87 
till the clu8© of the Itith century ; )ju£ iis the Portuguese and other European 
nations pushed further to the East, Ifi th« Archipelago imd neighbouring 
etvuntries, the trade of ilahicca t?i*adually decliucd ; and the plui-e ceased to 
be of much rouae4iueiii'e aa a colleetin^ ceiilre» cxccjii for tlic Irado of the 
i^Isilavaii Pcniiisula and llit? Island of S'lULitra. Tlii« trmle it retained, under 
Dutch rule, lili the eskdjlitihinent of l*cu^Uli^' iti llyii'i-. wheti. in iln^ courtio ol: a 
fow ycjvri!, it uccumt^, what ifc h;ia ever hiiu-e been, a plac;c of no coininercinJ 
ijuportahue, luit pa;Hvis.sitig wtine agricuilnral rctiourceii. Peuan^ soun nctinircd 
most of the trade of the Hl.Uayaii I'en insula and i^Jumatra, Borneo, the Celebea, 
and other places in the ArchipeIa<^o^ not rtiduced td mercantile Rubjcetion by 
the Dutcb ; but aoon after Sin^japjre was ebtabljahoi, Peuarii; in itd turn de- 
cHucd in iinportauce, the greater part of clio extensive Kar*teru trade being 
centred ar •Singapore. [IViiang's local trade linii, however, Uirgely inereasofi 
within the last few yearH in conKei]ueoce of the int'reiki*.ij piwperity of the 
extensive tin mines in Lfirut* licnoiig. Junk Ceylon, tbe tobacco phvatations 
(HI ibc East cmj«t of Sumat ra, ttc. J The openijig of rtiiigafiore in L8li)tiiay be 
said to 1-ave accompbi^hetl, l(n" the time being, the ruin ef iVlahicca'si eonimerce, 
To uise liAFFi.Krf"^ own words at the time, '* the iiitermi'diate rotation of Mahvcca, 
" alihongb (iccupied by the Duudu baa been eomjdetely nullified." 
It is common to upeuk of ilaiaeea an it, pSaeo which has made little progress. 
Bat it if* forgotten how almolutely undeveloped it had reinaijmd until it 
pivsscd into our hands. The follow ing iy tbe oflitjial account of Malacca given 
by the Adndral in IT^Jo 
Thtmgh mtnated in the most favourable way fi>r uniting all the re.^ourceji 
" oF a rich country wnth an ear<y communicutujH by sea to foreign markets, 
** JVhilacca now labeui's ninlec every inconvenience tliat an jj^lafid does, without 
" ttti advantages, and though it has adjt>ining u soil capable of yielding the 
richest prijduclioiii* of every kind, ami though under the don'iinion of an 
European power for about 250 yeaty, it remain**, even to tho foot of tholiuea 
"of the town, ti6 wild and uncultivated as if there hud never been a settleinenfc 
" formed here ; and except by the small river that [}msm bet wee li the fort and 
" town, you cannot penetrate into the country in any direction, above a few 
" miles , nor i^ even tluj^ extent general, being coufiued to the road^ that run 
"■along the sea shore about iwo miles each way, and one that goea inland, 
# * # " « # 
"This extraorilltuiry want ol cultivali.)n n-as isaid to be the cotLsetpience of the 
restrictive policy of tbe Dutch Q-ovrrnmi*nt of Batsivia, wbo made a point of 
** diisconraging U, in all their Settlements, the more effectually to render them 
" dependent on Java, where alone they promote cultivation and improvement, 
" and from whence they supply all the other Setlleraents, even with thecom- 
" mon neces>*arte:< of hte. " 
The pupuhitiou ami agricultural tlevelopmeDt of the country dwtrieta of Ha- 
laeca have, however, been very considerably increased of late years, edpeciaiiy 
since roads have Ijeeti nuide throughout the lerritorj. The Kevenue has, in the 
latjt ten vcarts, iucreaaed in larger prsiportiou than tliat of either Siirgapore 
or Penang. 
PENANG. 
Penang, was foumled on the I7th July, ITfttj. Prince of Waleti' Island 
art it wHrt ollicially called, v^'aii ceded to Captain Ligut, acting for the Kaut 
Imlia Company,* by the Jinja of Kwlah in i7b5, on the ^t'pnlation fh \i 
the Bum o£ lO.OUU dollarfl fof H ycara. aftemHi-d^ uiaJSiied ia UJl in ti,UJJ 
dollara in perpetuity, should bt* annually paid to the li-iljHi of IvCduh, ait loug 
