57*2 ON CORAL REEFS AS A CAUSE OF THE FEVER 
land marshes of fresh water are still the seats of fever; hut the town 
itself, in which are 30,000 inhabitants, is as free from endemic fever 
as the most salubrious spot in this wide world’s creation. This is 
attributed by Crawfurd to the free ventilation that exists, but we 
have shewn that where houses have been built on the sides of hills, 
a short distance from town and close to fresh water swamps, the freer 
ventilation of these localities has not saved their inhabitants from 
fever. Ventilation, when complete, will diminish the intensity of 
malaria, and when imperfect will increase it ; but malaria will never 
he generated from the imperfection of ventilation. The statistic 
tables of the Hospitals prove incontestably, that the town is singu¬ 
larly exempt from remittent or intermittent fever of a severe type. 
In four years not one inmate of the jail died from fever, though 
1447 were incarcerated during that time ; and in the 'different hos¬ 
pitals during 4 years, from 1195 cases of fever of different types, 
only 31 deaths occurred, and these can be traced in almost every 
instance to cases where the infection had been received in other 
places, as at Blakang Matf, Batavia, and to ship-wrecked crews, 
who have been received into the hospital while labouring under fe¬ 
ver. 
In addition, the experience of all the medical men who have prac¬ 
tised in Singapore can be adduced in favor of the fact, that from 
the climate of the town they cannot trace one case of ende¬ 
mic remittent fever. Great must therefore be the astonishment 
of all, as it was mine, to learn that within 2 miles of the town there 
is a spot so deadly in its climate, that he who lives there but for a 
short time, is sure to be cut off with fever. This place is alluded to 
by Crawfurd as a beautiful and romantic spot which is land-locked, 
and where fevers and dysentery are sufficiently frequent amongst the 
Malay settlers, who occupy it. This spot is called New Harbour 
by Crawfurd, but erroneously, for it is Blakang Matf near New 
Harbour. This Blakang Matf is a small island about 2 miles to the 
west of Singapore town, lying not of a mile from Singapore Is¬ 
land, its length is 2Jr miles, and breadth f of a mile, and it contains 
about 400 square acres. It is completely cleared of jungle. It 
mav be said to be of an irregular triangular shape, having 3 hills, 
m 
and betwixt each a valley. The highest hill is called Bukit Serapong 
(Flag Staff hill), the others have no names. Betwixt the first and 
second hill is a valley and a river with an arm of the sea entering 
for some distance into the land. There are 3 villages, Blakang 
