APPENDIX. State of Commerce in the year 1833, at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Condensed and brought into Form from Various Documents.

There arrived 1704 national vessels, and departed 1629; and arrived 696 foreign vessels, and departed 617.

The exports consisted of the following articles, viz.:—

There were imported 184,000 barrels of flour, including 13,000 barrels on hand, on the first of January; and there were exported 48,500; and there were on hand, the first of January, 1834, 35,000, which gave 100,500 barrels consumed—164,185 barrels were imported from the United States, and 6,815 barrels from Europe and elsewhere.

The number of foreign vessels despatched during the year, were 565, measuring 149,746 tons, of which,

There were shipped, by American vessels to the United States, 236,708 bags of coffee, and to Europe, 67,043 bags; making 303,751 bags, &c., which is upward of one half of the whole quantity exported.

Production of coffee throughout the world, in 1833:—

Consumption of coffee in 1833, copied from an Antwerp newspaper:—

Being an increase of nearly fifty per cent., from 1830 to 1833.

Coffee consumed in the world:—

This quantity is produced as follows:—

Population of Brazil in 1819, continued:—

[A]

Of the Aboriginal Inhabitants of the Malayan Peninsula, and particularly of the Negroes called Semang.

This subject has afforded matter of curious and interesting speculation, to several writers of modern date. Marsden, Leydon, Raffles and Crawfurd have alternately bestowed a slight attention upon it; but it is one which requires more minute investigation, and would amply repay the labours of the philosopher.

Of the interior parts of the Malayan peninsula, which is the Suvarna or Gold island, one of the three sacred isles of the Hindoos[†] and the grand depot for souls after death,[†] there is little known even at the present day, and the researches which have hitherto been made, regarding the Aboriginals of this portion of the East, have as yet been exceedingly defective, and unattended with any satisfactory result. “In our present state of knowledge,” as a late author observes, “I fear we must pronounce that the origin of the nations which inhabit the Indian islands seems buried in unfathomable obscurity, and hardly appears less mysterious than that of indigenous plants and animals of the country they inhabit.”[†] Mr. Marsden, in the introduction to his Malayan grammar, has quoted the opinion of Sir S. Raffles, (then Mr. Raffles, secretary to the governor of Prince of Wales island,) who published a paper on the Malay nation, in the twelfth volume of the Asiatic Researches, relative to the Aborigines of the peninsula. “The Malays,” observes this author, “seem to have occupied a country previously unappropriated, for, if we except an inconsiderable race of Caffrees who are occasionally found near the mountains, and a few tribes of the Orang-Benua, there does not exist a vestige of a nation anterior to the Malays in the whole peninsula. As the population of the peninsula has excited much interest, my attention has been particularly directed to the various tribes stated to be scattered over the country. Those on the hills are usually called Semang and are woolly headed; those on the plains, Orang-Benua, or people belonging to the country; the word Benua being applied by the Malays to any extensive country, as Benua China, Benua Kling, but it appears to be only a sort of Malay plural to the Arabic word Ben or Beni, signifying a tribe.”[†] This hypothesis, however, is satisfactorily confuted by Marsden, who asserts that Benua is a genuine Malay word signifying country, region, land, and that a slight variation of the word, as Whennua or Fennua is found in the Bisagan dialects of the Philippines, and the languages of the South Sea islands, bearing a precisely similar signification. In my inquiries among the Malays, I have not been able, however, to discover that the term Orang-Benua (which is literally Aborigines or people of the land) is ever applied to any particular race of the Malayan peninsula, the supposed Aboriginal tribes being styled Sakei or Orang-Bukit, Orang-Laut or Semang. According to the Malayan legends, indeed, there is a race of wild people said to be found in the interior of Buman, the boundary between the states of Perak and Salengore, designated Tuah-Benua[†] by the Salagorians, and known at Quedah by the name of Mawas. They are represented as bearing a strong resemblance to the Mawa or long-armed gibbon, and instead of having a bone in the lower part of the arm, they have a piece of sharp iron which serves the double purpose of an arm and a cleaver for cutting wood. There is another savage race, according to the Malays, called Bilian, who are covered with hair, and have nails of extraordinary length. Their principal occupation is said to be tending the tigers, which are their peculiar flock, as the buffaloes are of the Malays. In rainy nights, they are represented by the Malays as sometimes coming to their residence and demanding fire, which those who are acquainted with their savage disposition, hand them upon the point of a sumpit or arrow tube, or at the extremity of a sword; as were the person to present it with his hand, he would inevitably be seized and devoured by the savage monster, a fate, which the credulous Malay firmly believes, has befallen many. It is admirable how the Mahometans of the present day even, assign to these regions inhabitants so aptly coinciding with the mythological superstitions of the Hindoos. Fitter subjects could not indeed be attributed to the sovereign of darkness, whose abode is said to be in the peninsula of Malacca, than the Mawas and Bilian races above described; whose appearance is quite consistent with what some intelligent Christians even, consider as the imps of the infernal regions, and it is still more remarkable that the supposed residence of the Mawa species is, according to the Malays, in the very neighbourhood of the city of the Hindoos, yama-pari, or the grand depot for souls after death. Another circumstance deserving of notice is, that the Menang-Kebans of Sumatra, supposed to be the primitive Malays, “deduce their origin from two brothers named Perapati See Batang and Kei Tumunggungan, who are described as being among the forty companions of Noah in the ark, and whose landing at Palembang, or at a small islet near it named Lauha Pura, (probably the small island of Lucepara) is attended with the circumstance of the dry land being first discovered by the resting upon it of a bird (Perapati is literally a pigeon) that flew from the vessel. From thence they proceeded to the mountain named Sigantang-Gantang, and afterward to Priangan in the neighbourhood of the great volcano, which at this day is spoken of as the capital of Menang-Kaban.”[†] There is a mountain called Gunon-Gantang in the Perak country, the supposed Yama-puri, and what is still more extraordinary, the king of Perak, in opposing the claims of the Siamese to a Boonga-Mas or Golden Flower, in a letter to a friend, says, “I am he who holds the royal sword and the dragon Betel Stand, and the shell fish which came out of the sea, which came from the hill of Segantang.” I do not profess myself to be sufficiently conversant with the subject, to reason farther on this singular coincidence, but it appears to me that many curious inferences might be drawn from it, and I shall leave the matter for the investigation of a more scientific pen.

