_Manufactures--Handicrafts--Bricks--Thatch--Mats--Cotton--Cloths--
Dyes--Tanning--Ropes--Metals--Road and
Ship-building--Paper--Salt--Saltpetre Works--Gunpowder,
&c.--Felling and Transporting of Teak Timber--Fisheries._
It is here proposed to state the progress made by the Javans in a few
of the common arts and handicrafts, and in one or two of the more
extensive manufactures; their docility in working under European
direction, and some other observations, which could not be so
appropriately placed in any other part of this work. I have already
had occasion to notice the limited skill and simple contrivances with
which they carry on the labours of agriculture, and prepare the produce
of the soil for consumption, in the various ways that their taste or
their habits require. In a country like Java, where the structure of
society is simple, and the wants of the people are few, where there
is no accumulation of capital and little division of professions, it
cannot be expected that manufacturing skill should be acquired, or
manufacturing enterprize encouraged, to any great extent. The family of
a Javan peasant is almost independent of any labour but that of its own
members. The furniture, the clothing, and almost every article required
for a family, being prepared within its own precincts, no extensive
market of manufactured commodities is necessary for the supply of the
island itself; and for foreign trade, the produce of their soil is more
in demand than the fruits of their skill or industry. In a country
where nature is bountiful, and where so much of her bounty can be
collected with so little labour to pay for manufactures from abroad,
there is but little encouragement to withdraw the natives from the
rice field, the forest, or the coffee-garden, to the loom, the forge,
or the workshop; and it is not in this respect, certainly, that a
change of their habits would be beneficial. This short notice of Javan
manufactures, therefore, must be very limited, both in the number of
the articles that it embraces, and in the importance that Europeans may
attach to them: for Java can neither send us porcelain, like China; nor
silks, shawls, and cottons, like Western India. To a nation, however,
so much accustomed as we are to the exertions of manufacturing skill
and perfection of manufacturing machinery, it may not be uninteresting
to see the simple means, by which a half-civilized people accomplish
the objects which we attain by such expeditious and ingenious
processes. The most experienced naval architect may be interested by
the manner in which a savage scoops his canoe.
The Javans have names in their language for most of the handicrafts.
The following enumeration of terms applied to trades and professions
will shew the extent to which the division of labour is sometimes
carried, while the foreign extraction of some of them may, perhaps,
serve to point out the source whence they were derived.
1. _Pándi_ or _émpu_ Iron-smith and cutler.
2. _Túkang-káyu_, or _mergóngso_ Carpenter.
3. _Meráng'gi_ or _túkang-weróngko_ Kris-sheath maker.
4. _Túkang úkir_ Carver.
5. ---- _déder_ Spear-shaft maker.
6. ---- _lámpet_ Mat maker.
7. ---- _bábot_ Turner.
8. ---- _bóto_ Brush maker.
9. ---- _wátú_ or _jelog'ro_ Stone-cutter.
10. ---- _lábur_ Lime maker.
11. ---- _nátah wáyang_ Wayang maker.
12. ---- _génding_ Musical instrument maker.
13. ---- _kemíng'an_ Brazier.
14. _Sayáng_, or _túkung-tambógo_ Coppersmith.
15. _Kemásan_, or _tukáng-mas_ Goldsmith.
16. _Kúndi_ Potter.
17. _Túkang árá_ Distiller.
18. ---- _jílid_ Bookbinder.
19. ---- _ténun_ Weaver.
20. ---- _bátik_ Cotton printer.
21. ---- _médal_ Dyer.
22. _Túkang léng'o_ Oil maker.
23. ---- _nióro-wédi_ Diamond cutter.
24. ---- _delúwang_ Paper manufacturer.
25. ---- _pándom or gírji_ Tailor.
26. ---- _súlam_ Embroiderer.
27. ---- _jáit_ Sempstress.
28. ---- _súng'ging_ Draftsman.
29. ---- _chát_ Painter.
30. ---- _pásah_ Tooth filer.
I shall proceed to describe a few of the manufactures of the island,
without attending much to the order in which it might be proper to
arrange them. The construction of a habitation is among the first
and most necessary arts of uncivilized man, as the perfection of
architecture is one of the most convincing proofs and striking
illustrations of a high state of refinement. I have already described
the hut of the peasant, and have mentioned that it is generally
constructed of wood. Such structures suit the climate of the country,
and save the labour of the people; but they are not rendered necessary
by an ignorance of more durable materials.
Bricks are manufactured in almost every part of the island, being
generally employed in the better sort of buildings, not only by
Europeans and Chinese, but by the natives of rank. The quality of the
clay varies greatly in different districts. It is all obtained from the
decomposition of the basaltic stones, and possesses different degrees
of purity, according to the proportion and nature of the other earths
which are adventitiously mixed with it. In some parts of the island it
is very pure, and might be advantageously employed in the manufacture
of porcelain; but the natives are unacquainted with the principles of
this art: some instruction in the glazing of their pottery would be of
very general benefit. They are unacquainted with the process of making
glass.
Cut stones are, at present, but rarely used by the Javans, and
stone-cutting is almost exclusively performed by the Chinese. But
although the Javans do not, at present, possess or practice any
considerable skill in this art, the extensive remains of edifices
constructed in stone, and of idols carved from the same materials,
afford abundant testimony that the arts of architecture, sculpture,
and statuary in stone, at one period reached to a very high pitch on
Java. As, however, these arts have long been lost to the Javans, the
consideration of them rather falls within the department of antiquities
than that which we are now upon.
In the vicinity of _Grésik_ there are several hills composed of a soft
white stone, which hardens on exposure to the air. Stones are here
cut in the quarry into regular squares of various sizes, from that of
a brick to the largest tomb-stone. They are principally required for
the latter purpose, and in the cemeteries of _Grésik_ and _Madúra_ the
inscriptions upon them are very neatly executed. Beyond this, the skill
of the natives in stone-cutting does not at present pretend.
The covering of the native houses is generally of thatch. In the
maritime districts, _átap_, or thatch, is made almost exclusively
from the leaves of the _nípa_ or _búyu_. In the preparation, the
leaflets separated from the common petiol are employed. Being doubled,
they are attached close to each other on a stick of three feet in
length, and when thus arranged are placed on the roof, like shingles
or tiles. The leaves of the _gébang_, on account of their fan-like
form, are differently arranged: they constitute large mats, which are
chiefly employed for sides of houses or for composing temporary sheds,
but they are too large and brittle to form durable _átap_. In the
interior districts, where _nípa_ does not grow, the houses are almost
uniformly thatched with a species of long grass called _alang-alang_
(the _lálang_ of the Malay countries). Near large forests, where bámbu
abounds, the natives cover their houses with this reed. The leaflets
of the cocoa-nut cannot be made into thatch, but wherever the sago and
_nípa_ grow, it is made from their leaflets.
