley where
the breeze was chilling. These warm breezes on the hill tops
blow from the north-west, and may be nearly related to the
summer hot winds, cooled on reaching the latitude of 34° in the
winter season. Be that as it may, they are not strong enough to
warm the valleys, though their influence on the hills is very
agreeable to the traveller.]
What would my fair countrywomen say to the "black-fellow's" mode of
taking unto himself a wife? On making up his mind as to the object of
his choice, he proceeds by night to the camping-ground of the _fair_
one's tribe; searches her out among the sleeping beauties; deals her a
blow on the head with his club, (to which an Irishman's shillelah is a
twig,) and carries off the stunned and senseless wretch to his own camp.
This ceremony makes them man and wife, and no further notice is taken of
the affair. The different tribes are constantly at war: but I have never
heard of any very serious consequences arising from their feuds. The day
of battle is generally spent in painting themselves red, dancing the
war-dance in presence of their foes, and, probably, exchanging a few
spears towards its close. Their arms consist of spears, clubs, and the
_boomerang_. The latter is a very extraordinary weapon, which they throw
to a great distance, making it _return to the thrower_ when it has
described its revolution, and probably hit some unfortunate wight on the
head in its course through the air. This weapon is of hard wood, about
three feet long, two inches broad, a quarter of an inch thick, and in
the form of a crescent: it is thrown against the wind, and describes a
circle in its course. The spear is of cane, hardened by fire at the
end, and is thrown with great force and dexterity. No black who can by
any means obtain a tomahawk, is ever without one, generally of English
make: with this, they are very expert at felling trees, and, with its
aid, will climb a tree which it would take two pair of arms to encircle.
The "black-fellow" cuts a small notch about three feet from the ground;
in this, he inserts the toe of one foot, holding on by one hand while he
cuts another hole three feet further up to receive the other foot; and
thus he proceeds till he reaches the top. The dead trees of Australia,
which are all hollow, are a favourite resort of the opossum. In search
of them, the black-fellow will ascend a tree in the manner just
described; and there he will sit while his companions below dig under
the roots, and light a fire, the smoke from which ascending the trunk of
the tree, as a chimney, speedily dislodges the game. This is dexterously
pounced upon by "blacky," the moment its head appears peeping from the
aperture at the top of some of the branches. I have never known the
tomahawk thrown by them, as it is by the Indian of America.
My family was once thrown into considerable alarm by an ill-looking
tribe of blacks who formed their camp immediately in front of our
cottage: they were strangers, and had no business there. On making
inquiries about them, I found that they came from a neighbouring
district, and were endeavouring to evade the police, who were in search
of them for the murder of an unfortunate shepherd. Not at all liking
such neighbours, I took advantage of their absence, one day, when they
were gone kangaroo-hunting, and set fire to their bee-hive huts. On
their return at sun-set, they took the hint, and we saw no more of them.
Among these tribes, it is a rule, that blood must be had for blood; and
this leads them, when one of their number falls by the hand of a white
man, to kill the first European they happen to meet, in retaliation. It
would scarcely be reasonable to expect these ignorant savages to see the
injustice of this proceeding; yet, it is hard, that an unoffending
person like the shepherd above referred to should be slaughtered in
revenge of the murder of a man he had never seen.
The number of dialects, or apparently different languages, spoken by the
aborigines of Australia, is very remarkable. Those residing in and about
Sydney cannot converse with those on the Hunter, who, in their turn, are
ignorant of the dialect spoken on Liverpool Plains; and this is the case
throughout the Colony. When Sir Edward Parry was manager of the
Australian Agricultural Company's affairs, he made a tour of inspection
through its estates, taking with him some few black followers as guides.
They were not fifty miles from their home, when, to Sir Edward's
astonishment, he heard them speaking English to their countrymen of the
districts through which they were passing. On inquiring the reason, he
was told, that the two parties were entirely ignorant of each other's
language.
I never could make out the religious notions of these aboriginal tribes,
further than that they believe in a future state. They do not appear to
have much affection for their children, if one may judge from the way in
which they treat them; yet, the mother bemoans the loss of one of her
little ones very piteously, daubs her face and arms with lime in token
of mourning, and spends many days in the neighbourhood of the grave. In
common with all savage nations, the Australian blacks treat their women
ill. These poor creatures get the worst of all their food, with the
hardest of all their work; and are frequently very severely beaten by
their hard and ruthless taskmasters. Degraded as are these aborigines
generally, those in the immediate vicinity of Sydney are a more abject
race than their more fortunate brethren who inhabit the distant parts of
the Colony. This may be partly, if not wholly accounted for, by the
facility with which at Sydney they can obtain ardent spirits, to procure
which they will do almost any thing. I have never seen human beings
elsewhere reduced to a state of such utter degradation and misery as
these poor people exhibit. To shew how much they dislike any thing like
labour, I may mention, that Government, on one occasion, set aside a
piece of land for a tribe near Sydney, and had it cleared, tilled, and
planted with maize for their use, exacting from them a promise that they
would tend the growing corn, keep it clean, and gather the crop when
ripe: they did neither the one nor the other, but, when called on to
gather the grain that was to be their own, said, it was too much
trouble. The result was, that the corn was plucked for them; and no
further attempt was made to induce them to work.
Several praiseworthy individuals have from time to time endeavoured to
educate and civilize young boys of this unhappy race. One was sent to
England, where he was kept at school till he was fifteen years of age;
and he then returned to his native country. He had not been two days on
shore in Sydney, when, meeting with some of his countrymen, he threw off
his European clothing, and started for the bush, whence there was no
getting him back.
Like most savages, the natives are seldom if ever known to express
surprise or astonishment under any circumstances. Shortly before leaving
the Colony, I saw a native, early in the morning, standing on one of the
heights overlooking the harbour of Sydney. On my asking what he was
about, his reply was: "I belong big river (300 miles distant); first
time come Sydney; come here see ship; _budgerie su_ (pleasant sight);
never see ship or salt water before." This poor savage had come three
hundred miles on foot, assisting a drover with a herd of cattle; he had
never before seen either the sea or a ship in his life; and yet there he
stood, looking at these, to him, most extraordinary objects, with a
countenance as placid and unmoved as if they had been daily sights from
his infancy. On questioning him, I could extract nothing further from
him: he _would not_ allow that he was astonished, but simply repeated,
"_budgerie su_." While idling away an hour one day in the criminal
court, I saw an aboriginal black tried for murder. Nothing could exceed
the perfect indifference that he exhibited throughout the whole scene.
When called upon, through an interpreter, to plead guilty or not guilty,
his reply was: "I did it because he (the deceased) stole my wife." He
would not condescend to deny an act which he considered himself
justified in committing. This plea of justification, the learned Judge
directed to be taken as one of not guilty; and the result was, the
prisoner's acquittal.
Sir F. L. Mitchell, the Surveyor-General of New South Wales, in his
admirable journal of his three celebrated expeditions into the interior
of Australia, has described the aboriginal inhabitants of that portion
of the country named by him, "Australia Felix," as a race of men
altogether superior to those found in other parts of this continent.
This race may, and probably will be found formidable neighbours for the
first settlers to encounter. Their country, from the description given
by its discoverer, must be a very fine one; and should it prove to be
regularly refreshed by rain, it will be an invaluable addition to the
Colony.
The fate of the tribes I have been endeavouring to describe, is a
melancholy one: they are fast disappearing from the face of the earth;
and one or two more generations will, in all human probability, see the
last of them.
CHAPTER XI.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
THE HOT WINDS--PROJECTED MAIL-ROAD FROM SYDNEY
TO PORT ESSINGTON--SHEEP-FARMS--GRAZING IN
AUSTRALIA--HORSE-STOCK.
I have often heard the question raised in Australia, Whence proceed the
hot winds? Hitherto, this inquiry has not, to my knowledge, been
satisfactorily answered. These winds invariably blow from the
north-west; but the question is, Whence do they derive the heat they are
charged with? In the months during which they prevail, the north-west
monsoon is blowing in the Java sea, and thence all the way to Torres'
Straits; and northerly winds are prevalent on the eastern coast of
Australia. The weather in those seas, at that season, is wet and cold
for the latitude; consequently, the north-west wind, when it first
reaches the northern coast of Australia, is the reverse of a hot one:
whence, then, the heat it brings with it to the thirty-fourth degree of
south latitude? From Torres' Straits to this latitude, the distance is,
in southing alone, fifteen hundred miles, twelve hundred of which are
entirely unexplored. I have heard it suggested, that, in this space,
may, and probably does exist, a great inland desert, the crossing of
which heats and dries the wind. Whether such a desert does or does not
exist, is a problem that may not be solved for many years to come;
unless, indeed, the expedition now in contemplation, for the survey of
the country in search of a practicable overland route from Sydney to
Port Essington, should lead to its earlier solution. To this expedition,
should it ever start, I wish every possible success, though I have my
misgivings as to its favourable result, and question the soundness of
the judgment that advises the undertaking at this time. Supposing the
route should prove practicable simply as a mail line, is the Colony at
present in circumstances to bear the expense of keeping it up? The
object is, to have the overland Indian mail carried from Singapore by
steam to Port Essington, thence to Sydney overland; the distance being,
in round numbers, two thousand miles, three-fourths of the way through
an uninhabited and unknown country. To keep up such a line, the outlay
would be enormous, and would far exceed any return that could be
expected for the next fifty years. The good folks of Sydney seem bent on
trying it, however; and on being refused pecuniary aid from the
Government, they resolved on carrying it through at their own expense;
but they have since cooled in their ardour. At least, I have not heard
of the money being forthcoming.[19]
[Footnote 19: The expedition just alluded to has never been
attempted; and I think very wisely. The great commercial crisis
under which the Colony of New South Wales, in common with all
the Australian Colonies, has been suffering of late, has given
the Colonists other and more pressing matters to think of; and
if they will take the advice of one who wishes them well, they
will look to some other route for quicker communication with
the Mother Country, than that _viâ_ Port Essington.--October,
1845.]
I shall now proceed to offer a few observations upon sheep and
sheep-stations. A sheep-station is, probably, the most desolate place at
which a man could be sent to pass his time. Fancy three men in charge of
one thousand sheep, which range over five square miles of country, of
which five miles those three outcasts are literally the only
inhabitants, and, strange as it may seem, seeing but little of each
other. One is the watchman, who remains by the hut all day, shifts the
folds, and sleeps between them at night, to protect their occupants from
the prowling native dog: the other two are shepherds, who start every
morning at daylight, in different directions, each in charge of his
flock; they do not return to the hut till sun-down, when they are tired,
weary, and eager for supper and bed. Thus, day after day, and month
after month, pass in solitary wretchedness, relieved only on the
Saturday for a couple of hours, when a man with the week's rations
arrives at the station. These men live all the year round on salt beef
and bread, the latter baked by themselves: they have no change either of
diet, of employment, or of any thing else; for, be it known, a really
good sheep-station in Australia yields nothing but grass and gum-trees,
the soil being dry and poor. A shepherd on the hills of Scotland, who
returns every night to his _bothie_, and finds a _warm_ supper cooked
for him by some kind female hand, is a prince compared to the exile of
Australia, who comes home tired and sleepy at sun-down, and may then
either chop wood to cook his meal, or go supperless to bed, as suits his
fancy. It is under these circumstances that those unhappy connections
are formed with native women, the offspring from which are invariably
killed by the mother. Against these connections, the present Governor
has very properly set his face, and positively interdicted them.
Although he may check, he cannot, however, do away with the evil; which
leads not only to the murder of helpless infancy, but to bloodshed and
wrangling between the whites and the blacks.
Sheep, when I arrived in Australia in 1836, were in great request, and
ewes with lambs at their feet were worth 30s. each, while wool was at
2s. 2d. per pound. In 1837-38 and 1838-39, stock of every kind rose in
price; and in the former year, I paid as high as 3l. per head for a
flock of four hundred ewes with lambs five months old at their feet.
This purchase was not a safe one; it was made when I knew but little of
the value of stock, but acted under the advice of others, and when the
colony was in the very midst of that wild career of mad speculation
which has since worked so much misery to thousands. I suffered in common
with many others who invested money in sheep at the same time, and who
left the Colony. Nevertheless, I look upon sheep as one of the best
descriptions of stock in which a man can speculate, provided that he
keeps within reasonable bounds as to price. Good ewes purchased from
20s. to 25s. per head, will, nine times out of ten, pay their proprietor
from fifteen to twenty per cent, for his outlay. To do this, they must
of course be properly tended, and be kept on what is here called, a good
run, _i. e._ fine dry pasture on rather an elevated tract of country.
The sheep-farmer ought to have a good homestead in an agricultural part
of the Colony, (this, in my opinion, is indispensable to his success,)
where he may grow grain sufficient not only to render him almost
independent of bad seasons and high prices, but, generally, to give him
a few hundred bushels of surplus wheat and maize with which to buy tea,
sugar, and clothing. Hundreds of sheep-farmers have of late been ruined
by having to purchase the actual necessaries for their stations on
credit. Cash they had none, being unwilling to part with even their
surplus stock at the miserably low prices alone obtainable.
Another error that sheep-farmers fall into from time to time, is, the
allowing their establishments to outgrow themselves, as it were, by not
selling every year's surplus stock. I have known establishments become
quite unmanageable from this cause, and have heard large proprietors
frequently say, they were losers by holding so large a number of sheep:
still, they went on in spite of their own better judgment, from year to
year, without selling a single head of stock. This loss attendant upon
overgrown establishments, arises as much from the difficulty of getting
good and trustworthy servants, as from any other cause. The master's eye
cannot be everywhere, and the overseer's is seldom to be trusted. Lazy
shepherds keep sheep in till ten A. M. in place of turning them out at
six. Idle watchmen shift the folds twice a week, instead of every day.
Fifty other cases of this kind take place on a large sheep-farm, that
never could occur on a small establishment. In damp weather, the
watchman's neglecting to shift the folds, is sure to do harm. One of its
first evil effects is to give the sheep toe-rot; a troublesome complaint
that lames the animal, and is not easily got rid of. Then, a careless
shepherd will allow his flock to stray on your neighbour's run, which
may have been fed over by scabby sheep the day before. If no rain has
fallen during the night, the disease is sure, in that case, to be caught
by the trespassers, as I can testify from dear-bought experience. Scab,
here, is a very different disease from what the sheep-farmer at home is
acquainted with, and is much more difficult to cure. The remedies
applied for it are severe, and of a kill-or-cure description: indeed, it
requires a strong sheep to bear this application. Rubbing with tar, as
practised in Scotland, has been found utterly useless.
In advising sheep-farmers to have a good agricultural homestead, I am
aware I am recommending what hundreds have not the power to obtain. As a
general rule, however, it is a golden one; and I would adhere to it,
even were I compelled to have three hundred miles between my stations
and the homestead. Indeed, I have known those two establishments
separated by two hundred miles.
Since 1838-9, sheep have been sold in New South Wales as low as
ninepence a head: this, however, was under very extraordinary
circumstances, and is not likely to happen again; more especially since
the proprietor has found out that, by slaughtering the animal, and
boiling down the carcase, he can get 3s. 6d. for the tallow it yields.
During the recent distresses, thousands of sheep have been disposed of
in this way, the proprietors being so much reduced as to be literally
unable either to pay or to feed men to look after their flocks. I know
many parties who purchased sheep between the years 1837 and 1840, at the
rates then current, at three years' credit, paying ten per cent, per
annum for the indulgence, who, after keeping their purchases and their
increase for three years, were compelled, when their acceptances became
due, to sell off original stock, increase, and all, and then had not
half enough to satisfy their creditor. This, as I said before, arose
from peculiar circumstances, being caused by the prevailing panic. I
shall advert again to this subject, in offering a few remarks upon the
recent distresses and their causes.
Now as to cattle. The English or Scotch grazier, who has his cattle
brought home and housed every night, can have no idea of the sort of
work his brother grazier in Australia has to go through. Here, the
climate is so mild, that cattle are never housed, but wander in the bush
from year's end to year's end. The proprietor of five hundred head of
horned cattle, must command the run of five thousand acres of
pasture-land, of fair quality, as the grass in the woods of Australia is
so thin, that it takes three acres to feed a sheep, and ten for a
bullock. He generally employs two men, called stock-keepers, to look
after them: these are mounted, and ought to employ their time in riding
over and roundabout their master's run, to see that his cattle do not
stray, and that his grass is not trespassed on by others. This, however,
is more than most of these gentry condescend to do, many of them
preferring the company of cattle-stealers and other vagabonds, with whom
they are frequently leagued; and if I may judge from the money I have
seen in possession of stock-keepers, they share largely in the
cattle-stealers' plunder. With the exception of some twenty cows and
calves usually kept about the house, to give milk, which are called the
milking herd, the grazier sees nothing of his herds but on muster-days,
which occur twice a year. For some time previously to muster-day, the
stock-keepers have been very busy drawing their herds by degrees as near
the stock-yard as possible; and when the day arrives, the whole are
driven into the yard to be inspected. All the yearlings are then
branded, and fat bullocks are picked out for sale or slaughter. At this
time, the stock-keeper and his horse have no sinecure; for the cattle
they have to collect, are as wild, and nearly as swift as deer; so much
so, that a cattle-hunt in Australia is nearly as much enjoyed by the
young men as a fox-hunt in Old England. Some breeds of cattle are much
more easily managed than others, being naturally quieter; but, generally
speaking, the wild way in which the Australian herds are reared, makes
them intractable and troublesome.
In spite of all this thieving and trouble, however, cattle-stock is a
good investment for money in ordinary times. In extraordinary times like
the last year or two, no investment is safe, except to the man who can
hold on till things mend. In 1838, cattle were worth from 3l. 10s. to
5l. per head, for a herd consisting of cows, steers, and heifers from
one to three years old, and calves under six months. Very superior herds
were worth more; but I speak generally. Since that time, thousands of
cattle have been killed and boiled down for their tallow. But times are
mending, and this stock, like every other, is not likely to be again so
unsaleable.
It is of the greatest possible importance to a grazier, to have his
herds near some place where there is communication by water with Sydney.
In this respect, Hunter's river and Port Macquarie have the pre-eminence
over the rest of the Colony. The possessor of fat cattle, in either of
those districts, can at all times send them to market by steam, without
their losing much flesh; whereas I knew in 1839, when fodder was so
scarce, a man having three hundred head of beasts fit for the knife,
running in Wellington valley, which, could he have got them into Sydney,
would have brought 8l. per head ready cash, but which were utterly
valueless to him, from the impossibility of driving them through a
country almost bare of pasture. Had this man been on the banks of either
of my favourite rivers, he could have turned his cattle into cash in
three days.
The wild way in which cattle are reared in Australia, makes the young
steer a troublesome animal to break in for the plough; and then, the
absurd system of turning all the working bullocks into the bush to feed
after their day's work, adds very much to the farmer's cares. These
bullocks are very cunning, and at daylight, when they well know the
ploughman will be after them, invariably conceal themselves in some snug
corner. I have had men out for hours, looking for a team of bullocks in
this way, and have frequently been vexed to see them return as late as
noon with only half the number.
Were I again to turn Australian farmer, I would stable my working
cattle, keep a man to take care of them, grow ten acres of Lucerne hay
to feed them, save their manure, (an article almost universally thrown
away in Australia,) get double work out of them, and have the
satisfaction of seeing my ploughs going at regular hours, in place of
being worried "from July to eternity," as Sam Slick says, by having to
search for the cattle in the bush. It often struck me, that the
Australian grazier loses a chance of making a good deal of money by
neglecting his dairy produce. Had he a regular establishment in the
bush where his herds run, to milk the cows and make butter and cheese,
it would not only, in my opinion, pay well for the trouble, but would
make his cattle much less wild. His having forty or fifty cows brought
home every evening to milk, would not only make their calves quiet and
tractable, but would also compel the stock-keeper to be more active,
would keep him at his duty, and, I feel satisfied, would save the
proprietor a great deal in the course of the year. The butter and cheese
here are both of excellent quality, and might be made in large
quantities; yet, both are regularly imported into Sydney from the
Derwent (Van Diemen's Land) and Port Phillip; a state of things the
settlers of New South Wales ought to be ashamed of.
Many a fine cattle-run is rendered useless in dry seasons, by want of
water. Nature has provided, all over the country, reservoirs (or tanks)
for water, which are filled by every heavy rain; and their contents last
a long time: still, in a very dry season, these fail; and many a thirsty
bullock loses his life by tumbling, from excessive weakness, into one of
those pits. Some parts of the country have no tanks, (or water-holes, as
they are called,) except a few muddy puddles at the foot of the hills,
and thus become unavailing sooner than other parts. This inconvenience
might in a great measure be remedied, at trifling cost, by constructing
dams at properly chosen places in the ravines or gulleys that intersect
the hills from top to bottom, every two or three hundred yards. In one
instance, I have seen this plan adopted with success. The owners of
property between Sydney and Paramatta are compelled to make tanks, the
water in the river being salt, and that procured by digging wells being
very little better. Water, Water, is the cry, in dry seasons, all over
this otherwise highly favoured country; and till the end of time, this
want will prevent New South Wales from becoming a densely populated
country.
The horse-fancier may invest a few hundreds very profitably in the
purchase of some really good brood mares. From these, he will not only
draw a good return for his money, but will also derive a great deal of
pleasant pastime in superintending the breaking-in of his colts and
fillies. Horse-stock, like every other, has fallen much in price lately,
but will doubtless recover itself when times improve. I am acquainted
with more than one proprietor who has made no inconsiderable sum of
money by rearing horses. There is a constant demand for them; and of
late, a good market has been found in India for those suited for
cavalry.
Another profitable investment for money is to be found, in Sydney, in
the way of mortgage. Ten and twelve per cent, is paid regularly, and
security given of an undoubted character,--security that has not in one
instance failed the mortgagee, even in the recent desperate times. Large
sums may be invested in this way; and for the absent capitalist, it is
the mode of investment I would recommend in preference to any other.
Bank Shares used to be in great favour with monied men when I was in
Australia. The holders have, however, had a severe lesson since then,
having suffered seriously by some failures among those establishments.
CHAPTER XII.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
CAUSES OF THE RECENT DISTRESSES--CONDUCT OF THE
BANKS--MANIA FOR SPECULATION--LONG-ACCOUNT
SYSTEM--BAD SEASONS.
I will now proceed to offer a few remarks on the causes of the late
terrible distresses in New South Wales, and on what I consider as the
best means of preventing the recurrence of such lamentable scenes.
The three main causes of those distresses were, undoubtedly:--
First, Harsh and illiberal conduct on the part of the Banks.
Secondly, A wild speculation-mania that took possession of the
entire population.
Thirdly, The system that had obtained, of giving long credit to
purchasers of stock, &c.
While I look upon these three as the primary and principal causes of by
far the greater part of the suffering the Colony has recently undergone,
I must specify another, though certainly a secondary cause; namely, two
successive bad seasons. This last cause is, I am aware, by many
persons, regarded as the chief source of all their distresses and
losses; but I think I can shew that those parties are wrong in this
opinion, which springs from their anxiety to frame an excuse for their
very imprudent speculations.
