ANCIENT LAWS OF SIAM--LEGAL OATHS--PUNISHMENT FOR
DEBT--DIVORCES--POPULATION OF SIAM--STATURE AND COMPLEXION OF
THE SIAMESE--DIVISION OF TIME--BOUNDARIES AND POSSESSIONS OF
SIAM--MARINE OF SIAM--IMPORTS--INLAND TRADE--CURRENCY--TREATY OF
COMMERCE--TABLE OF EXPORTS.
The Siamese have written _laws_, which are dated as far back as 561 of
Christ; and others are referred to in their courts, to the years of
1053-1614 and 1773.
The higher officers of state are the justices and magistrates, but
the final decision rests with the principal local authority within
whose district the delinquent resides. Where the government is a
perfect despotism, and the channels of justice are polluted by corrupt
propounders of the law, equity and justice are but empty names, and
good laws a mere mockery. Oaths are administered to witnesses only on
formal and solemn occasions: the following being the form used in their
courts as translated by Capt. Lowe:--
“I, who have been brought here as an evidence in this matter, do now,
in the presence of the divine Prah-Phutt hi-rop (Budha,) declare that
I am wholly unprejudiced against either party, and uninfluenced in
any way by the opinions or advice of others, and that no prospects of
pecuniary advantage, or of advancement to office, have been held out to
me; I also declare that I have not received any bribe on this occasion.
If what I have now spoken be false, or if in my further averments I
should colour or pervert the truth, so as to lead the judgment of
others astray, may the three Holy Existences, viz.: Budha, the Bali
(personified,) and the three priests, before whom I now stand, together
with the glorious Dewatas (demi-gods) of the twenty-two firmaments,
punish me.
“If I have not seen, yet shall I say I have seen; if I shall say that
I know that which I do not know, then may I be thus punished. Should
innumerable descents of the Deity happen for the regeneration and
salvation of mankind, may my erring and migrating soul be found beyond
the pale of their mercy--wherever I go, may I be encompassed with
dangers, and not escape from them, whether arising from murderers,
robbers, spirits of the earth, of the woods, of water, or of air, or
from all the divinities who adore Budha, or from the gods of the four
elements, and all other spirits.
“May blood flow out of every pore of my body, that my crime may be
made manifest to the world; may all or any of these evils overtake me
within three days, or may I never stir from the spot on which I now
stand, or may the _hatsani_, or lash of the sky, (lightning,) cut me
in two, so that I may be exposed to the derision of the people; or if
I should be walking abroad, may I be torn to pieces by either of the
four supernaturally endowed lions, or destroyed by poisonous herbs or
venomous snakes. If when in the waters of the rivers or ocean, may
supernatural crocodiles or great fishes devour me, or may the winds
and waves overwhelm me; or may the dread of such evils keep me, during
life, a prisoner at home, estranged from every pleasure, or may I be
afflicted with the intolerable oppressions of my superiors, or may a
plague cause my death; after which may I be precipitated into hell,
there to go through innumerable stages of torture, among which may I
be condemned to carry water over the flaming regions in open wicker
baskets, to assuage the heat felt by Than-Wetsuan, when he enters the
infernal hall of justice, and thereafter may I fall into the lowest
pit of hell; or if these miseries should not ensue, may I after death
migrate into the body of a slave, and suffer all the hardships and
pains attending the worst state of such a being, during a period of
years, measured by the sand of four seas; or may I animate the body
of an animal, or beast, during five hundred generations; or be born
an hermaphrodite five hundred times, or endure in the body of a deaf,
blind, dumb, houseless beggar, every species of loathsome disease
during the same number of generations, and then may I be hurried to
varah, or hell, and there be crucified by Phria-yam, one of the kings
of hell.”
The Siamese are extremely capricious, in the standard value of
witnesses; the oath of priests and men in office, bearing a preference
over all others, while there are not less than twenty-eight in number,
who are excluded, and declared to be incompetent; they are as follows:
contemners of religion, persons in debt, the slaves of a party to a
suit, intimate friends, idiots, those who do not hold in abhorrence the
cardinal sins, among which are enumerated, besides theft and murder,
drinking spirits, breaking prescribed fasts, and reposing on the mat
or couch of a priest or parent, gamblers, vagrants, executioners,
quack-doctors, play-actors, hermaphrodites, strolling musicians,
prostitutes, blacksmiths, persons labouring under incurable disorders,
persons under seven or above seventy, bachelors, insane persons,
persons of violent passions, shoemakers, beggars, braziers, midwives,
and sorcerers.
