Here We May Behold In Its Simplest Form The Genius Of Commerce At
The Work Of Civilization.
Trade is the magic that keeps all at
peace, and unites these discordant elements into a well-behaved
community.
All are traders, and know that peace and order are
essential to successful trade, and thus a public opinion is
created which puts down all lawlessness. Often in former year,
when strolling along the Campong Glam in Singapore, I have
thought how wild and ferocious the Bugis sailors looked, and how
little should like to trust myself among them. But now I find
them to be very decent, well-behaved fellows; I walk daily
unarmed in the jungle, where I meet them continually; I sleep in
a palm-leaf hut, which any one may enter, with as little fear and
as little danger of thieves or murder as if I were under the
protection of the Metropolitan police. It is true the Dutch
influence is felt here. The islands are nominally under the
government of the Moluccas, which the native chiefs acknowledge;
and in most years a commissioner arrives from Amboyna, who makes
the tour of the islands, hears complaints, settle disputes, and
carries away prisoner any heinous offender. This year he is not
expected to come, as no orders have yet been received to prepare
for him; so the people of Dobbo will probably be left to their
own devices. One day a man was caught in the act of stealing a
piece of iron from Herr Warzbergen's house, which he had entered
by making a hole through the thatch wall.
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