An article of household furniture in use among all classes, and
displaying in some cases considerable beauty and delicacy of execution,
is matting. Mats are made from several species of pandanus, from a kind
of grass called _mándong_, and from the leaves of various palms. A
species of the latter affords the most common kinds, coarser and less
durable than others, as well as bags (straw sacks) resembling coarse
mats: the leaves being divided into laminæ, about one line in breadth,
are woven in the same manner and on the same frames as coarse linen.
These fibres, called _ágel_, are sometimes manufactured into twine,
which possesses but little strength. The mats or bags, called _károng_,
are much inferior to the gunny-bags of India.
The coarsest kinds of mats, employed chiefly by the lower class, are
called in the central districts _klóso bóngko_; those prepared from
grass, _klóso mándong_; and the others, _klóso psántrem_ (from the
place where they are made). The materials of all these are plaited by
hand. The _klóso psántrem_ are of superior quality, and in use through
the central and eastern parts of the island; especially among the
natives of the first class, with whom they constitute the principal
furniture of the dwelling-house. A person of the highest rank aspires
to no luxury, more delicate or expensive in this way, than the
possession of a bed composed of mats from _psántrem_.
A kind of umbrella hat worn by the common people, and universal in the
Súnda districts denominated _chápeng_, is also manufactured in this
manner, principally from _bámbu_, dyed of various colours, which being
shaped in the form and of the size of a large wash-hand basin worn
reversed, is rendered impervious to the wet by one or more coverings of
varnish.
A great part of the manufacturing ingenuity of every people must be
displayed in collecting the materials, or arranging the fabrics of
those articles of clothing, required for protection, decency, or
ornament. Whether these materials are derived from the fleece, the fur,
or the feathers of the larger animals, from the covering of an insect,
the bark of a tree, or the down of a shrub, they have to undergo
several laborious and expensive processes before they are fit for use;
and in conducting these processes, or forming machinery for rendering
them more expeditious, complete, and easy, the superior manufacturing
skill of one nation over another is chiefly evinced. The sheep on Java,
as in all tropical climates, loses its fleece before it can be used
with advantage. The silk-worm has never succeeded, although no reason
can be given why it should not, and therefore the chief material of
Javan clothing is cotton.
Cotton, in its rough state, is called _kápas_, and when cleaned
_kápok_. The process of separating the seeds is performed by means of
a _gilíng'an_, which is a roller, consisting of two wooden cylinders
revolving in opposite directions, between which the fibre is made to
pass. This operation is very tedious, two days being necessary for
one person to clean a _káti_, equivalent to a pound and a quarter
English. After the separation of the seed, it is _géblek_, or beaten
with a rattan, and _píndi_ or picked. The finer sort is then bowed
after the Indian manner; this operation is called _wusóni_. The cotton
thus prepared is afterwards pulled out and drawn round a stick, when
it is called _púsuh_. To perform the process upon a single _káti_ will
employ one person about two days. The cotton is now ready for spinning
(_'ngánti_), and requires ten additional days' labour of one person, to
convert the small quantity above mentioned into yarn, when the result
is found to be three _tukal_, or hanks, of the ordinary kind.
Previous to the operation of weaving, the yarn is boiled, and
afterwards dressed and combed with rice-water. When dry, it is wound
round a sort of reel, termed _'íngan_, and prepared for weaving. These
are the last operations it undergoes till it is put into the hands of
the weaver, and requires, in ordinary circumstances, three days for
its completion. Four days are required even by an expert weaver, and
five or six by an ordinary one, to manufacture a _sárong_, or piece of
cloth, a fathom and a half long and five spans broad (equal to three
square handkerchiefs of the ordinary size worn on the head). The cloths
thus prepared, while uncoloured, are distinguished by the term _láwon_.
The spinning-wheel is termed _jántra_, and the spindle _kísi_. The
loom, with all its apparatus, is called _ábah ábah tenún_, the shuttle
_trópong_, the woof _máni_, and the warp _pákan_. Both machines
resemble those described on the continent of India, but are neater
and much better made: the loom especially is more perfect: the
weaver, instead of sitting in holes dug in the ground, invariably
sits on a raised flooring, generally in front of the house, her legs
being stretched out horizontally under the loom. The price of the
spinning-wheel varies from less than half a rupee to a rupee, and
that of the loom from a rupee to a Spanish dollar. The operations of
spinning and weaving are confined exclusively to the women, who from
the highest to the lowest rank, prepare the cloths of their husbands
and their families.
Coloured cottons (_járit_) are distinguished into _lúri_ or _lúri
gíng'gang_, those in which the yarn is dyed previously to weaving; and
_bátik_, those which are dyed subsequently. The process of weaving the
former is similar to that of the gingham, which it resembles, and need
not therefore be detailed; but the latter, being peculiar to Java, may
deserve a more particular description.
The cloths termed _bátik_ are distinguished into _bátik látur púti_,
_bátik látur írang_, or _bátik látur bang_, as the ground may be either
white, black, or red. The white cloth is first steeped in rice water,
in order to prevent the colour with which the patterns are intended
to be drawn, from running, and when they are dried and smoothed
(calendered), commences the process of the _bátik_, which gives its
name. This is performed with hot wax in a liquid state, contained
in a small and light vessel, either of copper or silver, called
_chánt-ing_,[50] holding about an ounce, and having a small tube of
about two inches long, through which the liquid wax runs out in a small
stream. This tube, with the vessel to which it is attached, being fixed
on a stick about five inches long, is held in the hand, and answers
the purpose of a pencil, the different patterns being traced out on
both sides of the cloth with the running wax. When the outline of the
pattern is thus finished, such parts of the cloth as are intended to
be preserved white, or to receive any other colour than the general
field or ground, are carefully covered in like manner with the liquid
wax, and then the piece is immersed in whatever coloured dye may be
intended for the ground of the pattern. To render the colour deeper,
cloths are occasionally twice dipped. The parts covered with wax resist
the operation of the dye, and when the wax is removed, by being steeped
in hot water till it melts, are found to remain in their original
condition. If the pattern is only intended to consist of one colour
besides white, the operation is here completed; if another colour is
to be added, the whole of the first ground, which is not intended to
receive an additional shade, is covered with wax, and a similar process
is repeated.
In order to render the dye fixed and permanent for the scarlet or
blood-red colour, the cloth is previously steeped in oil, and after
five days washed in hot water, and prepared in the usual way for the
_bátik_. In the ordinary course, the process of the _bátik_ occupies
about ten days for common patterns, and from fifteen to seventeen for
the finer and more variegated.
