G E G E A P II Y 



OP THE MALAY PENINSULA. 



By Mr. A. M. Skinner. 



° PART I CARTOGRAPHY. 



Read at a Meeting of the Society held on the Sth July (see also p. 5) 



Some of the most interesting 1 and valuable contributions to the 

 Journal of the Indian Archipelago, more especially during" the 

 earlier numbers were upon the Geography of the Peninsula. Mr. 

 Logan himself frequently returned to the subject during* the years 

 1846-53. Those papers contain a fund of minute topographical 

 details, the itineraries of at least six important journeys in the 

 interior, and, in short, much of the rough material for a Map of 

 the districts which lie nearest to our Settlements. To a fuller 

 consideration of these records I will presently return; but first 

 as to the Maps of the Peninsula. Unfortunately at that period 

 of activity no such Map was compiled. Prior to Sir A. Clark's 

 time, as far as I can discover, but one official map was produced — 

 if a mere outline sketch can be so called. This was first pub- 

 lished in 1862, apparently for the use of the Political Depart- 

 ment of the Indian Government in connection with the publi- 

 cation of the " Treaties and Sunnuds (1863.)" It is now better 

 known as the map bound up with our first Colonial Blue-Book 

 (C. — 465,1872) on the Selangor bombardment. Mr. Moniot, at 

 that time Surveyor General of the Straits, prepared it; but he 

 made little or no use of the information obtained ten years 

 before. I was puzzled at first to discover what gTiide he had fol- 

 lowed on the subject, much of the detail in his sketch being in 

 express contradiction not only to that collected by Logan, but 

 also to the notorious facts of the case. I think I have now 

 discovered the original in an old Dutch Map of Sumatra, the 

 Peninsula and the Straits of Rio, stowed away in the Survey 

 Office, and bearing- two dates, 1820 for the Straits of Rio, and 

 1835 for Sumatra. There is nothing' to show to what date 

 the "Peninsula" portion of it should be referred; but it may 



* It was my intention, to have dealt with the whole subject in a single 

 paper, but so much fresh information is being collected in various quarters 

 that I find it advisable to postpone dealing with the Geographical details 

 till the next number. — A. M. S. 



