234 -VALENTYN’S ACCOUNT OF MALACCA. 
through accidents, and that at present but very few records, 
reaching beyond 1650, are still to be found. 
One of the first matters taken in hand by Heer VAN TWIST 
was the constitution of a Board of Town Magistrates. 
The Factor and Fiscal, GERARD HERBERTS, arrived here 
with his family per the storeship Gragt on the 15th of 
May. According to letters from their Honours at Batavia 
there arrived at that place from Malacca on 11th December, 
1640, the ship Rynsburg ; on 16th January, 1641, the ship 
Langerak ; on 24th January, the K/ezne Zon with the news 
of the conquest of Malacca; on 1oth February, the ships 
Goes and the Taljoot de Fager and the Quelpart and the 
Brak ; on 13th February, the Lgmond ; on 18th February, the 
ship. Klein Zutphen; and on 3rd April the Wassenaar 
with the late Commander MIME WILLEMSSOON KAARTEKOE. 
Their Honours received with these ships all the papers 
treating at large the matters of Malacca. 
Several necessaries, to the amount of 3,801 rix dollars, 
had been forwarded per the said storeship Gragt and per 
some other ships, whilst different sorts of calicos to an amount 
of rupees 31,341 had been sent with the Factors JAN DIRKS- 
SOON PuyYT and JORIS VERMEEREN for the tin trade at Perak, 
Kedah, Ujong Salang(*) and Bangeri, besides 1,000 rix dollars 
in specie. 31,341 guilders were also sent for the use of the 
above-named places, with orders that as much tin as could be 
got was to be sent to Batavia for the trade with Suratte and 
Persia. 
Their Honours sanctioned all that had been done by the 
Governor and the Council and ordered them to continue to 
govern in the same way and to levy no other taxes, duties or 
money than those that existed under the Portuguese rule, so 
as to prevent further trouble, but, at the same time, to take 
full revenue which the King of Spain had enjoyed and not to 
surrender anything that they were properly entitled to. 
On the 22nd May Heer GERARD HERBERTS, the new Fiscal 
(Attorney-General), examined and sentenced for the first time 
several criminal prisoners, whilst the first repairs of the 
(1) Now known as ‘ Junk Ceylon.’ 
