The annexed documents, as far as they can be relied on, afford evidence of an extent of mortality in Batavia, as compared with the number of inhabitants, that was perhaps never exampled, for the same space of time, in any other quarter of the world. The Table No. I., incomplete as it is, was drawn out with as much exactness as the original lists and registers still in possession would admit of. In explanation of some inconsistencies which are exhibited in it, it is necessary to observe, that on the occasion of the capture of this island, part of the most valuable papers were lost or destroyed, and amongst them the register in which was stated the Chinese population, and the number of their deaths and marriages annually, which is the reason why no mention is made of them in this table. The first and third columns contain only the numbers of European inhabitants. The last column, which shews the deaths of the Natives and Slaves, is probably a list of the deceased slaves only; because there was a separate list kept of the natives who died annually in the Batavian jurisdiction, which, however, was for a long time incorrect, and at last destroyed in 1811. It is also probable, that the column of deaths generally does not extend farther than in the town and immediate suburbs; and the other two columns of baptisms and marriages extend over the town, suburbs, and environs together. The specific lists kept in the different hospitals were likewise lost. This is to be particularly lamented, because they would have shewn how many of the European deaths were inhabitants, military persons, strangers, or sailors or marines from the ships of the different nations in Batavia Roads, who all sent their sick men into the hospitals of Batavia, who, when dead, were comprehended in the number of European deaths. This circumstance explains the incorrectness which appears to exist in the two statements of the living and deceased Europeans. The Table No. II. was discovered among the records of the Dutch government at Batavia, and in the absence of a more official document, may, perhaps, on that account, be entitled to some confidence. [Vol II Pg iv] [Vol II Pg v] [Vol II Pg vi] TABLE, No. I. List of the Population, Marriages, Baptisms, and Deaths, in the Town and Suburbs of Batavia, from 1700 to 1813, as far as the same could be ascertained from the Registers, &c. after the Conquest of Java in 1811. | POPULATION. | MARRIAGES. | BAPTISMS. | DEATHS. | Within the Walls. | In the Suburbs. | Europeans. | Half Casts and Other Christians. | Europeans' Children. | Those of Half Casts and Other Christians. | Europeans, Half Casts, &c. | Natives, Slaves, &c. | Europeans. | Europeans & Natives. | Europeans. | Europeans & Natives. | 1700 | 1,875 | 20,072 | 215 | 32,478 | 74 | 134 | 119 | 565 | 697 | 975 | 1701 | 1,715 | 19,084 | 321 | 48,972 | 65 | 126 | 76 | 341 | 736 | 815 | 1702 | 1,755 | 19,683 | 309 | 45,452 | 76 | 120 | 83 | 616 | 1,088 | 1,336 | 1703 | 1,835 | 18,580 | 534 | 47,123 | 72 | 133 | 190 | 443 | 856 | 931 | 1704 | 1,898 | 22,150 | 470 | 49,351 | 74 | 144 | 96 | 466 | 442 | 1,148 | 1705 | 1,771 | 19,752 | ?— | ?— | 55 | 133 | 100 | 441 | 688 | 1,800 | 1706 | 1,923 | 21,899 | 417 | 49,483 | 79 | 127 | 84 | 447 | 841 | 1,839 | 1707 | 1,826 | 21,632 | 411 | 47,026 | 60 | 116 | 88 | 471 | 655 | 1,371 | 1708 | 1,769 | 20,922 | 402 | 54,628 | 49 | 134 | 87 | 638 | 651 | 1,481 | 1709 | 1,681 | 20,600 | 412 | 55,581 | 64 | 138 | 82 | 575 | 804 | 1,828 | 1710 | 1,716 | 20,850 | 368 | 58,761 | 41 | 152 | 108 | 628 | 684 | 1,313 | 1711 | 1,723 | 21,517 | 341 | 57,843 | 63 | 154 | 110 | 555 | 766 | 1,487 | 1712 | 1,656 | 21,538 | 448 | 65,865 | 60 | 141 | 110 | 595/ | 684 | 1,278 | 1713 | 1,566 | 19,007 | 503 | 69,110 | 56 | 154 | 747[280] | 599 | 1,022 | 1714 | 1,644 | 19,758 | 553 | 66,092 | 60 | 150 | 703 | 608 | 1,085 | 1715 | 1,663 | 22,242 | 411 | 64,657 | 43 | 159 | 759 | 567 | 1,074 | 1716 | 1,516 | 18,947 | 446 | 60,236 | 37 | 129 | 688 | 606 | 1,207 | 1717 | 1,443 | 18,965 | 290 | 59,831 | 41 | 147 | 578 | 716 | 1,322 | 1718 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 663 | ?— | ?