336 cook's first voyage dec. 



punishment upon the slave himself, but applies to an 

 officer called a Marineu, one of whom is stationed in 

 every district. The duty of the Marineu is to quell 

 riots, and take offenders into custody ; but more 

 particularly to apprehend runaway slaves, and punish 

 them for such crimes as the master, supported by 

 proper evidence, lays to their charge : the punish- 

 ment however is not inflicted by the Marineu in per- 

 son, but by slaves who are bred up to the business. 

 Men are punished publicly, before the door of their 

 master's house ; but women within it. The punish- 

 ment is by stripes, the number being proportioned 

 to the offence ; and they are given with rods made 

 of rattans, which are split into slender twigs for the 

 purpose, and fetch blood at every stroke. A com- 

 mon punishment costs the master a rix-dollar, and a 

 severe one a ducatoon, about six shillings and eight- 

 pence. The master is also obliged to allow the slave 

 three dubbelcheys, equal to about seven-pence half- 

 penny a week, as an encouragement, and to prevent 

 his being under temptations to steal, too strong to be 

 resisted. 



Concerning the government of this place I can say 

 but little. We observed, however, a remarkable sub- 

 ordination among the people. Every man who is 

 able to keep house has a certain specific rank acquired 

 by the length of his services to the company : the 

 different ranks which are thus acquired are distin- 

 guished by the ornaments of the coaches and the 

 dresses of the coachmen : some are obliged to ride in 

 plain coaches, some are allowed to paint them in dif- 

 ferent manners and degrees, and some to gild them. 

 The coachman also appears in clothes that are quite 

 plain, or more or less adorned with lace. The officer 

 who presides here has the title of governor-General 

 of the Indies, and the Dutch governors of all the 

 other settlements are subordinate to him, and obliged 

 to repair to Batavia that he may pass their accounts. 

 If they appear to have been criminal, or even negli- 