A very coarse kind of cloth, which serves for curtains or hangings,
is variously clouded, and covered sometimes with rude figures, by the
art of colouring the yarn, so as to produce this effect when woven.
For this purpose, the strands of the yarn being distributed in lengths
equal to the intended size of the cloth, are folded into a bundle,
and the parts intended to remain white are so tightly twisted round
and round, that the dye cannot penetrate or affect them. From this
party-coloured yarn the designed pattern appears on weaving. The cloths
so dyed are called _gebér_.
The sashes of silk, called _chíndi_, are dyed in this manner, as well
as an imitation of them in cotton, called _jóng'grong_.
Of the several kinds of coloured cottons and silks there is a very
great diversity of patterns, particularly of the _bátik_, of which
not less than a hundred are distinguished by their appropriate names.
Among these are the patterns exclusively worn by the sovereign, termed
_bátik párang rúsa_, and _bátik sáwat_, and others which designate the
wearer, and are more or less esteemed, as well on this account as their
comparative beauty of design and execution.
With the exception of blue and scarlet or blood-red, all the dyes of
the inhabitants are liable to fade, and the processes offer nothing
worthy of investigation or remark.
In dying blue, indigo, the palm wine of the _áren_, and various
vegetable acids are employed.
Black is obtained from an exotic bark called _tíng'i_, and the rind of
the _mangustin_ fruit. In making the inferior infusion for this and for
various other dyes, the chaff of rice, called _meráng_, is employed.
In dying green, a light blue is first induced, which is afterwards
converted into the requisite hue, by infusion in a decoction of
_tegráng_ (an exotic wood), to which blue vitriol is added.
_Tegráng_ alone affords a yellow colour, and generally is qualified by
receiving the addition of some bark of the _nángka_ and _plem-dodól_.
A beautiful and lasting scarlet and blood-red is obtained from the
roots of the _wóng-kudu_. The yarn or cloth is first boiled in the
oil of _wijen_ or _kamíri_: being washed in a decoction of _meráng_
or burnt _pári_ chaff, it is dried, and subsequently immersed in
an infusion of the roots of _wóng-kudu_, the strength of which is
increased by the addition of the bark _jírak_, a variety of the
fruit _kepúndung_. In the preparation of this dye, the roots of the
_wóng-kudu_ are bruised and well mixed with water, which is then boiled
until it is reduced to one third, when it is fit for use. No light red
or rose colour of durability is produced by the Javans: they employ for
this purpose the _kasomba kling_.
In several of the maritime districts, the _Maláyus_ impart a beautiful
crimson colour to silk, by means of the _gúmlak tembálu_ or _embálu_,
but with this Javans are unacquainted.
The _kápas jáwa_, or Java cotton, in its raw and uncleaned state costs
from about three halfpence to three pence the _káti_, according to
its quality, and the _kápas múri_ from six to eight pence. The price
of each advances sometimes fifty per cent. beyond this, when the
production is scarce or out of season.
A _káti_ of uncleaned Java cotton is calculated to produce two and a
half _túkul_ or hanks of coarse, and three and a half hanks of fine
yarn; and a _káti_ of _kápas múri_, five hanks of the latter. The value
of the former is from three to four pence, and of the latter from seven
to ten.
Three hanks and a half of coarse yarn, and from five to nine of fine,
make one _sárong_, or three head handkerchiefs, the price of which,
undyed, is from half a rupee to four Spanish dollars; if dyed, the
_ging'ams_ bring from one rupee to four Spanish dollars, and the
_bátik_ from a rupee and a half to six Spanish dollars for the same
quantity.
Another kind of coloured cottons, in imitation of the Indian chintz, is
also prepared; but it is not held in much estimation, on account of the
superiority of the foreign chintzes imported, and the uncertainty of
the colours, which the natives allege will not stand in the same manner
as those which have undergone the process of the _batîk_, frequently
fading in the second washing. In these cloths, the patterns being
carved on small wooden blocks are stamped as in India. They serve as
coverlids, and are employed as a substitute for the Indian palempore,
when the latter is not procurable. The price is about four rupees.
The natives of Java, like those of every other country, must have been,
from the earliest times, in the habit of manufacturing various articles
of leather; but the art of rendering it more compact, more tough, and
more durable, by the application of the tanning principle, has been
acquired only by their connexion with Europeans. They now practice it
with considerable success, and prepare tolerable leather in several
districts. There are two trees of which the bark is particularly
preferred for tanning; one in the maritime districts, the other in the
interior. These, with some others which are occasionally added, contain
very large quantities of the tanning principle, which makes excellent
leather in a short space of time. Of this native article, boots, shoes,
saddles, harness, &c. are made in several parts of the island; but in
the greatest perfection at _Súra-kérta_, where the prices are moderate,
and the manufacture extensive and improving. Neither the leather nor
the workmanship of these articles is considered much inferior to what
is procured at Madras and Bengal. The prices are moderate: for a pair
of shoes half a crown, for boots ten shillings, for a saddle from
thirty to forty shillings, and for a set of harness for four horses
from ten to twelve pounds.
Neither flax nor hemp is cultivated for the purposes of manufacture.
The latter is sometimes found in the gardens of the natives of
continental India, particularly at Batavia, who employ it only to
excite intoxication; but the island affords various productions, the
fibrous bark of which is made into thread, ropes, and other similar
articles. These are, with one or two exceptions, never cultivated, and
when required for use, may be collected in sufficient quantity on spots
where they are of spontaneous growth. A particular account of these has
already been given in the first chapter, when describing the vegetable
productions of the island.
To enable rope or cord which is often exposed to water or moisture, as
fishing-nets, cables, and the like, to resist its influence, the sap
exuding from various trees is employed.
No manufactures are calculated to show more clearly the extent to
which the arts of life are carried in a country, than those in which
the metals are used. Without the knowledge of iron, our dominion
over nature would be very limited; as may be seen in the case of the
Americans at the discovery of the western hemisphere. The manufacture
and use of iron and steel has been known over the Eastern Islands,
as well as in the western world, from time immemorial. The various
iron implements of husbandry, the common implements and tools, the
instruments and military weapons now in use among the natives of these
regions, are fabricated by themselves. The importance and difficulty of
the art may be gathered from the distinction which the knowledge and
practice of it conferred.
