1 68 Voyage of the Novara. 



wealth for sucli a permission. But the law was explicit upon 

 this point. Only a free pardon from the Governor-general of 

 India can as a rule avail to make such an exception, which 

 is of but rare occurrence. This he actually succeeded in ob- 

 taining after repeated suj)plications, and this '' fortunate un- 

 fortunate" was at last permitted to return to his longed-for 

 home. It is worth noting that of the 2245 prisoners, only 

 fifty are of the female sex, chiefly Hindoo women from 

 Bengal. Among those imprisoned while we were there, we 

 remarked three white men, who had been sentenced to several 

 months' confinement for riotous conduct and drunkenness. 

 Surrounded as they were by these bronzed half- savage 

 Hindoo offenders, these men made a doubly painful impres- 

 sion upon Europeans. 



As the prevalence of disease in the town and harbour 

 made it especially desirable that we should as speedily as 

 possible change our quarters, in order not to be surprised by 

 a visit on board from a guest so formidable, we made all 

 possible efforts to complete with the utmost dispatch the 

 revictualling of the ship, and transact whatever other business 

 was necessary. For this purpose we were recommended in 

 several quarters to employ a Chinese merchant, whose name 

 is already favourably mentioned by Commodore Wilks on the 

 occasion of his visiting Singapore in 1842. This was Wliam- 

 poa, a ship-cliandler, who indeed in similar departments of 

 trade carries on by no means insignificant competition with 

 the long-established English firms. His business is unques- 



