SINGAPORE. 421 



outward form of the old French ship appears to have been pretty well 

 imitated, but the stern is more elaborately carved and ornamented 

 with gilding. The internal arrangements also show a great variation 

 from the model, and in them the notions of the Cochin-Chinese pre- 

 vail, unmixed with those of Europeans. The two ships were about 

 five hundred tons burden ; they are very roughly built, have huge 

 sterns, and exceedingly thick sides. Indeed every thing on board 

 is unsightly, and all the work is of the rudest description, giving 

 no very high idea of the proficiency of the mechanics of Cochin- 

 China. 



These vessels have a middle deck, which is pierced for guns. The 

 cabin, into which we were shown, had a josh-temple, and with josh- 

 sticks burning. There were two cabins; that under the poop had 

 small rooms, and was very low between decks. There were no fix- 

 tures, but simply a mat to lie on. The binnacle is a bed of sand, in 

 which the compass-box is set for security, and a number of small, 

 coloured sticks were stuck into the sand, which were represented to 

 be markers, by which the way of the vessel was noted. A manu- 

 script chart, which the captain took great pride in exhibiting, was 

 shown us. This was evidently a copy of an English one, but all the 

 names were in Chinese. The crew had a decided Malay look, and 

 were small men ; they are in form stout, but are not athletic. There 

 did not appear to be any mixture of races among them. As we 

 passed around the deck, we observed a party of five or six of the 

 men engaged in gambling with cards, in which they were so much 

 engrossed, that they heeded not the command of their officers to 

 desist and make room for us. This vessel was furnished with rattan- 

 cables, which were exceedingly well made. The wheel for steering 

 appeared odd, on account of its small size, and the helmsman sits 

 when he takes his trick. On either side of the deck, just abaft the 

 foremast, there is a cook-house, formed of a huge box of earth, about 

 three feet above the deck, in which a few large stones are set to sup- 

 port their earthen cooking vessels. 



The officers and men have but a small pittance of pay. The cap- 

 tain, for instance, I was told, received only three dollars a month. A 

 supercargo or factor is appointed for each voyage, and is obligated 

 to do all the business for his master, and take charge of the whole 

 commercial enterprise without receiving any of the profits for the 

 success of the undertaking : he is also held to be responsible, and his 

 property is accountable likewise for any depreciation in the foreign 



VOL. v. 106 



