174 THE ISLAND OF JAVA. 
All these works have evidently been planned with the view 
rather of keeping the natives in awe, than as adequate de- 
fences against the attack of European troops. The best 
defence, indeed, which may be reckoned upon against such 
an enemy, is that which the ravages of this destructive climate 
would almost immediately occasion among unseasoned troops ; 
and it is to be hoped that this consideration will always 
operate with the British government as a sufficient reason for 
not attempting to wrest it out of the hands of the Dutch. 
For as the shipping may at any time be taken out of the bay 
by a superior naval force, their possession of the town and 
garrison cannot be of material injury to the interests of Great 
Britain, provided we have a strong and active squadron in 
the Indian seas. 
Batavia, though not of an extraordinary size, nor embel- 
lished with buildings that are worthy of particular notice for 
elegance of design or magnificence of dimensions, may never- 
theless be considered to rank among the neatest and the 
handsomest cities in the world. The ground plan is in the 
shape of a parallelogram, whose length from north to south is 
4200 feet, and breadth 3000 feet. The streets are laid out 
in straight lines, and cross each other at right angles. Each 
street has its canal in the middle, cased with stone walls, 
which rise into a low parapet on the two margins. At the dis- 
tance of six feet from this parapet wall is a row of evergreen 
trees, under the shade of which, on this intermediate space, 
are erected little open pavilions of wood, surrounded with 
seats, where the Dutch part of the inhabitants smoke their 