Tortures are resorted to in cases of treason or atrocious robbery,
and even among debtors where property is supposed to be concealed, as
well as the ordeal by water and immersing the hands in boiling oil or
melted tin. He who remains the longest under water, and the hand which
comes forth unscathed, are pronounced to be innocent. A debtor may be
punished by stripes and imprisonment, or dried, as it is termed by the
Siamese, that is exsiccated by being exposed to the direct rays of a
burning sun, suffering in addition the torments from myriads of noxious
insects, and finally to be sold as a slave if he is unable to discharge
his debt.
A great number of debtors are seen in irons about the bazars, whose
only mode of subsistence is by begging; and they seldom ask in vain of
a people who are pre-eminently charitable.
[Sidenote: PUNISHMENTS.]
Theft is punished with the bamboo and with imprisonment, and even hard
labour for life, in aggravated cases. Murder, counterfeiting coin, and
forging the royal signet, with imprisonment for life, and the severest
punishment of the bamboo; and in cases of cruel and deliberate murder,
with death, by decapitation. A breach of the marriage-vow is not deemed
a highly criminal act, and it is easily commuted by paying a fine,
according to the rank or standing of the parties, from the sum of two
hundred and seventy to ninety dollars. Marriage is a civil contract,
and the Talapoins are not considered, in any way, necessary to legalize
the contract; but their prayers and benedictions are occasionally
bestowed. Insults are punished, from an inferior to a superior,
according to the aggravation of the offence, by a fine, and even by
corporal punishment, when a priest is the aggrieved party.
If a priest commits a criminal act, he is divested of the sacerdotal
habit, and is punished generally with more severity than a layman.
Divorces are easily obtained, and each party receives back whatever
was contributed to the common stock. The minor male children go to the
mother, and the female to the father. Property can only be given to
the wife and children, and daughters receive from a half to a whole
share more than the sons. Wills must be made in the presence of four
witnesses.
Siam appears to be a place of refuge for the surrounding nations,
and is composed of a great variety of people, viz.: Siamese, Laos,
Cambojans, Malays, Kariangs, Lawas, Kas, Chongs and Semangs, Chinese,
Mohammedans, and Hindoos of western India, Peguans, and Portuguese.
The population of the whole empire, including their late conquests in
the Malay peninsula, does not probably exceed three millions and six
hundred thousand, (although many Siamese rate it, in round numbers,
at five millions.) Of this number, I am led to believe, from frequent
conversations held with men in office, that the Siamese do not exceed
one million and six hundred thousand. The native population of Lao,
about one million and two hundred thousand. The Chinese at not less
than half a million, there being nearly three hundred and forty
thousand in the capital and the villages which compose Bang-kok. The
Malays, probably, amount to three hundred and twenty thousand; and
the remainder are natives of western India. Peguans, Cambojans and
Portuguese, the latter from pretty correct authority, do not exceed
fourteen hundred in the whole Siamese dominions. The Kariangs, the
Lawas, the Kas, and the Chongs, are wild and migratory races; the
three first inhabit the mountains and fastnesses of Lao, from the
Burman dominions to Camboja. The Chongs inhabit the hilly country,
bordering on the eastern side of the Siamese gulf. The Semangs are a
race of savage negroes, dwelling in the mountainous regions of the
Malay peninsula, of which a very curious and particular statement
was published by J. Anderson, Esq., included in his account of the
“Aboriginal Inhabitants of the Malay Peninsula,” which I have subjoined
at the end of my Journal on Siam.[A]
[A] See Appendix A.
By actual admeasurement of a great number of Siamese, it is ascertained
that the average height does not exceed five feet and four inches.