In the first place, then, I accuse the Banks of harsh and illiberal
conduct; and I will state my reasons for this charge.
When I arrived in Sydney in 1836, the Banks, without exception, but more
particularly the Commercial Bank (then under the management of a
would-be shrewd Aberdonian), were doing every thing in their power to
induce parties to open accounts with them. Bills for discount were
eagerly sought after, and little attention was paid to the
respectability of the names of either drawer or endorser. Cash-advances
were publicly advertised by the Commercial Bank. Parties, to my certain
knowledge, were stopped in the street by the Aberdonian just alluded to,
who solicited their business with a very bland smile. In short, no stone
was left unturned by these money-seekers to add to their half-yearly
dividends. This system went on till the latter end of 1839. I need
scarcely say, that this unbecoming and greedy canvassing for business,
tempted many an unwary merchant and settler to venture beyond his depth,
and ultimately led to ruin and a prison. The amount of money represented
by absolutely valueless paper at this time, is quite beyond
calculation. Renewals were a matter of course. Cash payments, even in
part, were the reverse of common. Bank-directors overdrew their accounts
with perfect impunity to a large amount; and the whole Colony seemed
intoxicated with the fond notion that the Banks would never fail them,
and that, in those fountains, they would at all times find a
never-ending supply of "the needful." In the midst of this mad career,
the day of reckoning came suddenly upon them. The Banks took the alarm:
they began to think they had allowed the kite-flying system to go too
far; and they commenced a system of unparalleled harshness and
oppression towards their _gulls_. Cash advances were not merely stopped,
but those previously made were called in. Renewals would no longer be
accepted, even for half or a quarter of the amount due; and the
unfortunate "kite-flier" was, in hundreds of cases, ruined by the very
men who had in the most unprincipled manner led him into the mire, and
then left him.
The Banks now took up a position the very opposite of that hitherto
occupied by them; and, instead of trusting everybody, put no faith in
any one. This conduct ultimately recoiled upon themselves; their shares
fell in value; some of them became bankrupt, while the others had a hard
struggle to avoid that catastrophe; and the public lost all confidence
in banks and bankers. The worst part of the tale remains to be told;
namely, that many widows and orphans, whose all was invested in bank
shares, were utterly ruined and reduced to destitution by the failures
alluded to.
I come now to the second main cause of Australian distress, viz. the
speculation-mania that took possession of the entire population of this
fine Colony. No one who did not witness the effects of this mania, can
imagine to what an extent it was carried. Scarcely a day passed without
one or more public auctions of stock of all descriptions; and not a sale
took place, that was not crowded with eager purchasers. Many large
stock-holders took advantage of the high prices obtained at those sales,
to sell off, in the delusive hope that they would in this way be enabled
to retire from active life, and perhaps to return to their native
country. The terms offered at those public sales, were such as to induce
many persons who never even dreamed of sheep or cattle farming, to enter
the market and purchase to a large extent. These terms were, in general,
something like the following:--
Ten per cent, on the fall of the hammer;
Thirty per cent, by bill at twelve months;
Thirty per cent, by bill at two years;
Thirty per cent, by bill at three years: these bills bearing
interest at ten per cent, per annum.
I have seen tens of thousands of sheep and cattle sold in this way, many
of the buyers being men who had never even seen one of the animals they
were bidding for, and who knew literally nothing about the management of
flocks and herds; being tempted to make the purchase by the long credit
given. But, strange to say, many old settlers were led, with their eyes
open, into extensive purchases at most exorbitant rates, thinking that
nothing could check the career of splendid prosperity upon which the
Colony was then supposed to have entered. How dearly those parties have
paid for their folly, the world generally, and their creditors in
particular, well know. Besides the numerous public sales of stock all
over the Colony, and the large amount of property that changed hands on
those occasions, many important private sales took place about the same
time. There was not a sheep, cow, or horse in the Colony, too old or too
bad to find a purchaser! Any thing would sell, provided only that _time_
was given to find the money. Nothing could exceed the madness of the
people, buying, selling, and exchanging accommodation-paper from end to
end of the land. Then came the land-jobbers, a set of sharks who did
great harm. It was a common practice with those jobbers, or rather
robbers, to apply to the Surveyor-General's department, to have lots of
land put up for sale, which they were aware that certain landed
proprietors could never allow to fall into the hands of strangers, and
then to go to the party whose estate the sale of the land in question
would injure, and demand a bribe to stop their bidding against him. If
this quietus was refused, these scamps would attend the sale, and bid
the land up to some exorbitant price, knowing that their victim must be
the buyer. Land once advertised by Government must be put up to auction;
and the jobber's victim was obliged either to purchase, or to run the
risk of having a stranger sit down as the proprietor of a few hundred
acres in the midst of his thousands. Another class of scamps used to
attend land-sales, who would conspire to keep down the prices of lots
they wanted, by not bidding against each other, and by playing various
other tricks, to the detriment of the revenue. The Attorney-General got
hold of half a dozen of those gentry in 1839, and prosecuted them for
conspiracy. He obtained a verdict of guilty against them, but assented
to their petition for a new trial. Again they were convicted, and they
were fined a hundred pounds each; the Court telling them, that the
penalty would have been much heavier, had not the judge taken into
consideration their humble petition for mercy, and the heavy expenses
they had incurred in standing two trials.
This system of selling by auction and by private sale, large herds of
cattle and flocks of sheep at high prices, went on till some of the
twelve-month's paper became due. Cash not being then forthcoming,
renewals were asked for in many instances, which somewhat damped the
ardour of speculation; but the wild career did not receive any very
serious check, till the two-years' paper began to come into play. Very
little cash could be got from the drawers, who were, in many cases,
obliged to bring a large portion of their stock to the hammer, in order
to meet their acceptances for thirty per cent, of the purchase money.
This alarmed people. The price of stock began to fall; and, long before
the three-years' paper became due, ewes that had cost the buyers 3l. per
head, could be got for 7s. 6d.
Thus, many a poor fellow, after labouring hard for three years to keep
his flocks and their increase together, had to part with the whole, and
still had not enough wherewith to satisfy his original creditors.
Hundreds of instances of this kind might be specified, did I feel at
liberty to publish names.
As to the operation of the third main cause of the distress, the system
that obtained, of giving long credit to purchasers of stock, the evils
arising from this practice have been partly exposed in the foregoing
remarks; but I will proceed to point out a few other evil consequences,
as they occur to me. To begin with one that more than once came under my
own notice; many persons of property, trusting to the long prices
obtainable for stock of every description when sold on credit, and
forgetting that there was absolutely no _cash price_ at the time, deemed
themselves much richer men than they were in reality. Giving to their
overseers the charge of their country residences, they took and
furnished houses in Sydney for their families, set up their carriages,
and commenced a style of living far beyond their means. This fact (the
want of cash) came upon them the moment the first half-year's bills for
rent, household supplies, &c., became due: these proved to the deluded
settler, that, though he had flocks and herds, he had no money, nor
could any be got, except at a sacrifice. To a man, they had to sell off
and return to their estates, where dire necessity has since compelled
them to remain, and where, I hope, renewed prosperity and common sense
will induce them to stay.
Another evil caused by the long-credit system, was its inducing many
persons to purchase stock for the purpose of raising money upon it. This
practice was carried to a ruinous extent, and caused immense distress in
this way. A hundred head of cattle might be parted with to day, by a
needy settler, say, at 3l. per head, six months' credit; the seller took
the buyer's note of hand for the purchase money, 300l., which was
immediately taken to the bank, and discounted; and the settler returned
to his farm, satisfied that he had made a good sale of his beasts. The
buyer, having no use for the cattle, re-sold them, taking the second
buyer's note for the money, which, like that of the first, went at once
to the bank. This transaction was frequently repeated six or eight
times, before the cattle found a _bonâ fide_ purchaser; and it was no
uncommon thing, to find paper in the market to the amount of 1800l. or
2000l., the only representative for which was the hundred head of cattle
originally sold by the settler; the whole of the parties concerned
being, with the exception of the first seller and the last buyer, mere
men of straw. When the six months expired, not a single bill of the six
or eight negotiated, was taken up, excepting, perhaps, the last one: all
the others had to be renewed; and it was the forcing the payment of such
bills, that ruined so many people, and ultimately shook the credit of
every bank in Australia.
The credit system also led many mercantile men into speculations which
they never would have entered into under a wholesome system of trade.
From these many serious losses resulted, which have led to ruinous
failures. Any man with a hundred pounds in his pocket, could get credit
for a thousand; and numbers of adventurers of all descriptions, taking
advantage of the times, opened stylish shops well-filled with goods
bought on credit, carried on a flourishing trade till within a few days
of their bills falling due, and then decamped, leaving their
unfortunate and silly creditors to get paid from the wreck of the stock
left in the shop. I knew an auctioneer who played this nefarious trick,
leaving his creditors _minus_ the enormous sum of 70,000l. He did not,
however, long retain his ill-gotten wealth: how he got rid of it, I do
not know; but I found him two years ago in Singapore, where he kept a
small grog-shop, and lived in great wretchedness; and I have since met
with him knocking about the streets of Macao, a disgrace to his country
in a foreign settlement. The credit system ruined two thirds of the
respectable auctioneers in Sydney, and upset the Australian Auction
Company, absorbing every shilling of its paid-up capital.
In addition to the evils inflicted on this Colony by these main causes,
great losses were sustained by settlers through their becoming shippers
of their own wool. At the time I speak of, wool was worth, in Sydney,
from 2s. 1d. to 2s. 2d. per pound, and, in England, some 6d. or 8d.
more. These high rates would not satisfy some settlers, who foolishly
took an advance upon their clips, letting them go home on their own
account, and at the risk of the agents of the parties who advanced the
money in Sydney. In the meantime, wool fell in the English markets to
1s. and 15d. per pound. The nett proceeds of the shipment did not nearly
cover the advance made; and the hapless shipper, already in debt to his
agent for supplies, and without a penny of cash at his command, was
called upon to make good the difference, which he was unable to do. His
agent, pressed by others, must press him; his flocks are brought to the
hammer, and sold at the now ruinous current prices; and he becomes a
bankrupt. Dozens of cases like this, occurred during the late wretched
times.
I come now to the consideration of the bad seasons of 1838-39 and
1839-40. While I maintain that they were far from being the sole, or
even the chief cause of distress, I allow that they added to it very
materially. To shew that they were not the sole cause, I may mention,
that, among my own personal friends in the Colony, not one who avoided
speculation and putting his name on paper, has failed; while those who
followed the stream have sunk, every one of them. During those years,
every thing the unfortunate grazier had to sell, was cheap beyond all
precedent; while every article he was compelled to purchase, was very
dear. Tea, owing to the China war, rose from 5l. to 15l. per
half-_pecul_ chest of hyson skin. Flour of the very coarsest description
could not be had under from 30l. to 35l. per ton of two thousand pounds
weight,--a colonial cheat, calling two thousand pounds a ton! Sugar and
other necessaries were equally high; and many a poor settler who had
never refused his hard-worked servants their tea, sugar, and tobacco,
was compelled to stop those indulgences.
To the working-classes in Sydney and other towns, the bad seasons were
ruinous. Provisions were so dear, that many a father of a family found
his earnings far from sufficient to provide food for his wife and
children. Building was almost entirely put a stop to; and thus, hundreds
of industrious men were thrown out of employment. To so serious an
extent did this distress reach, that Government was called upon to
afford pecuniary relief to the starving poor; a circumstance altogether
unprecedented in Australian history.
So low had these evils sunk the Colony and all its inhabitants, that
failures of merchants and settlers continued to be of almost daily
occurrence up to the end of the year 1843. No one durst push his
neighbour for payment of debt: were such a thing attempted, an immediate
surrender of his affairs to the official trustee of the Insolvent Court,
was the consequence. Several of the first and oldest merchants in the
Colony have sunk under the long-continued pressure; and, at the date of
the last accounts, more failures were looked for. These, however, were
expected as the result of old causes, not of new or recent transactions.
Upon the whole, I am disposed to think, that Australia has seen its
darkest day, and that things are likely soon to improve, if, indeed,
they have not already mended. The price of stock was looking up; and
ewes that had actually been sold as low as 9d. each, were worth 7s. 6d.
Men of capital lately arrived from England with ready money, had
commenced purchasing land and stock; and their operations had given an
impetus to affairs in general, that could not fail to be beneficial.
CHAPTER XIII.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
ELEMENTS OF PROSPERITY STILL EXISTING--HINTS TO
THE COLONISTS--FUTURE PROSPECTS.
Notwithstanding the terrible shock from which Australia has been
suffering ever since 1839, I still retain a high opinion of the Colony
as an advantageous field for the employment of the spare capital of the
mother country. The elements of prosperity still exist, and require only
a little nursing in order to effect its recovery from the recent
depression. The emigrant with a capital of three or four thousand
pounds, must not, indeed, expect to make a fortune in a few years; but
he may with perfect confidence look to make himself an independent man,
at a much more rapid rate than he could by means of double that sum in
England. If he is prudent, nurses his capital, sticks to his business as
a settler, avoids _tempting_ bargains of things he has no use for, and,
above all, refrains from obliging his neighbours with the occasional
loan of his name to a bill, I see not what can by possibility prevent
his succeeding in such a country, even allowing that every third season
should prove one of drought. To the industrious farmer with a small
capital of 500l. or 1000l., New South Wales offers a fine field: he can
obtain a hundred acres of the finest arable land in the world on a
clearing-lease, with two years free for the clearing, and three or five
years more on a moderate rent. A capital even of 500l. will enable him
to fence his land, build himself a _bush_-house and out-offices, and
maintain his family for two years; by which time it will be hard indeed,
if he has not land enough under crop to return him something handsome. I
have known many settlers of this kind thrive, and many others "go to the
wall:" the former had a small capital to start with, while the latter
commenced upon credit for the very bread required for their families; a
plan I never knew to succeed.
Let but the settler stick to his business; the merchant be content with
smaller profits than used to satisfy him, and cease giving long credit
to all and everybody; let the banker be less grasping, and not quite so
hard a creditor when he finds one of his customers in difficulties or
reverses; let every one avoid speculations out of his strict line of
business, and beware of accommodation-paper; and let the lower and
middle classes avoid the public-house; and there is nothing to fear for
Australia. It has had a severe lesson administered to it, that ought to
be a warning to all its inhabitants for the future. I have no hesitation
in saying, that nine-tenths of the evils from which the Colonists have
suffered of late, have arisen from their own imprudence, and that these
may be avoided in future by common caution, in spite of dry seasons and
occasional failures of crops.
Now that colonization is extending up the coast from Sydney northwards,
and the inhabited parts of the Colony already approach the tropic of
Capricorn, New South Wales ought, in a few years, to be a rice and
sugar-growing country. The soil on the banks of the rivers in the
neighbourhood of Moreton Bay, is, from all accounts, equal to any thing
hitherto known in the Colony; and the climate is very highly spoken of.
Should the winter there prove too long or too severe for sugar-growing,
(I do not see why it should be so,) parties anxious to try the culture
of the cane as a means of making money, must in that case just move a
little further north. There is an extensive field to explore, before
they reach Torres' Straits.
That New South Wales will become an extensive wine-growing country, I
conceive there is no room to doubt. Its vineyards are magnificent, in
every sense of the word. I have visited several of them, and was struck
with the abundance and variety of their produce. Two proprietors of my
acquaintance have been for years in the practice of making wine of
different sorts, but principally of the lighter kinds resembling the
Rhenish. I can vouch for their being very palatable, particularly during
the summer months. One of the gentlemen alluded to has also made very
good port wine and brandy.
The greatest drawback on the commerce of New South Wales, is the
deficiency of exports, the balance of trade being greatly against the
Colony. Its wool and oil are what merchants have hitherto principally
depended upon, though other exports are now coming into play; viz.
cedar-timber, hides, tallow, and salt provisions. Still, I do not think
that, even with these additions, the merchants of the Colony can manage
to make their exports equal in value to their imports; and were it not
for the very considerable sums drawn for on the Home Government, by the
military department, for the pay and provisions of the troops, necessity
would compel the merchants of England to reduce their shipments to
Australia. The great fall in the price of the principal colonial staple,
wool, has added very materially to the difficulties arising out of this
state of affairs, by reducing the value of remittances made in that
article to one half of what it used to be. The quantity of wool
increases, it is true, from year to year, but not to such an extent as
to counterbalance the fall in price; and it must be borne in mind,
that, as fast as the wool increases, so does the population, and
consequently the amount of imports in the shape of supplies, which have
all to be remitted for. Since the opening of the coast of China to the
commerce of the world, (the result of our late struggle with that
country,--a struggle so much condemned by those who were ignorant of the
merits of the case,) the merchants of Sydney seem to have entertained
the idea, that their trade will benefit by the change. No one would
rejoice more than myself at their anticipations proving correct; but I
confess my judgment differs from theirs; and if we may judge by the
result of their trial shipments, which arrived prior to my leaving
China, it is to be feared they will find, to their cost, that they have
reckoned without their host. The Sydney merchants, from what I have
heard, expect to find in China a market for horses, cattle, and sheep,
coarse woollens, wine, and salt provisions. The first three have been
tried, and the experiment has proved an utter failure: the horses were
sent to Calcutta, not a purchaser being found for one of them in Hong
Kong. Cattle are out of the question: they cannot be transported five
thousand miles to undersell the Chinese butcher, who gives fifteen
pounds of good beef for a dollar--about 3-1/2d. per pound. This price,
the Sydney speculator cannot compete with, particularly as his beasts
would certainly land in poor condition after so long a voyage, and
either put him to the expense of fattening them, or compel him to sell
at the low price of lean cattle. Sheep have also been tried by several
ship-masters, and did not answer: the last lot that came, were
slaughtered and sold in the market, the only way in which they could be
got rid of, and which would not answer the purpose of a large importer.
For coarse woollens, a market may certainly be found in China; but
whether a profitable one, or not, to the Australian manufacturer, is, in
my opinion, somewhat doubtful. Labour is so much cheaper in Britain than
it is in Australia, that, I fear, the Sydney manufacturer would have but
a poor chance, when his goods came into competition with those of
Manchester, either in the Chinese or in any other market. Whatever kinds
of goods may be required on the coast of China, will soon be supplied
from Manchester and Glasgow at the lowest possible figure, the object of
the manufacturers of those places being, I presume, a large trade with
moderate profits; so moderate, indeed, as to leave the Sydney
manufacturer no chance of competing with the means at the command of the
British manufacturer. Australian wool, like Indian cotton, may be taken
to England, be manufactured there, and sent out and sold in China, or
anywhere else, for less money than it would cost the Sydney capitalist
to produce the manufactured article. As to wine, it will be a long time
before New South Wales has much to export; and the limited European
population of China will not consume a sufficient quantity to be of
importance to the Australian vine-grower. The Chinese cannot be counted
upon as purchasers: they are not wine-drinkers, generally speaking; and
the little they do consume, is manufactured to suit their own palates,
in China.
For salt provisions, there is a considerable demand in China, among the
European shipping that visit its ports: they must, however, be cheaper
in Sydney than they were in my time, to answer the purpose of even a
remittance. The Americans bring to China excellent beef and pork, which
they sell at ten and twelve dollars (about 42s. to 54s.) per barrel of
two hundred pounds weight. If these prices will remunerate the Sydney
shipper, he may try his luck as soon as he likes; but he must not send
an inferior article: if he does, he will sink his capital. Cedar-timber
has been tried recently, and has answered very well to a small extent:
this, however, will last only till the town of Victoria on the island of
Hong-Kong is completely built.
By every fresh outlet for surplus stock that can be pointed out to the
Australian grazier, we shall be rendering him a substantial service. Sir
Robert Peel's new tariff will enable him to dispose of many a spare fat
bullock. Of this opening he has already taken advantage, by sending
trial shipments of salt beef to England.
It appears to me, that the imports and exports of Australia ought to be
much nearer a balance than they are. To bring about this desirable state
of things, it will be requisite to reduce the amount of the imports,
which may be effected by giving up the importation of hams, bacon,
cheese, butter, tobacco, and, in a great measure, grain. To see a
pastoral country like New South Wales importing butter and cheese, is an
anomaly, and only proves the waste and carelessness of the owners of
herds numerous enough to supply all Europe with dairy produce. The
importation of hams and bacon is another absurdity and evidence of
wasteful husbandry. I have seen fruit, barn-sweepings, butter-milk,
bran, &c. &c. wasted about a farm in Australia, in quantities sufficient
to feed and fatten a hundred pigs, which would have kept the
establishment in meat for half the year. Indeed, it is a common saying
in the Colony, that the waste on one of its farms, would make an English
farmer's fortune. These may seem minor articles, but vast sums of money
are annually paid for them to London dealers. Besides these, are
imported, pickles, preserved fruits, sweetmeats, shoes, clothing, and a
thousand other articles, every one of which might be as well and as
economically made in the Colony, thereby saving thousands per annum. A
coat or other article of dress can be made in Sydney as well and as
cheap as in London; and though the cloth must be obtained from England,
there is no reason that the London tailor should benefit by the making,
when the Sydney one is in want of work, and is willing to work as cheap
as his London brother. Employing colonial workmen would keep vast sums
of money in the country, that now go out of it.
Tobacco and snuff ought never to be imported, the Colony being quite
equal to producing more than sufficient for its own consumption. The
quality of colonial tobacco used to be complained of; but that objection
no longer exists. Moreover, people who cannot complete their remittances
for necessaries, have no right to be nice in their choice of luxuries. I
am confident that I am within the mark, when I say, that 50,000l.
sterling per annum are paid to Americans and others who import snuff and
tobacco! This is a sum assuredly worth saving, and which the Colonists
could easily save, by encouraging the growth and consumption of their
own produce.
After what I have written upon the subject of Australian agriculture, I
may be thought to be making a bold assertion in saying, that the
necessity for the importation of grain might, in a great measure, be
done away with in Australia. Nevertheless, such is my opinion; and I
will proceed to give my reasons. In the first place, there is a great
waste of wheat, as well as of every thing else, on every farm in the
Colony. There is no gleaning; and what with the bad and careless
threshing and the ill-thatched and worse-built stacks, which admit the
rain, whereby thousands of bushels of wheat are destroyed, the waste is
beyond any one's conception who has not actually witnessed it. In the
second place, there is not nearly so much wheat grown in Australia as
there might and ought to be. A simple process of irrigation, such as the
Chinese or the Javanese, the machinery for which would not cost 5l., and
would employ only two men when in operation, applied to the wheat-fields
in dry seasons once a month, would save many a crop. All, or nearly all
the wheat in the Colony, is grown on the banks of rivers, which, though
they cease to flow in a season of drought, have always water in the deep
parts of the channel or "water-holes." It requires no argument to prove,
that irrigation, in such situations, is a very simple matter. Two
Javanese, by means of a long lever attached to a tall tree on the bank
of a river, with a large bucket and string at one end, and a string to
hoist up by at the other end, will keep a small stream of water running
over and fertilizing the neighbouring paddy-fields all day long, without
fatiguing themselves. The Chinese water-wheel is also a simple and cheap
contrivance, and would throw up water enough, in two hours, to
irrigate, or even to inundate a tobacco or wheat-field. All that is
wanted, besides the labour of two men, is a series of wooden troughs to
convey the water from the river bank to the highest part of the field,
whence it is easily guided over the other parts. A little attention to
irrigation might, in my humble opinion, very soon make New South Wales
independent of imported wheat.