At Perak, the principal tin country of the peninsula, there are two distinct races of wild people in the interior, the one called Semang, resembling those of Quedah in personal appearance, but speaking a different dialect, somewhat more civilized, and fond of collecting silver and gold, with which they ornament their spears and knives, which they obtain in exchange for the products of the wood; the others are called Orang-Sakei by some, and Orang-Bukit or hill-people by others.[†] They are much darker complexioned than the Malays, but fairer than the Semangs, and speak a distinct language of their own. They are not so timid as the Semangs, and sometimes come down to the Malayan villages to amuse the inhabitants by their peculiar dances and music. Their ordinary dress consists of pieces of bark beat out, tied round their middle, but in their woods they are frequently met quite naked. Both tribes are reported to be pretty numerous on the hills which divide the Perak from the Patani states, and they are often engaged in hostilities with each other. They are not so untractable as the Semangs, and some of their children are trained up as domestics in the Malayan families.

The Orang-Laut is a race of people resembling the Malays in appearance, who live almost entirely on the water; they are certainly the Ichthyophagi of the East, and they subsist wholly upon fish. Dr. Leyden supposes the Battas of Sumatra to be the Ichthyophagi described by Herodotus; but there are several circumstances in his description which would seem to contradict such a supposition. The same author also, in alluding to the Batta Anthropophagi or cannibals of Sumatra, says:[†] “This inhuman custom is not however without a precedent in history, for Herodotus positively asserts that the Padang or Pedasi, about five hundred years before our era, were not only addicted to the eating of raw flesh, but accustomed to kill and eat their relations when they grew old.” Now it is curious that Batta or Battey, for the name is written both ways, seems to be the very word which in Greek, is rendered Padasi, the letter P being almost always pronounced B among several of the Indo Chinese nations, as in the word Pali, which is almost always pronounced Bali. The following is the account which Herodotus gives us of the Paday or Padasi:—“Another Indian nation, who dwell to the eastward of these, (the Indian Ichthyophagi,) are of Nomadic habits and eat raw flesh; they are called Paday and are said to practise such customs as the following: whoever of the community, be he man or woman, happens to fall sick, his most familiar friends, if it is a man, kill him, saying, that by his pining in sickness, his flesh will be spoiled for them, and though he deny that he is sick, they do not attend to him, but put him to death and feast on him. When a woman falls sick, she is treated in like manner by her most intimate female associates. They also sacrifice and feast on him who arrives at old age, and this is the reason that so few ever attain it, for they kill every one who falls sick, before that period.”[†] Although this account corresponds in some particulars with the habits of the Battas, yet it differs materially in others. The Battas, it is well known, inhabit the central parts of Sumatra and but rarely approach the seashore; they could not therefore be termed Ichthyophagi, as they scarcely see fish. The Orang-Laut of the present day are not known to be addicted to cannibalism, though it is extremely probable they were in former times, as they yet retain all the characteristics of the most savage life. They rove about from one island to another, and are found in greatest numbers about the Lancavy group of islands opposite Quedah, and likewise in the straits of Singapore, Dryon, Banca and Belitong. They subsist wholly by fishing, and are very expert at striking fish with the spear; they live principally in small canoes: sometimes when the weather is boisterous, or their little barks require repair, they erect temporary huts on the seashore: they are almost all covered with ring-worms and scorbutic eruptions, and have altogether a most squalid, wretched look; they are sometimes, when chance throws them in the way and they have become a little civilized, employed by the Malays to pull an oar, at which from their continual practice, they are very expert; “their religion is,” (as Symes says of the Andamaners,) “the genuine homage of nature,” offering up a hasty petition to the sun and moon. Of the origin of that most singular and curious race called Semang,[†] the Malays possess no tradition: certain it is, however, that the tribes of them which inhabited various parts on both sides of the peninsula, were much more numerous before many of the Malayan