on the eastern coast, for the sake of the tortoise shell, which is here a valuable article of commerce. The northern peninsula, from the isthmus to the district of Boolan and beyond it, is full of gold mines. Those of the district of Ankahooloo, near the Dutch settlement of Gorontala, yield gold of 21 carats; that found in the others is of 18. The best known place in the island is Macassar, a fortified town in possession of the Dutch. It is situated in the S.W., on a point of land watered by two rivers. One of these rivers is broad, and allows a vessel to sail up within half-cannonshot of the town walls. Bonthain is also in the south, on the bay to which it gives its name. It has a Dutch fortress immediately adjoining it. The bay of Bonthain is large, and affords safe anchorage during both monsoons. The city of Boni is at a short distance from a lake which goes by the classical name of Tempé, and gives rise to a fine river. The northern provinces, the capital of which is Maros, supply the whole island with rice. They contain 370 large villages, occupying the plains on the W. coast. Beyond the gulf of Kaieli the territory of the king of Ternate begins, comprehending the whole northern and eastern shores, as far as the gulf of Tomini, and extending a considerable way along the shores of this gulf. This territory, which is able to furnish 17,000 soldiers, is divided among a number of vassal princes. The district which the Dutch call Paloo, a flat and fertile territory, is the Parlow of captain Woodward. Tolatola, a large town, according to an English traveller, is the Tontoly of the Dutch. Magondo and Boolan are the largest states. Near Manado is Fort Amsterdam. On the gulf of Tomini the Dutch have the settlement of Gorontalu, in a country which abounds in buffaloes, in iron-wood, and in rattans, and where the nights are rendered very chill by the air of the mountains. The Tomitans occupy the central part of the island where the gulfs terminate. Tambooko, and a part of the eastern coast, are possessed by the Badshoos, a savage race, who spend a greater proportion of their time in their fishing-boats than on land. The inhabitants of Celebes, who are distinguished into Booghiese, or Bugis, and Macassars, are a vigorous and high-minded people. Their law allows any individual to revenge a blow by the death of the person who inflicts it, provided he takes this revenge within three days. Among the more scrupulous, even a haughty manner will not be tolerated. The practice of running a muck, which is common in all the surrounding islands, is particularly frequent in this island. A person who has suffered a severe affront, especially if his life or honour is in danger, and he is laid under restraint or captivity, if any weapon is within his reach, lays hold of it without the slightest warning; sometimes with a hideous shout, immediately stabs those nearest to him, and, running about with an infuriated look, deals death among friends and foes indiscriminately, till he is himself put to death by some person, who thus performs an important service to society. The officers of police are furnished with three-pronged forks, for the purpose of overpowering persons in this unfortunate and desperate condition. Religion.] The ancient natives of this island worshipped the sun and moon, and some local deities. They built no temples, deeming the canopy of heaven the only temple corresponding in magnificence to the leading objects of their sacrifices and devotions. The influence of Hindooism existed but in a very limited degree. The Mahommedan faith has now been established in the island for two centuries, and its priesthood possesses an extensive influence. Sanghir, &c.] On the N.E. a chain of islands extends between Celebos and the S.E. point of Mindanao. The principal one is called Sanghir, which is said to be fertile and populous. It is occupied by a Dutch post. -The island Siao, and the Talautzi group, form a chain along with Sanghir. These islands are rich in sago and oil of cocoa, and were said a century ago to contain 28,768 inhabitants. They contain two or three tremendous volcanoes. On the S. coast of Celebes we find the islands of Salayer, and Butung. The latter forms a separate kingdom or sultanate. The capital of Butung is a fortified city. The inhabitants manufacture cotton stuffs, and make cloth of the fibre of agave. Its extensive forests swarm with parroquets and cuckatoos. A species of nutmeg tree grows here, called by naturalists Myristica microcarpa, or uviformis, from the fruit being of small size and in clusters like the grape. Much of the ground is overrun with rattans, which climb trees, then trail along the ground, and climb other trees in a long succession. The fruit of the Bombax cliba, or silky cotton, supplies the monkeys with abundance of food. THE MOLUCCAS.] The Moluccas according to the original and proper application of the term, consist of five small islands to the W. of Gilolo, viz. Ternati, Tidore, Motir, Makian, and Bakian, or Bachian. But the sovereigns of the Moluccas had possessions in Gilolo, Ceram, and other islands in the neighbourhood, and these are called the Great Moluccas. The name seems to be of Arabic derivation, signifying Royal Islands,' because they were the places of residence of the sovereigns of the adjoining islands. Volcanoes.] The archipelago of the Moluccas bears the most evident marks of a country overturned by one of those physical revolutions which naturalists call debacles; containing islands broken and indented in a singular manner; enormous peaks, projecting abruptly from the surface of the deep rocks, piled up to immense elevations, and a great number of volcanoes, some of which are in a state of activity and others extinguished. The earthquakes, which in these regions are frequent and dreadful, render the navigation dangerous; for not a year passes without the formation of new sand-banks, and the disappearance of old ones. Climate and plants.] The heat attended with excessive moisture, followed by long droughts, and the nature of the