Another means of doing away with the importation of grain and flour, may
be found in paying more attention to the cultivation of maize. Large
quantities of it are grown at present, but they might easily be
doubled.[20] And here, irrigation would answer splendidly, the drills
forming such convenient water-courses. Large as is the quantity of maize
grown in Australia, it is not used as food for man;--why, I know not,
but such is the fact;--and I have known a convict turn up his nose when
offered corn-meal. Every one knows how extensively this article is used
in America, and how wholesome a food it is. Were the Australian farmers
firmly and unanimously to determine upon making their dependents take at
least half their weekly allowance in maize-meal, in place of wheaten
flour, the latter would soon become fond of it. There would then be an
inducement to extend its cultivation; and the large sums of money
annually remitted to Van Diemen's Land, Valparaiso, and Bengal, for
wheat, would very shortly be reduced to a small cipher.
[Footnote 20: I do not mean to say, that irrigating an acre of
wheat or maize would double the yield of grain, but that double
the number of acres now under the plough would in a few years,
after the irrigating system had been fairly tried and found to
answer, be brought under cultivation. In the neighbourhood of
Bathurst, and in many other parts of the Colony where rain is
very uncertain, there are thousands of acres of alluvial land
lying waste, which, upon my plan, would yield tens of thousands
of bushels of wheat and maize.]
To urge this most desirable object any further upon the Colonists of New
South Wales, would be to insult their good sense. I will only express a
wish that they may at once adopt measures to equalize their imports and
exports, and that the few hints here thrown out to them, may be of use.
The supply of tea and sugar to the Australian Colonies, has, on the
whole, been a profitable trade to the parties engaged in it; but it has,
of late, been overdone. The quality of the tea and sugar now sent to
Sydney, is far superior to what it used to be; and the coarser sorts of
both are going out of use; a clear proof that the population are
improving in respectability. Formerly, nothing in the shape of either
article was too bad to send out to Australia. Things have changed,
however, and several speculators have been serious losers within the
last three years, by sending goods that would have suited admirably six
years ago. When I first went into the Bush, you might visit a dozen of
the most respectable houses without being able to get any thing better
than the most common hyson-skin tea and very dark moist sugar. A cup or
two of the liquid made from these, would poison an old Indian; and I
never ventured to drink it. A friend of mine, who absolutely dreaded
being compelled to drink this stuff, used always to carry a paper of
good black tea in his pocket, whenever he left his own house. He was in
the right, though often laughed at. Mauritius sugar used to be the
favourite at the time I speak of; but now, Manilla, Singapore, and
Batavia are looked to for the supply of a better and cheaper article.
From Manilla the Colonists import small supplies of coffee, chocolate,
reed hats, and cheroots. Singapore and Batavia send them, in addition to
sugar, quantities of rice, spices, Dutch gin, tea brought thither by
Chinese junks, planks, &c. &c. Singapore sends also a ship or two
annually to South Australia, Port Philip, and Van Diemen's Land.
CHAPTER XIV.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
CLASSES OF SOCIETY IN SYDNEY--DISAPPOINTMENT OF
EMIGRANTS--CHARACTERISTICS OF IRISH AND BRITISH
EMIGRANTS--AVAILABLENESS OF CHINESE
LABOURERS--AUSTRALIAN COAL MONOPOLY--TORRES'
STRAITS THE BEST PASSAGE FOR STEAMERS--BOTANY
BAY--PASSAGE FROM SYDNEY TO BATAVIA.
To obtain admission to good society in Sydney, when my family first
arrived there, was no easy matter. Not that there was any lack of it in
the place, but the residents were, very properly, shy of strangers,
unless provided with testimonials as to their respectability.
Fortunately for us, a kind friend in Singapore, who had been in New
South Wales, and knew the value of the favour he was conferring,
supplied us with a whole packet of introductory letters to the first
families in the place; while we were further aided in the matter by my
old friend, Thos. Macquoid, Esq., then Sheriff of the Colony. In a place
like Sydney, where society is formed of such varied and extraordinary
materials suspicion of strangers, on the part of the really respectable
portion of the community, is natural enough; and those who have not been
sufficiently wary in this respect, have had cause to regret their want
of caution. The tide of emigration is now bringing numerous highly
respectable families to Australia, as well as thousands of hard-working,
honest labourers, while the importation of felons has ceased. This state
of things will, in time, do away with the necessity for such extreme
caution and mistrust. It will, however, take a number of years to clear
the Colony of the half-reformed villain who still hankers after his old
ways,--of the _emancipist_, whom the law looks upon as a reformed
character, but whom experience has taught the world to look upon with a
very different eye,--and of the convicts for life, who still amount to
thousands. Until the Colony is pretty well weeded of such characters,
society will not, and cannot, dismiss the suspicion with which it is now
rendered necessary, by circumstances, to regard the unintroduced
stranger.
I found no lack of agreeable society, both male and female, in any part
of New South Wales that I visited. In many instances, the conversation
certainly turned rather too much upon sheep and cattle; but this ought
to be excused, where ninety-nine hundredths earn their daily bread by
means of those animals. In Sydney, we found the dinner and evening
parties highly agreeable, and composed of elegant, accomplished, and
intelligent persons of both sexes. What more can be said of any
community? During the government of Sir Richard Bourke, an attempt was
made by him to introduce into his own parties some emancipist families;
and on one occasion, the grand-daughter of a late Sydney hangman
actually made her appearance at a ball at Government-house. This fact
being found out by the heads of families present, a representation was
made to His Excellency through his aide-de-camp, and, after some show of
opposition on the part of the Governor, a stop was put to it. I do not
mean to say that, among the class called emancipists, consisting of
persons who have been convicts, there may not be found men and women who
have become thoroughly reformed and fit to adorn society. This, however,
is the exception, not the rule. A large majority of the class in
question are quite unfit for any company but that of a low pot-house.
Some of the most stylish equipages in Sydney are the property of men who
came to the Colony with fetters on their legs. In them may be seen, any
and every day, gayly-dressed women, driving about the town, shopping and
lounging away their idle mornings. Whether they are the wives,
daughters, or mistresses of the owners of the carriages, it is difficult
to tell; but the conclusion that every second one contains a mistress,
would not be far from the truth. Such is the society the unwary stranger
sometimes falls into, before he knows what he is about; nor does he
become fully aware of the evil consequences of his imprudence, till he
finds out with whom he has been associating, and that all access to the
really respectable society of the place is closed against him. It is
quite as requisite for a stranger arriving in Sydney to be on his guard
as to his associates, as it is for residents to be careful whom they may
admit into their families.
There are many wealthy families in and near Sydney, whose heads came as
convicts to the Colony. The days when such men could make rapid
fortunes, are gone by; and the convict who looks for any thing of the
kind now-a-days, will find himself wofully mistaken. There are too many
respectable tradesmen in Sydney for ex-felons to have much chance; and
the time when a shopkeeper would not condescend to take a piece of cloth
off his shelf to satisfy a customer, but would point to a lot with his
stick, and ask, "Which will you have?" has also gone by. Every attention
is now shewn to customers by Sydney shopkeepers, some of whom are not a
whit behind their London brethren in the art of recommending their
wares.
New South Wales had been for many years a British Colony, before any
Israelites found their way thither as _free_ men; and I have heard,
that it was the return of a Jewish convict with well-lined pockets, that
first attracted their attention to his place of exile. Be this as it
may, there are more Jews than enough in Sydney now; they are to be found
in every quarter of the town; and certainly, they keep up their ancient
character for perseverance in search of their idol, money. I do not
think, however, that I ever came across a Jewish settler: why they seem
to avoid that occupation, I know not.
It is common, in Australia, to hear persons talk of the Colony as their
adopted country, and so forth. No faith ought to be put in these
declarations; nor do I believe there is a family in the Colony, who do
not entertain some hope of once more seeing their native land. During
the time that high prices were obtainable for stock, hundreds of
settlers who were wont to talk of their adopted country, used every
exertion to realize their property in order to return to England. Many
succeeded, and actually left the Colony, rejoicing in the idea of once
more planting their foot on British ground. The exceptions to this
general rule, are to be found in the emancipist class; in the persons of
notorious scamps who could not shew their face in respectable society in
England, and who have sense enough to know that they are better off in
the southern, than, by any chance, they could be in the northern
hemisphere.
From extensive experience, I am convinced, that a very large majority of
emigrants are lamentably disappointed on reaching the shores of
Australia. Not that I think they have cause for half the complaints they
make; but they have received, before leaving home, such flattering
representations of the good fortune that is in store for them, that
their expectations are raised to a pitch far beyond the probable, and
disappointment is the natural consequence. The tales told them prior to
their embarkation, render them difficult to please on their arrival;
they demand exorbitant wages, and more rations than they could possibly
consume without waste; and the consequence of this is, that many of them
remain weeks and months in Sydney, out of employment, living upon the
little money brought from home, although, in the meantime, eligible
offers may have been made them. This stay in Sydney not only empties the
emigrant's pocket, but breeds idle habits, leading him to the
public-house, where his last penny is soon extracted from him. Then
comes want, with all the horrors of a starving wife and family; grown-up
daughters are driven to prostitution; and the emigrant himself is
ultimately compelled to accept any offer made him in his degraded state.
This is no overdrawn or rare picture, as any one acquainted with the
subject can testify. Emigrants that come to the Colony in what are
called Government ships, and who are brought out at the public expense,
are provided for on their arrival, till employment offers for them; but,
the moment they are known to have refused a fair offer, Government aid
ceases. Even that circumstance, however, has little or no effect upon
the more stubborn of them, who abate or yield in their demands only when
compelled by necessity. Many emigrants, from their fondness for a town
life, refuse good offers of employment in the country. Great evils arise
from this: one is, that it frequently happens, that Sydney is overrun
with idle labourers in search of employment, while the settlers in the
country are all crying out for help. To such a height had this evil
risen, and to such distress were numbers of infatuated men reduced by
remaining idle in town, that Government was recently applied to for its
interference, and actually paid the expense of sending hundreds of men
into the country, where they got immediate employment, which they might
have had many months before, had they been reasonable in their demands.
It is remarked all over the Colony, that the emigrants generally are
very difficult to satisfy in the matter of rations; and that the man who
had been the worst fed at home, was the most difficult to please abroad.
An Irishman is generally found the chief grumbler here; a Scotchman
ranks second; while an English peasant, who has all his life fared
better than either, is found, in Australia, to be most easily satisfied.
I do not attempt to explain or account for this; I have, however, not
only frequently observed it, but have heard my neighbours make the same
remark. I hired an Irish labourer and his wife, to whom I gave the
following pay and rations:--22l. a year to the man; 12l. a year to his
wife; weekly between the two, 14 lbs. of beef, 20 lbs. of flour, 3 lbs.
of sugar, 6 oz. of tea, and 4 oz. of tobacco. With this allowance, for
half of which thousands of families in England would be thankful, the
couple were not satisfied, and actually complained that they had not
enough to eat. It was summer time when they came to my farm; and they
were warned, that the blow-flies would destroy their meat, if it was not
covered up: they were too lazy, however, to take the slightest care of
it; and, as I saw their second week's allowance lying on a table the day
after it was served out, covered with a mass of blow-flies, I took them
severely to task for their wanton waste and neglect. But it was of no
avail. And this couple had lived upon potatoes and butter-milk all their
lives! It is but just to add, that, on mentioning to a major in an Irish
regiment, whom I subsequently met in China, the difficulty usually found
in satisfying his countrymen in New South Wales, he expressed his
astonishment, and remarked that the reverse was generally found to be
the case with Irishmen in the army.
Several ships with emigrants from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland,
arrived at Sydney during the years 1838 and 1839. These people were, in
general, unwilling to accept of employment in any shape, but preferred
taking clearing-leases of small patches of land on their own account.
This plan, many of them succeeded in carrying into execution, much to
the disappointment and annoyance of the community at whose expense they
had been brought to the Colony; and it was reasonably complained, that
these men, in place of supplying the labour-market, as was intended,
actually created an increased demand for labour, by requiring aid in
their own operations before the first twelvemonth had passed over them.
Be this as it may, they are a hard-working, industrious set of men; and
whether their plans raise or depress wages, they have added materially
to the quantity of grain grown in the colony.
Now that we have a footing in China, I would draw the attention of the
inhabitants of New South Wales to Hong Kong for an unlimited supply of
cheap labour. There, by means of an agent on the spot, they may procure
thousands of able-bodied labourers, who will go to Australia for five
dollars (22s. 6d.) per month, with their food. This rate of pay is much
lower than what is paid to European labourers; and the ration of rice
for the China-man might be procured from Java, Bally, or Lombak, and
laid down in Sydney at (or under) three halfpence per pound; which is as
cheap as No. 3 flour in the most abundant seasons, and much cheaper than
that article usually is. For field-work, the China-man is fully equal to
the European labourer. I speak advisedly, having tried them together,
side by side, for months at a time. In a recent Singapore paper I find
it stated, that the Home Authorities have authorised an agent to treat
for the transmission of Chinese labourers from the Straits' settlements
to the West Indies; and, from my knowledge of those places, I have no
doubt that thousands of men will be induced to avail themselves of this
new market for their labour. Had New South Wales the same permission
from Government, she might be equally, and probably more successful,
because China-men always prefer emigrating to a country having frequent
communication with their own. This advantage, New South Wales possesses
over the West Indies, for as many as twenty or thirty vessels annually
leave Sydney for China. There would be no difficulty in getting the
Chinese labourer bound for five years, his pay to begin from the day he
landed in Sydney, and his passage down to be paid by his employer. This
last charge would add 30s. per annum to his wages; but even then, he
would be the cheapest labourer within reach of the Australian farmer.
Many gentlemen have turned their attention to Bengal for a supply of
labour. The men procurable from that country, are not equal in physical
strength to the China-men, nor are they to be had for lower pay. I had
six Bengal Coolies in my employ in the Bush, and have no hesitation in
saying, that three China-men would have done their work. The proper
immigrant to obtain from Bengal, if the Colonists choose to apply to
that part of the world, is the Pariah, the man of no caste, who will eat
any thing, apply himself to any kind of work, even to the killing,
curing, or eating a pig, and give far less trouble than any of the
high-caste men. The best season for despatching ships with emigrants
from China to New South Wales, is from November till February, both
inclusive.
A source of vast wealth will open to Australia on the expiration of the
Agricultural Company's coal-monopoly. That body, on its establishment in
the Colony, obtained the privilege of working coal for thirty years, to
the exclusion of all others. The injustice of granting such a privilege
to a Company who do not work more than one coal-mine, when there are
literally thousands on the eastern coast of this Continent, is too
obvious to require comment. Many landed proprietors who have rich veins
of coal on their estates, are, under the present regulation, actually
compelled to purchase the Agricultural Company's coal for the use of
their own kitchens. It may well be imagined, that the money is paid with
a very bad grace. Up to the time I left Sydney, the only coal-pit in
operation was one at Newcastle, at the mouth of the river Hunter. From
this source, an abundant supply of very fair quality was obtained, for
which, if I mistake not, 12s. per ton was demanded at the pit's mouth.
The Company's coal waggons descend the hill from the pit, by an inclined
plane, on iron rails, the descending waggon dragging up the empty one.
At the foot of this inclined plane, a wharf or jetty runs a little way
into the sea, so that vessels of four or five hundred tons burthen can
haul alongside, and have their cargoes shot by waggon-loads down their
hatches. All this is as it should be; and when forty or fifty such pits
are in full work, Australia may expect to reap some benefit from her
mineral riches. The importance of a never-failing supply of coal in
these days of steam travelling, is too evident to require a single word
of remark.
Talking of steam puts me in mind of the anxiety felt in Australia to
secure the advantage of the Indian Overland Mail, and of a plan for
effecting their object which I have frequently thought of. On the
arrival of the mail at Port Essington, from Singapore, why should it not
be sent to Sydney in a steamer by sea, _viâ_ Captain King's _inner
passage_ through Torres' Straits, instead of adopting the far more
expensive and _uncertain_ overland route formerly mentioned? This may
seem a bold, and, to most people, an extraordinary suggestion; the plan
is, however, in my opinion, practicable at all seasons of the year,
though more particularly so during the fine or south-east monsoon. I
have sailed through Torres' Straits, and would not hesitate a moment to
undertake to carry a powerful steamer from Port Essington to Sydney,
through the admirably surveyed channel just mentioned. During the
south-east monsoon, from April till September, the wind would be against
her; but she would have the benefit of moderate and clear weather, and
find no difficulty in seeing and evading every danger. In the north-west
monsoon, the steamer would have a fair wind, but hazy weather, with
frequent squalls to contend against. The thick weather would undoubtedly
be a disadvantage, as it would render objects less easily
distinguishable; but then, the strong north-west winds and squalls would
knock up a heavy sea, which would make the water break on every reef,
thereby rendering them easily both seen and _heard_ in the thickest
weather. On the coast of Sumatra, I have heard the breakers seven miles
off. Allowing that they can be heard half that distance, this would give
a steamer plenty of time and space to keep clear of them. Running in
the night would, of course, be out of the question in any season. It
appears to me, that there is as much real danger in beating through the
Palaware passage in November and December, which dozens of vessels do
every year, as there possibly could be to a steamer in passing to and
fro between Port Essington and Sydney, at any season of the year, by
King's inner passage. The weather in the Palaware, during the months I
have mentioned, is as thick and stormy as can well be imagined; and the
reefs, shoals, and other perils of navigation are numerous enough. The
best route for passengers proceeding to Australia from Suez, would be
_viâ_ Ceylon, whence a steamer would run down south-south-east to the
fortieth parallel of south latitude in thirteen days, under steam: then
she would get the prevailing strong westerly winds, which would take her
under canvas to Hobart Town in ten or twelve days: let her stop two days
there to take in coal and land passengers, and, in three days more, she
would be in Sydney. By this route, the passenger for Sydney would find
himself at his journey's end in sixty-three or sixty-five days from
Southampton, while the mail _viâ_ Marseilles would be of four days
shorter date. I have my doubts, indeed, whether New South Wales is in a
position to bear the expense of such a plan: it certainly could not be a
profitable venture for years to come; and whether the Colonists would
be willing to be so much per annum out of pocket, in the meantime,
remains to be seen.
In describing Port Jackson, I omitted to notice the neighbouring
harbour, called Botany Bay, originally discovered by Captain Cook, and
subsequently abandoned for its rival. It is a noble and beautiful bay,
entered through a gap in the cliff facing the Pacific. This being much
wider than that leading into Port Jackson, and the heads not overlapping
each other in the least, Botany Bay is exposed to the fury of the
easterly gales, which renders it, during their prevalence, an unsafe
harbour. From its great width, I was induced to suppose that this evil
might be obviated by ships seeking shelter behind the heads; but, on
inquiry, I learned, that the depth of water does not admit of this: the
water is shallow all round the bay, which compels vessels to anchor a
considerable distance from the shore, and leaves them exposed to the
eastward. In short, as a harbour, it will not bear comparison with Port
Jackson. The name of Botany Bay was given to it from the very great
variety and beauty of the native flowers found on its shores. I am not
botanist enough to describe these flowers, but I noticed them with
surprise and admiration. I saw nothing else, however, to attract any one
to the neighbourhood: the soil is wretchedly poor, principally covered
with scrub, and, with the exception of a few spots in the hollows,
utterly valueless to the farmer. A few half-starved cows only, belonging
to Sydney families, and called the town herd, may be seen picking up the
poor and scanty herbage. In this neighbourhood, the Sydney hounds meet,
and occasionally amuse their proprietors, by chasing a miserable "native
dog" to death. The only buildings of any interest on the shores of this
bay, are, the monument built by the French Government to the memory of
the unfortunate La Perouse, and a solitary mill on the banks of a little
stream that runs into it from the westward. How this mill is employed in
such a lonely place, where no cultivation is to be seen, I cannot
imagine, but should not wonder if a few pounds' weight of tobacco and
gallons of spirits found their way into the Colony hereabout, without
benefiting the revenue.
In April 1839, I left the shores of Australia, with my family, bound for
Batavia and Singapore _viâ_ Torres' Straits. We had a fine run up the
coast, and made the celebrated Barrier Reef on the morning of the
fourteenth day after leaving Sydney. We were fortunate in finding a
magnificent entrance into the Straits, in latitude 12° 18' South, and
were fairly inside the barrier by nine A. M. This entrance, which is at
least three miles wide, it is worth any ship's while to seek for: it may
be known by two small rocks on the south side, as you enter, resembling
hay-cocks in shape and size: we saw them three miles off, and they were
the only objects visible above water, on the portion of the Barrier
within our view. From our entrance, we had a fine run, and found nothing
to stop us for a minute (during daylight), till clear of Booby Island at
the western end of the Straits, which we passed at 10 A. M. on the
seventeenth day from Sydney.
These celebrated Straits pick up and destroy some half a dozen ships
annually, and are so much dreaded by underwriters, that they refuse to
insure loaded vessels through them. From my own observation, and what I
have heard from others who have passed through Torres' Straits on
various occasions, it appears to me, that a great proportion of this
loss of property arises from carelessness on the part of ship-masters.
The current in the Pacific Ocean runs very strong to the north-west in
the neighbourhood of the Barrier; and this current is often forgotten or
not sufficiently allowed for by ship-masters the night before they
expect to make the reef. At sun-down, the night before we made it, we
were eighty miles from it; we went under easy sail all night, and, from
the distance _logged_ during the night, expected to make the reef at
noon, having made all sail at daylight; instead of which, we came
_suddenly_ on it at 8 A. M., thus having been thrown four hours out of
our reckoning since sun-set the night before. Many ships, by not
heaving-to at all, or not doing so in time, the night previous to making
the reef, drift too far to the northward during the night, miss the
passage they were endeavouring to make, and are compelled to run along
the reef in search of another; for there is no getting back to the
southward against wind and current. This neglect throws many a vessel up
to the Murray Islands' passages, which are notoriously the most
dangerous, and are now generally avoided by shipping. Then there is hazy
weather occasionally in those parts, even in the finest months: during
its continuance, no vessel ought to approach the Barrier, though many
are imprudent enough to do so, and too frequently pay the penalty. In
the Barrier, there are many gaps, called "horse-shoes," which, in thick
weather, look like real entrances, the breakers at the bottom of them
not being visible from the ship. I have known many vessels lost by
taking a horse-shoe for a real entrance in hazy weather. Other vessels
get wrecked from paying too little attention to the dangers that beset
them, after getting safe through the Barrier. There are small patches of
reef here and there, in the middle of the many channels that run between
the main reefs: these pick up many vessels that might be saved, were a
careful look-out kept on board. I could give instances of losses
happening in each of these ways; but the careless have suffered so
severely from their neglect, that I would not hurt them by naming the
ships.
