1770. December. common method to preserve the body intire, and prevent the remains of it from being mixed with the earth that furrounds it. They inclofe it in a large thick coffin of wood, not made of planks joined together, but hollowed out of the folid timber like a canoe; this being covered, and let down into the grave, is furrounded with a coat of their mortar, called Chinam, about eight or ten inches thick, which in a short time becomes as hard as a ftone. The relations of the deceased attend the funeral ceremony, with a confiderable number of women that are hired to weep: it might reasonably be fuppofed that the hired appearance of forrow could no more flatter the living than benefit the dead; yet the appearance of forrow is known to be hired among people much more reflective and enlightened than the Chinese. In Batavia the law requires that every man should be buried according to his rank, which is in no cafe difpenfed with; fo that if the deceafed has not left fufficient to pay his debts, an officer takes an inventory of what he has in his poffeffion when he died, and out of the produce buries him in the manner prescribed, leaving only the overplus to his crediThus in many inftances are the living facrificed to the dead; and money that fhould discharge a debt, or feed an orphan, lavifhed in idle proceflions, or materials that are deposited in the earth to rot. tors. Another numerous clafs among the inhabitants of this country is the flaves; for by flaves the Dutch, Portuguese, and Indians, however different in their rank or fituation, are conftantly attended: they are purchafed from Sumatra, Malacca, and almost all the eastern iflands. The natives of Java, very few of whom, as I have before obferved, live in the neighbourhood of Batavia, have an exemption from flavery under the fanction of very fevere penal laws, which I believe are seldom violated. The price of these flaves is from ten to twenty pounds fterling; but girls, if they have beauty, fometimes fetch a hundred. They are a very lazy set of people; but as they will do but little work, they are content with a little vi&tuals, fubfifting altogether upon boiled rice, and a fmall quantity of the cheapest fish. As they are natives of different countries, they differ from from each other extremely, both in perfon and difpofition. The African negroes, called here Papua, are the worst, and confequently may be purchased for the least money they are all thieves, and all incorrigible. Next to these are the Bougis and Macaffars, both from the island of Celebes; these are lazy in the highest degree, and though not fo much addicted to theft as the negroes, have a cruel and vindictive fpirit, which renders them extremely dangerous; efpecially as, to gratify their resentment, they will make no fcruple of facrificing life. The best flaves, and confequently the deareft, are procured from the island of Bali: the most beautiful women from Nias, a small island on the coast of Sumatra; but they are of a tender and delicate conftitution, and foon fall a facrifice to the unwholesome air of Batavia. Befides these, there are Malays, and flaves of feveral other denominations, whose particular characteristics I do not remember. These flaves are wholly in the power of their mafters with respect to any punishment that does not take away life; but if a flave dies in confequence of punishment, though his death should not appear to have been intended, the master is called to a fevere account, and he is generally condemned to fuffer capitally. For this reason the master seldom infli&s punishment upon the flave himself, but applies to an officer called a Marineu, one of whom is ftationed in every district. The duty of the Marineu is to quell riots, and take offenders into cuftody; but more particularly to apprehend runaway flaves, and punish them for fuch crimes as the master, supported by proper evidence, lays to their charge: the punishment however is not inflicted by the Marineu in perfon, but by flaves who are bred up to the bufinefs. Men are punished publicly, before the door of their master's houfe; but women within it. punishment is by ftripes, the number being proportioned to the offence; and they are given with rods made of rattans; which are split into flender twigs for the purpose, and fetch blood at every ftroke. A common punishment costs the mafter a rix-dollar, and a fevere one a ducatoon, about fix fhillings and eight pence. The master is also obliged to allow the flave three dubbelcheys, equal to about feven pençe half-penny a week, The As 1770. December. 1770. December. as an encouragement, and to prevent his being under temptations to fteal too ftrong to be refifted. Concerning the government of this place I can fay but little. We obferved however a remarkable subordination among the people. Every man who is able to keep house, has a certain specific rank, acquired by the length of his fervices to the company; the different ranks which are thus acquired are diftinguished by the ornaments of the coaches and the dreffes of coachmen: fome are obliged to ride in plain coaches, fome are allowed to paint them in different manners and degrees, and fome to gild them. The coachman alfo appears in clothes that are quite plain, or more or lefs adorned with lace. The officer who prefides here has the title of Governor General of the Indies; and the Dutch Governors of all the other fettlements are fubordinate to him, and obliged to repair to Batavia that he may pass their accounts. If