soil, which is a spongy rock, prevent the cultivation of the cerealia. The pith of the sago-tree serves for bread to the natives. The bread-fruit tree, the cocoa, and all the fruit-trees of India, succeed in the islands. The Pterocarpus draco, or lingoa, is a native of these islands, and is used as a substitute for the teak. It is also cultivated for its fragrant blossoms, which are much esteemed. The wood of some of its varieties is highly perfumed. Though less hard and durable than teak, it is handsomer, and therefore fitter for cabinet work. The enormous excrescences which grow on it are wrought into beautiful articles, equalling in lustre the finest variegated marble. The spice trees, however, are the objects by which the avarice of Europeans has been principally attracted to this part of the world. The Clove.] The clove tree, (now called by botanists Eugenia caryophyllatta,) is about forty or fifty feet high, with long pointed leaves like those of the laurel. Some compare its appearance to that of the beech. At the beginning of the wet season in May it throws out a profusion of leaves. Soon after the germs of the fruit are to be seen at the extremities of the shoots, and in four months the cloves are fully formed. The fruit, at first of a green colour, assumes in time a pale yellow, and then a blood red. At this period it is fit to be used as a spice, consequently this is the clove harvest. But to ripen sufficiently for the purposes of propagation, it requires three weeks longer; in which period it swells to an extraordinary size, loses much of its spicy quality, and contains a hard nucleus like the seed of the bay. It is now called the Mother Clove.' There are five varieties of this fruit. It has a more limited geographical distribution than any other useful plant. It was originally confined to the five Molucca islands, and chiefly to Makian. It had been conveyed to Amboyna a very short time before the arrival of the Portuguese. Not partial to large islands, it does not grow well in Gilolo, Ceram, Booro, or Celebes. It has been cultivated, and has produced fruit, in the western part of Oceanica. It has also borne fruit, though of inferior quality, for these fifty years in the Mauritius. Even at Amboyna the tree is not productive before the tenth or twelfth year of its growth, and requires great attention; whereas in the parent islands it bears in its seventh or eighth year, and requires very little care or culture. It neither thrives near the sea nor on the high hills. The gathering, the drying, and the packing of it, are all as simple operations as possible; and very little care is required for its preservation as an article of commerce. The Nutmeg.] The other valuable species is the Myristica Moschata, or nutmeg tree; which, in its general appearance, resembles the clove tree, only it is less pointed at the top, and its branches are more spreading. Its leaves are similar to those of the pear tree, but larger, and, like all those of the nut tribe, dark green on the upper surface and grey beneath. After small white flowers, it produces a fruit very similar, in form and colour, to a nectarine. When ripe it resembles a ripe peach, and, bursting at the furrow, discovers the nutmeg with its reticulated coat, the mace, of a fine crimson colour. The external pulpy covering has an austere astringent taste. Within the mace is the nutmeg, inclosed in a thin shell of a glossy black, and easily broken. It has eight varieties, which appear to be permanent. The limits of its geographical distribution are much wider than those of the clove. It grows in New Holland, in the south of India, and in Cochin-China; but in these countries it is void of flavour; and for all useful purposes its geographical limits are nearly as narrow as those of the clove, and indeed almost exactly the same. The cultivation of the nutmeg is nice and difficult. The best trees are those produced by the seeds voided by a blue pigeon, called the nutmeg bird, by the excrement of which its growth is much facilitated. In this part of the world there are several minor spicy productions which are found in no other country; viz. Massoy bark, used for culinary purposes by the Malays and Javanese, and of late in request in China and Japan. The Laurus Culitlawan also yields an aromatic bark. The leaf of the Melaleuca leucodendron, or cajeput tree, is well known to yield a fragrant essential oil. Historical Notices, &c.] The natives of the Moluccas, before they were visited by foreign nations, attached no value to the vegetable riches which are peculiar to their islands, and which have rendered them at once so celebrated and so unfortunate. The Chinese first accidentally landed in the middle age, and discovered the clove and the nutmeg, in consequence of which a taste for these commodities was diffused over India, and thence extended to Persia and to Europe. The active Arabians, who then engrossed almost all the commerce of the world, turned their attention to the native country of these precious commodities, and repaired to it in numbers; when the Portuguese, who always followed close behind, wrest ed the treasures from that nation. In 1521, Antonio de Brito first ap peared in force in the Moluccas, for the express purpose of taking possession of them in the name of the king of Portugal. The unsuspecting sovereigns received their treacherous guests with caresses, but soon found cause to entertain very different sentiments towards them. One of the first acts of the commander was to imprison some of the followers of Magellan, who had been left in this part of the world, because they belonged to the hostile nation of Spain. A system of violence, intrigue, and perfidy towards the natives was immediately begun and continued for sixty years, with the single exception of the two years of the government of the virtuous Galvan. At the end of that period the Dutch, with the assistance of the natives, drove out the Portuguese; but they soon discovered a rapacious policy equally oppressive. In 1606 the king of Ternati attempted to league the