292 
VOYAGE OF THE POTOMAC. 
[March, 
produce. But since the sultan and his delegates are all more or 
less subordinate to the Dutch colonial government, the cultivators 
of the soil are made to feel the evil of a multiplicity of masters. 
The several chiefs not only oblige the peasantry to cultivate par- 
ticular articles suitable for exportation, but take from them such 
portion af the produce as will not only liquidate their own tribute, 
but also meet the terms of their agreement with the Dutch. 
Formerly they exacted one half of the produce, by way of rent, 
but they are now said to demand at least two thirds of the crop. 
Pepper and coffee are the two principal articles that are required 
to be cultivated, as best suiting the purpose of the Dutch, to whom 
they are delivered by the Javanese princes at a low rate. The 
doctrines of the Koran are the laws of the land ; while the 
executive and judicial powers are exercised by the same indi- 
vidual. 
Since the whole island has submitted to the Dutch supremacy, 
the' mihtary spirit which formerly characterized the Javans has 
gradually subsided. By the existing treaties between the Dutch 
and the native princes, the latter are restricted to the number of 
troops which they may maintam. Those of the sultan are limited 
to a body-guard of one thousand men. Such further number as 
may be requisite for the tranquillity of the country, the European 
government undertakes to furnish. Before the sultan was under 
this restriction, he used to raise such force as he wanted by a ' ' 
requisition upon the government of each province, for a specified 
quota ; in the same manner as the President of the United States 
calls on the several states when the militia are required to act in 
the defence of the nation. Thus, in a country like Java, where 
every man wears a kris, or dagger, and where the spear or pike 
is the principal military weapon, an army was easily collected in 
a few days. The gatherings of the Highland . clans in Scotland 
were never effected with much greater facility. 
The naval power of the Javans was at one period quite formi- 
dable. Previous to the arrival of the Dutch, warlike expeditions, 
consisting of many hundred vessels, are often reported to have 
been fitted out against Borneo, Sumatra, and the peninsula. But 
the sun of her naval glory is eclipsed. 
Of the literature of the Javans, our limits will not permit us 