colonies were founded by emigrants from Sumatra. The Semangs are designated by the Malays Semang Paya, Bukit, Bakow and Bila. The Semang Paya are those who reside on the plains and borders of morasses; the Semang Bukit whose abode is on the hills, and the Semang Bakow are so called from their frequenting the seashore, and occasionally taking up their quarters in the mangrove jungles; the Semang Bila are those who have been somewhat reclaimed from their savage habits and have had intercourse with the Malays. A similar race of people are said to have formerly inhabited all the islands of the Archipelago, and small parties are still to be found on many of them. To the eastward they are called Dyake, and on the east coast of the Peninsula, Pangan. They are at present most numerous in the interior of Jan, a small river to the northward of Mirlow, near the lofty mountain Jerei, in the Quedah territory. There are small parties also in the mountains inland of Jooroo and Krian, opposite Pinang. Their huts are temporary dwellings, (for they have no fixed habitations, and rove about like the beasts of the forest,) consist of two posts stuck into the ground, with a small cross-piece, and a few leaves or branches of trees laid over to secure them from the weather; some of them indeed, in the thicker parts of the forest, where the elephants, tigers, and other wild animals are most abundant, make their temporary dwellings upon the cliffs, and branches of the large trees; their clothing consists chiefly of the inner bark of trees, having no manufactures of their own; a few who have ventured to approach the Malayan villages, however, obtain a little cloth in exchange for elephant’s teeth, gahru, dammer and canes, which they procure in the forest, but of the intrinsic value of which they possess little knowledge, and are imposed upon by the crafty Malay. From the Malays also, they procure their arms, knives and tobacco, of which last they make great use; they in turn frequently impose upon the superstitious Malays, when they have no products to barter and wish to procure a supply of tobacco, by presenting them with the medicines derived from particular shrubs and trees, which they represent as efficacious for the cure of headaches and other complaints. The Semangs subsist upon the birds and beasts of the forest and upon roots; they eat elephants, rhinoceroses, monkeys, and rats, and with the exception of the partial and scanty supplies which they obtain from the Malays, they have no rice nor salt: they are very expert with the sompit, and poison their darts with the ipoh, procured from the juice of various trees, which are deadly poison; they handle the bow and spear with wonderful dexterity, and destroy the largest and most powerful animals by ingenious contrivances. They seldom suffer by beasts of prey, as they are extremely sharpsighted, and as agile in ascending trees as the monkeys. Their mode of destroying elephants, in order to procure their ivory or their flesh, is most extraordinary and ingenious; small parties of two and three lie in wait, when they perceive any elephants ascend a hill, and as they descend again, (which they usually do at a slow pace, plucking the branches as they move along,) while the hind legs are lifted up, the Semang, cautiously approaching behind, drives a sharp-pointed bambic or piece of weebong, which has been previously well hardened in the fire, and touched with poison, into the sole of the elephant’s foot, with all his force, which effectually lames the animal and most commonly causes him to fall, when the whole party rush upon him with spears and sharp-pointed sticks, and soon despatch him. The rhinoceros they obtain with even less difficulty. This animal, which is of solitary habits, is found frequently in marshy places, with its whole body immersed in mud, and part of the head only projecting. The Malays call them bodak tapa, or the recluse rhinoceros. Toward the close of the rainy season, they are said to bury themselves in this manner in different places, and upon the dry weather setting in, and from the powerful effects of a vertical sun, the mud becomes hard and crusted, and the rhinoceros cannot effect its escape without considerable difficulty and exertion; the Semangs then prepare themselves with large quantities of combustible materials, with which they quietly approach the animal, who is aroused from his revery by an immense fire over him, which being kept well supplied with fresh fuel, soon completes his destruction and renders him in a fit state to make a meal of; the projecting horn on the snout is carefully preserved, being supposed to be possessed of medical properties, and highly prized by the Malays, to whom they barter it for tobacco and other articles.