Their skin is darker then the Chinese, yet they are several shades
lighter than the Malays; their complexion is rather a dark shade of
yellow or a yellowish brown. All classes delight in heightening it,
by using turmeric. A light yellow is considered to be the “ne plus
ultra” of all colours and all shades. This taste is derived, probably,
from the numerous Chinese who reside there. Owing to their frequent
bathing, and daily using a clean waist-cloth, their skin is remarkably
smooth, soft, and shining. They are inclined to obesity, have large
lower limbs and stout long arms; yet they are by no means a strong or
robust people. The _face_ is broad and flat--the cheek-bones round,
but prominent--the _nose_ rather small, round at the point, and rather
hollow at the bridge--they have large mouths and rather thick lips--the
lower jaw is long and full at the extremities, and the countenance
apparently square--the eyes are small and black, the white tinged with
a yellow cast--the forehead, although broad in a lateral direction, is
generally low--the beard is very scanty. The diameter of the head is
remarkably short from the front, backward; the top is unusually flat,
and from the crown to the nape of the neck, (in a large proportion of
them,) is nearly in a straight line. The hair is always black, thick,
coarse, and lank.
[Sidenote: DIVISION OF TIME.]
The Siamese week consists of seven days; the months, alternately, of
twenty-nine and thirty days; and twelve months, or three hundred and
fifty-four days, make a year. The year being solar, an intercalary
month of thirty days is added every third year after the eighth month.
The month is divided into a dark and a bright half, as the moon is upon
the increase or the wane. The Siamese new year corresponds with that
of the Chinese, which commences _after_ the last half of the month of
January, or the sun’s entrance into Aquarius. It is very certain, that
in forming their calendar, they depend upon that constructed at Peking.
There is also a greater division of time, consisting of twelve years,
each year taking the name of some animal, thus:--
_Siamese._ _English._
First year Chuat Rat.
Second „ Chabu Ox or cow.
Third „ Khān Tiger.
Fourth „ Thō Hare.
Fifth „ Marong Dragon, or great snake.
Sixth „ Maseng Snake, or lesser serpent.
Seventh „ Ma-mia Horse.
Eighth „ Ma-mee Goat.
Ninth „ Wock, or Vock Monkey, or ape.
Tenth „ Ray-ka, or Raka Cock, or fowl.
Eleventh „ Chō, or Chō-Chō Dog.
Twelfth „ Khan, or Kun Pig, or hog.
The Siamese have two epochs, sacred and popular. The _sacred_ era dates
from the death of Gautama, and the year 1833 corresponded to the 2376
year. The vulgar era was instituted when the worship of Gautama was
first introduced; and the year 1833 corresponded with the year 1194,
and was the fifth, or dragon year.
Siam proper extends from about the latitude of 23° north, to the
gulf of that name, and is bounded, west by the Burman empire, and
east by the Lao (Lau) mountains. This is the valley of the Menam,
the “Mother of waters,” the country of the true Siamese. The Menam,
after watering the low, flat land, by its annual deposites, empties
itself, by three channels, into the gulf of Siam. The boundaries of the
Siamese dominions on the bay of Bengal, extend from the Burman, (or
more correctly speaking, in the present day,) the _English_ Burmese
dominions, as far south as the boundary line between the petty states
of Perak and Quedah, in the straits of Malacca, in about the latitude
of 5° north, in which is included the valuable island of Junk, Ceylon
or Salung, containing a vast body of tin ore. It then extends nearly
east, across the Malay peninsula, in about the same latitude, between
the provinces of Tungano and Pakhang, the shores of which are bathed
by the China sea: it then extends north to the head of the gulf of
Siam. The Siamese government, during the year 1832, brought under their
immediate subjection, nearly the whole of the tributary states in the
Malay peninsula. They possess, also, a large part of the late kingdom
of Lao, including the former capital of the empire, called Lau-chang,
situated on the great river Camboja, in about the sixteenth degree of
north latitude, and which is represented to be very populous. They hold
also (with the exception of a small portion of the southern part) the
province of Batabang, in Camboja. Their eastern boundary line is in
about the longitude of 105°, and extends north to the latitude of 15°,
being the dividing line between Lao and Camboja, and extending south
to the Siamese gulf, the boundary being the island of Kong, (alias Ko
Kong,) situate in north latitude 10° 43′, and longitude 103° 17′ east.