different princes for their expulsion, but the jealousies of his neighbours defeated his intentions. In 1613 the intrigues of the Dutch procured for them, from the native princes, an exclusive right of buying cloves. Every infraction of these iniquitous compacts was resented; and from this cause the country was now desolated for seventy years with wars and invasions. The natives displayed much bravery, but were finally subdued. The Portuguese and English sometimes interfered, and their policy wavered according to the prospects which events at different times held out to their base avarice. The English were allowed at one time to have a mercantile establishment at Amboyna, when held by the Dutch. But the latter, in the year 1623, after forcing some Chinese and Javanese soldiers, by the torture, to make confession of a plot on the part of the English, seized on the whole of the English residents, and put them to death with circumstances of indignity and cruelty sufficient to disgrace any barbarians. In this unfortunate island Governor Vlaming, one of the most detestable monsters that even colonial depravity can boast of, carried on a scene of bloody executions, putting to death people, nobles, and priests, by dozens, in all the different forms of cruel death; strangling, breaking on the wheel, drowning in the sea, and beating to death with bludgeons. Those who were taken prisoners, and those who surrendered under promise of pardon, shared the same fate. It was not till 1680 that the Dutch, by completely crushing the natives, carried the principles of their commercial policy into rigid practice. Spice Trade.] While the culture of cinnamon was confined to Ceylon, that of the clove was confined to Amboyna, and that of the nutmeg to the Bauda islands. It was not till 1778, when the plantations at Banda were greatly damaged by an earthquake, that the Company allowed the nutmeg, as well as the clove, to be cultivated in Amboyna. In consequence of this monopoly of cloves and nutmegs, the quantity produced is greatly diminished, and the price enhanced. The particulars of this department of mercantile history are given in detail in the enlightened work of Mr Crawfurd, and the inferences are luminously drawn, pointing out the ruinous tendency of all those cruel and unjust measures. The price given for cloves to the cultivator is 34d. per lb. avoirdupois, nearly eight dollars per picul of 133 lbs. When the trade was conducted by the natives, it even sold in Java at an average of 14 dollars per picul. When the article arrived by a difficult and hazardous land-carriage to the Caspian Sea, it cost 91 dollars; at Aleppo 141; and in England 237. Since the close monopoly of the Dutch, i. e. since 1623, the price paid for cloves to the Dutch on the spot has been eight times the price paid by them to the cultivator. When brought directly to England, they are sold at an advance of 1258 per cent. on the natural export price. Concerning the quantities produced, our information is not exact. During the Portuguese and Spanish supremacy, the five Moluccas produced annually 2,376,000 lbs. When the trade was free, the quantity was one half more. The whole produce at present does not exceed 700,000 lbs. Before the last time that the islands fell into the hands of the English, Europe consumed annually 553,000 lbs; since that time about 365,000. The duty imposed in England was then more than twenty-fold the price of the commodity where it grows. The price indeed fell, but not in proportion to that of pepper, and other analogous articles. The quantity now consumed in England exceeds that consumed in 1615 by 56 per cent.; but, if the trade had been free, it ought in the present state of wealth and luxury to have increased in the proportion of 147 per cent. that being the case with pepper. The Dutch monopoly has occasioned a cultivation of cloves in Bourbon and Cayenne, which would immediately cease if the Molucca trade were laid open, the produce being so much inferior. The same principles operate on the trade in nutmegs. In the ancient commerce, down to the establishment of the monopoly, nutmegs were always sold and transported in the shell, and the natives, when left to themselves, are still disposed to continue that practice. The Dutch, to secure their monopoly more effectually, subject them to processes which destroy the powers of germination, consisting in slow kilndrying and smoking for three months, and immersion in quick-lime and salt water, with drying, which require two months longer. This process is attended, not only with loss of time and labour, but with great waste, and other inconveniences. The kernel is exposed by it to the depredations of the nutmeg fly. It is estimated that a tenth part of the produce perishes in consequence of the separation of the shell. The English, when they conquered the Spice Islands in 1810, found in store more than 37,000 lbs. of bad, broken, and rotten nutmegs. The natural price of the article ought not to exceed four dollars per picul, or 24d. per pound, and in Europe the pound should not exceed 6d. but it is in general twelve times that price; and in England, duties included, seventeen times as much. Mr Crawfurd, while he details these, among other important circumstances, observes, that "the consumer pays this price for no other purpose than that a political juggle may be played, by which the party who plays it imposes on itself, without gaining any advantage whatever, while the grower is cheated out of his property and out of his liberty." The consumption of nutmegs, as well as cloves, in Europe, is smaller at the present day than in the middle ages. Black pepper and ginger have in a great measure taken their place, and, above all, the pimento and Chili commodities, unknown to Europe before the discovery of America, and of the route by the Cape of Good Hope. The following is the state of the nutmeg trade at different periods. When the monopoly first fell into the hands of the English 85,960 And of mace, 24,234 Of mace Consumption of nutmegs in England, 39,071 5,400 |