A more simple and natural mode of bestowing names cannot well be imagined, than that adopted by the Semangs: they are called after particular trees: that is, if a child is born under or near a cocoa-nut, or durian, or any particular tree in the forest, it is named accordingly. They have chiefs among them, but all property is in common; they worship the sun. Some years ago, I am told, the bindahava or general of Quedah, sent two of these people for the inspection of some of his English friends, at Penang; but shortly after leaving Quedah, one of them, whose fears could not be appeased, became very obstreperous, and endeavoured to upset the small boat, in which they embarked; the Malays, therefore, with their usual apathy and indifference about human life, put the poor creature to death, and threw him overboard; the other arrived in safety, was kindly treated, and received many presents of spades, hatchets, and other implements, which he appeared to prize above every thing else. On his return to Jan, he built himself a small hut, and began to cultivate maize, sugar-cane, and yams, and it is said that he is still there, and is a quiet inoffensive man. This man was, at the time of his visit to Penang, according to report, about thirty years of age, four feet nine inches in height: his hair was woolly and tufted, and of a glossy jet-black;[†] his lips were thick, his nose flat, and belly very protuberant, resembling exactly the natives of the Andaman islands. The Semangs are found also at Tringand, on the eastern side of the peninsula. I am informed by the Malays that the dialect of that tribe is different from those of Quedah, but much the same as of those near Malacca: they are not of such a jet-black, glossy appearance as the Semangs from Quedah, nor as the Andamans. There is little doubt that the degenerate inhabitants of the Andaman islands, in the bay of Bengal, are descended from the same parent stock as the Semangs, and it is extraordinary that they have preserved the same uniformity of manners and habits, through such a series of ages. It will be seen by a reference to the following specimen of the Semang language, that there is a very material difference in many of the words collected by Colonel M’Lunes, (late Malay translator at Penang,) from a Semang or Jan, and published by Mr. Crawfurd, and those collected by Mr. Maingy, the president of Province Wellesley, (government of Penang,) from the Semang of Jooroo, and that the Andaman language bears no resemblance to either.

Specimens of the Semang Language in two Dialects, and of the Andaman.

TEA.

It is well known wherever tea is used, that there are two descriptions of it, the black and the green. In the account of the domestic commerce of China heretofore mentioned, it is shown that the black teas are brought from the province of Tuh-keen, (which lies at the distance of about four hundred miles from Canton,) and the green teas from Keang-nan, (at the distance of about eight hundred miles.) The hilly upland districts of these provinces are the native and favourite soils of the tea-tree. It has not been supposed that these leading kinds of tea, as an article of wide consumption, were the produce of the same tree—but it has been and still is questioned, whether the black and the green teas are the produce of plants specifically differing, or whether these differences of colour, flavour, &c., are the result of the action of soil and sun on the same original tree. Botanists have never been permitted to traverse these provinces, and so decide this question; we believe however, that their opinion now is, that there must and do exist differences sufficiently great to be denominated specific, between the black-tea tree and the green-tea tree.

