THE POPULATION OF THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 382 
thing I ever saw in Java; the scenery is more majestic and 
grand, population equally dense, cultivation equally rich. la 
comparison with the plain of Mataram, the richest part of Java, 
I think it would rise” page 360. Again at page 363 he states, 
“On a moderate calculation, the population within a range of 
fifty miles round Pageruyong, cannot be estimated at less 
than a million ; by the returns I received on the spot, the 
number appears more considerable.” 
Of the Batta country and population he writes. te On the 
whole I may say the Batta country with regard to scenery, 
surpasses everything I have yet beheld, it possesses a delight¬ 
ful climate, an extensive population, and extreme fertility, ” 
page 437 ; and again page 470 Sir Stamford states; “The 
population of the Batta country far surpasses my expectation; 
it can hardly be less than a million and a half " * 
Next to this testimony of so enlightened an eye witness fol¬ 
lows the authority of Mr Anderson in bis “ history and des¬ 
cription of the east coast/' and this gentleman gives the names 
of numerous towns and villages, and concludes by remarking’’ 
“ I am disposed to think, that 350,000 inhabitants is a mo¬ 
derate estimate of the population on the East side of the lofty 
ridge of mountains before described, and between Diamond point 
and Siak,with its tributary and dependant states on either side 
The“ Moniteur des Indes” vol I page 69, estimates the 
entire population at only 1,847,000 and is directly opposed, not 
only to every authority we have already quoted, but to Mon¬ 
sieur Temtninck likewise who rates the population at 4,500, 
000. This would be a sufficient reason for rejecting this 
table, as it is unaccompanied by any explanation, or unsup¬ 
ported by any authority, and 1 do not hesitate to do so, as 
the second table is contradictory of the first, the Netherland 
portion of Sumatra, being stated to possess a population of 
1,682.000, and therefore making no allowance for Acheen, 
for a large portion of the Batta country, the country of 
Menangkabau, and other independent countries, at that 
time, which on good authority we have shewn to be very 
populous. The authority of Monsieur Temminck, is not only 
the latest we possess on the population of Sumatra, but is 
founded on official documents, and in strict accordance with 
our previous authorities j* 
The population is calculated by him as follows : 
Aehiuese from Barus to Stack.600,000 
Battas from Achin to Rauw ..• 1,200,000 
* We believe Sir T. S. Raffles’s personal knowledge of the Balta' country 
was limited to a visit to the coast of Tapanuli Bay— Ed. 
f See our remarks on Mr Tenaminck’s authority, ante p. 380 note,— Ed. 
