1821.] Notes relative to the present 
quarters there. From every informa¬ 
tion that I could procure, the govern¬ 
ment here is rather patriarchal than 
arbitrary, and the conduct of the reign¬ 
ing sovereign does not discredit the im¬ 
putation. To the poor lie distributes 
victuals and apparel; crimes are seldom 
heard of, and there are few offences that 
call for severe chastisement. Should 
an individual chance to disturb the 
public tranquillity, (lie punishment 
would be jostling him about the streets 
by the people, or throwing water and 
sand over him ; this would be deemed 
an adequate correction. ] f an offence 
be repeated by an evil disposed subject, 
confinement for a day or two in the 
stocks is considered as a sufficient sti¬ 
mulus to reform : but this punishment, 
I was assured, occurs only once or twice 
in ten years. In a word, the inhabitants 
of Mall, to the number of 2000, seemed 
to me to lead an undisturbed life, ex¬ 
empt from numberless evils that beset 
societies more civilized and less indus¬ 
trious. 
The sultan, whose name is Moham¬ 
med A inack Daun, has a ministry con¬ 
sisting of eight persons, who assume 
the title of vizirs ; four are of the first 
class, the others are inferior. The ge¬ 
neral or commander-in-chief, Moham¬ 
med D&s Maina; the receiver-general 
of the revenues, Dara Manufaon, and 
the Shah Bander, Ahmet Vellane, be¬ 
long to the first class. The last of these 
persons was detained at home, by some 
disorder, all the time I was resident, 
and this prevented me from knowing 
the real nature of his functions. To 
these four, the other vizirs are subordi¬ 
nate, and act by their directions. These 
magistrates, as also the governors of 
the islands, have no handling of the 
public money, but the government as¬ 
signs to them some island to defray 
their charges. 
The sultan’s revenues are brought 
to Mall from the other islands; they 
consist of cocoa-nuts, tortoise-shells, 
couris, &c. which are brought to Mall 
at fixed periods. Those that lie near¬ 
est furnish the capital with poultry, 
eggs, citrons, bread, fruits, plantains, 
Sic. 
The isles dependent on the sultan are 
calculated at 1200, and though the 
number is considerable, I do not be¬ 
lieve it exaggerated. 1 have more than 
once observed, that what seemed an 
island at a little distance, was in fact*a 
groupe of ten or twelve islets. I found 
it impossible to collect any authentic 
Monthly Mag. No. 359. 
state of the Maidive Islands. 217 
data respecting the population, and 
when I mentioned to the commander- 
in-chief, the facility with which the 
governors might form an enumeration, 
I was not a little surprised to find this 
proposal checked, as dangerous, and 
likely to draw on the Maldives those 
calamities that befell David for a simi¬ 
lar curiosity. 
The sultan’s regular force of 150 
men have a red uniform: their arms are 
the musket and the tel war. Each indi¬ 
vidual receives 15 syrs of rice per month, 
besides betel and pay; every year they 
have two suits of clothing and two 
shawl-handkerchiefs. At present these 
men do no actual service, and they 
live in the citadel, at their ease. 
In former times national animosi¬ 
ties kindled long and violent war be¬ 
tween the Lackadives and the Maldives, 
but since their sovereign, the Queen of 
Cannanore, has submitted to the Eng¬ 
lish authority, those dissensions have 
ceased. 
Islamistn is the only religion in the 
Maldives; the inhabitants engage in 
no enterprize without first imploring 
the divine aid; to judge from their 
words and actions, they have no small 
share of piety. There are books 
among them in their own language, 
and they seemed to me very anxious to 
see their children taught reading and 
writing in schools. 
An old tradition, current among 
them, makes their ancestors come from 
the coast of Malabar, some centuries 
ago. Their language, however, seems 
peculiar to the people of these islands; 
at least, we could trace no affinity with 
any of the languages familiar to the 
crew of our vessel. They readily speak 
the Hindostanee, but this must be 
ascribed to their frequent intercourse 
with India; this it was that enabled us 
to keep up a reciprocal conversation. 
With respect to their ideas of mar¬ 
riage, these islanders are not limited 
to very rigid obligations of decorum. 
A plurality of wives is allowed, but con¬ 
cubines are not. This practice is evi¬ 
dently from tile management of their 
priests, who receive a roupee on such 
occasions from persons in easy circum¬ 
stances, and^half a roupee from others ; 
the poor, however, pay but four annas. 
This fee may look like simony, but it 
is not exorbitant. 
In divorces there is littlcappearance 
of formality, and I cannot find that a 
husband is obliged to provide for a wife 
whom he puts away. The young wo- 
2 E men 