Extending north, on the east coast of the gulf, lies Chautabun, once a
part of the ancient kingdom of Camboja. It is well known as a rich and
valuable possession of Siam.
The Siamese possess no ships of war, but they have an immense number
(probably not less than five hundred) of war-canoes; some of them being
over a hundred feet in length, and made of a single teak-tree: they
have also, probably, fifty or sixty vessels, having two or three masts,
using fore and aft sails, and carrying from three to eight brass guns:
the largest do not exceed a hundred tons’ burden: these are neatly and
strongly built, and many of them are even elegant models. The whole
number of mariners employed in foreign and coasting voyages, may be
fairly estimated as amounting to not less than thirteen thousand.
[Sidenote: PRODUCTS--IMPORTS.]
Siam is a very fertile country, and abounds in productions suited for
foreign trade, beyond any other with which I am acquainted to the
eastward of the cape of Good Hope. It is no less distinguished for the
variety and abundance of its mineral, than it is acknowledged to be
for its vegetable productions. I have annexed a statement, showing the
exports of 1832, the quantities of each article, the prices, &c., &c.
To the Siamese trade may be added that of ship building, which is
carried on very extensively. A great number of Chinese junks are built
here annually; the timbers are of a very hard wood called marbao, and
the plank is of the finest teak in the world. Many of these vessels are
of a thousand tons’ burden.
The imports consist of British piece goods, white and printed, with
some woollens. India goods, of all descriptions, the coarser from
Bengal, and the finer and more expensive, from Surak. From China are
brought silks and teas, porcelain, quicksilver, and almost every other
article exported from that country. From other sources powder, arms,
and cannon; glass ware, and crockery; cutlery; some drugs; arrack;
wine, &c., &c. Opium is strictly prohibited; but the Chinese and
others introduce, clandestinely, large quantities for sale. There
is an immense trade carried on at the capital, called Si-a-Yuthia,
(pronounced See-ah-you-té-ah,) and on the opposite, or right bank of
the river, at Bang-kok.
_Cotton twist_ is daily increasing in demand, more particularly low
numbers, from twenty to thirty. Twist, of a bright red, (not narrow,)
from number forty to fifty, always sells well; yellow and green are
died in the country, as well as ordinary red. Not more than twenty
peculs should be sent by one vessel.
_Siamese dresses_ should be of small star patterns, on red, blue, and
green grounds, with a few chocolate grounds: the _red_ grounds must be
_bright_; they should be in the proportion of _four_ to _one_ of the
others. Each case should contain twenty corges, containing four hundred
dresses.
_Prints_, generally called seven eighths, find a ready market. They
must be all of the star pattern, bright ground and narrow. The
proportion is, two pieces of red to one of black or blue, in a case of
a hundred pieces. Some on cloth, of thirty-four to thirty-six inches,
would also sell.
_Chintz._ Large pattern furniture chintz is saleable. It is used for
curtains and screens. Patterns running lengthwise, are preferred.
_Ells._ Long ells find a ready sale. The consumption of _red_ is very
great. There should be one hundred pieces of red to twenty of green.
_Woollens._ _Thin_ ladies’ cloths only are in demand; heavy, thick
broadcloths will not sell. From September to December, there is a
demand for them. Red and green are the favourite colours. In a bale of
twelve pieces, each seventeen and a half to eighteen yards in length,
there should be five of red, four of green, one of yellow, one of light
blue, one of light purple.
_Steel_, in tubs of a small size, sells readily in small parcels.[A]
[A] Samples of goods should be in readiness, which will save great
trouble.
The inland trade is a very important branch, especially with Lau, and
the Chinese province of Yunan, &c. This domestic traffic is carried
on, on the Menam, in flat-boats, and on bamboo-rafts. Boats leave Lau
in August and September, when the river is swollen by the periodical
rains, and arrive at Bang-kok in November and December. They bring
stic-lac, benzoin, raw silk, ivory, beeswax, horns, hides, timber,
&c., &c. The articles of merchandise exported into China, through
Lau, consist of coarse woollens, broadcloths, cutlery, gold, copper,
lead, &c., &c. The Chinese are the principal foreign traders. The
Siamese prosecute a large foreign and coasting trade to China, Camboja,
Cochin-China, the Malay peninsula, to Singapore, to the eastern coast
of Sumatra, to the bay of Bengal, &c., &c. The traffic between the
countries lying on the shores of the straits of Malacca and the bay of
Bengal, is generally conducted by three different routes, across the
Malay peninsula; and then reshipped, in boats, on the gulf of Siam,
to the capital: the imports being British and Indian goods, opium,
esculent swallows’ nests, &c., &c.
