1770 HARBOUR AND ISLANDS 383 



The harbour of Batavia is generally accounted the finest 

 in India ; and indeed it answers that character, being large 

 enough to contain any number of ships, and having such 

 good holding ground that no ships ever think of mooring, 

 but ride with one anchor, which always holds as long as the 

 cable. How it is sheltered is difficult to say, the islands 

 without it not being by any means sufficient, but so it is 

 that there is never any sea running at all troublesome to 

 shipping. Its greatest inconvenience is the shoal water 

 between the ships and the mouth of Batavia river, which, 

 when the sea breeze has blown pretty freshly, as it often 

 does, makes a cockling sea very dangerous to boats. Our 

 long-boat, in attempting to come off, struck two or three 

 times and with difficulty regained the river's mouth; the 

 same evening a Dutch boat loaded with sails and rigging for 

 one of their Indiamen was entirely lost. 



Eound the outside of the harbour are many small islands, 

 some of which the Dutch make use of; as Edam, to which 

 they transport all Europeans who have been guilty of 

 crimes not worthy of death. Some of these are sentenced 

 to remain there 99, others 40, 20, 5 years, etc., according 

 to their deserts, during which time they work as slaves, 

 making ropes, etc. etc. At Purmerent they have a hospital 

 in which people are said to recover much more quickly 

 than at Batavia. On Kuyper are warehouses in which are 

 kept many things belonging to the Company, chiefly such 

 as are of small value, as rice, etc. ; here also all foreign ships 

 who are to be hove down at Onrust discharge their cargoes 

 at wharves very convenient for the purpose. Here the 

 guns, sails, etc., of the " Falmouth," a gun-ship which was 

 condemned here on her return from Manilla, were kept, and 

 she herself remained in the harbour with only two warrant 

 officers on board, who had remittances most regularly from 

 home, but no notice ever taken of the many memorials 

 they sent, desiring to be recalled. The Dutch, however, for 

 reasons best known to themselves, thought fit about six 

 months before our arrival to sell her and all her stores by 

 public auction, and send her officers home in their ships. 