The profession of a smith is still considered honourable among the
Javans, and in the early parts of their history, such artizans held
a high rank, and were largely endowed with lands. The first mention
made of them is during the reign of the chiefs of _Pajajáran_, in the
eleventh century. On the decline of that empire they went over, to
the number of eight hundred families, to _Majapáhit_, where they were
kindly received, and a record is preserved of the names of the head
master-smiths. On the destruction of that empire in the fifteenth
century, they were dispersed, and settled in different districts of
the island, where their descendants are still discoverable. They are
distinguished by the term _Pándi_.
Iron is cast in small quantities of a few ounces, and used occasionally
for the point of the ploughshare. The metal is rendered fluid in about
half an hour: charcoal is invariably used, and the operation is termed
_sing'i_ or _chitak_.
The bellows, which is peculiar, and believed to have been in use at
the time of _Pajajáran_ and _Majapáhit_, and of which a representation
sculptured in stone was found in the recently discovered ruins at
_Suku_ (which bear date in the fourteenth century of the Javan æra),
appears to be the same as that described by Dampier[51], in his account
of _Majindánao_ and the neighbouring islands. "Their bellows," says
this faithful and intelligent traveller, "are much different from ours.
They are made of a wooden cylinder, the trunk of a tree, about three
feet long, bored hollow like a pump, and set upright on the ground, on
which the fire itself is made. Near the lower end there is a small hole
in the side of the trunk next the fire, made to receive a pipe, through
which the wind is driven by a great bunch of fine feathers fastened
to one end of the stick, which closing up the inside of the cylinder,
drives the air out of the cylinder through the pipe. Two of these
trunks or cylinders are placed so nigh together, that a man standing
between them may work them both at once, alternately, one with each
hand." This account so exactly corresponds with the Javan bellows, that
no further description is necessary. The Chinese bellows are partially
used. The wages of a man skilled in iron-work are sometimes as high as
a rupee a day.
Cutlery of every description is made by the smith. The most important
manufacture of this kind is the _krís_, or dagger, of the peculiar form
well known to be worn by all the more civilized inhabitants of the
Eastern Islands.
The price of a _krís_ blade, newly manufactured, varies from half
a rupee to fifty dollars; but the same _krís_, if it is of good
character, and if its descent can be traced for three or four
generations, is frequently prized at ten times that sum. A _pándi_
employed to manufacture a good _krís_ blade, if the materials are
furnished, is paid three dollars for the job.
The manufacture of sheaths or scabbards (_sárong_) for the krís
constitute an exclusive profession; and the manufacturers are called
_túkang meráng'gi_, or _mergóngso_. These men attend at the public
market, where they occupy a particular quarter, in which may be seen
people employed in the finishing or repair of every part of the
mounting necessary for this instrument; some upon the handle, others
upon the sheath; some in applying the paint and lacquer, others
attending with a preparation of acids and arsenic for cleaning the
blade, and bringing out the appearance of the _pámur_, a white metal
obtained from _Biliton_ and Celebes, which is worked up with the iron,
in order to produce the damasked appearance of the blade.
Copper is manufactured into the kettles and pots employed by the
natives for cooking; most of the other domestic vessels are of brass,
which is manufactured into various other articles, from the smallest,
such as buttons, ear-studs, and other ornaments, in imitation of the
gold patterns, to brass guns of considerable calibre, employed for
the defence of small vessels. A very extensive foundery of this kind
is established at _Grésik_. From the specimen of the casts in brass,
copper, &c. which are occasionally dug up near many of the ruinous
temples sacred to the ancient worship of the country, we may assert,
that great proficiency was once attained in this art: like that,
however, of stone-cutting, it has very much declined.
Gold and silver, as is well known, are wrought by the natives of the
Eastern Islands into exquisite ornaments; and the Javans are by no
means behind their neighbours, the Sumatrans, in the knowledge of this
manufacture. They do not, however, usually work the gold into those
beautiful filigree patterns, described as common among the _Maláyus_ on
Sumatra, nor is their work generally so fine.
Diamond-cutters, and persons skilled in the knowledge of cutting
precious stones, are also to be found in the principal capitals.
Carving in wood is followed as a particular profession, and the Javans
may be considered as expert in all kinds of carpenter's work, but
more particularly in cabinet-work. They imitate any pattern, and the
furniture used by the Europeans in the eastern part of the Island is
almost exclusively of their workmanship. Carriages and other vehicles
are also manufactured by the natives after the European fashion.
Boat and ship-building is an art in which the Javans are tolerably well
versed, particularly the former. The latter is confined principally
to those districts in which the Europeans have built ships, for the
Javans have seldom attempted the construction of square-rigged vessels
on their own account. The best carpenters for ship-building are found
in the districts of _Rembáng_ and _Grésik_, but small native vessels
and boats are continually constructed by the natives in almost every
district along the north coast.
When the quantity of teak timber, and the advantages of Java in respect
of ports and harbours, are considered, the most flattering prospects
are held out, that this Island may, in time, be able to supply
shipping to an increasing commerce of its own, and perhaps aid the
dock-yards of other states.
Among the articles, the making of which may be interesting to
Europeans, from the difference of the materials used or the process
employed, is that of paper. The paper in common use with the Javans
is prepared from the _glúga_ (morus papyrifera) which is cultivated
for this purpose, and generally called the _delúwang_, or paper tree.
Having arrived at the age of two or three years, the young trees are
cut while the bark easily peels off, and the fragments are portioned
about twelve or eighteen inches in length, according to the intended
size of the paper. These fragments are first immersed in water about
twenty-four hours, in order that the epidermis may be separated; this
being effected, the fibrous tissue of the inner bark is rendered soft
and tractable by soaking in water, and by long and repeated beating
with a piece of wood. During the intervals of this process, the
fragments of the bark are piled in heaps in wooden troughs, and the
affusion of fresh water is repeated till all impurities are carried
off. The separate portions, which are about two or three inches broad,
are then attached to each other on a plane surface, generally formed by
the trunk of a plantain tree, and the union of the fibres is finally
effected by continued beating. The quality of the paper depends upon
the care employed in the preparation, and on the frequent affusion of
fresh water. By applying successive layers to the spots which are bare
from the defect of the fibres, and beating them till they unite, an
uniform thickness is attained. The paper which is intended for writing
is momentarily immersed in a decoction of rice, and rendered smooth and
equal, by being rubbed to a polish on a plane surface. Such paper as is
intended for common domestic purposes, for packing goods, &c. does not
require this operation: in this the fibrous contexture of the bark is
quite obvious; it much resembles a species of paper brought from Japan,
and manufactured from the same tree, and was formerly employed instead
of cloth by the poorer inhabitants. The process of manufacturing is
strikingly like that in use among the inhabitants of the South Sea
Islands, for the preparation of their cloth. The culture of this plant,
as well as the manufacture of paper, is chiefly confined to particular
districts, where it forms the principal occupation of the priests, who
gain a livelihood by it.