— | 1719 | 1,409 | 19,411 | 308 | 68,082 | 59 | 154 | 631 | 857 | 1,869 | 1720 | 1,610 | 21,156 | 361 | 67,792 | 68 | 148 | 529 | 977 | 1,685 | 1721 | 1,477 | 20,520 | 387 | 67,044 | 53 | 80 | 467 | 772 | 1,210 | 1722 | 695 | 11,252 | 417 | 67,339 | 61 | 132 | 649 | 193 | 813 | 1723 | 1,606 | 23,716 | 363 | 66,079 | 43 | 119 | 610 | 985 | 1,597 | 1724 | 1,562 | 23,428 | 341 | 62,966 | 34 | 172 | 781 | 934 | 1,755 | 1725 | 1,615 | 23,752 | 332 | 72,218 | 60 | 150 | 637 | 958 | 2,085 | | Within the Walls and immediate Suburbs. | In the Vicinity and Environs. | | | In the Reformed Churches, and since 1746, in the Lutheran Church. | | | 1726 | 1,452 | 22,814 | 304 | 76,893 | 58 | 118 | 616 | 994 | 487 | 1727 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 740 | ?— | ?— | 1728 | 1,538 | 15,343 | 289 | 73,141 | 50 | 155 | 648 | 768 | 590 | 1729 | 1,389 | 20,677 | 232 | 81,977 | 52 | 135 | 736 | 754 | 500 | 1730 | 1,330 | 20,429 | 209 | 80,756 | 45 | 167 | 763 | 857 | 1,800 | 1731 | 1,431 | 22,658 | 241 | 82,204 | 45 | 128 | 783 | 886 | 1,066 | 1732 | 1,445 | 22,646 | 211 | 83,602 | 55 | 142 | 625 | 1,003 | 689 | 1733 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 554 | ?— | ?— | 1734 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 432 | ?— | ?— | 1735 | 1,338 | 20,587 | 224 | 74,367 | 65 | 166 | 561 | 240 | 667 | 1736 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 48 | ?— | 727 | ?— | ?— | 1737 | 1,317 | 19,612 | 266 | 67,170 | 48 | 133 | 572 | 1,966 | 705 | 1738 | 1,350 | 11,212 | 212 | 64,090 | 49 | 133 | 448 | 2,002 | 919 | 1739 | 1,286 | 18,502 | 272 | 68,229 | 51 | 179 | 658 | 1,068 | 668 | 1740 | 1,420 | 14,141 | 269 | 72,506 | 47 | 90 | 518 | 1,317 | 338 | 1741 | 1,388 | 13,977 | 287 | 47,583 | 52 | 124 | 670 | 1,278 | 406 | 1742 | ?— | ?— | 259 | 56,882 | 47 | 118 | 602 | 1,286 | 547 | 1743 | 1,481 | 14,609 | 321 | 55,023 | 84 | 119 | 639 | 1,526 | 682 | 1744 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 673 | ?— | ?— | 1745 | 1,517 | 14,926 | 278 | 67,254 | 60 | 117 | 592 | 1,965 | 1,062 | 1746 | 1,597 | 13,852 | 242 | 68,785 | ?— | ?— | 574 | ?— | ?— | 1747 | 1,525 | 13,854 | 240 | 73,163 | ?— | ?— | 670 | ?— | ?— | 1748 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 627 | ?— | ?— | 1749 | 1,541 | 14,050 | 318 | 77,008 | 39 | 115 | 705 | 1,662 | 556 | 1750 | 1,520 | 14,278 | 313 | 80,597 | 63 | 105 | 571 | 2,229 | 569 | 1751 | 1,439 | 13,874 | 336 | 78,259 | 38 | 84/ | 550 | 2,189 | 502 | 1752 | 1,513 | 14,596 | 311 | 75,152 | 135[281] | 600 | 1,858 | 562 | 1753 | 1,651 | 15,710 | 325 | 76,611 | 132 | 457 | 1,789 | 1,542 | 1754 | 1,575 | 15,891 | 358 | 93,375 | 136 | 553 | 1,729 | 617 | | Within the Town and all the Suburbs. | | | | | | | 1755 | 1,599 | 16,466 | 369 | 95,938 | 146 | 484 | 2,532 | 630 | 1756 | 1,604 | 15,925 | 310 | 96,702 | 143 | 410 | 1,729 | 547 | 1757 | 1,629 | 16,356 | 373 | 103,443 | 137 | 465 | 1,557 | 561 | 1758 | 1,560 | 16,855 | 447 | 106,151 | 128 | 468 | 1,781 | 1,082 | 1759 | 1,572 | 16,942 | 377 | 111,273 | 97 | 437 | 1,451 | 636 | 1760 | 1,634 | 16,785 | 410 | 109,393 | 124 | 450 | 1,403 | 1,064 | 1761 | 1,499 | 16,298 | 305 | 113,280 | ?— | 387 | 1,110 | 980 | 1762 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 471 | ?— | ?— | 1763 | 1,507 | 16,282 | 447 | 113,009 | 112 | 435 | 2,001 | 1,134 | 1764 | ?— | 16,008 | 413 | 117,207 | 131 | 297 | 1,907 | 585 | 1765 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 357 | ?— | ?— | 1766 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 356 | ?— | ?— | 1767 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 306 | ?— | ?— | 1768 | 1,642 | 15,256 | 273 | 108,507 | 93 | 329 | 1,933 | 537 | 1769 | 1,271 | 15,430 | 389 | 114,750 | 124 | 369 | 1,869 | 667 | 1770 | 1,183 | 13,192 | 328 | 123,869 | 126 | 302 | 2,871 | 2,672 | 1771 | 1,105 | 12,233 | 300 | 121,380 | 93 | 245 | 2,425 | 622 | 1772 | 1,011 | 12,743 | 348 | 112,346 | 108 | 301 | 2,437 | 2,256 | 1773 | 1,061 | 13,473 | 342 | 107,500 | 98 | 284 | 2,029 | 534 | 1774 | 933 | 12,134 | 367 | 108,215 | 97 | 295 | 2,452 | 866 | 1775 | 1,165 | 13,512 | 328 | 125,635 | 214 | 307 | 2,997 | 3,007 | 1776 | ?