they appear to have been criminal, or even negligent, he punishes them by delay, and detains them during pleasure, fometimes one year, fometimes two years, and fometimes three; for they cannot quit the place till he gives them a difmiflion. Next to the Governor are the members of the council, called here Edele Heeren, and by the corruption of the Englifh, Idoleers. These Idoleers take upon them fo much state, that whoever meets them in a carriage, is expected to rise up and bow, then to drive on one fide of the road, and there ftop till they are paft; the fame hòmage is required alfo to their wives, and even to their children; and it is commonly paid them by the inhabitants. But fome of our captains have thought fo flavish a mark of refpe&t beneath the dignity which they derived from the fervice of his Britannic Majefty, and have refufed to pay it; yet, if they were in a hired carriage, nothing could deter the coachman from honouring the Dutch Grandee at their expence, but the most peremptory menace of immediate death. Juftice is administered here by a body of lawyers, who have ranks of distinction among themfelves. Concerning their proceedings in queftions of property, I know nothing; but their decifions in criminal cafes feem to be fevere with respect to the natives, and leni ent tent with respect to their own people, in a criminal degree. A Chriftian always is indulged with an opportunity of escaping before he is brought to a trial, whatever may have been his offence; and if he is brought to a trial and convicted, he is seldom punished with death while the poor Indians, on the contrary, are hanged, and broken upon the wheel, and even impaled alive without mercy. : The Malays and Chinese have judicial officers of their own, under the denominations of Captains and Lieutenants, who determine in civil cafes, fubject to an appeal to the Dutch court. The taxes paid by thefe people to the Company are very confiderable; and that which is exacted of them for liberty to wear their hair, is by no means the least. They are paid monthly; and to fave the trouble and charge of collecting them, a flag is hoisted upon the top of a house in the middle of the town when a payment is due; and the Chinese have experienced that it is their intereft to repair thither with their money without delay. The money current here confifts of ducats, worth a hundred and thirty two ftivers; ducatoons, eighty ftivers; imperial rix-dollars, fixty; rupees of Batavia, thirty; fchellings, fix; double cheys, two ftivers and a half; and doits, one fourth of a stiver. Spanish dollars, when we were here, were at five fhillings and five pence; and we were told, that they were never lower than five fhillings and four pence, even at the Company's warehouse. For English guineas we could never get more than nineteen fhillings upon an average; for though the Chinese would give twenty fhillings for fome of the brighteft, they would give no more than feventeen fhillings for thofe that were much worn. It may perhaps be of fome advantage to ftrangers to be told that there are two kinds of coin here, of the fame denomination, milled and unmilled, and that the milled is of most value. A milled ducatoon is worth eighty ftivers; but an unmilled ducatoon is worth no more than feventy-two. All accounts are kept in rixdollars and ftivers, which, here at least, are mere nominal coins, like our pound fterling. The rix-dollar is equal to forty-eight ftivers, about four fhillings and fix pence English currency. VOL. II. LI CHAP. 1770Deceriber. 1770. December. Thurf. 27. CHAP. XV. The Paffage from Batavia to the Cape of Good Hope: Ο N Thursday the 27th of December, at fix o'clock in the morning, we weighed again and stood out to fea. After much delay by contrary winds, we weaSatur. 29. thered Pulo Pare on the 29th, and ftood in for the main; foon after we fetched a fmall ifland under the main, in the midway between Batavia and Bantam, Sunday 30. called Man-eater's Island. The next day we weathered firft Wapping Ifland, and the Pulo Babi. On the 3ift, we stood over to the Sumatra fhore; and on the morning of New Year's day, 1771, we stood over for the Java fhore. Mond. 31. 1771. January. Tuesday 1. We continued our courfe, as the wind permitted us, Saturday 5. till three o'clock in the afternoon of the 5th, when we anchored under the fouth-eaft fide of Prince's Inland in eighteen fathoms, in order to recruit our wood and water, and procure refreshments for the fick, many of whom were now become much worse than they were when we left Batavia. As foon as the fhip was fecured, I went afhore, accompanied by Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander, and we were met upon the beach by fome Indians, who carried us immediately to a man, who, they faid, was their King. After we had exchanged a few compliments with his Majefty, we proceeded to bufinefs; but in fettling the price of turtle we could not agree; this however did not difcourage us, as we made no doubt but that we fhould buy them at our own price in the morning. As foon as we parted, the Indians difperfed, and we proceeded along the thore in fearch of a watering-place. In this we were more fuccefsful; we found water very conveniently fituated, and, if a little care was taken in filling it, we had reafon to believe that it would prove good. Juft as we were going off, fome Indians, who remained with a canoe upon the beach, fold us three turtle; but exacted a promise of us that we fhould not tell the King. The |