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fast sailers. Many of them trade along the coast but by far the greater part are pirate vessels. There is now 21 Malay in prison waiting for their execution which is to take place on the 12th of March. Their Sam-pans are also pretty built [crossed out: boats] and very fast pulling boats on the Singapore River are numbers of boats which have families in them and many of them have persons in them who have never been on shore. and are known as the Orang-Pulos or Men of the sea, These people have shops of all kinds in their boats (they live chiefly on fish) and it may be called a town of boats. These watermen are very hardy and venturesome and are almost as skilful [sic] as a fish in the water. The interior is very much infested with tigers and other wild animals which carry off many of the Natives. The Malays kill Numbers of them with nothing but the kreese, The Manner of doing it is when the tiger springs to stoop to the ground and stab the tiger in the belly and run from under him this is repeated as often as the tiger springs at them. In some parts of the island the Malays build their houses on posts to keep the tigers [crossed out: off] out. The religion of the Malays is mostly Mehometan but there are many who have the religion of the talepoins or belief in incantations. transmigration. devils Magicians, Genii &c. They are governed by the English laws administered by a rajah appointed by the govenor, [sic] in other places they are governed by their own rajahs who are generally despots. of the Most cruel kind, There are a great many Hindus here. most of them are employed as police they are very strict and hate both Chinese and Malays but never the less they can be and are bribed by the rich Chinese, so that it is difficult to convict them even after they are known to be guilty It seems to me and no doubt is a pity that civilization brings vice as well as virtue with it. Singapore is the great depot and Mart for Malacca ratans [sic] & canes which have within the last few years become quite an article of commerce many Malay boats and boatmen are continually employed gathering them the island is one of the best watered places I ever saw. There are thousands of springs over the island and good water may be had any where by digging 15 or 20 feet. Canals and rivers intersect the island in every direction and the public roads are the best I ever saw. All kinds of fruits (tropical) flourish here and the climate may be called a perpetual spring. it is never very hot for as this is the southern point of Asia it is allways cooled by the fresh Monsoons and the cool sea breezes