1836.] Note on the States of thejtfalay Peninsula. 505 



m 

 V. — Note on the States of Pe'rak, Srimendnti, and other States in the 



Malay Peninsula. ByT. J. Newbold, Lieut., A. D. C. to Brigadier 



General Wilson, C. B. 



Pe'rak. 



Pe'rak is separated on its northern frontier, from Que'dah by the 

 Krian river, which debouches into the Straits of Malacca, in about 

 5° 10' North. On the south it is divided from the piratical state of 

 Salangore, by a river of inconsiderable magnitude called the Runkup, 

 which lies a little to the north of the Bernam river, in about 3° 59' 

 north ; interiorly, by the chain of primitive mountains, that run down 

 the centre of the Malay peninsula to Point Romania near Singapore, from 

 the states of Tringdnu and Pahdng on the opposite coast. According 

 to Captain Glass, the territory under the sway of the Pe'rak chief 

 extended about 50 leagues inland : its length along the coast is 

 upwards of 120 miles. 



The principal town is situated a considerable distance up the Pe'rak 

 river, which is one of the largest and most rapid of the streams of 

 the peninsula that flow into the Straits of Malacca : according to 

 Anderson, it will admit vessels drawing 1 2 feet. The channel, how- 

 ever, is tortuous and intricate. The banks are generally covered with 

 jungle, having but a few villages at considerable distances. The places 

 of most note are Kota Lumut, Bander, Pantong Panjang, and Pdssir 

 Gdram, about 30 miles up the river. The chief generally resides at 

 Pdssir Suydng or Pdssir Pulye ; places about three or four days' pull 

 from the mouth. It has been stated to me by natives, that there are 

 several stockades commanding the approach by water to these places. 



Produce. — The principal products of this state are tin, rice, and 

 ratans. The present produce of tin is about 8,500 picals annually : 

 this goes for the most part to the Pinang market : latterly some of it 

 has found its way to Singapore. Mr. Anderson states, that the Raja 

 Mu'da and Tuanku Hassin, sons of the late chief, Taj-uddin, 

 established posts a few years ago, about 30 miles from the river's mouth, 

 where they levied a duty on all tin exported. These posts have since 

 been abandoned. The chief himself derives most of his revenue from a 

 toll on the tin produced : so much, it is said, as from four to six dollars 

 per bhar of 3 piduls. The Dutch enjoyed, for upwards of a century 

 and a half, during their sway at Malacca, the monopoly of the tin. 

 They had a factory at Tanjong Putt us on the river, and a small fort 

 on the harbour between the Dinding Islands and the main. The 

 cultivation of rice has, of late years, been on the increase. I was 

 assured, by some respectable Pe'rak traders, that more than sufficient 

 for home consumption was now grown. 

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