We had a fine run to Batavia, where we arrived in thirty-one days from
Sydney. A sail from Australia to any part of the Malayan Archipelago,
during the south-east monsoon, is, perhaps, the pleasantest voyage a
traveller could undertake: he has smooth water and a fair wind all the
way, with a constant succession of magnificent scenery among the
numerous islands of perpetual summer with which those seas are studded.
I have heard many seamen talk lightly of the dangers of Torres' Straits
and the Barrier Reef, and have known more than one of those
over-confident gentry subsequently wrecked there. For my own part, I
have a great awe of those dangers, and can vouch for some ship's crews
having the same feeling. On our approach to the Barrier, our crew, which
consisted of as rattle-pated a set as sailors usually are, were doubly
active, obeyed every order with alacrity, and so quietly, that the fall
of a pin might have been heard at any part of the ship. Some ships avoid
entering the Barrier towards sun-set: this precaution is unnecessary, if
they are sure that the entrance they are approaching is a true one.
Although, outside the Barrier, there are no soundings at a hundred
fathoms, a ship is not twice her own length _inside_ it, before she is
in good anchorage with eighteen to twenty-five fathoms water. There, she
may drop her anchor, and ride in perfect safety till daylight enables
her to pursue her course. Were she to keep outside all night, the
current would drift her to the northward, and compel her to seek a fresh
entrance next day. The Barrier Reef extends from the coast of New
Holland to that of Papua or New Guinea, with numerous gaps or entrances
in it, which appear to be kept open by the current that, for six months
in the year, runs through them from the Pacific to the Indian Seas, and
in the contrary direction during the other six. Notwithstanding this
current, however, I think it extremely probable, that the industrious
coral insect, whose labours never cease within the Tropics, will, sooner
or later, fill up the entire space, close Torres' Straits, and join
those two mighty islands, between which the Barrier Reef, or, more
properly, Reefs, now stand like a line of gigantic stepping-stones. The
gaps in the Reef, in and about the ninth and tenth parallels of south
latitude, are much narrower than those further south, some of them being
not twenty yards wide; which looks as if, agreeably to my theory, the
minute architect had commenced operations on the coast of Papua, and was
gradually working his way southward. What a magnificent line for a
rail-road this Reef will then make, with the boundless Pacific on one
side, and the reefs and islands of the Straits on the other! What a
splendid thoroughfare would this highway form to New Guinea, New
Britain, New Ireland, and the countless islands in their immediate
vicinity! But I shall be thought to be looking _rather too far_ into
futurity.
On our passage from Booby Island to the Java Sea, we passed through the
Straits of Alas, which run between the Islands of Lombak and Sambawa.
The scenery in these straits is very fine. On the left, you have Lombak
Hill, 7000 feet high, sloping gradually from the peak to the sea, and
covered with thick forest. On the right, is the coast of Sambawa,
exhibiting the most extraordinary collection of sugar-loaf hills I ever
saw: they look as if they had been dropped there at random in a shower.
The whole collection would hardly be seen on the top of Lombak hill.
Half this island was laid completely waste in 1816, by an eruption of
one of its volcanic mountains: thousands of the inhabitants, with their
cattle and poneys, were killed; and the effects are visible on the spot
to this day. Sambawa is celebrated for its race of poneys, which are
certainly very fine, spirited little animals. Hundreds of them are
brought by the native boats every year to Batavia and Singapore, at both
which places they meet with a ready market.
CHAPTER XV.
CHINA.
DESCRIPTION OF MACAO--ITS MONGREL POPULATION--
FREQUENCY OF ROBBERIES--PIRACIES--COMPRADORE
SYSTEM--PAPUAN SLAVE-TRADE--MARKET OF MACAO--
NUISANCES--SIR HENRY POTTINGER's REGULATION
DEFENDED--ILLIBERAL POLICY OF THE PORTUGUESE,
AND ITS RESULT--BOAT-GIRLS--BEGGARS--PICTURESQUE
SCENERY.
I have referred, in a former chapter, to the occasion of my first visit
to the Celestial Empire. My last visit took place shortly after Sir
Henry Pottinger had brought the Chinese to terms, off the city of
Nankin, and before the treaty had been ratified by the Sovereigns of
both countries. My stay there was protracted till the ratification took
place, the supplementary treaty published, and Her Majesty's Consuls
stationed at each of the five ports, with the exception of Foo Chow. I
had thus an opportunity of witnessing the first start of the free trade;
of which I shall have a few words to say hereafter. I shall now begin
with Macao. This once celebrated Portuguese settlement is built on two
small hills of a peninsula about thirty-five miles below the Bocca
Tigris, or mouth of the Canton river: it is irregularly built, the
streets being very narrow and crooked, and, until very recently, badly
paved with rough granite stones of all shapes, the corners generally
pointing upwards, as if to teach the inhabitants to walk with caution.
It possesses a healthy climate, though the summer is very hot, the
thermometer ranging in the shade from 85° to 90°. Many of the houses
occupied by the wealthier portion of the inhabitants, are large, airy,
and convenient residences. Since the war with China broke out, Macao,
which had greatly declined from its ancient importance, has thriven, and
many of its citizens have become wealthy in consequence of the British
trade to China being thrown by circumstances into its harbour. The local
Government have taken advantage of the times, to improve the town, to
re-pave the streets, to build a new and handsome Custom-house, and to
make other improvements at John Bull's expense. The Portuguese
inhabitants of Macao amount to about five thousand, not two hundred of
whom are of pure European blood. The general population are, with few
exceptions, of a mongrel breed; a mixture of Chinese, Portuguese, and
Negroes, which it is difficult to describe. Nine-tenths of them are very
poor, but all of them are very proud, and fond of show and dress.
It is quite amusing to see the pompous strut of the men on a Sunday, as
they walk to mass in their ill-made silk coats, with gold-headed sticks
in hand. Both men and women are the worst-favoured race I ever saw:
their flat, unmeaning countenances, small, lacklustre eyes, strong,
upright, black hair, resembling hogs' bristles more than aught else, and
yellow skins, form a _tout ensemble_ any thing but pleasing. The men
adopt the European fashions. The ladies wear the mantilla; and the women
of the poorer classes wear a petticoat and small jacket, generally of
British chintz, with a mantilla of coarser material. The very poorest of
them may be seen, on Sunday morning, going to mass in silk stockings.
The wealthier Portuguese reside in large and comfortable houses, but the
lower orders inhabit wretched hovels, and suffer very severely from
sickness, particularly the small-pox; a scourge that carried off, during
the winter and spring of 1842-3, one thousand people,--just a fifth of
the whole Portuguese population. Their habits are idle and dirty. I am
not aware, indeed, of ever having seen a more filthy town than Macao. No
one seems to think that the streets were made for any other purpose than
to serve as reservoirs for all the filth of the houses that line them.
Heaps of abominable rubbish are seen here and there, which would be
still more numerous, were it not for the occasional heavy rains, which
wash down the steep streets, and carry off the accumulated masses to the
sea. A few days before Christmas 1842, the town underwent a general
sweeping; an event that did not take place again till that time
twelvemonth. The other inhabitants of Macao are, Chinese, Negroes, and a
few English and Americans. The Chinese here are nearly all of the lower
orders, and, for the most part, are not over-scrupulous how they get
their living: in proof of which I may mention, that four highway
robberies, accompanied with violent assault, took place in the immediate
neighbourhood, in open day, during the stay of six weeks which I made
there in the autumn of 1842. The shopkeepers and boatmen are all
Chinese; and among them may be found some as thorough-bred scoundrels as
ever disgraced humanity. During the year 1843, the following crimes were
perpetrated by Chinese in and about Macao: they were clearly brought
home to them, and, in all probability, do not form a tenth of what might
with justice be laid to their charge:--
1. Mr. Sharpe's _lorcha_ (trading-boat), on her voyage from
Macao to Canton, was piratically attacked within ten miles of
the former place, and plundered of her cargo of opium; Mr.
Sharpe was murdered, and five of his crew; the rest, being
Chinese, were taken off by the pirates, (they subsequently
proved to be their associates,) and the _lorcha_ was burned.
2. A _lorcha_ bound from Hong Kong to Macao, manned by Macao
Chinese, and loaded with spice and other valuable property, was
carried off by her crew, (who murdered an English doctor on
board,) the cargo plundered, and the vessel burned.
3. Another _lorcha_, bound from Macao to Hong Kong, with a
general cargo and two passengers, was carried off in the same
way, plundered, and then burned: the unfortunate passengers
(two respectable young men; one an Irishman, named Clark, the
other from Shetland, a Mr. Clunis) were in like manner
murdered.
4. A boat was sent off from Macao with a box of treasure
containing some 12,000 dollars, under the charge of a Parsee
clerk of the firm to whom the money belonged. They left the
shore at two P. M., and the ship they were bound to was at
anchor only five miles off. The non-appearance of the treasure
which was expected on board, caused the captain to go on shore
to make inquiries about five in the afternoon: his questions
alarmed the Parsee merchant, who had sent off the money and his
clerk at two. Strict inquiry was instituted, and the result
was, the certainty that the poor man had been murdered and
thrown overboard by the boat's crew, who made off with the
money.
5. A boat was sent from a ship in the harbour called the
_Typa_, to one in the outer roads, to transship fourteen
chests of opium: the crew consisted of four Chinese and one
Lascar, with the second mate in charge. The opium was taken in,
and the boat started on her return to the _Typa_ about two P. M.
When about half way between the two harbours, the four Chinese
suddenly dropped their oars, seized the mate and Lascar,
stunned them with the boat's tiller, and threw them overboard:
their bodies were picked up next day, and gave the first
intimation of their fate. Two of the pirates were subsequently
caught and executed; but the property, worth 10,000 dollars,
was irretrievably lost.
6. A British merchant in Macao sent an order off to his ship in
the _Typa_, to bring on shore, in the course of the day, a box
containing 6000 dollars: the money was put into a boat
belonging to the vessel at ten in the forenoon, and started for
the inner harbour, about an hour's pull. She was attacked by a
fast-pulling Chinese boat, when about half way between the ship
and the shore, and robbed of the dollars; but no violence was
offered to the crew, who were China-men. When this money was
being packed and put into the boat, some Chinese sailors on
board the ship were observed making signs as if to some one at
a distance: no notice was taken of this circumstance at the
time, though it was remarked upon when too late.
I could enumerate other cases of a similar nature; but these six are
sufficient for my present purpose.
The Chinese servants in the employ of Europeans at Macao, Canton, and
Hong Kong, are, without exception, the most consummate set of scamps it
has ever been my fortune to encounter. Their whole study from morning to
night and from night to morning, is, how to cheat their masters. There
is not an article put upon the table, that is not charged at four times
its value. If you keep a cow, or even a dozen cows, not one drop of milk
can you obtain, more than barely enough for daily use; and should any
attempts be made to punish either the cowkeeper or the head servant for
their villany, ten to one that your cows are poisoned before another
week passes over your head. This state of things might be, in a great
measure, put a stop to, were masters to pay more attention to their
domestic affairs; but most of the European merchants of China, being men
of wealth, and engaged in mercantile transactions of great importance,
deem such matters beneath their notice; and thus, the system goes on to
the serious loss and inconvenience of less wealthy men. I knew one
instance in which a housekeeper by perseverance reduced his market-bill
from 150 dollars per month to 45 dollars; but the consequence was, that
his servants to a man left him: he could obtain no good ones in their
place, and was ultimately obliged to give in. As a set-off against this
crying evil, I may mention the practice which prevails, of the
_compradore_ (or head servant) becoming security for those under him,
and finding security on his own part to a certain amount, varying
according to circumstances; so that, if any of the under-servants steal
the plate or any other property of their master's, the _compradore_, as
a matter of course, makes good its value. The Negroes here, as in most
other parts of the world where they are met with, are slaves, poorly
fed, hard worked, and occasionally very severely flogged. Every house in
Macao occupied by a man of any substance, has its slaves; and the
Government is a large slave-holder. All the porters at the Custom-house
and other public offices are slaves. These unfortunate creatures are
brought from Papua by Portuguese vessels, which pay an annual visit to
the settlements of their countrymen on the Island of Timor. How they are
obtained from Papua, I am not aware; but that some hundreds of them are
carried to Macao every season, and sold there, is a fact beyond
contradiction. This abominable traffic received a check last season
(1843) from the Java Government. It appears that a Portuguese barque
called the _Margaretta_, the owner of which was a wealthy inhabitant of
Macao, sailed from Timor for Macao in the month of September, with some
fifty slaves on board, _all children under ten years of age_. Some
accident compelled her to call at Batavia for repairs, where her master
reported the children as having been sent by the authorities at Timor to
Macao, to be brought up in the Roman-Catholic faith. The suspicions of
the Dutch Authorities were, however, awakened, and the proceedings of
the Portuguese ship-master were narrowly watched. A few days only had
elapsed, when he was detected in endeavouring to sell two of the
unfortunate infants to a Chinese for 500 guilders (42l.) each. This led
to the examination of his bills of lading and other papers, when it was
found, that the children had been regularly shipped and _manifested_ as
slaves. The result was, the confiscation of ship and cargo, and the
liberation of the young captives, who, I presume, (though I am not sure
on the point,) were, as usual, apprenticed out as domestic servants to
families in want of them. I gave the admiral on the China station full
particulars of this event; and hope that he will cause a sharp look-out
to be kept on the Portuguese vessels returning from Timor next autumn.
The market of Macao is well supplied with game, butchers' meat, pork,
poultry, fruit, and vegetables: all these might be had on very
reasonable terms, if the Chinese seller were allowed his own way; but,
before he reaches the market from his home, he is taxed and re-taxed by
every petty rogue of a Mandarin whose station he may happen to pass on
his way. On reaching the market, he is taxed again, and is compelled to
sell to the general dealer, who squeezes him to the last _cash_, and
re-sells at an exorbitant profit to the Englishman's _compradore_, who
charges his master, on a moderate calculation, four times what he gave;
so that, by the time the Englishman's dinner is on his table, it costs
him no trifle. Game is plentiful only in winter, which sets in in
November. Wild ducks, teal, pheasants, partridges, snipe, with an
occasional deer, are to be had, all fat and in prime order, at this
season. The Chinese bullock is a compact little animal, and, when
fattened, yields remarkably good beef.
Macao, like all Portuguese towns, is well stocked with priests; and were
we to judge from the number of them who are seen parading the streets,
as, also, from that of women constantly bending their steps church-ward,
the inhabitants must be a very devout race. From seven in the morning
till dusk, the streets are rarely free from church-going ladies; many of
them followed by Negro slaves carrying their kneeling-rugs and
prayer-books. One of the greatest nuisances in Macao is the perpetual
ringing or tolling of church-bells, day and night: as soon as one stops,
another begins; and the sleep-killing ding-dong is kept up at a rate
that, in the warm nights of summer, is enough to drive a stranger
frantic.
Every house has a watchman, who goes his rounds from eight in the
evening till daylight next morning, and, every half hour, beats a hollow
bamboo with a heavy stick, making noise enough to disturb the soundest
sleeper. This keeping a watchman is neither more nor less than paying
black-mail. Any housekeeper who should seek to evade the imposition by
doing without a guardian of the night, would infallibly be plundered in
a week or two, the thieves being, most probably, conducted to his
premises by some neighbour's watchman.
The streets of Macao being narrow, rough, crooked, and, in general, very
steep, wheel-carriages of any description are entirely unknown. Their
place is supplied by sedan-chairs of Chinese make, carried by Chinese
porters: these may be hired for a dollar per day, and are very
convenient, either in wet or in extremely hot weather. The bearers, like
those of their profession in England, are apt to impose upon strangers,
who must be on their guard till they become acquainted with the ways of
the place.
Macao is infested with loathsome beggars, who scruple not to expose
their ulcerated legs, arms, &c. for the purpose of exciting the
charitable feelings of the passer-by. They make a point of stopping at
the door of any shop in which they see a European, whose ears they
immediately assail with the most discordant noise, by beating a hollow
bamboo with a stick; a mode of annoyance which the law of China allows,
and which is carried on in Macao; but, in the neighbouring British
settlement, an entire stop has been put to it. This, they well know,
will soon cause the shopkeeper to give them a _cash_[21] or two, or his
customer to leave the premises. In China, no native can turn a beggar
from his door, till he has given him something in the shape of charity:
the merest trifle, however, is sufficient to authorize the forcible
expulsion of the applicant. I have seen as little as a tea-spoonful of
rice given on such occasions, when the sulky and grumbling mendicant
took his reluctant departure towards the next door, where he would,
perhaps, meet similar treatment with a repetition of "curses not loud,
but deep."
[Footnote 21: One thousand of these make a dollar, so that the
value of one is less than a quarter of a farthing.]
The Portuguese of Macao made a great ado on Sir Henry Pottinger's
declaring their settlement, in as far as British subjects were
concerned, part of the dominions of the Emperor of China: this, at first
sight, appeared strange to many people besides the Macao citizens, but,
when the subject received due consideration, Sir Henry was found to be
quite correct in the view he had taken of it. Macao is _not_ a
Portuguese settlement, in the proper sense of that word, but only a
territory leased to that Power on certain terms, for which an annual
tribute or rent is paid to this day. The Chinese laws are in force
here; their Mandarins levy duties, and tax every article sold in its
markets; its porters, boatmen, _compradores_, &c. require Chinese
licenses, but not Portuguese: in short, the Chinese are lords of the
manor, and the Portuguese are mere tenants, with leave to build forts,
and to levy certain duties on the commerce of the place. Looking at the
matter in this light, every unprejudiced person must admit, that Sir
Henry Pottinger, in exercising the power vested in him by Her Majesty's
Government, and in framing regulations for the wholesome restraint of
Her Majesty's subjects visiting China, (some of whom, it may be
remarked, are troublesome and very unruly characters,) was perfectly
right in including the peninsula of Macao in the dominions of His
Celestial Majesty. The Portuguese were very indignant; at least, they
pretended to be so; but it never would have done, to allow British
subjects, fleeing from their creditors or from justice, to have an
asylum where they could safely evade the laws of their own country, at a
foreign station scarcely forty miles from the new British settlement of
Hong Kong.[22]
[Footnote 22: The present Governor of Hong Kong, Sir John
Davis, has gone even further than Sir Henry Pottinger, and has
given notice to the Authorities at Macao, that British subjects
are no longer amenable to their laws. This is as it should be,
and as it ought to have been a hundred years ago.]
The trade of Macao was of very little importance, and its revenues never
paid its expenses, till the late Chinese war broke out. Circumstances
then drove the British merchants from Canton, and nearly the whole of
them took up their abode in Macao, where they continued till the
Portuguese Government was called upon by the Chinese to refuse them
further protection. They were then compelled to seek shelter on board
the shipping of their country, where many of them remained for nearly
twelvemonths, till the course of events allowed of their returning to
Macao. Their presence soon attracted hundreds of wealthy and respectable
Chinese dealers, and quadrupled the trade of the place, as well as its
revenue; which enabled the Portuguese Governor to make a handsome
remittance to Lisbon, in place of drawing upon that city for some 40,000
dollars annually, as he had hitherto been in the constant practice of
doing, to rebuild many of the public edifices, and to improve the town
generally, while it added much to the wealth and comfort of almost every
woman and child in the place. This was a piece of good fortune the
Portuguese of Macao most certainly did not deserve, their system, as
regards foreign commerce, being as illiberal as can well be imagined.
During the time they were reaping this rich harvest from British trade,
British subjects were not permitted to land or ship a single package of
goods nor to have their names entered in the Custom-house books. On the
arrival of a ship with goods suited to the Macao market, the English
consignee was obliged to employ a Portuguese citizen to enter and pass
them through the Custom-house, before a package could be landed. The
duties, also, were exorbitant; and, strange as it may appear, they even
taxed money, which could not be imported without paying one per cent.
duty. I have elsewhere seen an _export_ duty put on treasure; but the
Macao Government is the only one I ever knew to impose any restrictions
on the importation of a commodity which most Governments, as well as
individuals, are generally anxious to receive, in unlimited quantity,
without taxing those who bring it to them. No English vessel was allowed
to enter their inner harbour: this privilege was reserved for Spaniards
and Portuguese. On one occasion, a small British schooner of war was
proceeding into this haven, her commander never imagining that the
restriction put on the merchant vessels of his country could possibly
extend to Her Britannic Majesty's pennant: he was mistaken, however, and
the first battery he came near, threatened to fire into him. The threat
was of course disregarded, and the little schooner, in defiance of
Portuguese batteries, quietly pursued her way.
How this state of things could be so long put up with by the British
Government, it is hard to understand. When one considers that Portugal
owes its very existence as a nation to England; that Macao, on more than
one occasion, was saved from the fury of a Chinese army and rabble,
during the late war, by British ships and men; that nine-tenths of the
money that passes through its coffers, is English money; that Portuguese
citizens visiting the different ports of British India, are free to come
and go, land and ship their goods in their own names, hold houses and
other fixed property, and act in all respects as British subjects, and
as seemeth most for their own interest; when, I say, these facts are
considered, one is utterly at a loss to conceive why Great Britain
should suffer her subjects to be cramped in their mercantile pursuits by
so very insignificant a power as Portugal. Now that it is too late, the
Authorities of Macao have discovered their error, and mended their
manners, by opening the inner harbour to British shipping, by allowing
British merchants to land and ship goods in their own names, and by
lowering the duties on several articles of British manufacture. These
changes, which would have been accepted as boons two years before, were
adopted only when the Portuguese found nearly every British merchant
building warehouses and private dwellings in Hong Kong. Had they been
made prior to the commencement of those buildings, I have good reasons
for supposing, that many of them never would have been begun, their
proprietors having a great dislike to the new British settlement on
account of its reputed unhealthiness,--a reputation, I am sorry to say,
it has too well sustained. Dozens of houses in Macao are already vacant;
dozens more will be so before another six months shall elapse; hundreds
of families who have depended on their house-rent and on money earned in
other ways from British subjects for their daily bread, will be reduced
to want; many of them will and must emigrate to Hong Kong; and Macao,
with its streets of new houses, built in anticipation of the continued
residence of foreign merchants, will sink into utter insignificance, and
become as a place that has been, but is no more. Its Governor will again
have to draw, for the means of paying the expenses of the place, on his
Royal Mistress at Lisbon, who will then reap the well-merited reward of
an illiberal and short-sighted policy.
