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name apparently given to it by the Chinese, 

 who are the, principal inhabitants, but which is 

 generally known as the great Sebong. 



This villfige is sitnated about an hoar's pull from 

 the mouth, and sampang pookats have ao difficul- 

 ty in proceeding up the river as far as this point 

 —indeed, nothing but a little labor h requisite to 

 tender the river easy of navigation mnch beyond 

 Singkang. The population in 1825 amounted to 

 about 1,040 souls residing on the banks of the 

 river, and, allowing for immigration and births, 

 we might be led to estimate it at present as not 

 under 1,300. 



At the lime this estimate was made, however, 

 it is stated that there were only forty houses, 

 one arrack distillery, one opium, and one gam- 

 bling, farm. With the aid of these three last it 

 was calculated that the population amounted, as 

 above, to 1,040. Now, granting that these esti- 

 mates are correct, the preponderance of the po- 

 pulation over the houses, giving an average of 

 twenty six inmates to a dwelling, can, as it ap- 

 pears to me, be only accounted for in two ways. 

 The first of these is that Sebong^ being one of 

 the principal gambier plantations, would proba- 

 bly considerably exceed the usual average of live 

 to a house. But, then, even doubhng, or qua- 

 drupling* the average, there would still be a vast 

 disproportion between the houses and the inha- 

 bitants, and the conclusion naturally follows that, 

 if the estimate be really correct, there roust have 

 been, at the time that it was made, a floating po- 



p 1 



7M 



