is usually governed by a member
of the States-General of the United Netherlands, with the title of
Governor-General of India, all other governors of the possessions
belonging to the Dutch Company being subordinate to his authority. The
inhabitants are well pleased in the governor-general being often
changed, as all prisoners are released at the installation of a new one,
except those charged with murder. He has twelve counsellors to assist
him, who are called the _rads_, or lords of India, and are mostly such
as have formerly been governors in other places, as in Ceylon, Amboina,
Malacca, &c.

[Footnote 213: This seems to indicate that, of the seven _churches_,
some belong to the Dutch Calvinists and Portuguese Roman Catholics,
while others are Mahometan places of worship for the Malays, and idol
temples, or _pagodas_, frequented by the Chinese.--E]

The city is divided by many canals, over which there are bridges almost
at the end of every street, together with booms to lay across, that no
boats may go in or out after sunset. The chief product of the adjoining
country is pepper, of which the Dutch export great quantities every
year; and there are also some few diamonds and other precious stones.
The chief fruits here are plantains, bananas, oranges, lemons,
mangostans, and rumbostans. The _mangostan_ is about the size of a
golden rennet, quite round, and resembling a small pomegranate, the
outer rind being like that of the pomegranate, but of a darker colour,
but the inside of the rind of a fine red. The fruit lies within the
rind, commonly in four or five cloves, of a fine white, very soft and
juicy, within each clove having a small black stone or pip. The pulp is
very delicious, but the stone is very bitter, and is therefore thrown
away, after sucking the fruit The _rumbostan_ is about the size of a
walnut after the green outside peel is off, and is nearly of the shape
of a walnut, having a thick tough outer rind of a deep red colour, full
of red knobs, within which is a white jelly-like pulp, and within that
is a large stone. The pulp is very delicate, and never does any harm,
however much of it a man may eat, providing he swallow the stones; but
otherwise they are said to produce fevers.

This island of Java, on the north side of which Batavia is situated,
extends about ten degrees from east to west, or nearly 700 English
miles. The weather is here extremely regular, and the inhabitants know
how to use it to the