26z Objervatlom on tj?e Straits of Malacca. 



on the pofieriors till his mafter, who walked up and down 

 with his pipe in his nwuth, told them to flop. If the flax es 

 did not exe^cute his orders with fufficicnt fcverity, he applied 

 to their fhoulders a bamboo, which he always on thefe oc- 

 cafions carried himfelf. He always made it a rule when 

 any ftranger who happened to be in his houfe interceded 

 for his (laves^ to, punKh them douWy. Females flaves even 

 were not excepted from this correftion, which was inflicted 

 in the moft indecent manner. The Dutch government not 

 only authorifed this feverity, but even pvit it in pra<L-tice it-' 

 felf. A poor (lave belonging to the fame Krcis had conceived 

 an attachment to a female flavc wlio refided in the neigh- 

 bouring houfcj and belonged to one Adrian Koek. The 

 lovers could only vifit each other in the night-time^ and for 

 this purpofe the former was obliged to clamber over the roof 

 of a penthoufe. This nocturnal intercourfe being difcovered, 

 Koek complained to the fifcal, and requefted that the flavc 

 might be punii'hcd. Kreis^ therefore, was obliged to give 

 lip his flave, and the fentence was, that he flioukl receive 

 500 blows, with a 'bamboo, to be infiitled publicly. A ring 

 was then put round each of his legs, between which an iron 

 bar was fixed, fo that when he walked he was obliged to 

 defcribe an arch with each foot, and in this ftatc was fent 

 back to his maflcr. 



On the other hand, I muft obferve that it is hardly pofll- 

 ble, by the feverefl punifiimcnt, to rcflrain the profligacy and 

 villainy of thefe men. What, idea mufl we entertain of a 

 man, who, having been feverely puniflied for drunkennefs, 

 will, the very next day, take the key of the cellar from his 

 inafl:er's clofct and get fo intoxicated as to be unable to ftir 

 from the fpot ? To a ciTCumftance of this kind I have niy- 

 felf been a witnefs. The puniflnnent, indeed, was cruel ; 

 for the culprit was made fa(l by the neck, middle, and 

 legs, to iron rings faflened in the earth, and belaboured till 

 the blood guflied from every part of his body. 1 was a wit- 

 nefs a'fo to a more ftriking inftance, which fliows how little 

 imprcflion good treatment makes on thefe uncivilifed people. 

 An opulent Englifliman, who had refided fomc time ,at Ma- 

 lacca, taking a fancy to one of Kreis's flaves, purchafed him 



for 