— | ?— | 276 | 131,895 | 100 | 303 | 3,055 | 1,199 | 1777 | 896 | 10,661 | 279 | 140,332 | 98 | 277 | 1,394 | 2,031 | 1778 | 1,137 | 12,206 | 238 | 135,532 | 104 | 253 | 1,804 | 2,131 | 1779 | ?— | ?— | 302 | 160,986 | 82 | 290 | 1,524 | 1,717 | 1780 | 747 | 13,651 | 278 | 129,943 | 113 | 259 | 1,418 | 1,435 | 1781 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 272 | ?— | ?— | 1782 | 664 | 9,517 | 276 | 127,039 | 75 | 260 | 733 | 1,692 | 1783 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 292 | ?— | ?— | 1784 | 695 | 10,422 | 336 | 129,506 | 81 | 279 | 1,439 | 1,669 | 1785 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 243 | ?— | ?— | 1786 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 238 | ?— | ?— | 1787 | 574 | 9,910 | 375 | 133,151 | 58 | 230 | 1,939 | 1,278 | 1788 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 284 | ?— | ?— | 1789 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 236 | ?— | ?— | 1790 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 69 | 220 | 2,379 | 1,672 | 1791 | 325 | 6,367 | 450 | 120,352 | 48 | 216 | 2,228 | 1,590 | 1792 | 254 | 8,121 | 282 | 119,297 | 59 | 171 | 1,990 | 1,131 | 1793 | 254 | 8,121 | 282 | 119,297 | 48 | 149 | 1,805 | 1,030 | 1794 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 215 | ?— | ?— | 1795 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 92 | 183 | 1,121 | 953 | 1796 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 67 | 173 | ?— | ?— | 1797 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 52 | 210 | 215 | 930 | 1798 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 68 | 173 | 280 | 675 | 1799 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 236 | ?— | ?— | 1800 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 68 | 169 | 106 | 1,168 | 1801 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 32 | 169 | ?— | ?— | 1802 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 207 | ?— | ?— | 1803 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 58 | 182 | 263 | 2,356 | 1804 | ?— | ?— | 378 | 72,830 | ?— | 190 | 255 | ?— | 1805 | ?— | ?— | 500 | 73,728 | 83 | 164 | ?
— | ?— | 1806 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 50 | 171 | ?— | ?— | 1807 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 86 | 186 | ?— | 2,549 | 1808 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 151 | ?— | ?— | 1809 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 131 | ?— | ?— | 1810 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 167 | ?— | ?— | 1811 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 136 | ?— | ?— | 1812 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 115 | ?— | ?— | 1813 | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | ?— | 138 | ?— | ?— | [Vol II Pg vii] [Vol II Pg viii] TABLE, No. II. List of Deceased and Buried in the several Burial Places at Batavia, from the Year 1730, till the Month of August, 1752. [Translated from a Document discovered among the Records of the Dutch Government at Batavia.] | Numb. deceased. | 1730. | January | 3,862 | February | 3,786 | March | 3,928 | April | 3,860 | May | 3,862 | June | 3,889 | July | 4,268 | August | 4,404 | September | 4,597 | October | 4,290 | November | 3,965 | December | 3,739 | ? | 48,450 | 1731. | January | 3,699 | February | 3,705 | March | 3,827 | April | 3,833 | May | 3,711 | June | 3,788 | July | 4,480 | August | 4,527 | September | 4,916 | October | 4,512 | November | 4,412 | December | 4,430 | ? | 49,840 | 1732. | January | 4,359 | February | 4,047 | March | 4,046 | April | 4,060 | May | 4,066 | June | 4,191 | July | 4,515 | August | 4,758 | September | 5,314 | October | 4,912 | November | 4,344 | December | 4,305 | ? | 52,917 | 1733. | January | 4,205 | February | 4,261 | March | 3,989 | April | 3,948 | May | 3,747 | June | 3,840 | July | 3,885 | August | 3,805 | September | 4,147 | October | 4,148 | November | 3,906 | December | 3,864 | ? | 47,745 | 1734. | January | 3,830 | February | 3,963 | March | 3,914 | April | 3,725 | May | 3,711 | June | 3,550 | July | 3,772 | August | 4,294 | September | 5,303 | October | 4,237 | November | 4,025 | December | 4,021 | ? | 48,145 | 1735. | January | 3,722 | February | 3,775 | March | 3,830 | April | 3,757 | May | 3,780 | June | 3,968 | July | 4,141 | August | 4,041 | September | 4,058 | October | 4,050 | November | 3,966 | December | 3,962 | ? | 47,050 | 1736. | January | 4,110 | February | 3,909 | March | 3,815 | April | 3,778 | May | 3,760 | June | 3,699 | July | 4,063 | August | 4,078 | September | 4,260 | October | 4,110 | November | 3,841 | December | 4,080 | ? | 47,503 | 1737. | January | 4,066 | February | 4,093 | March | 3,707 | April | 3,561 | May | 3,485 | June | 3,358 | July | 3,357 | August | 3,400 | September | [Vol II Pg ix]dinary and alarming. Although not prone to any speculation, except that of merchants, or to any inquiry, except for a new market or a more lucrative channel of trade, the Company's Government in India was sometimes forced to institute inquiries into the cause of this insalubrity, and to speculate about the possibility and the means of removing it. Passing by other occasions, there exists on the records of the High Regency a reply to queries about the unhealthiness of Batavia, dated the 14th of October 1753. This paper states that between 1732 and 1738, the greatest number of casualties happened. It assigns, as a great cause of the insalubrity complained of, the situation of the town in a bay, confined on the west and east by projecting points of land, and inclosed in front by a cluster of small islands. The space between the town and the sea is chiefly mud, left by the retreating of the sea: a swamp surrounds the town. The mouths of the rivers are generally covered with underwood and a species of tree peculiar to swamps. The vegetation of these low grounds, it is added, cannot but retain impurities of the most noxious kind. The space which is formed at the mouths of the rivers TÁng'ran and Ang'ki is an entire swamp, covered with shrubs which emit exhalations of an impure nature: these are interspersed with the burying grounds of the natives, and the effluvia of these places is felt at some distance. It was believed that the earthquake of 1699, by forcing mud from under the earth and blocking up the mouths of the rivers more than formerly, contributed to increase the previously existing unhealthiness. The lime kilns in the neighbourhood, the close plantations of trees that prevent a free circulation of air, the stagnation of the rivers from the bars of mud or sand which obstruct their out-course into the sea, the kind of water which the inhabitants are compelled to drink, the narrowness of their houses, and the dirt and filth accumulated in the numerous canals that intersect the town, have all their due share of pernicious efficiency assigned them in this report. The buildings, it is said, are admirably adapted to keep out the fresh air, and to retain that which is putrid or noxious. To remedy the evils felt, a new construction of houses is recommended, and a frequent pruning or entire extirpation of the trees. The fever, which excited this inquiry, commenced in 1733 and lasted till 1738, and, during its continuance, two thousand of the Company's servants and free Christians annually died. In 1739 its violence abated; but it broke out again in 1744, and continued with little diminution or variation to the date of the report in 1753. Without stopping to inquire whether it would be easier to remove disease from Batavia, or the inhabitants of Batavia from disease, I shall take the liberty of quoting an extract from a report on the climate of some parts of Java, drawn up by Mr. Robertson, the late Superintending Surgeon, which appears to me to afford a satisfactory account of the causes of the insalubrity of the capital. After giving a statement of the mortality that prevailed in an Indiaman, a part of the crew of which landed at Batavia, he thus proceeds. "Such is the melancholy instance of the noxious climate of Batavia,[Vol II Pg x] which came within my own observation. That it was not epidemic is clearly evinced, from its not extending its influence to those who attended the sick, nor to the rest of the crew, all