The population of the capital and Bang-kok, with their suburbs, may
fairly be rated at four hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants, I
deem it best to state this fact, so that it may be seen that, in a
commercial point of view, it is a place of great importance.
[Sidenote: COINS AND WEIGHTS.]
The Siamese coin no money strictly speaking; they use _bent_ bars of
silver, made nearly round and stamped with a star. Those of the largest
size are called baats, and by Europeans _ticals_. They are of the value
of _sixty-one_ cents and a small fraction. The halves are denominated
two salings, the quarters one saling; there are also eighths, called
one tuang. They have a gold currency formed in the same manner and of
various values; they have no copper or tin coin: occasionally, some of
the latter may be seen brought from Calantin, &c.: cowries or bias are
used in their stead.
The _currency_ is as follows: one thousand and fifty cowries or bias
make one tuang; two tuangs, one saling; four salings, one baat or tical.
Imaginary or money of account: four baats, one tamling; twenty
tamlings, one catty or eighty baats; fifty catties, one pecul or one
thousand baats.[A]
[A] The baat or tical has been assayed in Calcutta and valued at two
shillings and sixpence sterling. I have given it the same value as the
European traders--viz., sixty-one cents.
The _weights_ are the same as in China, being the pecul and catty; one
hundred catties making one pecul; one catty, one and a third pounds
avoirdupois. The fathom is the measure in most frequent use, being
six feet, six inches; also, twelve finger-breadths make one span; two
spans, one cubit; four cubits, one fathom; twenty fathoms, one sen; one
hundred sens, one yuta or yut.
[Sidenote: TREATY WITH SIAM.]
On the twentieth day of March, 1833, corresponding to Wednesday,
the last of the fourth month of the year 1194, called
_Pi-ma-rong-chat-tava-sok_, (or the year of the dragon,) the final
articles of the first commercial treaty between Siam and the United
States were concluded after a negotiation of twenty-two days, and on
the first day of April they were signed and sealed; but only a single
copy of the treaty could be obtained, notwithstanding the promise of
the chao-phaya praklang, one of the first ministers of state, that two
copies should be furnished me. No other reason was assigned for this
breach of promise, than that it was not customary.
It is written in four languages, viz.: Siamese, Chinese, Portuguese,
and English, and is of the great length of nine feet and seven inches.
Previously to the signing of the treaty, the charges were not defined
and fixed; now, all obstacles and impositions are removed, and but a
single charge is made of seventeen hundred ticals on every Siamese
fathom of seventy-eight inches on the breadth of the vessel, if
merchandise is imported, and fifteen hundred if specie only is brought.
This charge is in full of all import and export duties either on
vessel or cargo. The sixth article of the treaty relates to debtors.
As foreigners were equally liable to the penalties with the natives,
I deemed it most proper to guard against the barbarity, which gave
the creditor in fact the power of life and death over his debtor,
and therefore in the early stage of the negotiation, I proposed an
article (which was agreed to) which released the American citizen
only, from all pains and penalties, by delivering to his creditors all
the property he possessed. About a fortnight after its conclusion,
the minister inserted an additional clause, making it reciprocal, so
that the Siamese debtor might receive the same benefit of the American
creditor. He was told it would have an unequal operation, as it would
very rarely occur that an American would incur a debt to a Siamese;
but he insisted that it should remain as it was, although I proposed
nullifying the whole article. But still if any American feels disposed
to take advantage of a code of laws written in blood, it will readily
suggest to him that a transfer of his debt to a responsible Siamese,
will give him a free and unimpeded course to hunt down a prostrate
victim.