If a passenger, on his arrival at Macao, lands in the inner harbour, he
has to pass his baggage through the Portuguese Custom-house, where it
will be not only thoroughly examined, but also, very probably,
plundered. A trunk of my own, which _I saw_ carried into this building
along with several others, never came out again: its contents were
valuable, and were much missed by my family. What became of them, I
know not; but certain I am, that the Custom-house authorities of Macao
made away with them. If the passenger chooses to land at the outer
harbour, he encounters the _Chinese_ Custom-house, where he is charged
so much for each package, in the shape of duty, and is allowed to pass
on without bare-faced robbery. Some sixteen years ago, this Chinese
Custom-house was in the practice of levying a dollar per package on a
passenger's luggage, a similar sum on his wife, and on every female
child, while the boys passed free. This does not tell to the credit of
Chinese gallantry. Things are altered now, however; and ladies with
their daughters are permitted to land without let or hinderance.
When a foreign vessel anchors in Macao Roads, (a very exposed anchorage
by the way,) she is speedily visited by three or four _compradores'_
boats, which come out in search of employment, and with offers to supply
the ship with fresh provisions, &c., during her stay. The _compradore_
is a very useful fellow, but, in nine cases out of ten, a great rogue,
who scruples not to swell out his bill against the ship by various means
the reverse of fair. They all speak broken English. In moderate weather,
they go twenty or thirty miles out to sea in quest of inward-bound
vessels. The first time I went to China, we were boarded by a
_compradore's_ boat previously to making the land. A fresh breeze was
blowing at the time, before which the ship was going eight knots an
hour: this, however, did not prevent the Chinese boatmen from dashing
alongside in very smart style, hooking on by the fore-chains with their
own rope, and disdaining the aid of a line thrown from the vessel to
hang on by. Mr. _Compradore_ appeared on the poop, "_chin-chinning_,"
while we strangers were looking with admiration at the activity of his
men in the boat. The captain engaged him to attend the ship, on which he
immediately started for Macao, and was alongside again by daylight next
morning, with a most welcome supply of fresh beef, vegetables, &c. In
the _compradore's_ boat, passengers can generally get a passage on
shore, or, rather, to within a few hundred yards of the beach. The
boatmen are afraid to approach nearer, on account of the Mandarins, who
are apt to _squeeze_ them, if they are seen landing foreigners. The
remaining distance is usually got over in small _tancea_, or
ferry-boats, numbers of which ply about Macao in all directions,
invariably guided by women, called, from their mode of life,
"_Tancea-girls_." Poor things! They work hard for their daily bread,
being constantly exposed to the sun in summer, and to cold in winter.
They live in their boats, which, at night, are snugly covered up with a
roof made of a bamboo frame, the interstices filled up with thick
matting, and, in the whole course of their lives, never pass a night on
shore. They are said to be of a peculiar race, and never intermarry
with the real Chinese, who look down upon them with contempt.
The scenery round Macao is striking, and some of the views are
particularly so: that from the hill immediately behind the town, is
perhaps the best. From this spot you have a bird's-eye view of the whole
town, the beach, with its hundreds of large and small Chinese boats, on
your left; further on, in the same direction, Macao Roads with the
foreign shipping; while, beyond these, the islands of Lingting, Lantow,
and numerous others of smaller size, are seen in the distance: to the
right, you catch an occasional glimpse of the numerous rivers and arms
of the sea, with numbers of picturesque Chinese boats gliding about,
literally among the hills and dales; and, here and there, a Chinese
village is seen, with its little patch of cultivation, its herds of
buffaloes and pigs, and countless groupes of little Celestials. Casting
your eye along this view from north to south, you come to the harbour
called "_Typa_" in which there are generally some thirty or forty
vessels at anchor, and which, though an arm of the sea, looks here like
an inland lake. This view, on a clear day, would delight the painter,
though it has one great deficiency, namely, the entire absence of trees.
The hills in the neighbourhood, far and near, are completely bare. Such
is Macao, a miserable, dirty, crowded town, rendered important for a
while by its locality, but now fast sinking back into its native
insignificance, owing to the gross stupidity of the Portuguese
Authorities, more than to any other cause. Proceed we now to the new
British settlement of Hong Kong.
CHAPTER XVI.
CHINA.
ADVANTAGEOUS POSITION OF HONG KONG--THE OPIUM
TRADE--IMPORTANCE OF THE STATION IN THE EVENT OF
A FRESH WAR--CHUSAN--HOW TO RAISE A REVENUE--
CAUSES OF ALLEGED INSALUBRITY--RAPID PROGRESS
OF THE SETTLEMENT--PORTUGUESE PENURY--
MARKETS--SANATORY HINTS.
Having spent twelve months in Hong Kong, I will now endeavour to give an
impartial sketch of its situation as to trade, its importance in the
event of another Chinese war, and of its climate, general appearance,
and commercial progress.
Situated as this island is at the mouth of the Canton river, and in the
immediate neighbourhood of an immense trade, one can hardly question the
prudence of the choice that fixed upon it for a British settlement. It
has not yet (July 1844) been two years in our possession; and already
its magnificent harbour is crowded with the ships of England, America,
and other nations, while its warehouses on shore are filled with the
manufactures of those countries, brought here direct from the places
where they are produced, to be distributed to the different Chinese
ports recently opened to the commerce of the world by the arms of Great
Britain. Hundreds, nay, thousands of Chinese boatmen, fishermen,
porters, bricklayers, carpenters, blacksmiths, shoemakers, tailors,
bakers, shopkeepers, &c., are already earning their bread here. Since
the ratification of Sir Henry Pottinger's Treaty, and the confirmation
of the cession of the Island as part and parcel of the dominions of
Queen Victoria, many wealthy Chinese merchants have been making
arrangements for the establishment of branch-houses here; and more than
one of them had, previously to my departure last March, chartered
British ships, and despatched them to the northern ports, loaded with
British goods. As a _dépôt_ for goods intended for the Chinese market, I
conceive the situation of Hong Kong to be unrivalled, and, in this
single point of view, of great importance. On the arrival of a ship from
London, Liverpool, or Glasgow, with a general cargo of British goods,
the consignees unload them, and send the ship home again with tea or
such other produce as they may have ready for her, storing and holding
the goods in readiness for any opening that may present itself: such
portion of them as may be suited for markets in the immediate vicinity,
are either sold on the spot, or sent to Canton, while the rest is
shipped off in fast-sailing vessels, kept for the purpose of making sure
of their voyage against the monsoon, to Amoy, Chusan, and other ports to
the northward.
Great complaints used to be made at Canton and Macao, because goods
could not be landed, unless they were sold, or the consignees chose to
advance the duty, and let the articles lie till an opportunity of
disposing of them occurred: in other words, the want of a bonding system
was universally felt and complained of. The establishment of Hong Kong
completely obviates this inconvenience, and enables the ship from Great
Britain or elsewhere to dispose of her cargo in a few days after her
arrival, and proceed home again, thus saving time, expense, and trouble
to an incalculable extent.
A decisive proof of the eligibility of Hong Kong as a place of trade,
and of its importance in the eyes of the Chinese themselves, is afforded
by the immense sums paid by some of them for ground on which to build
_Hongs_, where they can deposit their goods with safety, beyond the
reach of their grasping Mandarins. This advantage to a China-man is
something so new, and so far beyond any thing he ever dreamed of
enjoying, that I conceive the benefits likely to accrue from it to Hong
Kong to be incalculable.
Goods stored in Canton or Macao, the property of a China-man, were
never safe in the event of their owner getting into trouble with the
Chinese Authorities; and, if the property of foreigners, they could not
be insured against fire, the risk arising from the universal
carelessness of the Chinese, and the consequent very frequent occurrence
of extensive conflagrations, being considered too great by the
under-writers. Both these difficulties are completely obviated in Hong
Kong; and every substantially built house and warehouse, together with
the property in them, were insured against fire, previously to my
quitting the Island. One China-man had, in March last, completed
buildings for the storage of property collected from the different ports
on the coast, on which upwards of 40,000 dollars had been laid out; and
what is more, they were already well filled.
As a convenient and safe _dépôt_ for opium, (a trade, in my opinion,
quite as legitimate and honourable as that in brandy, gin, and other
spirits,) Hong Kong is admirably situated: the purchaser from the
western ports, as well as from the northeastern, finds the distance he
has to travel moderate, and, on his arrival, has no one to dread, no
Mandarin daring to shew his face on shore. The ships that bring the drug
from India, here find a safe and commodious harbour, where they can
unload their cargoes in open day, without hinderance or molestation, and
where they are not driven to the necessity of carrying on their
operations in the dark. Were the opium-trade actually one of mere
smuggling, I would be as ready as any one to condemn it, and to raise my
voice against those concerned in it; but when one considers that not a
hundredth part of the quantity sold annually is really smuggled,--that
ninety-nine chests out of every hundred pay a heavy duty, (mis-called a
bribe,)--that the Chinese Government derives from it indirectly, but not
the less certainly, a very considerable revenue,--and finally, that
large quantities of it are known to be consumed within the walls of the
imperial palace at Pekin,--I confess I see no reason for the clamorous
indignation with which this traffic has of late been assailed by
European moralists. I have said, that the Chinese Government derives a
considerable revenue from the opium trade; and I will prove it. A
Mandarin who pays for his situation, and is left to make the most of it
by squeezing the inhabitants of his district, will give a great deal
more for an appointment where an extensive opium-trade is carried on,
than he would for any other. Knowing the handsome sums paid by the
dealers in the drug, to "make Mandarin shut eye," he hesitates not for a
moment about paying his Imperial Master in proportion for the situation
which puts him in the way of reaping so rich a harvest. What is more;
his said Imperial Master knows perfectly well what makes the situations
in certain districts so much coveted, and enables the parties to pay so
high for them. Away, then, with all the mawkish cant about corrupting
the morals and ruining the health of the Chinese by selling them poison!
The Chinese are just as capable of taking care of themselves as their
would-be guardians are; and as for their morals, many of them lead lives
that might be copied with advantage to themselves and families, by
thousands of gin-drinking Englishmen. China is decidedly an
over-populated country. Opium-smoking checks the increase, and thereby
does good; a view of the question not altogether unworthy of attention.
Checking the increase of population in this way is, at all events,
better than adopting the plan of drowning female infants; not an
uncommon one in China.
The importance of Hong Kong in the event of another Chinese war, (an
event, in the opinion of many, not very improbable,) cannot, I conceive,
for a moment be doubted. Should our merchants again be expelled from the
ports of China, they will here find a safe asylum for their persons and
property, while their ships may ride in the harbour under the protection
of two or three of Her Majesty's ships in perfect security, in defiance
of all the marine of China. Here also Her Majesty's Government may have
_dépôts_ of military stores, provisions, coals, &c., all stored in
perfect safety, in place of being kept, as they were during the late
war, in transports hired at an enormous expense for the purpose. Now
that passages along the coast of China are made, even by sailing
vessels, at all seasons of the year, in defiance of monsoons, a steamer
sent from the seat of war (wherever it might be) to Hong Kong, would be
sufficient, at any time, to procure ample supplies of money, ammunition,
and other stores for the army, from India, if need be, in a few weeks.
Every one at all acquainted with the inconvenience and expense suffered
by the late Expedition for want of proper and regular supplies, will
appreciate the value of the Island in this point of view. What was it
that carried off so many of the Cameronians and Royal Irish stationed in
Chusan during the first expedition to the North? Not the climate of that
beautiful island, certainly; for the troops that have since occupied it,
have been remarkably healthy; and I saw four hundred of them land at
Hong Kong, _en route_ to England, much against their will, looking as
rosy and stout as if they had just come from home! What occasioned the
mortality among the troops, was, the want of a _dépôt_ from which they
could obtain supplies to replace the putrid, ill-cured Calcutta beef and
other unwholesome stores that were served out to convalescents, who died
by hundreds for want of nourishing food to restore their exhausted
frames.
The diseases from which those unfortunate soldiers suffered, were
originally contracted from improper food and bad accommodation; and all
this took place on a Chinese island overrun with cattle, pigs, and
poultry, and with the town of Ting Hae, deserted by nine-tenths of its
inhabitants, under their feet. The Commander-in-Chief's over-scrupulous
conscience would neither allow the cattle to be purchased, nor the empty
houses in the town to be occupied by the sick and dying. No better
stores were to be had nearer than Calcutta,--a six months' trip to and
fro! So bad were the beef and pork, that I afterwards saw hundreds of
casks of both sold by public auction at Singapore, for three quarters of
a dollar (3s. 4-1/2d.) per cask. The meat was used for manure, and the
barrels were used for firewood. The possession of Hong Kong will prevent
the possible recurrence of any thing of this kind.
I am not prepared to say that Chusan would not have been a better
situation for a military _dépôt_ than Hong Kong. Her Majesty's
Government, however, thought proper to prohibit the permanent occupation
of the former, while that of the latter was sanctioned, so that we have
now no choice. For mercantile purposes, the absolute and permanent
possession of both these islands would have been highly advantageous.
Chusan, I have never had the good fortune to visit, but have invariably
heard it spoken of as a delightful place, in a high state of
cultivation, possessing an extensive commerce, with fine harbours, and,
lastly, with a numerous population already made acquainted with the
difference between living under a free and enlightened Government and
under that of a despot. These people (if one can credit even half of
what one hears from them) are, one and all, anxious that Great Britain
should retain their island, and seem to dread the day, now fast
approaching, when, according to the Treaty, it must be evacuated by the
British, consigning them again to the tender mercies of the Celestial
Mandarins. Several English merchants have erected warehouses on Chusan,
in the hope that it will ultimately be retained by Great Britain, or
that the Chinese Authorities will not object to their remaining on the
Island subsequently to its restoration to their Imperial Master. I hope
that their expectations may not prove fallacious.
Hong Kong is a free port, and, in my opinion, ought never to be
otherwise than free. Let its harbour be a refuge for the shipping of all
nations, and its stores will then be filled with their goods. I would
not encumber the commerce of this Island with one single dollar of
charges: no port-charges ought for a moment to be thought of; and, as
for import and export duties, the most moderate charges of this kind
would ruin the place. What brought Singapore forward so rapidly, was,
the entire freedom of its trade. If Hong Kong is but treated in the same
way, its progress will be, if possible, still more rapid than that of
its sister settlement.
A revenue more than sufficient to remunerate Government for the annual
expenses of Hong Kong, may be raised on the spot, without hampering its
commerce, by taxing the retail opium-trade, the retail spirit-trade,
carriages and horses, licensed gambling-houses, rents from public
markets, ground-rent on building and other lots, and an assessment on
rents, say of five per cent. The revenue derived from such sources in
Singapore, is cheerfully paid, and it more than pays the expenses of the
place. That all the houses in which opium is smoked, spirits are drunk,
and gambling is carried on, should be under a strict surveillance, is
absolutely necessary. To check either the one or the other, is
impossible; and, as they are legitimate objects for taxation, I see no
reason why Government should not derive benefit from them. The
opium-smoker and the rum-drinker pay as much for the indulgence of their
appetites, under existing circumstances, as they would do, were the
privilege of supplying them farmed out to individuals, who would be
responsible to the Authorities for the good conduct of their
establishments.
I should advocate the suppression of gambling-houses _in toto_, did I
not know the utter impossibility of effecting this among either a
Chinese or a Malay population. As their existence, then, must be
tolerated, and as they are, to my certain knowledge, the scene of
robbery and murder, much more frequently than persons unacquainted with
the criminal calendars in our Asiatic courts of justice suppose, I say,
let them be registered, taxed, and made subject to the visits of the
police at any hour of the night or day. By the means I have pointed out,
a revenue amply sufficient for the purposes of the Hong Kong Government
might be raised; and I should have no hesitation in undertaking to
defray every fraction of its expenditure, had I the privilege of farming
the opium-tax and the spirit-tax.
Of the climate of Hong Kong, I have little that is favourable to report.
Hitherto, it has been decidedly inimical to the European constitution;
and hundreds of our countrymen are already buried there. Last summer
(1843), from the first of August till the end of October, a very
malignant fever raged among all ranks, and carried off soldiers,
sailors, Government servants, mercantile men, and tradesmen. There were
some peculiarities attendant upon this fever, however, which I shall
mention, in the hope that my observations may lead future residents to
be a little more careful of their health, than most of the present
inhabitants have shewn themselves to be. In the first place, then, the
fever, with few exceptions, was limited to particular localities.
Secondly, not one European female died of it, and only two suffered from
it severely. Thirdly, those who occupied spacious _upper-roomed_,
well-aired houses, almost to a man escaped. Fourthly, those who exposed
themselves to the sun, suffered most. And, lastly, the new comer from
Europe was more subject to take this terrible fever, which the medical
men characterize as a mixture of the yellow fever of the West and the
bilious fever of the East Indies.
A stranger landing in Hong Kong, particularly if coming from many parts
of India, and acquainted generally with tropical countries and climates,
would naturally, on hearing of its insalubrious climate, express
surprise, since he could see no exciting cause. I have stated, that the
fever attached itself to particular localities. These were, the eastern
and western extremes of the town of Victoria. At the eastern end, to the
eye the most delightful spot in or near the town, there are several
patches of paddy-fields, situated in deep valleys between the hills, of
limited extent, but which, under this climate, seem to generate malaria
in quantities quite disproportionate to their size. In the morning,
these valleys may be seen, from the middle of the town, completely
filled with a dense fog, which rolls down from the neighbouring heights
immediately after sun-set, settles upon them all night, and does not
clear off till nine or ten o'clock in the morning. I know of no other
reason why this neighbourhood should be unhealthy: that it proved so
last summer, the number of its victims sufficiently testify. Of six
gentlemen who took up their quarters here, five died; and the other had
a very severe attack of fever, from which he ultimately recovered.[23]
[Footnote 23: Since these remarks were penned, another summer
has passed over Hong Kong. Sickness and death have again
prevailed there to an unusual extent, and the neighbourhood
just mentioned had its victims; amongst others, two English
ladies whose husbands I had cautioned, in March 1844,
respecting the spot they were taking their families to reside
upon. The last mail from the East continues the outcry against
the climate.]
The land at the western extremity of the town is swampy, the grass, even
on the declivities, being of a rank, spongy nature, and quite unfit for
any thing. Here the Government built barracks, in which a detachment of
Her Majesty's 55th regiment was for some time quartered: its ranks were
decimated by fever, which latterly became so virulent, that the
Authorities chartered shipping in the harbour, to receive the men still
alive. Unfortunately, the poor fellows, being weakened from the effects
of the summer, and having in all probability the seeds of disease in
them before they embarked, died afloat in great numbers. It has been
thought, that many lives might have been saved at West Point Barracks,
had that building been raised off the ground so as to admit a free
circulation of air _under_ the rooms. This, however, is but
problematical, as the deaths at the other end of the town took place in
two-storied houses.
From what I observed at West Point, there appears to be a constant drain
of water down the hills, about six inches under the surface of the soil.
This water settles under improperly ventilated houses, rots the beams,
and _throws up a crop of mildew in every room_, as I can testify from
actual observation.
That no European female has fallen a victim to this fever, is certainly
a remarkable feature in its history; but it must be borne in mind, that
there were no ladies residing in the immediate neighbourhood of the two
localities just mentioned. Perhaps, the Morrison Education Hill may be
an exception, where two families passed last summer. None of the females
suffered a day's illness, though a young man living in the house, who
was occasionally exposed to the sun, caught the fever and died.
I have no doubt, (and I have heard others express a similar opinion,)
that regular habits and non-exposure to the sun, are the principal
causes to which those Europeans who have escaped illness when their
friends and neighbours have sickened round them, owe their preservation.
The occupants of spacious, two-storied, well-aired houses escaped, with
only a single exception, in the case of a young man who probably
brought on his illness by imprudent exposure to the sun for hours
together, although he was repeatedly warned of the consequences. I know
several instances of families passing last summer in houses of this
description without any interruption of health. My own household was
composed of two ladies, three children, myself, and a European female
attendant: not one of us had an hour's illness during all the hot
weather; yet we took no further care of ourselves than is customary with
people who have resided for several years within the tropics.
That exposure to the sun in that zone is uniformly prejudicial to the
health of Europeans, does not admit of a question; but, in China, the
sun's rays seem to exert a more injurious effect than in most other
places I have visited. The residents in Hong Kong, it is true, were
somewhat careless in the matter. Few, if any of them were provided with
carriages or other conveyance to protect them from it when business
called them abroad during the day; and it was quite common to see them
moving about, on foot and on horseback, with no other precaution than an
umbrella carried over the head, in spite of the daily examples of
parties suffering from such imprudence.
The number of European inhabitants in Hong Kong will this summer (1844)
be trebled by the removal of most of the merchants from Macao; and the
general health of the place will be anxiously watched. Should it prove
as bad as last summer, (which God forbid,) it will drive many people
away, and injure the settlement irreparably. The prejudicial effects of
going into the sun might be avoided, almost entirely, even by men of
business, were they to adopt the Calcutta system of note-writing. There,
a merchant seldom or never moves from his office; and when he does, it
is in a covered vehicle. Let the Hong Kong residents follow their
example, and their numbers will not be thinned as they have hitherto
been.
That the European fresh from home, full-blooded, and in robust health,
should be more liable to fever than his acclimated countrymen, is not to
be wondered at; but many of the new comers might escape disease by
common prudence. Confident in their strength of constitution, and
wearied with a long confinement on ship-board, they sally forth, day by
day, to take a walk, just as they would in England, heedless of the
fierce luminary that is pouring his rays on their exposed heads, and
bent only on amusement or variety. A week of such folly (to call it by
no stronger name) has sufficed to bring many a youth to a premature
grave.
The weather begins to grow warm in China (I speak of Hong Kong, Macao,
and Canton) about the middle of April; in June, it is oppressively hot;
and during the following three months, which are the most unhealthy, the
thermometer in the shade ranges from 85° to 90°. This is a degree of
heat that ought not to be much felt by experienced Indians; and in Java,
or in the Straits of Malacca, I should not complain of it; but there is
a peculiarity, an oppressiveness, in the heat of China, that makes even
respiration difficult, and excites such copious perspiration as to
weaken the frame. In October, the weather becomes cooler, and, for the
next five months, is sufficiently cold to render fires a comfort morning
and evening; and occasionally during the whole day. Were it not for
their winter, I know not what would become of the European residents in
China: this season braces them up for the coming summer, and, in short,
saves their lives.
The progress made in Hong Kong since its occupation as a British Colony,
is astonishing, and perhaps unsurpassed in the history of civilization.
Owing to the peculiar features of the locality in which Victoria stands,
that town has been extended along the beach, till it is now upward of
four miles long, with three short streets extending a little way up the
hills about its centre. The Queen's road extends along the beach the
whole of this length, and has been cut with great labour and expense.