of whom escaped its attack and remained healthy. Among the Dutch who remain in the town, fevers are, I understand, very prevalent at all seasons, notwithstanding their being, in a manner, inured to the climate, and most of them have a sallow sickly appearance. It is not uncommon, in riding through the streets, to meet three or four funerals daily. "The Chinese, however, who are very numerous, suffer more than any class of the people; perhaps, from the worse situations of their houses, the manner in which these are crowded, the closeness of their apartments, and their gross manner of living. The number of casualties among them, I am told, is incredible, especially during the dry season; and if one may judge from the extent of their burial ground, and the number of their tumuli, it cannot admit of a doubt. The preceding facts are, I conclude, sufficient to establish the truth of the noxious character the climate of Batavia has so long obtained, and I shall now proceed to the causes which have been often investigated, and seem well ascertained, though the knowledge of them has led to little exertion for their removal. "The baneful effects of marsh miasmata on the human system is well known, engendering intermittent and remittent fevers, dysenteries, and visceral obstructions. Batavia, built almost in a swamp, surrounded by marshes in all directions, trees and jungles, which prevent the exhalations being carried off by a free circulation of air, is peculiarly obnoxious from this cause. Opposite the mouth of the river, and extending a great way to the westward, is a mud-bank, which, in many parts at low water, is uncovered by the sea, and is daily accumulating from the quantities of mud and animal and vegetable matter carried down by the river during its reflux. Again the sea, often at spring tides, overflows the adjacent country, and, on its receding, leaves the soil covered with slime and mud, which, exposed to the action of the sun, soon suffers decomposition, and impregnates the atmosphere with its noxious exhalations, which are carried by the sea breeze over Batavia, where the trees and jungles surrounding the houses prevent their being dissipated. During the heat of the day these exhalations are more diffused and comparatively innoxious, but when the sun withdraws its influence they become more condensed, and amalgamating with the descending evening dews form a morbid atmosphere around the houses of the inhabitants. This hypothesis will readily account for a fact well known, that people whose commercial concerns require their presence in Batavia during the day, and who retire during the night into the country, escape this endemic, while scarcely any who sleep in the town, even for a night, unless those who, by a long residence, are inured to it, escape. In the ingenious and sensible work formerly alluded to (Mr. Johnson's), I find this hypothesis so clearly and perspicuously expounded, that I must take the liberty of quoting it. [Vol II Pg xi] "'The cause why the stench emitted by marshes and vegetable matter in a state of decomposition is more perceptible immediately after sunset, is not that the vapours are disengaged in greater quantities then than during the day, but the marshes retain their heat for some time after the sun's rays are withdrawn, and consequently continue to emit vapours through the atmosphere, as during the high temperature of the day by the sun. They therefore meet the descending dews, condensing and forming a thick fog, which hovers over the swamps, accompanied by a noxious and disagreeable odour. The miasmata exhaled during the day, in all probability, descend with the dews of the evening, which, meeting and combining with those that continue to be disengaged from their source, must form a concentration highly capable of affecting the constitution. Marsh effluvia become at a certain distance from their source innoxious. Dr. Hunter observes, 'a few feet in height gives a comparative security in the same buildings.' This will be accounted for by the supposition, that as the miasmata exhaled during the day descend in the evenings, they become