ty
of coal to be had there, or as to its superior quality. But, upon the
subject of Borneo, I shall have a few words more to say hereafter.

The trade between Calcutta and the Straits' settlements, is both
extensive and important. Vessels from the Hooghly visit Singapore
throughout the year, bringing large supplies of raw cotton, Indian
cotton goods, opium, wheat, &c. In return, they carry back vast
quantities of gold-dust, tin, pepper, sago, gambia, and treasure. It is
no unfrequent occurrence, to find the Singapore market pretty nearly
cleared of the circulating medium after the departure of two or three
clippers for the "City of Palaces." Indeed, treasure and gold-dust are,
in nine cases out of ten, the only safe remittance from the Straits of
Malacca to Calcutta; and those who remit in other modes, frequently
sustain heavy losses, which not only affect the individuals concerned,
but check the trade generally.

I have now given a rapid view of the principal features of the native
trade of Singapore, without pretending to give a perfect account of it.
Before taking leave of this pretty little Island, I will add a few
general remarks upon its condition and prospects. Its actual state, when
I left it in 1842, was far from being as prosperous as I could wish. An
emporium of the trade of the whole of the Eastern Archipelago, its
aggregate imports and exports may be estimated, in round numbers, at
three millions sterling per annum. Trade by barter is the system
generally adopted; and notwithstanding long-continued exertions on the
part of the European mercantile community to establish the cash system,
their success has been so very partial, that nine-tenths of the
remittances to Europe and India in return for goods consigned here for
sale, are made in produce. Severe losses have been sustained here, from
time to time, by the European mercantile firms, in consequence of their
giving credit, to an almost unlimited extent, to Chinese and other
dealers, many of them mere men of straw. During last year, these losses
have amounted to very considerable sums. This has led to renewed and
more strenuous exertions to establish a cash system, but, I fear, with
indifferent success. The present state of the bazaars is very far from
satisfactory: my last accounts state, that no one knows who can be
trusted. The natural consequence of such a state of things is, a serious
decrease in the amount of sales; and had it not been for the demand