The lots between this road and low-water mark are considered as the best
for mercantile purposes, and are nearly all in the possession of
mercantile men, who have built, in most cases, handsome warehouses with
dwelling-houses above. There are, however, some exceptions, a portion of
the ground being occupied by Chinese shopkeepers, who inhabit low
ill-built houses, which, as ground with water-frontage becomes more
valuable, will have to give way to better buildings, raised by a higher
class, who will buy out the present occupants. The lots on the south
side of Queen's Road are not so valuable as those opposite;
nevertheless, they are nearly all in the possession of monied men, who
will before long find it to their advantage to level the many wretched
buildings that now disfigure the road, and to erect houses worthy of a
town bearing the royal name.
On my departure from the Island, building was going forward in all
directions, notwithstanding the somewhat illiberal terms on which alone
lots were obtainable; and I have no doubt that, by this time, many
smiling cottages adorn the hills in and near the town, while more
stately buildings rear their prouder elevation on the level below.
House-rent, as might be expected, is very high, and will probably
continue so for ten years to come. It took that time to reduce the rents
in Singapore; and as I expect that Hong Kong will become a place of
still greater trade, and attract a larger European population than the
Straits' settlement, I see no reason that the owner of property in
houses there should not look for a handsome return for his outlay for
ten years, and for a fair remunerating price at the expiration of that
time. Something like a hundred per cent. per annum has been got for the
small houses occupied by Chinese shopkeepers, while twenty-five, thirty,
and even forty per cent. is a common return for substantially-built
warehouses.
Some idea of the rapid progress which this settlement has made, may be
formed by the reader, when I state, that one firm had laid out upwards
of 40,000l. sterling in building, and was still laying out more, when I
quitted it. This is, certainly, by far the largest expenditure that has
been made by any single establishment: but many others have spent from
6000l. to 10,000l. in a similar way; and the outlay by individuals on
speculation, is by no means inconsiderable.
The Chinese population of Victoria and the neighbourhood amounted, last
January, to ten thousand souls; certainly not the choicest collection
that could be wished, as the number of robberies that take place in and
about the town sufficiently testify. This evil the magistrates were,
however, doing their best to remedy; and some scores of idle vagabonds
had been sent across the Channel dividing the Island from the main land
of China. Some of the chiefs of the robber-gangs had been apprehended
and set to work on the roads, in irons; a proceeding that alarmed their
confederates not a little.[24]
[Footnote 24: An account of the capture of two of these scamps
was given to me by the chief magistrate, the day before I left
Victoria, and was to the following effect:--A China-man in the
pay of the police, though never seen by any magistrate, came to
the police compradore's house one evening, and said: "If you
will send two European constables to a certain spot (which he
named) at nine o'clock to night, I will shew them where they
will find two robber-chiefs smoking opium and looking over
their gains." This hint was immediately communicated to the
chief magistrate, who at once resolved to act upon it, and sent
the constables to the spot indicated. There, the spy met them,
masked, and made signs for them to be silent and follow him. He
guided them down past West Point upwards of a mile, when he
turned up the hill by a footpath, which, in half an hour,
brought the party to a small hut, through the crevices in the
wall of which a light was visible. To the door of this hut, the
guide significantly pointed, and instantly disappeared without
uttering a word. The constables took the hint, and burst the
door open, when they found what they had been led to expect;
two men smoking opium, the room almost full of European
clothing and other stolen property, quite sufficient to convict
the smokers of unfair play towards the late owners of it. These
men were of course secured; and the day I sailed from Hong
Kong, I saw them at work on the roads in irons. Their
apprehension caused a complete cessation of robberies for the
time being, the sight of the noted chiefs on the roads having
terrified their followers.]
The general appearance of Hong Kong, from the sea, is picturesque and
curious. That part of the Island on which the town is situated, is
hilly, and, with the exception of the few paddy-fields already
mentioned, presents no level space on which to build. The hills stretch
completely down to the sea; and Queen's Road has been formed by cutting
away their projecting spurs, throwing the earth into the sea in front,
filling up the gaps on each side the spur, and thus forming a long strip
of level. Above the level of Queen's Road, many terraces have been cut
in the hills, upon which private dwellings have been perched; and to a
person sailing into the harbour, these look suspended on the hill side,
and inaccessible. To speak the truth, the approaches to them are not the
most practicable; particularly in rainy weather, when, from the clayey
nature of the soil, they become extremely slippery. Several
water-courses descend from these hills, forming miniature ravines and a
few water-falls, which have a pretty effect after a day's rain. They
occasionally wash away an ill-built house; but this is the fault of the
clumsy and foolish builders.
Many of these hills are covered with a hard, tough, useless sort of
whinstone, which adds considerably to the expense of building on them.
Others are well stocked with granite, which the Chinese masons split
very neatly into any shape, by driving innumerable wedges into the
blocks. The adroitness with which they do this, is quite surprising. The
China pine (or fir) grows all over Hong Kong; but the young trees no
sooner attain the height of two or three feet, than they are cut down by
the natives, and carried off in bundles to clean the bottoms of the
countless boats that ply about the harbour. Thus, with one or two
exceptions, these hills are quite bare, and, in winter more
particularly, exhibit any thing but a lively spectacle. In summer, their
green covering of coarse grass improves their appearance.
The only thing that reconciles one to the site chosen for building the
town of Victoria, is its beautiful harbour: in every other respect, the
choice was decidedly bad. A more awkward place on which to erect a town,
could not have been fixed upon; and its northern aspect adds, I suspect,
to the unhealthiness of the place, as it exposes the town to the cold
winds of winter, and completely shuts out the southerly breezes of
summer, which are so much wanted to refresh the worn-out colonist There
are situations in the Island much more eligible for a town, but their
harbours are exposed, so that, when we consider how well the shipping
are protected in Victoria bay, we feel disposed to allow that a better
choice could not have been made under all the circumstances.
The market of Hong Kong is well supplied with fish, flesh, and fowl,
vegetables, fruit, and game; and those who choose to take the trouble of
seeing to it themselves, may obtain supplies on reasonable terms: those
who leave these matters to their servants, are of course robbed, and are
apt, without making any inquiry, to come to the conclusion, that every
thing here is dear. The retail price of every sort of provisions is
pasted up on the market-gate, once a week, by authority of the
magistrates, in Chinese and English characters; so that the exorbitant
rates charged by _compradores_ may be easily detected and put a stop to.
Chinese boats of all descriptions, sizes, and sorts may be hired at
every wharf, at any hour from daylight till eight at night: their moving
about after that hour, is prohibited by the Authorities, who had strong
reason to suspect their being connected with the gangs of robbers that
occasionally land from the opposite shore, commit some daring robbery,
and disappear again before daylight.
When the fleet of men of war and transports arrived here, from the
North, in October 1842, the troops, amounting to upwards of fifteen
thousand, were regularly supplied, during their stay in the harbour of
Victoria, with fresh provisions, eggs, &c.; and no rise of prices took
place. On the departure of the fleet, the daily supply was reduced by
the Chinese to just sufficient for the consumption of the place. No
portion of the supplies for the market is produced on the Island: the
whole is brought from the innumerable creek and river-banks in the
neighbourhood. It is to be hoped that this state of things will, before
long, be altered, since, as matters now stand, the Cow Loon Authorities
could, at any time, deprive the inhabitants of Hong Kong of their daily
bread.
American, French, and English Missionaries are already congregated in
this infant settlement. The first have built a neat little chapel, where
Divine service is performed every Sunday morning in the Presbyterian
form, and, in the evening, in Chinese. The French Roman Catholics have
built a stately and handsome chapel with a good dwelling-house attached
to it: they have a large congregation among the Irish soldiery and the
Portuguese from Macao. The English Missionaries had only just arrived
with their establishment from Malacca, and, when I left the Island, had
neither house nor chapel, but had commenced building. A chaplain of the
Church of England had arrived, appointed by the Home Government: no
English church, however, had even been commenced, and the congregation
meet every Sunday in a neat house, where, if they escape fever during
the summer, and colds and ague during the winter, they ought to deem
themselves very fortunate.
Grog-shops and other resorts for the depraved and idle, are already
plentiful in Victoria. They are, however, all closed on Sunday; and the
sailor ashore, on liberty on that day, is fain to content himself with a
walk along the road, during which he may be heard muttering deep curses
on the heads of those who framed this (according to his notion) unjust
and tyrannical regulation.
Before concluding my remarks on Hong Kong, I will add a few words on
what I consider as the best means to be adopted with a view to render
the settlement more healthy. Much must be done by the Government; and
the rest may be left to the inhabitants themselves.
In the first place, the paddy-fields at the east end of the town must be
thoroughly drained, and the cultivation of paddy in the neighbourhood
entirely stopped. Proclamations on this last subject had been published
in March last. That the draining of these lands would decrease the
quantity of malaria generated in the valleys, there can be no doubt;
but, that it would entirely do away with it, I deem very problematical.
At all events, it would not stop the volumes of fog that descend from
the hill-tops at sun-set, and completely envelop the valleys and the
houses. Draining, indeed, would do good, and ought to be tried at once.
The owners of property in the neighbourhood were very sanguine as to the
result of the experiment. More good, however, would be done in the way
of purifying the air of these valleys, by entirely removing the small
hill on which the Morrison Education buildings stand. The task, at first
sight, may seem herculean; but is not so in reality. Thousands of men
are to be hired in the villages on the opposite coast, who would gladly
work for three dollars (13s. 6d.) per month. Were a couple of thousand
of these put upon this job for a twelvemonth, there would not be much of
the hill left. The pecuniary outlay would be considerable; but the
returns would do much more than pay the interest on it. The base of the
hill itself is of considerable extent; and the earth carried from its
top, if thrown into the sea at its foot, would create a large level
space for building, that would yield quit-rent enough to render the
speculation (were the work undertaken by private individuals) a highly
profitable one. This hill completely shuts up the largest of the
paddy-growing valleys; and its removal would admit into it the easterly
and northerly breezes, which might do more than any thing else towards
preventing the descent of the fog. There are other hills, near the one
alluded to, that might be levelled with great advantage to the
neighbourhood, as well as to the parties who might undertake the task.
In this case, there are individuals ready to execute the work on their
own private account, who actually made offers to the Government on the
subject; but their terms were rejected by the Authorities, and the hills
remain in _statu quo_. The sea being very shallow at the base of these
hills, the space filled up by cutting them down, would be very
considerable, and the task by no means difficult. Sir Stamford Raffles
removed one at Singapore, in size equal to the one known in Hong Kong
as Leighton's Hill, without incurring a shilling of expense to his
Government. To the parties who removed the soil, he gave the ground they
had made, charging them the same quit-rent that others paid on the
grants made to them.
At West Point, draining seems to be the only plan that can be
recommended to render the situation more salubrious. Neither there nor
any where else in the Colony, is it safe to reside in houses having only
a ground-floor. Of those who have done so, few have escaped the fever;
and still fewer of those who caught it, recovered. Draining upon a large
scale, is the part of the work I would leave to the Government: upon the
inhabitants, I would impose the task of making proper sewers all over
the town. The few that existed there last summer, were not simply a
disgrace to every person connected with the place, but tended in no
small degree to thin the population by the abominable effluvia they
threw out. In the immediate vicinity of every house or shop belonging to
the Chinese, might be seen a collection of impurities sufficient to
create a pestilence anywhere, much more in a place with the thermometer
frequently above 90° in the shade. The assessment of five per cent. on
all rents, would create a fund sufficient to purify the town, to keep it
clean, to provide a regular scavengers' establishment, and, moreover,
to pay night watchmen to protect the property of its inhabitants from
the gangs of robbers that infest the place. Were these suggestions
carried out, if the citizens of Victoria were but careful to avoid the
sun, and if not a few would but reduce by one-half their allowance of
brandy-and-water and cigars, I will venture to predict, that the medical
men of the place would have a comparative sinecure.
Among other arrivals in Hong Kong during the year 1843, were some fifty
or sixty emigrants from Sydney, (N. S. Wales,) consisting of mechanics
of different descriptions. They alleged, that the bad times in Australia
had driven them away. Poor fellows! I fear they have made a sad mistake
in the change they have sought. Here, they will find times, for persons
of their class, worse than those they have had to complain of, a climate
to contend against, from which they have not the means of protecting
themselves, and hundreds of Chinese artisans, who can afford to work for
less than half what they can live upon. Most of them were badly housed;
and it was to be feared, that the end of summer will see very many of
their number in their graves.
The colonists of New South Wales appear to hare formed the most
extravagant ideas of the benefit they are to derive from the new
settlement of Hong Kong. With the exception of salt provisions, I know
of nothing they can send to the new settlement with even a chance of
profit; and the prices of these must be lower than those ruling in
Sydney by the last accounts, to yield a profit. Some small lots of
timber have been found to answer; but the demand for this article will
cease, when the buildings now in progress in Victoria shall have been
completed. Cattle, horses, and sheep have been tried, and the experiment
has proved an utter failure.
CHAPTER XVII.
CHINA.
FIRST VIEW OF CANTON--DESCRIPTION OF THE EUROPEAN
QUARTER--HOSTILE FEELINGS OF THE PEOPLE--COMMERCIAL
PROSPECTS OF CANTON--AMOY--FOO CHOW--NINGPO--
SHANG-HAE--MR. MEDHURST--RESULTS OF THE TREATY
WITH CHINA.
The sail from Hong Kong to Canton is very interesting, particularly to a
stranger. The numerous islands he passes, and the entirely new scenes
that everywhere attract his eye, cannot fail to delight and amuse him.
Here, the unwieldy Chinese junk; there, the fast-sailing Chinese
passage-boat; now and then, the long snake-like opium-smuggler with his
fifty oars; innumerable fishing-boats, all in pairs, with a drag-net
extended from the one to the other; country boats of all descriptions
passing to and fro, their crews all bent on money-getting, yet, never
failing to cast a glance of mingled contempt and scorn at the "_Fan
qui_"; the duck-boats on the river banks, their numerous tenants feeding
in the adjacent rice-fields; a succession of little Chinese villages,
with groupes of young Celestials staring at him with never-ending
wonder; here and there, a tall pagoda rearing its lofty head high above
the surrounding scenery, as if conscious of its great antiquity and of
the sacred objects for which it was built; the Chinese husbandman with
his one-handed plough, drawn by a single wild-looking buffalo; smiling
cottages, surrounded with orange and other fruit-trees; the immense
fleet of foreign ships anchored at Whampoa;--these and a thousand other
objects, all equally strange and new, attract the attention of the
stranger as he sails up the "Quang Tung" river. On nearing the city
itself, he is still more astonished and pleased with the sights that
literally confuse his ideas, making the whole scene to seem the creation
of magic, rather than sober reality. Here, the river is absolutely
crowded with junks and boats of all sorts and sizes, from the ferry-boat
of six feet long, to the ferry-boat of a thousand tons burthen. Long
rows of houses, inhabited principally by boat-builders and others
connected with maritime affairs, and built on the river, line its right
bank. Outside of these, are moored numerous flat-bottomed boats with
high roofs: these come from the Interior with tea and other produce, and
resemble what I fancy Noah's Ark must have been, more than any thing I
have seen elsewhere. On the left bank, the shore is lined with boats
unloading and loading cargoes, while the different landing-places are
completely blocked up with ferry-boats seeking employment. The space in
the centre of the river, is continually crowded with boats, junks, &c.
proceeding up and down. The scene altogether is bewildering to the
stranger. Busy as the scene is, which the Thames presents at London, its
superior regularity and order, in my opinion, prevent its coming up to
the scene I have just faintly traced, in the strange and excited
feelings it calls up. Amidst all this, there is a constant clatter of
tongues strongly recalling the confusion of Babel. A China-man never
talks below his breath; and, if one may judge from the loud tones in
which the whole community express their sentiments, whether in a house
or shop or in the street, the only conclusion that can be come to is,
that, in China, the word secret is not understood, or rather, that the
idea corresponding to that word has no existence in their conceptions.
Of the immense city itself, the home of a million of souls, what account
can a traveller give, who has seen little more of it than the portion
inhabited by foreigners? I must say a few words, however, about that
part of it which I have seen.
I begin with the foreign factories. These buildings stretch along the
left bank of the river about three quarters of a mile, (or, rather, they
did so, for one half of them have recently been destroyed by fire,) and
extend back about two hundred yards. They are large, substantially
built, and comfortable houses; but those situated behind the front row,
must be (indeed I know they are) oppressively hot residences in the
summer season. The space between the factories and the river, is
reserved for a promenade, where foreigners may take a little recreation
after their day's work. Although but a limited space, it is invaluable.
Here, in the evening, may be seen Englishmen, Americans, Frenchmen,
Spaniards, Dutchmen, Portuguese, Parsees, Moslem, and Hindoos; all
enjoying the evening breeze, and talking over the affairs of the day or
the news brought by the last overland mail, while a crowd of Chinese
coolies surround the square, gaping with noisy wonder at the strangers
attired in all the costumes of Europe and Asia. The streets principally
resorted to by foreigners are, China Street (old and new) and
Carpenter's Square. In the former, a very choice collection of Chinese
articles may be purchased, either in the way of curiosities or of
valuable merchandize. In Carpenter's Square, the new-comer may fit
himself out with everlasting trunks, dressing-cases, &c.; or, if in
search of furniture, he may here, in half an hour, furnish his house
with well-made, substantial articles. The houses in these streets are
all of two stories, with very narrow frontage, ground being valuable. A
large quantity of timber is used in their construction, which renders
any chance fire in this city so very destructive. The streets in Canton
are all very narrow, most of those I have seen not exceeding six or
seven feet in width: the two China Streets are probably twelve feet
wide. The city does not cover half the space which a European one with
the same population would do. Its streets, from their want of breadth,
always appear, and indeed always are crowded; and the unwary passenger
is very liable to get knocked down by some heavily laden porter running
against him, if he does not keep a sharp look-out. Like Macao, it is
infested with loathsome beggars, who are, if possible, still more
clamorous in their demands for charity than those of that place. Here,
the stranger will be surprised to see dogs, cats, and rats hawked about,
dead and alive. I do not say that these animals form the daily food of
the people of Canton, but they are daily and hourly hawked about its
streets, and purchased by the poorer classes. The Canton market is,
nevertheless, remarkably well supplied with the good things of this
life; and the European who cannot live and be contented with the
provisions procurable in it, must be hard to please. By nine o'clock at
night, this huge city is perfectly quiet, and nine-tenths of its
inhabitants are wrapped in sleep. At either end of each street is a
gate, which is shut at that hour, and ingress or egress put a stop to
for the night. This regulation, as may be supposed, is an excellent
check upon night robbers, whose peregrinations can extend no further
than the end of the street they live in. Another equally salutary
regulation is that which makes the inhabitants of a street responsible
for each other's good conduct. Thus, if A's servant steals any thing
from B, A must make good the loss. Prowling being put a stop to during
the night, I have seen robberies attempted and detected during the day;
and I certainly never saw a poor thief treated elsewhere with such
unrelenting cruelty. A China-man seems to have no mercy for a thief; nor
is this feeling to be wondered at in an over-peopled country, where all
have to work for their bread, and where idlers are sure to starve.
During the winter, in Canton, the lower classes suffer severely from
cold: they are poorly fed and worse clothed: and hundreds of them may be
seen about the streets, shivering and looking the very picture of
absolute wretchedness. Amongst these, a few old women may be seen
sitting by the side of the streets, earning a scanty subsistence by
mending and patching the clothes of people as poor as themselves. These
poor women, having all undergone the barbarous operation of cramping the
feet during infancy, are consequently unable to undertake any thing but
sedentary employment to gain their bread. The very small size to which
the feet of some of the Chinese females have been distorted by cramping
them with bandages during the first six years of their lives, is almost
beyond belief. I have seen a full-grown woman wearing shoes, and walking
in them too, not more than 3-1/2 inches long. Their walk resembles that
of a timid boy upon ice; it is necessarily slow; and, indeed, some of
them require the aid of a staff in one hand, while they lean with the
other on the shoulder of a female attendant. The smaller the eyes and
feet of a Chinese beauty, the more she is admired. I once asked a
respectable China-man, what he thought of this custom of cramping their
daughters' feet: his reply was, "Very bad custom." On my inquiring
further, whether he had any daughters, and whether their feet were
treated in the same way, he answered in the affirmative, but asserted,
that they had been subjected to the cruel ordeal by their mother,
against his will. He added, that, in a China-man's house, where there
were young girls, no peace could be had, night or day, for their cries,
which lasted till they were six years old. He gave us a reason for the
mother's insisting on her daughter's submitting to this long course of
pain and suffering:--"Suppose _he_ no small foot, no man wantjee make
_he_ number one wife." A respectable China-man, it appears, always
chooses a small-footed woman for his principal wife, while, for Number
two, three, and four, he contents himself with ladies whose feet are as
nature made them, and who are consequently more able to make themselves
useful in household matters.
The inhabitants of Canton and its vicinity have displayed, since the
war, more hostile feelings towards Englishmen, than those entertained by
the natives of any of the northern ports. They still affect to believe,
that Sir Hugh Gough durst not attack their city; and it is, perhaps, to
be regretted, that he was hindered from shewing his strength on that
occasion. Several riots and two extensive fires among the foreign
factories, have taken place since that time; and it is the opinion of
many persons, that, before long, Canton will require a lesson such as
Amoy, Ning-po, and other places have received. That the first of the two
fires alluded to was the work of incendiaries, there is no doubt; and so
well satisfied were the native Authorities upon this point, that they
made good the losses sustained by foreigners on the occasion.
The proposal to grant land to foreigners in the neighbourhood of Canton,
for the site of country residences, met with so energetic opposition
from the natives, that the Authorities did not venture to carry the plan
into execution. Inflammatory placards were posted all over the city,
calling upon the people to protect their ancient rights, and
threatening extermination to foreigners, and to the local Authorities
themselves, in the event of their complying with the petition. It is
probable, that the wealthy men and others connected with the commerce of
Canton, felt that the arrangements then pending between Her Majesty's
Government and that of their Imperial Master regarding the commerce of
the two countries, would, if completed, affect their old privileges and
monopoly; and that they adopted the measures above-mentioned in order to
shew their displeasure. That their commerce will suffer in consequence
of the arrangements since brought to an amicable conclusion, there can
be no doubt; but it is not less certain, that Canton will continue to be
the centre of an extensive trade. Its merchants must be content with a
share of the loaf, in place of monopolizing, as heretofore, the whole.
The days of Hong merchants and monopoly are at an end; and the benefits
derived from Free-trade will shortly convince all but those connected
with the late Hongs, that the changes recently effected in the relations
of the Celestial Empire with other countries, are not deserving of the
abuse that has been so abundantly lavished on them.
The far-famed Bogue Forts, I observed, in passing up the river last
March, to be rebuilt in the same clumsy style as that of the
fortifications which Sir Gordon Bremmer knocked down. As a means of
defending the river against any thing but Chinese junks, they are
utterly useless; and one cannot help feeling surprised that so
intelligent a people as the Chinese did not take a lesson from the
perfect ease with which their forts were razed to the ground, and build
their new ones on a better plan. The scenery at the Bogue is very
pretty; and the forts, if of no other advantage, form a picturesque
feature, viewed while sailing past them.