more and more concentrated, till meeting the exhalations from the still reeking marshes, a dense stratum of highly impregnated atmosphere is found contiguous to the surface of the earth: hence the salubrity of sleeping in upper apartments. This leads to another practicable inference of considerable importance, that when necessity compels exposure to these marshes, we should select that point of time least likely to meet those miasmata, whether ascending or descending. This period seems to extend from three to six in the afternoon:[282] that is, after the greatest heat of the earth and air, and consequently the greatest evaporation, and before the condensation and return of such exhalations as rose during the day, and which combine with those still issuing from the heated soil for some time after sunset.' "A second, and, I think, an equally powerful cause, is the stagnant water of the canals, which, in all directions, intersect the city. In the first place, they are filled with filth of every description; there is scarcely at times any perceptible current in them to carry off that filth; and lastly, the sluices are frequently kept shut, for the purpose of swelling the waters above them to irrigate the fields, while those below, which intersect the town, become almost dry, leaving an extensive surface of mud, and every kind of putrified matter, to be acted upon by the sun, raising the most pestilential vapours, with which, as before observed, the atmosphere gets thoroughly impregnated. "As a third cause, the state of the houses may be considered, and the mode of living of the Dutch. Houses that are untenanted are seldom opened, and thus collect much filth and foul, damp, pernicious vapours. Those that are inhabited are generally shut up in the day time, most of them being glazed, thus preventing a free circulation of air; and in the lower story of most of the houses, the walls are covered some feet from[Vol II Pg xii] the ground with a greenish coat, and on entering the apartments a stranger experiences a kind of chilly feel, and a damp raw kind of smell. Although it cannot be enumerated among the causes, yet I cannot help thinking the Dutch mode of medical practice, in as far as it is inefficient to counteract the diseases of this climate, must tend to increase the number of fatal terminations. "The Dutch practitioners, little in the habit of theorizing, continue the same practice in every form of disease, and they are particularly prejudiced against the use of mercury, opium, and other powerful medicines, in consequence relying solely on the most simple and inert remedies. Some few of them, of more enlarged understanding, adopt the English mode, and seem sensible of its superior efficacy. "A fourth, and, I am convinced, a very general cause, especially of the diarrhoeas and dysenteries, which seldom fail to attack new comers, is the water. This most essential article is taken either from the canals or wells, and it is equally bad when passed through a filtering stone. It retains a brackish, hard, unpleasant taste, and if allowed to remain some time in vessels without previous boiling, generates small animalculÆ. Such, I conceive, are the most probable and principal causes of the insalubrity of Batavia; though there are, I doubt not, others contributing, which elude observation. It is generally received, though I think an erroneous opinion, that the rainy season is the most unhealthy. The most unhealthy appears to me to be that immediately after the cessation of the rains; and the older and more experienced Dutch residents have observed, that in years when there has been a long continued drought, disease has been more than usually prevalent, and they look forward with anxiety for the accession of the rains, as the means of resisting its baneful dissemination. "Weltevreden, at a distance of not more than three miles, being less exposed to these causes, excepting the water, is exempt, in a great measure, from its prevailing endemic fever; though diarrhoeas are common, especially among those newly arriving, but they are seldom of a serious or alarming nature. "Among