Beside this region producing the real tea of commerce, the greater part of the Chinese provinces, and even Cochin-China and Japan, have their tea-tree. The provincial tea of China is a widely different, and very inferior article, though used by the poorer local population; and sometimes when prices are high, it is used to adulterate, before exportation, the true tea. Perhaps the grape is the only plant whose produce can be compared for singular diversity of flavour, &c., to the tea of the tea-tree. The delicious “Woolung” differs as totally from the common Souchong, as does the “Vin ordinaire” of the worst districts, from the “Chambertin of Burgundy.”

We are not aware that there is any thing peculiar in the cultivation of the tea-tree, except that, like the mulberry, it is kept down to a sapling size, to secure a tenderer leaf, and to render its gathering the more easy. It is said to be cultivated by small proprietors, who sell the produce of their tea-groves to collectors, called at Canton “teamen.” These collectors leave Canton in the winter and spring with their own, and perhaps a loaned capital, and after purchasing, curing and packing, as much tea as their means will command, return with it to Canton in the autumn. In the curing of tea, we are not aware that any unwholesome methods are regularly resorted to—it is certain, however, that iron filings have sometimes been detected in black teas, and that the colour of the green is sometimes attempted to be heightened by a little “Prussian blue.” It is perhaps from a few cases of this kind, that prejudices have been excited against this wholesome, temperate and social beverage. The green tea, when arrived at Canton, is spoken of in the market as a “Sunglo,” or a “Hyson” tea; the black tea is called a “Mohea,” or an “Anki” tea. These names, derived from the districts where the tea is grown, are used as general distinctions of flavour and quality—the “Hyson” and “Mohea” being sweeter and more valuable—the “Sunglo” and “Anki,” more astringent and less esteemed teas. These names are however almost unknown to the consumers in Europe and America. The names with which they are familiar, are found under both these general distinctions in tea. The Hyson—Hyson Skin—Young Hyson—Gunpowder and Imperial, all green, may be either Sunglo or Hyson teas. These names, viz.: Hyson, Hyson Skin, &c., merely designate the sortings, or siftings of the green leaf into its different sizes, or stages of growth, but plucked from the same tree. The Hyson, being the full-grown, mature leaf, has hitherto been in much the greatest quantity; but the increasing demand for Young Hyson, Gunpowder and Imperial—younger leaves—will no doubt be followed by a corresponding effort to increase by a different time of gathering, the proportion of these kinds of tea.

There is not so much care taken in sorting the produce of the black-tea tree. Its rougher, coarser leaf cannot be made to curl or roll when dried, like that of the green-tea tree. In the spring, the first sproutings of its twigs and tender leaves are gathered—these make the Pecco tea; they may be distinguished by the white down which covers them, as it does the spring shoots of other plants; hence the name “Pih-haou,” white down. In the course of the summer, there are three other gatherings, each less valuable than the preceding, of the leaves of the black-tea tree. The “Congo,” the great article for the English market, is made from one of the early gatherings, without any mixture of inferior tea. The “Campoi,” though not at the present day a favourite article, or a very inferior one, has a large clean leaf, and should be, as its name signifies, a “selected” tea. It is not correct to say that the “Souchong” is an inferior tea. Its name merely designates it as a “small-leafed” tea; its different qualities take in a wide range of flavour and value. Its first gatherings, from favourable soils, are delicious teas; while the third crop, “Souchong,” is superior only to Bohea. The “Pouchong” is only a peculiarly packed tea; a clean unbroken black tea is chosen and tied up in small papers to make Pouchong tea; its name signifies “enveloped,” or a “packed tea.” The very inferior article called “Bohea,” is at the present time, rather a manufacture than a growth of tea. Its name is corrupted from “Woo-E” the hills bearing the black tea. It is now prepared either in the country, by mixing the refuse of the Souchong, or with “Wa-ping,” a neighbouring provincial tea, or at Canton by adding farther, the tea which has been damaged on its passage from the interior, and all the leaves within reach of collection, which have been once infused and dried again.

The “teamen” are in the habit of affixing the same name, year after year, to the tea which they bring to market; this name given to their whole parcel, or to each of the qualities it may contain, is called the “Chop” name. The foreign resident at Canton has little or no intercourse with the “teamen.” The “hong” merchants, or the merchants trading through the hongs, are the medium of sale; they often, however, purchase largely on their own account and judgment from the “teamen.”