Not having visited Amoy, Foo Chow, Ning-po, Chusan, or Shang-Hae, I am
unable to give any description of those places. I can, however, state
what I have heard about them, and give the mercantile reader some idea
of their importance as places of trade.
Short as is the time that these ports have been open to the commerce of
Britain and other foreign nations, many cargoes of Indian cotton,
different sorts of produce from Singapore and the islands of the Malayan
Archipelago, manufactured goods, consisting of woollens, gray and white
shirtings, chintz, &c., from Manchester and Glasgow, have been
advantageously disposed of at one or another of them. Amoy has taken off
several cargoes of Bengal and Bombay cotton, at prices considerably
higher than those ruling at Canton. This branch of trade is likely to
increase, and is one that will interfere with Canton to a considerable
extent. As a residence, however, this place has a bad character in point
of healthiness: at least, the troops, both European and Indian, suffered
severely there from fever. They were stationed on the island of Koo
Loong Soo, which is said to be more healthy than Amoy itself.
None of our merchants had visited Foo Chow, up to the time of my
departure from China; nor had a Consul been sent there; but this has, I
presume, since taken place. The city has been described to me as large
and populous, and the seat of a very extensive trade. It escaped the
ravages of the late war; and its inhabitants may probably entertain a
similar idea to that which possesses the people of Canton; namely, that
we were afraid to attack them. Whether this notion will lead them to
give Europeans an indifferent reception, or not, remains to be seen. Let
us hope that they will act wisely in the matter, and not bring down
vengeance on their own heads. Sir William Parker, by visiting their
harbour in Her Majesty's ship Cornwallis, proved to them that they are
not beyond the reach of European shipping, as they at one time thought.
Some difficulty is experienced, I believe, in approaching Foo Chow,
owing to the strength of the currents in the neighbourhood; but, as a
seventy-four-gun ship has got over that difficulty, it is proved to be
not an insurmountable one.
Ning-po is also a large and wealthy city, admirably situated for trade,
and surrounded with a beautiful country. It stands some forty miles from
the sea, by the river, which is said to be navigable for ships of
considerable burthen even beyond the town. The climate is salubrious,
and the natives are quite awake to the benefits likely to arise from a
free intercourse with Europeans. At this port, the first British vessel
bound for the northern ports of China, from England direct, was loading,
in March last, with tea and other Chinese produce. By how many hundreds
she will ere long be followed, I leave the reader to imagine. It is said
by those who have visited this port, that nothing can exceed the
urbanity of the Chinese Authorities and merchants, or their anxiety to
do all in their power to please and entertain European strangers. This,
doubtless, in part arises from the severe lesson that was read them, on
more than one occasion, by Sir Hugh Gough; a lesson which, it is hoped,
they will long remember. An extensive and important trade is carried on
between this place and Chusan, by which means our manufactures will find
their way into that island, after its ports shall be closed against our
shipping. Here, Russian manufacturers are met with; and a friend of mine
informed me, that, in a Chinese shop at Ning-po, he purchased a few
yards of superior Russian black broad cloth at the very cheap rate of
two dollars and a-half (11s. 3d.) per yard. This price seems lower than
that at which the British manufacturer could produce a similar article.
Samples of the cloth have been sent to England, so that this question
will soon be decided.
Shang-Hae, the most northern of the five ports opened to foreign
commerce, is, perhaps, the most important of the whole five. I have
undoubted authority for asserting, that the number of Chinese junks, of
more than a hundred tons burthen, that enter this port weekly, exceeds a
thousand. The same authority speaks of the busy scene that this harbour
daily presents, as quite beyond his powers of description. Many British,
American, and other merchants have visited Shang-Hae since it became an
open port; many cargoes of manufactures have been disposed of there; and
already a considerable export trade on foreign account has commenced. A
bold attempt was made by some influential and wealthy merchants from
Canton, to prevent the mercantile men of the place from purchasing
cargoes from the foreigners: in this, they succeeded for a time; and the
Canton men were in hopes they should secure the northern trade for their
own capital, as of yore; but they calculated beyond their mark. The
Shang-Hae men listened to the tales that were told them, and kept aloof
for some time, till they saw that the Europeans were quite determined
not to leave their harbour without effecting sales. Suddenly they
changed their minds, and said to the Canton men: "If the '_Fan-quis_'
are such a wicked race, how comes it that you are so anxious to have
their trade to yourselves?" In a week afterwards, every foreign vessel
in the river was cleared of her cargo at remunerating prices.
Shang-Hae is the principal port in the Empire for the export of raw
silk. This fact is sufficient of itself to proclaim the vast importance
of the place. The winter here, is described as being very severe; and
the cold is said to be so intense, that hundreds of the very poorest
sort of natives perish in the streets from its effect on their half-clad
persons. The heat of summer is also intense; which renders the city
unhealthy, situated as it is in a low, swampy country. Yet, I heard of
no sickness among the Europeans who passed last summer there.
The Missionaries have not been behind the merchants in occupying
Shang-Hae; and Mr. Medhurst, so well known for his extensive knowledge
of Chinese literature, had completed arrangements for removing his
family thither in the early part of the present summer. He had
previously visited the place, avowing the object of his visit, and had
found no difficulty in procuring a commodious house, large enough for
the comfortable accommodation of his family, as well as for a printing
establishment, &c. Mr. Medhurst has been a personal friend of mine for
these twenty years; and he will believe me when I say, that I heartily
wish him all the success in his mission that he can wish for himself;
but, of his success, I have my doubts.
As to the benefits likely to accrue to the commerce of Great Britain
from the Treaty lately concluded by Sir Henry Pottinger with the Chinese
Government, I conceive there can be but one opinion, although the extent
of those benefits is as yet uncertain. When I express an opinion, not
penned in haste or without consideration, that the large quantities of
grey shirtings, white ditto, chintz, cotton yarn, long ells, Spanish
stripes, fine woollens, camlets, &c. now purchased of the British
merchants by the Chinese, are likely, within the next three years, to be
quadrupled, the manufacturers of my country will at once perceive what
this celebrated Treaty is likely to accomplish for them.[25] We must,
moreover, take into consideration, the extra tonnage that will be
required to carry on this extended commerce; the number of seamen it
will employ; the consequent increased demand for every description of
stores taken to sea for the use of ships and men; the innumerable
families that will thus be provided for; and the not improbable
increased demand, over and above quadruple the present, for the goods
named, when the new trade shall have had time thoroughly to develop
itself. Nor must we overlook the benefit likely to result to British
India, the cotton of which has hitherto been supplied to the Chinese
_viâ_ Canton: it will now be carried to their doors in British vessels,
and sold to them at far cheaper rates than could have been afforded when
sent in the former round-about way. Taking this view of the case, it
stands to reason, that the demand will increase; and though the merchant
of Bombay, Madras, or Calcutta may not make larger profits than
heretofore, he will do a much larger business, employ double the number
of men and ships, and enjoy the prospect of returning to his native
country some few years sooner than he dreamed of under the old regime.
[Footnote 25: It must be borne in mind, that this was written
at sea, before I had any knowledge of the reception which Sir
Henry Pottinger's Treaty had met in Manchester and other
manufacturing towns. Their subsequent reception of Sir Henry
himself, proves how well satisfied they are with what he has
done for them; and the extent of last summer's exports to
China, demonstrates, beyond a doubt, that I was not far wrong
in my predictions.]
A trade suddenly thrown open with three hundred millions of human
beings, is not likely to be completely developed in three, four, or five
years; and I conceive that I am within the mark, when I hold out
encouragement to my countrymen to quadruple their shipments to China. In
April, May, and June, 1843, before the five ports of China were
officially opened to foreign trade, and when visiting them was
precarious, an unusually large quantity of British and American
manufactures was poured into the China market. Ship after ship arrived
from the manufacturing districts, with full cargoes; and the universal
cry was, "What is to be done with all these goods?" I can tell the
public what became of them. They were sold almost as fast as they
arrived. Many of them were purchased, for the northern ports, by
speculators, who, to a man, did well with them. Prices not only kept up,
in spite of the heavy import duties, but actually continued to advance
till the end of the year, when they were twenty per cent. higher than
when all the cry was, "What is to become of these goods?" This spirited
demand for goods at Canton and Hong Kong, continued up to March last,
when I sailed from China. Whether the supply sent out this season, has
exceeded the demand, or not, I have no means of ascertaining, while
writing in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean; but I have no fear as to
the result of any shipments that may have been made.
That the thanks of the mercantile world in general, and of its members
in Great Britain in particular, are due to Sir Henry Pottinger for the
very satisfactory conclusion to which he has brought the recent
disturbances with China, and to Sir Hugh Gough and Sir William Parker
for the gallant manner in which the warlike portion of the work was
conducted, every unprejudiced man must allow. Though Sir Henry had not
left China when I sailed, I presume that he will be in England before me
_viâ_ Egypt; and nothing would give me greater pleasure on my arrival,
than to find that he had been rewarded by his Sovereign by being made
"Earl Nankin." His career has been a brilliant one; and that he may live
many years to enjoy the fruits of his exertions, must be the wish of all
that are likely to benefit by them.[26]
[Footnote 26: No such honour has been paid to Sir Henry, though
his reception by his Sovereign, the Government, and the public,
has been such as must amply have gratified him and all his
friends.]
Whether or not we are shortly to have another Chinese war, is a problem
I do not pretend to be able to solve: there are various opinions on the
subject; but my own is, that every thing depends on the foreigners
themselves. If the Consuls and others sent by Government to the five
trading ports are firm and resolute men, who will never suffer the
slightest infringement of the Treaty by the Chinese, without an
energetic remonstrance,--if the captains of ships of war stationed at
the five ports are strict in maintaining order among the masters and
crews of the shipping of their nation,--if mercantile men take care, on
the one hand, to give no cause of complaint by smuggling or otherwise,
to the Chinese Authorities, and, on the other hand, to put up with
nothing from them that is not borne out by the terms of the Treaty;--in
short, if foreigners generally (under which term I include every person
not a Chinese) unite together and stand up for the Treaty, the whole
Treaty, and nothing but the Treaty,--I see no reason to suppose that it
may not work well, and for many years to come. On the other hand, if
Consuls vacillate in their intercourse with the Chinese authorities,--if
captains of ships of war permit irregularities in the conduct of
merchant seamen,--and if foreign merchants condescend to injure their
fair fame by smuggling, in place of submitting to the very moderate
duties imposed upon their trade by the new Chinese tariff,--all and each
of them must take the consequences of their conduct; and they may rest
assured, that the Chinese will always be ready to seize with avidity the
slightest opportunity afforded them for charging foreigners with a
breach of the Treaty. We must hope that foreigners resorting to China
for the purposes of trade, or merely as travellers in search of health
or of strange sights, will be sufficiently aware of the importance that
is sure to be attached to their conduct, to avoid giving the Chinese
just cause of complaint. Should they be careful on this point, and
should the amicable relations now existing between the two countries
remain uninterrupted, it will not take many years to convince the
intelligent Chinese, that intercourse with what they are pleased to term
the Barbarian nations of the earth, is not to be despised.
As for the result of another war, there cannot, I imagine, be two
opinions. That Great Britain would be the victor, and the _gainer_ too,
after a struggle of half a summer, is pretty certain; and that she would
make the Chinese pay dearer for their temerity than they were made to do
before, seems probable, and would be but just. The possession of Chusan
and other eligible mercantile positions on the coast, would open fresh
fields for the enterprise of our merchants, and for the employment of
hundreds of seamen and others; and the fleet and army, after satisfying
the Chinese that they were as able and as willing to fight as ever,
might, with great advantage to their country, take a trip to Japan, and
try to prevail on the ruler of that _terra incognita_ to open his ports
to foreign commerce. I would tell the Emperor of Japan, You shall either
be my friend or my foe. If the former, you must permit your subjects to
trade with my people; and if the latter, you must try your strength with
me. While there are tens of thousands of unemployed operatives in Great
Britain, her rulers should omit no opportunity of extending her
commerce; and their suffering the Japanese sullenly to exclude our
shipping, while the Dutch enjoy the sole privilege of trading to their
country, seems to me putting up with a state of things that ought not to
exist.
CHAPTER XVIII.
NECESSITY OF APPOINTING BRITISH CONSULS IN THE
SPANISH AND DUTCH COLONIES--NEW SETTLEMENT ON
THE WESTERN COAST OF BORNEO--IMPORTANT DISCOVERY
OF COAL ON THE NORTH-WEST COAST--CONCLUDING
REMARKS.
It appears to me, that British commerce in the East, requires somewhat
more care and attention from the Authorities in the mother country, than
they have hitherto bestowed upon it. The trade carried on by British
subjects with the Philippines, Siam, and the Dutch Colonies, is both
extensive and important; but, not unfrequently, it suffers interruption
from the Government of those countries, to the serious loss and
inconvenience of the parties concerned. That a Consul or other properly
authorised functionary is required to watch over the interests of
British merchants trading to Manilla, Bang-kok, Batavia, Samarang, and
Sourabaya in Java, and Padang on the west coast of Sumatra, is evident
to every person at all acquainted with the trade of those places; and I
will add a few facts by way of satisfying those who may be doubtful on
the point.
In the first place, then, British subjects residing in, or shipping
resorting to Manilla, are subject to the most arbitrary proceedings on
the part of the Spanish Government,[27] who order merchants from the
place, and ships from the harbour, at a day's notice, without ever
condescending to state their reasons for such proceedings. It was only
the other day that the British subjects residing in Manilla were, by an
unlooked for and arbitrary order of the Governor, deprived of the
professional aid of the medical practitioners of their own country then
resident among them. These professional men were not, indeed, ordered to
quit the place; but they were informed by an official proclamation, that
no medical man would in future be permitted to practice in Manilla,
unless in possession of a diploma from the college at Cadiz. This, of
course, was equivalent to an order to quit, as no English physician
could be expected to have such a document in his possession. A friend of
mine, writing to me on this occasion, represents the act as tantamount
to a sentence of death upon all foreigners resident in the Philippines.
While Spanish surgeons are allowed to practice among their countrymen in
British Colonies, such a state of things ought not for a moment to be
suffered by the British Government.
[Footnote 27: This remark has recently been confirmed beyond
the possibility of denial, by the unjust and cruel sentence
passed by the Court of Justice in Manilla, on my esteemed
friend, Mr. Robert Diggles, who, after having been led into
great expense, and kept under the surveillance of the police
for nearly two years, has been tried as a criminal, and
sentenced to pay a fine of two thousand dollars, and banished
the Philippines for six years. And for what, does the reader
suppose? For kicking out of his house an impudent Spanish
tailor who had presented himself there during a ball given by
Mr. Diggles to Vice-Admiral Sir William Parker and
Major-General Lord Saltoun, during their visit to Manilla in
Her Majesty's ship Cornwallis.
From Lord Saltoun, on his return to Hong Kong, I received an
account of this matter; and Mr. Diggles also sent me the
particulars in writing. From the testimony thus tendered to me
by an eyewitness whose word cannot for a moment be doubted, and
by the party principally concerned, in whose word I also place
implicit confidence, I have no hesitation in making this public
declaration, that Mr. Diggles has been partially, cruelly,
unjustly, disgracefully, and tyrannically dealt with by the
Government of Manilla. A letter I received yesterday from
Singapore, gives room to hope that Mr. Diggles's banishment has
been remitted, which I should be glad to hear confirmed, though
it would be no adequate reparation for the injury he has
sustained.--Hull, 1st November 1845.]
Next, as to Siam. It is well known to every person acquainted with the
trade of that country, that its Sovereign, in defiance of all treaties,
monopolizes, by unjust and tyrannical means, nine-tenths of the commerce
of his dominions; that his agents watch for and seize every boat that
approaches the capital with produce; that the produce so seized is
carried to the King's warehouses; that he pays whatever price he
pleases for the contents of the boat; that the produce so seized is very
generally the property of other persons, (frequently British subjects,)
who have advanced money to the planter on his growing crop; that British
and other shipping resorting to Bang-kok for the purchase of produce,
are compelled to buy from the King on his own terms, or to leave the
port in ballast; and finally, that these proceedings are in direct
opposition to the terms of an existing Treaty between Great Britain and
Siam. A Consul at Bang-kok, and a visit twice a year from one of the
ships of war cruizing in the China Sea and the Straits of Malacca, would
put an entire stop to His Siamese Majesty's unwarrantable proceedings,
as far as British subjects are concerned. Let Americans and others look
after themselves.
Ill the Dutch Colonies, also, I can testify from personal observation,
the British merchant is very frequently dealt with not less arbitrarily.
The Dutch Authorities are not content with prohibiting the importation
into their Colonies of warlike stores and opium, (which they have an
undoubted right to do,) but their regulations render a ship seizable,
that enters their ports with either of those forbidden articles on
board. This seems unreasonably hard and it puts the British merchant to
expense an trouble oftener than may be supposed. A ship bound from
London, Liverpool, or Glasgow, to Batavia and Singapore, (a very common
destination,) dares not receive on board as freight, either a chest of
Turkey opium, or a single Birmingham musket. If she does, she must give
up all idea of calling at Batavia, where she would be immediately
seized, for having such articles on board as cargo. Only four years ago,
the British barque Acdazeer, bound from Bombay to China, with a cargo
consisting of thirteen hundred chests of opium, was dismasted in a gale
in the China Sea, and bore up for the port of Sourabaya, which she
entered in distress, for the purpose of repairs, and for stores to
enable her to prosecute her voyage. My memory does not serve me so as to
enable me to state, whether the Acdazeer's visit to Java was before or
after the promulgation of the law prohibiting ships with opium and
warlike stores entering any of the ports of Netherlands India; but I
think it was _before_ that regulation was made public. Be that as it
may, the ship was in distress; and, as a matter of course, her Commander
thought he was entering a friendly port. His astonishment may be
conceived, when he was ordered by the Authorities to land all his cargo
in the bonded stores, before the slightest assistance could be rendered
to his vessel. What was to be done? Resistance was useless; and to
prosecute his voyage with a disabled ship, impracticable. The cargo was
accordingly landed, and the vessel's repairs were proceeded with. When
these were finished, the Commander reported his being ready to receive
his cargo on board again, and to proceed on his voyage; when he was
told, that, before doing so, he must pay an _entrepôt_ duty of one per
cent. on the whole value. This he was compelled to do; and it amounted
to the very considerable sum of 1300l. All goods landed in bond (or
_entrepôt_), in any of the ports of His Netherlands Majesty's
East-Indian territories, are subject to a duty of one per cent. on being
re-exported; but who ever heard of a ship that had put into harbour in
distress, being _compelled_ to land her cargo, under the pretence that
it was to prevent the possibility of any portion of it being smuggled,
and of its commander being afterwards told, that, as the goods had gone
into _entrepôt_, the duty must be paid?
These facts may be sufficient to shew, that the appointment of Consuls
at the different ports above named, is urgently needed as a protection
to the British shipping visiting them. I have been told, that the
Spanish and Dutch Governments have refused to receive or acknowledge
Consuls in their Eastern possessions. If this is the case, the evil
might be remedied by a note from Downing Street. The other ports of
Netherlands India are, perhaps, not of sufficient importance, as regards
English commerce, to authorise the expense of Consular appointments. If
the opinion of so humble an individual as myself could be supposed to
reach the ears of the British Premier, I would respectfully but
earnestly call his attention to the foregoing remarks.
Another subject to which I am anxious to call the attention of the
British Government, is, the advantages presented by establishing
settlements on the north-western and western coasts of the Island of
Borneo. The proceedings of my friend Mr. Brook[28] at Sarawak on the
western coast, having been made public, it is only necessary for me here
to remark, that Mr. Brook has already paved the way for the advantageous
settlement of a British Colony in his neighbourhood, and to express a
wish that Her Majesty's Government may take advantage of his spirited
and praiseworthy exertions, and reward him for them. The influence which
he has obtained over the wild and intractable natives (as they have been
hitherto deemed) of that part of Borneo, the service which he has
rendered to the mercantile interests of his country by his exertions in
the suppression of piracy, the numbers of people whom he has induced
literally to turn their swords into ploughshares, and the quiet,
unostentatious way in which all this, and more than all this, has been
effected, are not less surprising than creditable to his abilities,
perseverance, and public spirit.
[Footnote 28: See Appendix II.]
The recent discovery of extensive veins of coal on the banks of the
river of Borneo Proper, is my chief reason for calling public attention
to the north-western coast of that island. The destruction by fire of
the British ship Sultana, on her voyage from Bombay to China, and the
subsequent imprisonment of Capt. Page, his wife, officers, passengers,
and crew, by the Rajah of Borneo Proper, led to the discovery in
question. The Singapore Government, on hearing of Capt. Page's
captivity, sent a steamer to procure his release; and it was the captain
of this steamer who discovered the coal, several tons of which he
collected and used on board his vessel. He described them to me as being
of excellent quality for steamers, and to be had in unlimited quantities
by simply digging away the upper crust of the earth to the depth of six
inches, under which the coals lie in masses. He was moreover informed,
by the natives in the neighbourhood, (who, by-the-by, never use the
coals, though they knew that they would burn, and called them "_Batu
Api_" or fire-stones,) of the existence of much more extensive
coal-veins a few miles further up the river. He had not time to visit
the spot, but the natives assured him, that ships might be loaded from
the surface. Of the depth or extent of the veins, they knew nothing; it
is, however, more than probable, that, on the application of proper
means, an unlimited supply of coals might be obtained. The importance
of such a supply, now that Steam communication between Calcutta and
Singapore has been established, and that the line will in all
probability be shortly extended to China, requires no demonstration. In
the event of a regular monthly overland mail being despatched from Hong
Kong, to join the Calcutta line at Point de Galle[29] (Ceylon), it would
not be out of the steamer's way, to touch and coal at Borneo: thence
proceeding to Singapore, where she would not require coals, she would
take in the mail, and proceed on her voyage. This plan would save the
expense of forming a coal _dépôt_ at Singapore. All Her Majesty's
steamers on the coast of China might be supplied with fuel from the same
quarter, particularly as several empty ships go to China every season in
search of freights homeward, which would gladly call at Borneo _en
route_, and take in a cargo of coals, to be delivered at Hong Kong, at a
moderate rate per ton. To establish this coal trade on a permanent
footing, a treaty would require to be entered into with the Sultan of
Borneo. This, I have no hesitation in saying, might be effected, and the
requisite arrangements made with the Borneo Authorities by Mr. Brook,
whose influence in that quarter is deservedly all-powerful. An
establishment placed there, the chief or superintendent of which might
be invested with Consular powers, would manage the coal business, and
protect any unfortunate shipwrecked British seamen from ill treatment
similar to that sustained by the captain and crew of the Sultana. So
many vessels have from time to time disappeared and never been heard of,
between Singapore and China, as to render it far from improbable, that
there are numbers of British subjects now in confinement on the northern
coasts of Borneo and Palawan. This probable or, at least, supposable
case furnishes an additional argument in favour of placing some party,
armed with power to protect such unfortunate persons, in some convenient
spot in the neighbourhood. When I say, armed with power, I do not mean
that arms should be put into the hands of those stationed to manage the
coal-mines at Borneo, but that their superintendent should be empowered
to use energetic language, and threats if need be, in the name of the
British Government. The magic of a name is nowhere felt or understood
more than among these same savages; in proof of which I may mention,
that the Rajah of Borneo Proper gave up Capt. Page and his crew
immediately on their being demanded in the name of the Governor of
Singapore, though he had refused to listen for a moment to the proposals
and demands previously conveyed by a well-armed schooner sent by Mr.