Large quantities of a coarse and homely sugar, distinguished by the
name of Javan sugar, are prepared from the cocoa-nut, _áren_, and other
palms. The average quantity of liquor extracted from one of these trees
during a day and night, is about two quarts, and this is estimated to
give from three to four ounces of sugar. The trees begin to yield it
at about six or seven years of age, and continue to do so for ten or
twelve years. The process of preparing the sugar is extremely simple:
it consists merely in boiling the liquor in an earthen pot for a few
hours, and afterwards pouring it into small cases made of leaves
and prepared for the purpose, in which, when cool, it attains a due
consistence.
Sugar from the cane is manufactured by the Chinese alone; the process
followed resembles that of the West Indies. The juice is expressed
between two rollers, sometimes turned by a water-wheel; but in all
cases the machinery is rude and imperfect. The quality of the sugar
made on Java is considered to be equal to that of Manilla and the West
Indies: it contains as much of the saccharine principle as the latter,
and is brought to a drier state. It differs from the sugar of Bengal,
as much in its quality as in the mode of preparing it, but can be
brought to market at about the same price. Considerable quantities are
sent to the Malabar coast, but the principal exportation is to Japan
and Europe.
The manufactory of Batavian arrack, the superior quality of which
is well known, is also conducted by the Chinese: the process is as
follows: About seventy pounds of _kétan_ (glutinous rice) is heaped
up in a small vat; round this heap or pile one hundred cans of water
are poured, and on the top twenty cans of molasses. After remaining
two days in this vat, the ingredients are shifted to a larger vat
adjoining, when they receive the addition of four hundred cans of water
and one hundred cans of molasses.
Thus far the process is carried on in the open air. In a separate vat
within doors, forty cans of palm wine or toddy from the cocoa-nut tree,
are immediately mixed with nine hundred cans of water and one hundred
and fifty cans of molasses. Both preparations being allowed to remain
in this state for two days, the former of these preparations is carried
to a still larger vat within doors, and the latter being in a vat
placed above, is poured upon it, through a hole bored for the purpose
near the bottom. In this state the preparation is allowed to ferment
for two days, when it is poured into small earthen jars, containing
about twenty cans each, in which it remains for the further period of
two days: it is then distilled.
The liquor drops into a tin vessel under ground, from whence it is
ladled into receiving vessels. This is the third or common sort of
arrack, which by a second distillation in a smaller still, with the
addition of a small quantity of water, becomes the second sort, and
by a third distillation, what is called the first sort. The third or
common sort is called by the Chinese _síchew_, the second _tánpo_, and
the first _kíji_, the two latter being distinguished as arrack _ápi_.
When cooled, it is poured into large vats in the storehouses, where it
remains till it is convenient to put it into casks.
The whole process, therefore, to the completion of the first sort, does
not require more than ten days, six hours being sufficient for the
original preparation to pass through the first still. The receivers of
the stills are of copper, and the worm consists of about nine turns of
Banka tin.
The proof of sufficient fermentation is obtained by placing a lighted
taper about six inches above the surface of the liquor in the
fermenting vat; if the process is sufficiently advanced, the fixed air
rises and extinguishes the light.
To ascertain the strength of the spirit, a small quantity of it is
burnt in a saucer, and the residuum measured. The difference between
the original quantity and the residuum gives the measure of the alcohol
lost.
Among the most important manufactures of Java, both viewed in its
relation to the comforts of the inhabitants and the interests of
the revenue, is that of salt. In almost every country it is an
indispensable commodity, but particularly where the people subsist on
a vegetable diet, as in India and the Eastern Islands; and wherever
government has seen it necessary, it has been converted into a source
of taxation.
Nearly the whole of the north-east coast of Java and _Má-dúra_ abounds
with places well calculated for its manufacture, and unfit for any
other useful purpose. The quantity already manufactured has for many
years exceeded the demand, both for home consumption and exportation,
and might be increased almost _ad libitum_.
On Java the principal salt-pans are situated at _Pákis_, in the
vicinity of Batavia; at _Bantam_, _Chéribon_, _Tégal_; at _Wédong_ and
_Bráhang_, in the _Semárang_ districts; at _Paradési_, in _Rembáng_;
at _Sedáyu_, _Grésik_, and _Simámi_; on _Madúra_, at _Sámpang_,
_Pamákasan_, and _Súmenap_. Salt is also manufactured at several places
along the south-coast, but of inferior quality, and by a different
process. About two hundred tons are annually procured in the interior,
from the _Blédegs_, as already described. The principal supply,
however, is from the north-coast, where the quality of the salt, and
the facility with which it can be manufactured, give it a decided
advantage in demand and cheapness.
The process of manufacturing the salt on the north-coast is very
simple, and depending on evaporation by the heat of the sun alone,
may be favourably contrasted with the comparatively expensive process
adopted in the Bengal provinces. Reservoirs are filled from the sea
at high tide, and in them the water is allowed to remain for several
days; this being found necessary to prevent the salt from being bitter.
It is then conveyed by means of canals and sluices to the pans, which
are distributed in compartments and banked in, so as to contain the
sea-water, much in the same manner as the rice fields. If the weather
be dry and the sun clear, five days are found sufficient for the
process of evaporation in the pans; after which the salt is collected
together in heaps, where it usually remains five days longer before it
is brought into store.
Under the Dutch government, the manufacture of salt was fanned out
to Chinese as an exclusive privilege; and to these farms, under the
plea of enabling the farmer to command a sufficient number of hands
for conducting his undertaking, and enabling him to make his advances
to government, extensive tracts of rice land were attached, over
the population of which the farmer was allowed unlimited authority.
By a continued extension of these tracts, a population far more
numerous than the work at the salt-pans required was wrested from the
administration of the regents and transferred to the Chinese: as they
found their advantage in renting out the rice-fields, and employing the
people in the transport of goods and other laborious offices of the
country, the farms of course sold for more money. Under this system, it
is difficult to say what was the actual cost of the salt to the farmer:
the manufacturers were partly remunerated in land and partly in money,
and the mode varied in every district; but this remuneration seldom
amounted to more than a bare subsistence.