An attempt was made to reduce the measurement-duty on vessels bringing
specie _only_, to eight hundred ticals (instead of fifteen hundred) but
it did not prove successful, and a similar failure was the result of
another proposition to admit vessels wishing to purchase a part of a
cargo only, by paying a proportionate part of the measurement-duty.
The treaty has removed all obstacles to a lucrative and important
branch of our commerce; the merchant being left free to sell or
purchase where and of whom he pleases. Prior to this period, the
American merchant was not allowed to sell to a private individual the
cargo he imported, nor purchase a return cargo. The king claimed the
exclusive right of purchase and sale in both cases; and furthermore,
such parts of the imported cargoes as were most saleable, were selected
and taken at his own valuation, which was always at prices far below
the market value, as _profit_ was the sole object in making the
purchases.
Secondly: he also fixed the prices of the articles wanted for return
cargoes, and no individual dared offer any competition either in buying
or selling.
Thirdly: the American merchant not only did not obtain a fair value for
his merchandise, but it is notorious that he had to pay from twenty to
thirty per cent. more for the produce of the country than he could have
purchased it for from private hands.
Fourthly: the vexations occasioned by delay were a matter of serious
complaint. It was no uncommon circumstance to be delayed from two to
four months beyond the stipulated time. The loss sustained, say for
three months’ charter, and interest on the capital employed for that
time, &c., &c., amounted to several thousand dollars. In addition to
all these evils the merchant was frequently obliged to take payment in
_inferior_ articles, at the _highest_ market value for the _best_, and
even _unsaleable_ merchandise at high prices.
Fifthly: the duties on imports were not permanent; they varied from
eight to fifteen per centum.
Sixthly: the export duty on sugar of the first quality, was one dollar
and a half (Spanish) per pecul, which was not less than from 25 to 30
per centum upon the first cost, and other articles were charged in the
same proportion.
Seventhly: port-charges and other exactions were not defined and fixed,
but they generally amounted to not less than three and a half (Spanish)
dollars per ton.
Eighthly: Presents were expected, and in fact exacted, from the king to
the lowest custom-house officer, according to the usages of Asiatics;
there were but a few vessels that did not pay upward of a thousand
dollars, if they had a valuable cargo. The difference, therefore, in
exactions and impositions, prior and subsequent to the conclusion of
the treaty, may be stated on a vessel of two hundred and fifty tons,
having a twenty-five feet beam, as follows: The duties, _formerly_,
were from eight to fifteen per cent. on _imports_; the average rate was
not less than ten per cent.
Now, on a cargo of $40,000, it would give the sum of $4,000
_Add_ to this $1,50 per pecul on sugar exported,
which was equal, at the lowest calculation, to twenty-five
per cent., on $40,000, which gives 10,000
_Also_, $3,50 per ton for charges 975
And presents, say 1,000
If there is added the _difference_ in the sale of the
imported cargo to the king or to individuals, the estimate
cannot be less than twenty per cent., and probably
twice that amount would not cover the loss, 8,000
_Add_ to this an additional price paid to the king on
the produce exported, say it was twenty per cent., is 8,000
Three months’ charter, arising from detention, at
$900 per month 2,700
Three months’ loss of interest is 600
-------
$35,275
From this amount deduct the _single charge_ of
1,700 ticals per each Siamese fathom on the _breadth_
of vessels bringing merchandise. If only specie were
brought, 1,500 ticals.
Sixty-eight thousand ticals at sixty-one cents, on
seventy-five feet beam, is 4,275
-------
Making a difference of not less than $31,000
The result is, that the treaty has secured to us a valuable branch
of commerce which was entirely destroyed, and which will continue to
increase vastly, as the Siamese recover from the serious disasters
which resulted from the inundation of the valley of the Menam, for
upward of three months, during the year 1831.
_Exports from the river Menam (Siam) during the year 1832, showing the
quantity and market value of each article._
NAMES OF EXPORTS. QUANTITY. PRICES.
Pepper, 38,000 peculs, 10 ticals per pecul.
Sugar, 96,000 peculs, 15,000 1st sort, 8 do. do.
60,000 2d do. 7 a. 7½ do. do.
20,000 3d sort, 6 a. 6½ ticals per pcl.