the troops stationed at Weltevreden and Cornelis, diseases are not more frequent than in the healthiest parts of India which I have visited; though for some months since the BÁli expedition, the casualties in the 78th regiment have been numerous. At Chemangis, about twenty-two miles from Batavia inland, a battalion of Sepoys is stationed, where, from the returns I have received, it appears they enjoy comparatively good health, and have very few casualties, though a much larger quantity of rain falls than in the vicinity of Weltevreden. It is on an elevated commanding situation, and open and clear of jungle for a considerable extent around." In support of the opinion which has been given of the general salubrity of the climate of Java, the abstract returns of sick, &c. among the troops serving on Java and its dependencies, for the last two years, are annexed, together with a statement of casualties, in His Majesty's 78th regiment, while serving on the continent of India and in Java. [Vol II Pg xiii] Note by N. Currie, Esq. Surgeon of His Majesty's 78th Regiment, on the foregoing Table. When the 78th regiment first arrived at Java, the men had been long confined on board ship, living on salt provisions, and were afterwards exposed, not only to the fatigues and privations incident to actual warfare, but also to the inclemency of the weather in a tropical climate. All these causes produced a tendency to disease, and when the regiment arrived at SurabÁya the quarters were bad; and being in the middle of the town, free access could at all times be had to spirituous liquors. The number of diseases and of casualties was consequently great; but it diminished gradually, as the men were successively accommodated with good barracks at De Noyo. The whole were comfortably lodged in plastered barracks in March or April, 1813, and in May and the following month a very sensible reduction of deaths took place, as may be seen by the abstracts of those months. During the preceding months of January, February, March, and April, the deaths were numerous, but the greater proportion was among the men of a detachment of about two hundred men that joined in January, and continued to be very sickly during those four months. Almost all the men of this detachment had, when attacked, violent diseases. A very remarkable instance of the bad effects of exposure to night air while asleep, occurred when part of the regiment was sent, in September, 1814, from Weltevreeden to Chemangis, where the barracks were built of wattled bamboos, and the men lying with their heads to the walls, received the current of air directly in their heads. Fifty were seized with a highly inflammatory fever in the course of three days. Delirium was always the first symptom in every case, and it was necessary to bleed several of them largely before they could be sent to the hospital. By referring to the returns it will be seen that almost every increase of sickness happened after a change of quarters, as in the detachment above-mentioned, and after the removal of the regiment from SurabÁya to Ung'arang and Sirondol in October, 1813, after the expedition to Bali at Weltevreeden in June, 1814, and to Chemangis in September 1814. An increase of sickness always took place after the use of spirituous liquors on particular holidays, as Christmas, &c.; and on the contrary, the good effects of not exposing the men to morning dews or wet, and of regularity in diet, may be seen in the healthiness of the regiment after the men got settled in good barracks at SurabÁya and Weltevreeden. Java need no longer be held up as the grave of Europeans, for except in the immediate neighbourhood of salt marshes and forests, as in the city of Batavia, and two or three other places on the north coast, it may be safely affirmed that no tropical climate is superior to it in salubrity. By its insular situation, the temperature of the atmosphere is low and equable, and from its lofty mountains it possesses this great advantage, that in a few hours' travelling a climate of any degree of cold may be found.
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