It was the practice of these farmers-general to underlet to other
Chinese the privilege of selling salt, supplying them with the article
at a certain rate, and these under-farmers sold the salt again to the
petty retailers in the public markets at an advanced price. The price
of the salt, after passing through the hands of the farmers, varied
not only according to the distance from the place of manufacture, but
according to the capital and speculation of the under-farmer; if he
adopted the liberal system of obtaining small profits upon a large
sale, the market was abundantly supplied at a low rate; but if, on
the contrary, he traded on a small capital, and enhanced the price by
insufficiently answering the demand, the price became proportionally
exorbitant. In some places, as at _Salátiga_ and _Ung'arang_, through
which the salt was transported by inland carriage to the populous
districts of the interior, the price was sometimes as high as one
hundred and twenty, and even one hundred and forty Spanish dollars per
_kóyan_, while along the coast, as at _Chéribon_ and _Surabáya_, it was
as low as thirty, and at _Grésik_ twenty-five. The average in the year
1813, when the farming system was abolished, may be taken, one district
with another, at about fifty-seven Spanish dollars the _kógan_, or
rather less than thirty dollars per ton.
The quantity usually calculated for the annual consumption of Java
and _Madúra_, including about one thousand _kóyans_ estimated to be
manufactured in the native provinces, is sixteen thousand _kóyans_,
or thirty-two thousand tons. Under the arrangements now adopted for
the manufacture and sale of this article, the average rate at which
the manufacturers are paid is about six rupees the _kóyan_, including
the charges of transport to the depôts, and the sale price varies from
twenty-five to thirty-five Spanish dollars, according to the distance
from the principal depôts; an adequate supply by means of smaller
depôts is insured in every part of the country.
The salt of Java exported to the other islands of the Archipelago,
competes with that of Siam and the Coromandel coast, and generally
supersedes it, both on account of its quality and cheapness. The
exportation is free to all places except Bengal, where, on account of
its interference with the monopoly there established, it has, since
the conquest of Java, been found necessary to prohibit its importation
under penalty of confiscation.
The salt of the south coast being manufactured by a process which is
much more expensive than that employed on the north, and at the same
time being inferior in quality, it is only consumed in places which
the latter is prevented from reaching by the difficulty of conveyance
or inland tolls and prohibitions; and it has consequently been
calculated, that the north coast salt, if allowed to pass toll free
through the country, would in a short time supersede that from the
south altogether. The inferior quality of the latter is caused by the
quantity of the sulphate of magnesia it contains, which renders it by
its bitterness unpleasant for culinary purposes.
Of late years, the value of the manufacturing industry of the country
may be in some degree be appreciated from the assistance it has
afforded to the European government, when, in consequence of the war,
the importation of European articles had become insufficient for the
public service. Broad cloth not being procurable for the army, a kind
of coarse cotton cloth was manufactured by the Javans, with which the
whole army was clothed. At _Semárang_ were established five of these
manufactories, having seventy or eighty looms each. One or two of
them made cotton lace, and supplied the army agents with epaulets,
shoulder-knots, tassels, &c. There were likewise manufactures of cotton
stockings, tape, fringes, cartridge-boxes, sword-belts, saddles,
bridles, &c. and in short every thing that could be required for the
dress and accoutrements of both cavalry and infantry.
Under European superintendents were established saltpetre works,
powder-mills, foundries for shells, shot, anvils, &c. and manufactories
of swords and small arms; and when it is added, that the French
government found means, within the the resources of Java alone, to
equip an army of not less than fifteen thousand effective men, besides
a numerous militia in every district, and that, with the exception
of a few European superintendants in the more scientific works, all
the articles were manufactured and supplied by the natives, it is not
necessary to adduce any further proof of the manufacturing ability of
the country.
Saltpetre is obtained in many parts of the island, and gunpowder
has long been manufactured by the native inhabitants. A saltpetre
manufactory was established near _Grésik_, under the superintendance
of European officers, which it was calculated would furnish annually
two thousand _píkuls_ of that article to government, at the rate of
eight rix-dollars per _píkul_, or one hundred and thirty-three pounds
English. The importance of this establishment is manifest in the
following observations of Colonel Mackenzie.
"I considered that one day would be usefully employed in viewing the
saltpetre works, which a very few years back had been established here,
at the risk, and by the zeal and ingenuity of private individuals,
with the view of supplying this colony with that necessary ingredient
for gunpowder. The best sulphur is supplied from a mountain near the
straits of _Báli_. For further details of these mines; of the manner in
which the nitre is obtained, by an ingenious application of the latest
European improvements in chemistry; of the sulphureous crater of the
mountain, whence the sulphur, in its utmost purity, is supplied; of the
reports of the French engineers, last year, on the improvement of the
gunpowder of Java; of the wood selected for the best charcoal, and of
the present state of the manufactory and powder-mills at _Semárang_,
I must refer, at present, to several papers collected by me on this
subject, which may be usefully applicable to our manufactures of
gunpowder in India. Passing over these and other considerations, I
shall only observe, that of these mines, one of them is cut in caverns
into the soft white calcareous rock; and another, more regularly
designed, supported by pillars or masses of the native rock, covers
regularly formed beds of the native earth, which being impregnated with
the native nitre, saturated with the evacuation of the numerous bats
that haunt these caverns, and mixed with a compound of wood ashes,
supplies the liquid that is boiled in large kettles, and afterwards
left to cool and crystallize. The whole process is carried on, in a
regular manner, under the direction of the first executor of this
really grand work, who now resides at _Surabáya_[52]."
The labour of felling the teak trees and transporting the timber from
the forests, gives employment to a very considerable population, who
are distinguished from those employed in other avocations, by the
term of _blándong_ people, or foresters. The teak timber was formerly
delivered to the government as a contingent, by the regents of those
districts in which the principal forests were situated, the quantity
being regulated according to the supposed extent of the different
forests, and the means of cutting and transporting the wood. Previously
to the year 1808, the amount of this annual contingent was eight
thousand eight hundred beams of different sizes, according to the wants
of the public service, of which more than three thousand were delivered
from the central forests of _Rembáng_.
The cutting and dragging of the timber delivered in contingent was
performed by the inhabitants of the villages adjacent to the forests,
and the buffaloes required were left to be provided by the regents.
For this service, in the _Rembáng_ districts, four hundred cutters
and labourers, and four hundred and twelve pair of buffaloes, were
appropriated for the supply of three thousand one hundred beams
annually, a proportion which varied in the other districts, only
according to the distance of the forest from the timber yard on the
coast, where payment was made for timber on delivery, at the rate
of sixteen pence for cutting and conveying a beam of from eighteen
to twenty feet long and from nine to ten inches broad, forty-eight
stivers for a beam of from thirty-one to thirty-six feet long and from
thirteen to fifteen inches broad, and for others in proportion. This
was the regular and only payment made for the contingent timber; but
when the demands of government exceeded the fixed contingent, which was
generally the case, the excess was paid for at an advance of fifty per
cent. on these prices. Crooked and other timber for ship-building was
paid for at about the same rate, but calculated according to a fixed
table by the weight.