Brook from Sarawak to treat for the release of the Sultana's people, on
hearing of their captivity. Even His Majesty of Siam stands in awe of
the British name; and I could tell instances of his having paid
deference to a few lines from the Singapore Authorities.
[Footnote 29: 1846; now in full operation. Vide Appendix I. p.
303.]
The ships of war in these seas are too much in harbour; they might be
far better employed in occasional visits to the different ports of
Borneo, Palawan, the eastern coast of the Malayan Peninsula, Siam, and
Cochin China. Visits to those countries twice or thrice a year, would
not interfere in the slightest degree with their regular duty; it ought,
indeed, to form part of it; and would be of incalculable value to
British merchants. The Authorities of those different States, knowing
that the visits of British ships of war were to be regular and frequent
in future, would be cautious how they meddled with British subjects.
With all the gasconade common to Orientals generally, the chiefs of the
countries I have mentioned, are cowards at heart, tyrants as they are
when opportunity offers; and they dread the sight of a ship of war in
their harbours. No better check could be kept upon their conduct; and
the plan proposed would not cost Great Britain a shilling, inasmuch as
the ships required to carry it into execution, are in commission, and,
as I said before, spend far too much time in port. Such a catastrophe
as the loss of the Golconda, with four hundred souls on board, ought to
be sufficient to call forth the utmost exertions on the part of our
naval officers in the China Sea. This ship, a vessel of 800 tons,
sailed from Singapore in September 1840 (or 1841), bound to China,
with the head-quarters of the 37th Madras Native Infantry on board,
and has never since been heard of. In my humble opinion, the China Sea
and its coasts ought to have been thoroughly searched for any remains
of this unfortunate ship, it being far from impossible, that some of
her people may be in existence in Cochin China or on the neighbouring
coasts or islands. When the unfortunate barque Fifeshire disappeared
in the same mysterious way, on the same voyage, three of her men
turned up from Cochin China, twelve months after she had been given up
and paid for by the under-writers. No endeavour was made to trace the
Golconda,--wherefore, let those explain, who had it in their power to
cause due search to be made. Being unable to divine their reasons, I
hope, for their own sakes, they were sufficient to quiet their own
consciences.
My wanderings are drawing near a close, and I have little more to say.
On our passage down the China Sea, during the prevailing very light
southerly winds of April, we exhausted a large portion of our fresh
stock; and for replenishing it and our water we touched in Anjer Roads,
of which, and the village of the same name, I shall now give a brief
sketch.
Nothing can be prettier than the sail into Anjer Roads from the
northward, on a fine clear day. The scenery is equal to any thing I have
ever seen. On your right, rises the high land of Sumatra, covered with
wood to the very summit, and exhibiting all the different shades of
green; on your left, are St. Nicholas Point and the high land of Java;
while the two little isles called, "Cap and Button," add their minute
features to the landscape. The land in this part of Java, though well
wooded, is not covered with timber so thickly as the opposite coast of
Sumatra; but, here and there, the scene is diversified by a clearing,
where the Javanese may be seen at work in his rice-field, yam-patch,
vegetable garden, or pinery. In front, the island of "Thwart-the-way"
(well named, for it is right in mid-channel) relieves the eye from the
glare of the sea; which, in these low latitudes, is a matter of some
moment; while, further seaward, may be seen towering far above the
surrounding objects, the islands of Pulo Bissie and Crockatooa, both
visible from a great distance, and forming excellent land-marks for the
mariner. On nearing the anchorage, the pretty little village of Anjer
strikes the eye, its huts built in rows, and shaded by palms and other
trees; the Dutch Resident's house, the fort, and the wharf, are all in
view; and further back, about a mile from the sea, may be seen the tomb,
erected by his shipmates, to the memory of Dr. ----, Assistant Surgeon
of H. M. S. Alceste. The inscription informs the stranger, that Dr.
---- died here on his return from China, after the wreck of the Alceste.
This tomb was the first thing that attracted my attention when I landed
at Anjer in 1823, and has ever since been an object of interest to me.
Anjer is a very convenient place for ships bound from China or Singapore
for Europe to touch at for supplies, although many ship-masters avoid it
during the prevalence of the north-west monsoon, when it is a lee shore.
I have anchored there at all seasons of the year, and never found any
difficulty in getting out of the harbour; but others have been less
fortunate, and have got among the rocks. Here, the natives come off to
passing ships, and bring fowls at two rupees per dozen; (a rupee here is
equal to 1s. 8d. sterling;) ducks at three rupees per dozen; good-sized
turtle one dollar each; yams one dollar per _pecul_ of 133 lbs.; eggs
one dollar per hundred; and other articles in proportion. They are very
fond of visiting an English ship, as they generally get paid by her
Commander in Spanish or other dollars; a coin held in universal
estimation in those parts. In my frequent visits to Anjer, I have
invariably met with a polite and hospitable reception from the Dutch
Resident, (the chief Civil authority,) who has always been willing and
ready to render any aid in his power to strangers.
Anjer, with all its beauties of scenery, is said to be unhealthy in the
rainy season, when the showers and thunder-storms are both frequent and
heavy: its natives are a puny race, and its European inhabitants look
pale and sickly; so that, I suppose, it deserves the doubtful reputation
generally given to it. During my last ramble in the vicinity of Anjer, I
observed some natives at work in a plantation of young plants which, at
first sight, and from their being sheltered from the sun by tall,
wild-cotton trees, I took for coffee. On inquiring of the overseer, and
looking more closely at the plants, I found they were young
cinnamon-trees. The attention of the Dutch Government has long been
given to the cultivation of this spice; and, from the very healthy
appearance of the plants just mentioned, I should think that the
ultimate success of the undertaking was far from doubtful. It will not
surprise me to see, before ten years have elapsed, Java rivalling Ceylon
in cinnamon, as it is now competing with Bengal in indigo.
The Strait of Sunda, in which Anjer is situated, is certainly a
beautiful channel for ships to sail through in fine weather, though,
from the strength of its currents, an uglier place in a dark, squally
night could scarcely be found. It used to be notorious for Malay
pirates, but has been, of late years, clear of those pests.
Talking of pirates, I may mention my own good fortune in never having
fallen in with any of the fraternity in the many voyages I have made in
the lake-like seas of the Malayan or Eastern Archipelago. This, however,
does not tend to prove their non-existence in even recent days.
Having completed our stores at Anjer, we sailed with a fair wind about 3
P. M. on the 14th May, and, next morning, were rolling about in a heavy
sea off Java Head, (a bold and grand promontory forming the south-west
corner of the Island,) where I bade adieu to my favourite sunny climes
of the Far East.
APPENDIX I.
(See p. 295.)
PLAN FOR THE ACCELERATION OF THE CHINA MAILS (_i. e._ THEIR CONVEYANCE
FROM _SUEZ_, viâ _CEYLON_ TO _HONG KONG DIRECT_)
SUBMITTED BY MR. HENRY WISE TO HER MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT SEPT. 14, 1843,
ADOPTED JUNE 20, 1845, AND NOW IN ACTIVE AND SUCCESSFUL OPERATION.
---------------+--------------------+------+-----+----------------------+
Proposed Route | | |Av. | Interval |
from Hong Kong | | |Rate | (days/hours) |
to London, and | Course. |Dist. |per | |
vice versâ. | |Miles.|Hour,| und. | at | Total |
| | |Miles|weigh.|Anchor.| |
---------------+--------------------+------+-----+------+-------+-------+
| | | | | | |
HONG KONG TO | | | | | | |
PULO LABUAN | S. 2° .18' E. | 1009 | 7 | 6/- | 1/12 | 7/12 |
| | | | | | |
PULO LABUAN | | | | | | |
TO SINGAPORE | S. 69° .23' W. | 707 | " | 4/6 | -/12 | 4/18 |
| | | | | | |
SINGAPORE |{S. 64° .48' W. 19}| | | | | |
TO MALACCA |{N. 51° .41' W. 103}| 122 | " | -/18 | -/6 | 1/- |
| | | | | | |
MALACCA | | | | | | |
TO PENANG | N. 30° .37' W. | 222 | " | 1/8 | -/16 | 2/- |
| | | | | | |
PENANG TO |{N. 82° .24' W. 303}| | | | | |
CEYLON[A] |{S. 89° .45' W. 916}| 1219 | " | 7/6 | 1/12 | 8/18 |
+--------------------+------+-----+------+-------+-------+
CEYLON | {As now performed by the Peninsula & Oriental} | |
TO ADEN | { Steam Navigation Company, detention of } | 11/- |
| { 2 days included. } | |
| | |
ADEN | | |
TO SUEZ | -- -- -- 2 -- | 8/- |
| | |
SUEZ TO | | |
ALEXANDRIA | -- -- all stoppages -- | 3/- |
| | |
ALEXANDRIA | | |
TO MALTA | -- -- -- -- | 4/- |
| | |
MALTA TO | {H.M. Post-Office} | |
MARSEILLES | -- -- { Packets } | 4/ |
| | |
MARSEILLES | {Regular course} | |
TO LONDON | -- -- { of Post } | 5/- |
| +-------+
{Total interval from HONG KONG to LONDON,} | |
{ and vice versâ, by the proposed Route} Days| 59/- |
| |
{Average interval of transmission of China Correspondence, } | |
{ viâ Calcutta and Bombay, during the last Twenty Overland} | 89/- |
{ Mails, viz. from the 10th October 1841, to 6th May 1843 } | |
+-------+
Difference of Time in Favour of Proposed Route Days| 30/- |
----------------------------------------------------------------+-------+
---------------+-----------------------------------------+
Proposed Route | |
from Hong Kong | |
to London, and | Duties at Anchor. |
vice versâ. | |
| |
---------------+-----------------------------------------+
| |
HONG KONG TO | |
PULO LABUAN | To receive Coal.[B] |
| |
PULO LABUAN | |
TO SINGAPORE | To receive Coal, land & receive Mails. |
| |
SINGAPORE | |
TO MALACCA | To land & receive Mails. |
| |
MALACCA | |
TO PENANG | To receive Coal, land & receive Mails. |
| |
PENANG TO | |
CEYLON | Ditto Ditto |
---------------+-----------------------------------------+
[Note A: Receiving at Ceylon, the Outward Overland Mail
from England, and returning therewith to China.]
[Note B: The Borneo Coal Mines would also serve to keep the
Hong-Kong, Singapore, and Penang Stations supplied with Fuel
for Steam Vessels carrying the Mails between Hong Kong and Suez
direct.
MEM.--I have adopted an average rate of seven miles per hour as a fair
estimate of the speed that well-appointed Steam Vessels, of moderate
size and power, will be enabled to accomplish and maintain, throughout
the proposed route, at all seasons of the year; for, during the whole
distance from Penang to Aden, and _vice versâ_, neither monsoon, from
the course steered, becomes at any period a directly adverse wind; an
advantage which the route hitherto observed does not possess. Assuming
that the Honourable East-India Company continue the management of the
Bombay line, and that the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation
Company are encouraged to render their operations more comprehensive, by
the establishment of Branch Steamers between Ceylon and Singapore, to
which latter Port Her Majesty's Steam Vessels on the China Station could
convey the Mails from Hong Kong, this all-important object might,
without difficulty, be attained. The advantages to the Straits'
Settlements, consequent on the adoption of improved arrangements,
require no comment; and the _practicability_ of effecting a very
considerable acceleration of the communication with China, is evident
from the simple fact, that the average interval which has occurred in
the transmission of letters from China, by the last twenty Overland
Mails, (irrespective of the unfortunate July Mail from Bombay,) exceeds
the period occasionally occupied by fast-sailing ships, in accomplishing
the voyage _viâ_ the Cape of Good Hope.
HENRY WISE.
LONDON, Sept. 14, 1843.
P.S.--Oct. 9, 1843.--The arrival at Suez, on the 16th ult., of the
H. C. S. Akbar, in _forty-six_ days from Hong Kong, after accomplishing
the passage down the China Seas, against the S.-W. monsoon,--unassisted
also by any previously arranged facilities for coaling, exchange of
Steamers at Aden, and other manifest advantages requisite for the proper
execution of this important service,--confirms the correctness of my
estimate for performing the voyage from Hong Kong to Suez, or _vice
versâ_, viz. _forty-three_ days, including stoppages.--H. W.
APPENDIX II.
MEMORANDUM ON BORNEO, AND MR. BROOK'S SETTLEMENT ON THAT ISLAND.
Mr. Brook has no warmer admirer than myself; and I trust the territory
of Sarawak, which has been ceded to him by the Sultan of Borneo, will
eventually become a flourishing British Colony.
The Government of this country cannot but be fully alive to the value of
such a point on the north-west coast of Borneo with reference to the
protection and security of the vast trade carried on by British subjects
to and from China; not to mention the great intrinsic advantages of an
establishment on one of the largest and most valuable islands in the
world. Little or nothing is yet known of the interior of this vast
country; but what we do know already with regard to several portions of
its coast must lead us to the conclusion that it will one day become of
infinite importance in a political as well as commercial point of view.
There is reason to believe that it contains the most rich, varied, and
extensive mineral deposits, and is capable of producing, in the
greatest abundance, every variety of tropical production, including some
that appear to be peculiar to its soil and climate. Protection from the
complicated evils of piracy and oppression is alone wanting in order to
stimulate the growth and industry of the population, and to give a new
aspect to the face of this fertile region. The very fact of a British
Settlement being established would exercise a most powerful influence in
bringing together all the elements of a rapid civilization amongst a
people at present the prey of ignorance, superstition, and oppression.
Considering the smallness of the means at his disposal Mr. Brook has
already done much: the seeds have been sown, and, up to a point,
nourished by the force of his character; for their further development
the influence of the British Government unreservedly exercised, but with
due caution, is alone required.
As one of the very best means of defence against riot or disturbance in
a country like Sarawak, whether held by Queen Victoria or by my friend
Brook, I would recommend the raising of a corps of Hill Rangers, to be
composed of 400 or 500 natives of the country, in their native dress;
distinguished from their countrymen simply by a belt thrown over the
shoulder, with S. H. R.[30] on a brass plate in the middle of it, and a
small sword by their side; the whole under a European captain, four
lieutenants, and a dozen native _jimedars_. Ten guilders per month,
allowed as pay to each man, would secure the choice of the population;
and no force would equal them for the maintenance of peace in such a
country. Sir Stamford Raffles tried a similar plan at Bencoolen, and
found it answer admirably. I need say no more in its favour. No better
man exists for raising and organizing such a corps, than Mr. Brook
himself: witness his performances of a similar nature during the Burmese
war. These Hill Rangers must be divided into companies, and should be
stationed at convenient places throughout the country, to keep their
eyes on evil-doers, and to act as police-men more than as soldiers.
Their captain must be _locomotive_, and superintend the whole corps.
[Footnote 30: _i. e._ Sarawak Hill Rangers.]
I will now proceed to state my ideas as to the way in which Mr. Brook
can most profitably avail himself of the extensive territory of Sarawak.
In the first place, he must have the whole District competently and
correctly surveyed, and laid out in portions (not of square miles,
New-South-Wales fashion, without any regard to natural boundaries, but)
of different sizes according to the topographical features of the
country. On the completion of this survey, the plan or map should be
lithographed, to exhibit to parties intending to purchase or hold land.
Mr. Brook should then publish in India his intentions, giving a sketch
of the facilities he can offer, of the capabilities of the country, &c.
&c. &c. Tenants will not suit him, in my opinion, so well as purchasers.
The possession will be too unwieldy for him to hold, even as landlord: I
speak from my experience in Java. The purchasers he wants, are men of
capital, say from 5000l. to 10,000l. each, to whom he must give credit
for the land, and leave them unhampered to carry on their operations.
All lands fit for the growth of coffee or sugar must be worked by these
capitalists on their own account: they must send to Java for experienced
overseers, (Europeans,) to conduct the works; and to Bally, Lombok, or
the Coromandel coast, for labourers. The natives of the former two are
preferable, but, I fear, could not be obtained in sufficient numbers.
Not a China-man should be employed on an estate of mine as a
field-labourer, though the Chinese answer remarkably well, _under
Europeans_, in sugar-mills. An experienced overseer from Java will point
out to them the best lands for coffee and sugar, and the best modes of
planting and rearing both. It is also a very good plan, to contract with
a party to grow the cane, (the proprietor helping him with small
advances,) which the landlord engages to take at so much per thousand
when ripe, to be delivered at the mill door. The grower, in such cases,
is generally a poor man, and require aid for the first year, to buy
buffaloes, ploughs, and provisions. In Java, nine-tenths of the cane are
produced in this way; and the landlord saves both risk and trouble by
it. No cane, no pay, is the rule there; so that, although the mill-owner
may lose his time in a bad season, he sacrifices no outlay. The Chinese
cannot be trusted to _manufacture_ the sugar: they are conceited
bunglers at that work, as stubborn as mules, and use too much lime, in
spite of all one can say or do to prevent it. Coffee may also be planted
by contract; though, in Java, where men can be got for three guilders
per month and their rice, worth two guilders more, the plan is not
generally adopted.
A party purchasing land, ought to have it selected so as to have
portions of it fit for coffee, sugar, and rice, and to try all three. In
rice-cultivation, a different plan, however, must be pursued. In Java, a
proprietor of rice-land encourages as many people to sit down on his
property as he can possibly obtain; charges them no rent in money, but
helps them each to build a hut; lends them money to buy two buffaloes;
and gives them rations of rice and salt for the first twelve months;
taking care, in the meantime, that the man, his wife, and his children
are as busy as bees, planting and looking after a few rice-fields,--the
more the better; seeing also, that the family do a fair day's work, and
as much as they are well able to perform. From these fields, when
harvest arrives, the squatter will pay his rent. And then is the time
that the European overseer and his deputies require to have their eyes
open, in order to see that fair play is dealt to the proprietor, who is
entitled to one-fourth of the crop, by way of rent, delivered in bundles
of paddy, at his barn-door, by the grower. The reaping and binding must
be watched, and the bundles be counted on the field; otherwise the
grower will, probably, carry more than his share to his own barn, in
place of his master's. Now is the time, also, if the season has been a
favourable one, to make the squatter pay off the whole, or a portion of
his debt, for the advance made to him early in the year. If he gets well
through the first year, he will, in all probability, take a liking to
the place, and fix himself there for good. One of the very best plans
for attaching Javanese to their residence on an estate, is, to see that
lots of cocoa-nut and betel-nut trees are planted in every desirable
locality. With half a dozen cocoa-nut trees, even in a bad season, a
native family will manage tolerably well; and in all my wanderings among
the Malayan islands, I never came to a place where even a single
cocoa-nut was not current, like money, for its full value in rice.
Another great advantage arising to the proprietor from rice-grounds
well-occupied, is, that he is entitled, by immemorial custom, to the
labour of every male on the estate one day in seven, in virtue of a sort
of feudal law. A friend of mine in Java, on whose estate were fifteen
thousand adults, seven thousand of whom were males, had thus the command
of the labour of one thousand men per day _free_. On a new estate, these
are the men to clear jungle, to make roads, to trim coffee-trees, and to
take a turn with a hoe among the sugar-canes, when the hired labourers
are busy at crop time, or when, from any other cause, labour may be
scarce.
Mr. Brook must take things leisurely. Let one capitalist be established
with a fair prospect, and he will soon be followed by dozens, who will
gradually creep into the forests, and make the place a second Java.
Before these capitalists make their appearance, however, he must, by
every means in his power, encourage squatters, and get them to work on
patches of rice-land, here and there. Let him but treat those men
kindly, help them through the first year, and set them fairly on their
legs; they will then never leave the place.
Touching the diamond and gold mines which Mr. Brook wants to work, I
hardly know what to advise, but think that his best plan would be, to
get my friend Tok Sing, or some other wealthy China-man in Singapore, to
procure him "head men," whom he would _secure_, _i. e._ bind himself to
make good any thing lost or stolen by them. This, of course, he would
not do gratis; but his guarantee in such an undertaking would be
invaluable: his wealth is very considerable, while his name and
influence would be beyond calculation useful.
Over every thing, Mr. Brook must himself keep a watchful eye; and, above
all things, he must keep the peace. He must not attempt too much at
first; but must raise his Rangers as they may be required; and, with his
talent for such operations, a moderate share of patience and
perseverance, and sufficient capital, all will go well, and he will meet
with the complete success that he so richly merits.
THE END.
WILLIAM WATTS, PRINTER, CROWN COURT, TEMPLE BAR.
Transcriber's Notes:
Inconsistencies in the hyphenation of words preserved. (daylight,
day-light; namesake, name-sake; Ninpo, Ning-po; roundabout, round-about;
Shang Hae, Shang-hae; Shipmaster/s, ship-master/s; underwriters,
under-writers)
Units of Sterling currency "l.", "s." and "d." were italicised in
the original text, except for two instances (probably typographical
errors) on page 186 (3-1/2d. per pound) and page 206 (12s. per ton). In
the plaintext version of this transcription, italic markup has not been
added to Sterling currency units in order to reduce clutter and enhance
readability.
Table of Contents, Chapter V., "DUTCH SETTEMENTS" changed to "DUTCH
SETTLEMENTS".
Table of Contents, Chapter XVI., summary paragraph after Chapter
Heading. In the table of contents, the third last phrase in the summary
paragraph is "PICTURESQUE SCENERY" whereas in page 237 this phrase is
replaced by "PORTUGUESE PENURY". The original text is retained in both
cases.
Table of Contents, Appendix I., page number changed from "299" to "303"
to match page number at actual location.
Table of Contents, Appendix II., page number changed from "391" to "305"
to match page number at actual location.
Pg. 64, "havet heir" changed to "have their". (have their own Rajahs)
Footnote 8, "trad" changed to "trade". (The opium trade again, has
diminished)
Pg. 74, "testi-timony" changed to "testimony" (testimony to its
Commander's)
Pg. 88, inserted missing period. (balance due upon their services.)
Pg. 96, "occa-onally" changed to "occasionally" (occasionally visited by
a very severe fever)
Pg. 134, inserted missing period. (called a grain-exporting one.)
Pg. 196, "hundreths" changed to "hundredths". (ninety-nine hundredths)
Pg. 219, added missing period. (the _lorcha_ was burned.)
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