1,000 Preto or
black, 2½ a. 3½ do. do.
Sugar candy, 5,000 peculs, 15 16 do. do.
Tin, 1,600,000 lbs., 1,200 do. 20 22 do. do.
Tobacco, 3,500 do. 100 bundles, 4 ticals.
Benzoin, 100 do. 50 a. 55 peculs.
Cardamom, 73,150 lbs., 550 1st sort, 100 a. 360 a. 380.
do. 2d do. 150 a. 280 300.
3d do. 300 200 220.
Ivory, 40,000 lbs., 300 peculs, 160 a. 180.
Bar-iron, 2,260,000 lbs., 20,000 do. 3½ a. 4.
Kwalahs or iron pans,
60,000, 1st size, 4 ticals per peculs.
2d do. 3 do. do.
3d do. 2½ do. do.
4th do. 2 do. do.
5th do. 2 do. do.
6th do. 1½ do. do.
7th do. 1¼ do. do.
Aguils or eagle-wood, 10 a. 12 do. 1st sort, 400 ticals.
2d and 3d, 250 and 200.
Cotton, 30 a. 40,000 26 clear, 8 in seed.
Swallows’ nest,
(esculent,) 10 a. 12 1st sort, 10,000.
2d do. 6,000.
3d do. 4,000.
Bichos do Mar or Tripang,
Camphire, Malayan,
Wax, yellow, 1,800, do. 55 a. 60.
Gamboge, 250, 6 quantities averaging from 40 to 80
p. p.
Varnish, 500, 50 per pecul.
Salt, 8,000 peculs, 2½ a. 3½ per pecul.
Dried fish, 60,000, 3 a. 4 do. do.
Hog’s lard, 14 or 15 do. do.
Sapan-wood, 200,000, from 1 a. 3½ salings per pec.
Teak-timber, 127,000 logs,
Rose-wood, 200,000 peculs, 3 salings per pecul.
Barks, Mangrove, &c., 200,000 bundles, 6 ticals per 100 bundles.
Leather, Deer, 100,000, 20 a. 25 per 100.
Iron-wood, (ebony) 1,500 peculs, 2½ peculs.
Dried meat, 1,600, 6 per do.
Copper 300, 50 a. 55.
Rhinoceros skins, not ascertained.
Buffalo do. 1,500, 8 a. 10.
Ox do. 300, 7 a. 8.
Elephant do. not ascertained.
Tiger do. do.
Leopard do. do.
Bear do. do.
Snake do. do.
Civet-cat do. do.
„ „ Drug, not ascertained.
Dragons’ blood, do.
Sharks’ fins, 65 to 70 peculs, a. 65 per peculs.
Buffalo and ox horns, 300 do. 3 a. 4 per do.
Deers’ antlers, do. soft, 26,000 pairs, 1½ a. 2 ticals per pair.
do. horns, do. 3,000 peculs, 8 a. 9 per pecul.
Ox and Buffalo bones, 300, 1 do.
Elephant do. 450, 7 do.
Rhinoceros do. do.
do. horns, do.
Tiger, the entire bodies
for China market, 56 a. 60 do.
Peacock’s tails, 1,200 trains, 7 a. 8 per pecul.
Raw silk, (from Lao) 200 peculs, 200 ticals per do.
Rough pitch, 10,000, 3 to 8 do. do.
Wood oil, 15,000, 3 to 6 do. do.
Takan, an inferior or
bastard Cardamom, 4,000, 32 to 40 do. do.
Feathers, 4,000 pairs of
wings, 65 a. 100 do. do.
Large feathers for fans, 100 to 150 pairs, 30 ticals per pecul.
Fish skins, 1,800 peculs, 30 do. do.
Jagra or palm-sugar, 150,000 pots, 4 to 6 pots 1 tical.
Rattans, 200,000 bundles, 4 ticals per 100 bundles.
The foregoing is the quantity ascertained by the government for
1832, to which may be added a considerable quantity for each
article smuggled, and principally by the Chinese. The exports,
therefore, for the year 1832, taking the foregoing statement to be
correct, amount to a sum not less than _four_ and a _half millions
of dollars_.