SKETCH OP BORNEO. 51 



or anv s'milar place, £:enprally cost from 150 to 

 300 O.ïliars, and the whole outfit, as far as res* 

 pects sail<^, cordaj^e, prnvisions, stores, &r». tbr 

 one of these vovages, seldom exceeds the siim of 

 40 or 50 Dollars, while the am()nnt of the car-» 

 go is iTf'nerally from 10 to 40,000 Dollars. 

 The crews receive no wag'es, hut only a sharc of 

 the adventure, accordina; to the rej^ulations of 

 the Ündang-undaug. Muiy (»f these pro is are 

 lost at sea, but few taken hv nirates, as thv^v de- 

 fend themselves desperately and never surrender. 



The duties at P>ntiana on sales are 6 per cent 

 on all piece goods, one Dollar per pecul on iron, 

 ditto on steel, ditto on tin, ditto on salf petre, 

 50 Dollars per chest on opium bee's-wax from 

 tlie interior, ^4 Dollars per p.cal. The trade of 

 Pontiana, hovvever. lias greatly declined. For- 

 merly it was annually visited by from 8 to 15 

 Chinese junks ; at present^ however^ they never 

 exceed the number of 5. Two or three siaali 

 junks come annually from Siam, but the value 

 of their cargoes is only about 7 ur SOüö Doliara 

 each. 



In 1810, the Imports at Pontiana on English 

 ships amounted to 210,0JÜ l) >ilars, of which, 

 there >vere 95 chests üf upiuaij wiuch avcraii;ed 