Under this system, the regents rented out many of the villages
adjoining the forests to individuals, and sold, on their own account,
such timber as was not of proper quality to be delivered to government.
As the demands of government increased, as well as those of the
European residents, who were many of them concerned in ship-building
and in the sale of timber, the forests near the coast were soon
exhausted of their best timber, and as it became necessary for the
cutters to go further into the interior, the labour and expense
increased, but without any corresponding recompense to them, for the
government never raised the price. Individuals, however, did so; and
the consequence was, that government finding no regulations they could
make for the internal management of the forests sufficient to ensure
them an adequate supply, were contented to believe that a greater
quantity than was actually furnished could not be cut without injury to
the forests; although, at that very time, the deliveries to individuals
in the eastern districts were estimated at not less than fifty or sixty
thousand beams per annum, the coast was lined with Java-built trading
vessels of every description, and these, as well as the rough timber,
were frequently sent for sale to a distant market.
In the year 1808, however, in common with all the other departments
on the island, this important one was newly organized by Marshal
Daendels, who placing the highest value on the forests, and determining
to prevent the abuses which had previously existed, removed all the
population which had formerly been engaged in the forests in the
different parts of the island from the controul of the native regent,
as well as the local European authority, and placed them, with the
villages and lands to which they were attached, under a separate board
or administration for the forest department. This change effectually
secured government in the monopoly, and succeeded in the prevention
of the abuses which had formerly existed: but in the degree that it
had this effect, it also operated to the serious injury of general
commerce and the domestic comfort of the inhabitants; for every one was
now obliged to buy the timber from government, at a high monopoly rate
fixed by general regulation, and the timber could only be obtained in
comparatively small quantities, seldom of the dimensions required, and
only at the fixed staples. Ship-building, and even boat-building, which
had before been carried to the greatest extent along the whole coast,
was discontinued, and the cottage of the native, which had formerly
cost a few rupees, now cost ten times the amount if built of desirable
materials.
Under the administration of the Board of Forest, whose residence
was fixed at _Semárang_, and who were altogether independent of the
local authorities, was now placed a population of nearly one hundred
thousand souls, exclusively devoted to the labours of the forests;
and as no revenue had been given up by the arrangement, and a small
annual delivery of iron, salt, and gunpowder, to the foresters, was
the only payment made, considerable profit was expected to result from
it to the government. It was found, however, after the establishment
of the British government, that the timber which had been cut, and of
which there was an immense quantity on hand, was not of a description
required for the building of coasting vessels, and could not compete
in Bengal with that of Pegu, without such a reduction in the monopoly
price, as added to the loss occasioned by so large a proportion of the
population, who were set apart for this duty and contributed nothing
else to the revenue, the extent of the establishment necessary to
enable the government to be the sole timber merchant, and the abuses
connected with it, would amount to more than all the profits that
had been calculated on. The coasting trade was perishing for want of
vessels, and the forest department was a losing concern. Under these
circumstances, it was judged expedient to include the population of
the _Blándongs_ in the general arrangements for the release of the
peasantry from feudal bondage, and the establishment of a fixed rent
from the land, in lieu of all services and payment formerly rendered.
The people who lived near the forests, and had long been in the habit
of cutting and dragging the timber, still however continued in this
employment, an annual contract being made with them for their services
in the forests, in remuneration for which a remission of rent was
granted. The largest and most valuable forests are, under this system,
reserved for the exclusive use of government; others of less value,
and the limits of which can be easily defined, have, in consideration
of a recognition of ten per cent. _ad valorem_ on the timber when
worked up, been thrown open to individuals engaged in ship-building,
who generally contract with the people of the adjoining villages, to
cut and deliver the timber at fixed prices: a mode which has also been
occasionally resorted to by government, especially for the inferior and
small kinds of timber, shingles, pipe staves, &c. which are allowed to
be cut in particular forests.
The industry which has been excited by opening these facilities in
procuring timber, and the impetus which it has afforded to trade, may
be estimated by this fact, that within the last few years have been
launched no less than ten to twelve square-rigged vessels, of from one
hundred and fifty to four hundred tons, and that many more of larger
dimensions were about to be built, when the restoration of the colony
was announced.
It need hardly be observed, that due precautions have been taken for
the preservation and renovation of the valuable forests, which so far
from being exhausted, are capable of supplying besides crooked and
compass timber for ship-building, forty or fifty thousand beams in the
year without injury. European overseers are appointed, and one general
superintendent is placed over the whole.
As illustrative of the importance attached to these forests by the
Dutch, and of the capabilities of the island for ship-building, it may
not be uninteresting to annex an extract from Mr. Hogendorp's appeal to
the authorities in Holland on this subject.[53]
The _Blandong_ people or foresters are generally employed in cutting
or in dragging timber during eight months out of the twelve, but they
are obliged to watch the forests the whole year through: they are
regularly relieved, and half the working men are at all times left
disposable for the rice fields. The _Blandong_ people have always
been accustomed to the work, and generally have their villages near
the principal forests. It is one of the advantages of the system of
contracting with the people for land payments, that in emergencies they
are willing to lend their own buffaloes to assist those of government
in dragging heavy timber, which could not be removed otherwise without
great expence, while their children at other times watch and attend the
cattle belonging to government. In short, the resources of the village
are at the disposal of government, for a land payment considerably less
than one-third of the expence of hired labourers, whom it would be
difficult to procure, and still more difficult, from the character of
the people, to retain in constant and unremitting employment.
Under the system of granting remissions of rent, it has been calculated
that in the districts of _Semárang_, where the assessment is
comparatively high, on account of the vicinity to a large capital, a
remission of eight rupees and a half, or about twenty shillings, being
the average amount paid annually by each cultivator, government obtains
a man's hard labour for six months of the year. But as the inhabitants
of the same village are generally accustomed to labour in the fields
alternately, and thus to assist each other, it has been found advisable
to make the remissions of rent for the _Blandongs_ to the village _as
a community_, in order to avoid the delay and endless vexation which
would ensue, in adjusting the petty claims of each individual.
In the maritime districts on the north-east side of the island, a very
large proportion of the population is employed in the fisheries, and
so moderate are the seasons, that except perhaps for a few days at the
change of the monsoon, they are seldom interrupted by the weather.