The Dutch learned the use of tea at Bantam from the Chinese, and first introduced it into Europe in 1610. It was not known in England until after 1650; and from 1700 to 1710, there was imported less than eight hundred thousand pounds; but from 1710 to 1810, it amounted to seven hundred and fifty millions of pounds: between the years 1810 and 1828, the total importation exceeded four hundred and twenty-seven millions, being on an average of between twenty-three and twenty-four millions a year. In the year 1831, the quantity amounted to twenty-six millions, forty-three thousand, two hundred and twenty-three pounds; and in the season of 1832-33, the export of the English Company was thirty millions, thirty-six thousand, and four hundred pounds. The expiration of the English East India Company’s charter, and the ill success of the Netherlands Trading Company, are now turning the commerce in this valuable article into private hands. At the close of the company’s charter, (in 1834,) the consumption of tea in the United Kingdom, was estimated at thirty-two millions of pounds. Under the free trade now opening, it may be estimated at thirty-five millions. The consumption of the rest of Europe, imported almost entirely through Hamburgh and Holland, may be estimated at five millions of pounds. The quantity imported into Russia by land from China is not included.

The American trade to China commenced in 1784-5; and that season, eight hundred and eighty thousand, one hundred pounds, were exported. In the next season, six hundred and ninety-five thousand pounds were taken. In 1786-7, five ships were engaged in the trade, and they exported one million, one hundred and eighty-six thousand, eight hundred and sixty pounds; but in the season of 1832-3, fifty-nine vessels exported thirteen millions, two hundred and fifty thousand, one hundred and eighty-five pounds of the following descriptions:—

The consumption of the United States, and the ports supplied from the commerce of the United States, may be estimated for 1834, at fifteen millions of pounds.

We have therefore a total annual consumption, on this side of the Cape of Good Hope, of this great staple of China, of FIFTY-FIVE millions of pounds. This amount will in a few years be increased to sixty millions. The quantity of tea exported by the Dutch cannot be accurately estimated. Some seasons there are five or six ships engaged in the trade, and in other seasons there are none: when there is any deficiency it has been supplied by the Americans. The quantity exported to British India averages about two millions, three hundred thousand pounds annually. The export by vessels of other nations is very inconsiderable.

The Portuguese, notwithstanding their direct, early, and intimate connexion with China, neglected to import it, being very indifferent to its use; they, as well as the Spaniards, place but little value on it even to this day; coffee and chocolate being preferred in Spain and Portugal, as well as in South America, Mexico, Cuba and Porto Rico, with the addition of the Yerba de Paraguay or MatÉ, the favourite beverage of the Spaniards of La Plata, Paraguay, Chili, and other parts of South America.

Comparative Estimate of the principal Exports from Canton to the United States.

Average Prices for Teas.

Export of Teas for Account of the English Company, to London, season 1832-1833.

Annual Revenue obtained by the Government of Siam from Farms and Duties.

EXPENDITURE.

Statement of Annual Consumption and Value of Indian Opium in China, for the following Seasons:--

Average Consumption of fifteen years, ending 31st March, 1832.

Tumbah Tuah’s Letter of Thanks to Captain Geisinger, Bencoolen, August 31st, 1832.

The commander of the United States ship-of-war Peacock, during our short stay at Bencoolen, presented one of the principal rajahs of that place some American tobacco, and the following letter of thanks was sent, written in the Malayan character, which, being translated into English, is as follows:—

“BY THE MERCY OF GOD:

“This friendly epistle is the dictate of a heart very white, and a face very clean, written under a sense of the greatest respect and most exalted love, permanent and unchangeable as the courses of the sun and moon; this is to say from me—a gentleman—Tumbah Tuah of Bencoolen, the Paseer Marlborough. Now may God the Holy and Almighty cause this to arrive before the face of his glorious excellency, Colonel Geisinger, the head man who commands in the American ship-of-war, which is now at anchor off Rat island, in the harbour of Bencoolen.

“Furthermore, after this, the object of this letter is to acknowledge the present of American tobacco sent to me, and which I have duly received through the love of Knoerle the resident of Bencoolen; this is the message [present] of your lordship to me rajah, &c., [two names.] Wherefore I return praise to God, and my expressions of gratitude—thus much.