The sea fish is taken either by the net, in stakes (_wídi_), or
with the hook and line: the most considerable quantity is of course
procured by means of the two former, generally distinguished by the
term _máyang_, whence _práhu máyang_, fishing boat. The whole apparatus
of the hook and line is called _pánching_, the usual term for angling
among the _Maláyus_. The fishing-boats quit the shore at about three
or four o'clock in the morning, and are driven out by the land breeze
beyond sight before daylight. At about noon they are seen returning
with the sea-breeze, and generally reach the shore by two in the
afternoon. The stakes along the whole of the northern coast, wherever
the banks and projecting land admit, are very extensive: they are
often fixed in several fathom water, and constitute a very important
property. They are usually closed in the night.
Nets are principally made of _rámi_, though sometimes of _gadáng'an_,
and even of cotton. They are steeped in an infusion, which not only
darkens their colour, but is considered essentially to contribute to
their strength. Fish that is not eaten or disposed of while fresh,
is salted and dried in the sun, or smoke-dried at a short distance
from a fire, and in that state forms an extensive article of internal
commerce. Besides the abundance of fish thus obtained from the sea,
extensive tracts of country, salt marshes, and inlets of the sea,
have in several parts of the island been converted into fish-ponds
(_támba_). These ponds are to be found in most of the low maritime
districts: those at _Grésik_, which are the most extensive, appear
to have been first established during the visit of one of the early
Mahomedan princes of the island in the fifteenth century. The _bándeng_
is generally considered as the richest and highest-flavoured fish known
in these seas: the young fry are taken in the sea, and transferred to
these ponds, where they grow and fatten for seven months, when they are
fit for the table. An annual supply of young fish from the sea is found
necessary to keep up the stock in the tanks; and, whether from a desire
to raise the value of the fish so obtained in them, or otherwise, the
natives generally affirm, that the fish rarely attains its full size
in the sea. The extent and value of these nurseries for the fish may
be estimated from the rent paid for those at _Grésik_, which are the
property of government.
The river fish are taken by a variety of methods: one is to throw a
number of branches of trees into a deep part of the river; here the
fish collect: they are then surrounded by stakes, or the branches are
taken out, and the fish easily caught; this method is termed _rúmpon_.
_Bámbu_ fences are sometimes thrown across the rivers at night, and
so constructed that the fish are easily entrapped as they pass down
the stream: this method is called _pásang wádong_. The rivers and
ponds are frequently dragged by nets of different sizes. The _coculus
indicus_, and other intoxicating drugs, are sometimes thrown into
the river, after which the fish are found floating on the surface
and easily taken; this method, termed _túba_, is prohibited on large
rivers: when the fish are afterwards driven down the river by a number
of men into a snare laid below, the usual term is _jámprong_. In the
western districts, a fishing party of this description affords a
very favourite amusement on great occasions. A time is selected when
the river is moderately low; temporary stands made of the trunks of
small trees or stout _bámbus_ are then thrown across, each consisting
of three piles, fastened together at the top and expanding below,
the bottoms being pointed so as to fix in the ground. On a small
stage on each, just above the surface of the water, are piled a few
stones, by which they are steadied while the current is allowed a
free course below. The piers or stages thus formed, answer well for
the construction of a temporary bridge over the rocky or stony bed
of the most irregular river. A coarse matting, made of _bámbu_ or
some other material, is then carried from one to the other, so as to
shut the current in within a narrow space, across which a temporary
platform and shed is thrown, with a sloping floor rising above the
surface of the water, to where the party is assembled. The drug having
been thrown into the river, a considerable distance higher up several
hundred people now enter the river, and driving the half-intoxicated
fish before them, they come floundering one after the other on the
_bámbu_ stage, to the no small amusement of the party collected, fish
of a considerable size literally jumping into their laps. On these
occasions, when the entertainment is given to Europeans, a great
concourse of people attend, a feast is prepared, and the wild and
antic music and dance of the mountaineers, performing on the _ánklang_
and rude drum, give great peculiarity and zest to the amusement. Fish
are sometimes struck at night by torch light, both at sea and in the
rivers; but this method is not very general.
Pearls are obtained in the vicinity of _Bányuwáng'i_, where the
privilege of fishing for them is farmed out by the year, as well as in
the vicinity of _Núsakambáng'an_, on the south side of the island; but
they are generally of the description called seed pearls, and of little
value.
FOOTNOTES:
[50] These vessels for large patterns are sometimes made of the
cocoa-nut shell, and then hold a proportionally larger quantity.
[51] Dampier's Voyage, vol. ii.
[52] Journal of Colonel Mackenzie, 1812.
[53] "Batavians! be amazed! hear with wonder what I have to
communicate. Our fleets are destroyed, our trade languishes, our
navigation is going to ruin--we purchase with immense treasures, timber
and other materials for ship-building from the northern powers, and
on Java we leave warlike and mercantile squadrons standing with their
roots in the ground. Yes, the forests of Java have timber enough to
build a respectable navy in a short time, besides as many merchant
ships as we require. Hemp would grow as well as in Bengal, and as
labour is as cheap in Java, we may consequently presume that it would
require little trouble to establish manufactures of canvas and cordage
there in a short time. But, at any rate, Java already produces at
a very low price cayar and gamuti cordage, which answers very well
for cables, hawsers, and rigging. To build ships at Java for the
mother country, it is only necessary to send out skilful and complete
master-builders with a few ship carpenters; for common workmen are
to be had on Java in numbers, and at a very low rate, as a good Java
carpenter may be hired at five stivers a day. The principal objection
that could be made is, that the shores of Java being very flat and
level, are not well adapted for building, and still less for launching
ships of heavy burthens, but this difficulty may be easily overcome: on
the islands before Batavia, and particularly Brunt and Cooke's Island,
wharfs, or even docks, may be constructed at little expence. The same
may be observed of one of the islands off Japára and at Grésik, besides
many other places in the eastern division, in the harbour which is
formed by the island of Madúra, and which is sheltered from every wind.
"The resident of Rembáng, and sometimes of Jawána, are almost the
only Europeans who build ships, for it is too difficult and dangerous
for others to undertake it, under the arbitrary government at present
existing in Java, under which nothing can flourish or succeed. But
the Chinese, who are favoured in every thing, are well aware how to
turn this also to their own advantage, and to build a great number of
vessels all along the coast, from fifteen to two hundred tons burthen,
for which they get the timber almost for nothing, by means of renting
the forest villages. It is easy to imagine, how these avaricious
bloodsuckers use the forests, and manage to get all they can out of
them. In spite of all this, however, the forests of Java grow as
fast as they are cut, and would be inexhaustible under good care and
management.
"At Bombay, Surat, and Demaun, and other places along the coast of
Malabar, at Bengal, and at Pegu, the English build many large and fine
ships, which last a length of time, especially those of Bombay and
Malabar built, although I believe the wood produced there, however
good, is not equal to the teak of Java."