“Besides this, I can only pray the Lord your God to grant you peace and long life. Amen.

“The gentleman,
“TUMBAH TUAH.

“Bencoolen, the 31st day of the month of August in the year 1832.”

The superscription was as follows:—

“Presenting itself before the visage of his Excellency Colonel Geisinger, commanding the American ship-of-war.”

Translation of a Letter from the Sultan of Muscat to the President of the United States.

“IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN.

“To the most high and mighty Andrew Jackson, President of the United States of America, whose name shines with so much splendour throughout the world. I pray most sincerely that on the receipt of this letter it may find his Highness, the President of the United States, in high health, and that his happiness may be constantly on the increase. On a most fortunate day and at a happy hour, I had the honour to receive your Highness’s letter, every word of which is clear and distinct as the sun at noonday, and every letter shone forth as brilliantly as the stars in the heavens. Your Highness’s letter was received by your faithful and highly honourable representative and ambassador Edmund Roberts, who made me supremely happy in explaining the object of his mission, and I have complied in every respect with the wishes of your honourable ambassador, in concluding a treaty of friendship and commerce between our respective countries, which shall be faithfully observed by myself and my successors, as long as the world endures. And his Highness may depend that all American vessels resorting to the ports within my dominions, shall know no difference, in point of good treatment, between my country and that of his own most happy and fortunate country, where felicity ever dwells. I most fervently hope that his Highness the President may ever consider me as his firm and true friend, and that I will ever hold the President of the United States very near and dear to my heart, and my friendship shall never know any diminution, but shall continue to increase till time is no more. I offer, most sincerely and truly, to his Highness the President, my entire and devoted services, to execute any wishes the President may have within my dominions, or within any ports or places wherein I possess the slightest influence.

“This is from your most beloved friend,
“SYEED BIN SULTAN.

“Written on the twenty-second day of the Moon, Jamada Alawel, in the year Alhajira 1249,[†] at the Royal Palace in the city of Muscat.

“This letter is to have the address of being presented to the most high and mighty Andrew Jackson, President of the United States of America, whose name shines with so much brilliancy throughout the world.”

“The Custom officers at Macao have reported, saying: On the sixteenth day of the present Moon, [November ninth, 1832,] the pilot, Leu Kefang reported, that on the sixteenth, the American cruiser Geisinger[†] came and anchored off the Nine islands; that immediately he went and inquired why he came and anchored, and that the captain of the said ship replied, that he sailed from his own country to Manila, and a gale having driven him hither, he had anchored for a short time; but that when the wind should become fair he would set sail and depart. Now on examination it is ascertained that there are in the ship two hundred foreign seamen, twenty-four cannon, one hundred muskets, one hundred swords, nine hundred catties of powder, and nine hundred balls. Uniting these circumstances they are forthwith reported. Having obtained this information, we ordered the pilots to keep a strict watch and guard (against the ship.) Moreover, as it is right, we send up this report.

“This coming before me, the hoppo, and having ascertained that the said cruiser is not a merchant-ship, nor a convoy, and that she has on board an unusual number of seamen, cannon and weapons, she is not allowed, under any pretext, to anchor, and create disturbances. Wherefore, Let her be driven away. And let the “hong-merchants,” on receiving this order, act in obedience thereto, and enjoin it upon the said nation’s Tae-pan,[†] that he order and compel the said ship to depart and return home. He is not allowed to frame excuses, linger about, and create disturbances, and so involve offences, that would be examined into and punished. Let the day fixed for her departure be reported. Haste! haste! A special order.

“TAOU KWANG.

“Twelfth year, twenty-second day of the ninth intercalary moon.”[†]

Note.—The truth of the matter is, the pilot, who came in the mandarin-boat, was informed, that the Peacock was on a cruise and last from Manila, and came there for provisions, and when she was supplied, and otherwise ready, she would proceed to sea. But nothing was said to him that she was driven there in a gale of wind from Manila. An order was issued commanding the Peacock to quit the waters of China, but no notice was taken of it, for the ship remained at Linting for six weeks after. So inefficient is the navy of China in the present day, that the Peacock alone could destroy the whole “imperial fleet,” and have passed up to Canton and back with a leading wind, without receiving any material injury from the forts, as their guns are firmly imbedded in stone and mortar, and they can only be fired in one direction.

THE END.