language, respecting a meditated attack on the
British settlement of Macassar, with the view of
throwing off the dependence of Boni on the European
authority. “ I am determined,” said the
king of Boni, “ for my own part, (addressing himself
to two of his councillors,) to submit to the
English no longer j and on this account I say, that
one of us three must assume the command of the
army, I perhaps leading, and you two, one to my
right, and one to my lejt.” Arung-China, the
commander of the army, observed, “ The king of
Boni cannot by any possibility take the command
while the legitimate commander exists.” The
king answered, “ Do not trouble yourself about
that matter, for you know I have a sister whom I
can nominate sovereign of Boni, for the time.”
All the governments of Celebes are formed on
principles such as now exemplified in that of Boni,
but there is some variety. The most extraordinary
is in that of the Goa * Macassars. The kinog is chosen by ten electors, who also choose the officer
called, in his capacity of elector, Pcichalaya,
and in that of first minister, Bachara-bulak. To
this officer belong powers similar to those of the
Mayors of the Palace of France. Of his own authority
he can remove the king himself, and direct
the electors to proceed to a new election; he can
also remove any member of the council of nine, or
Bato-salapang, and direct another to be chosen.
The history of this officer’s usurpation of such extraordinary
powers is not recorded, but may be
readily imagined.
The Bugis state of Wajo affords another singular
anomaly. There are forty princes in this state,
who constitute the great council of the nation.
This council is subdivided into three chambers,
from each of which there are elected two princes,
who in their turn elect the chief of the confederacy,
called the Matwwa. This smaller council of seven
princes, from which, by custom, women are excluded,
and in which the president, if necessary,
lias two votes, carry on the affairs of the general
government, and decide upon all questions of government,
those of peace and war excepted, which
must be leferred to the great national council of forty.
I am now to furnish the reader with a picture of
absolute government, as exemplified in that of the
Javanese. This government is a hereditary despotism,
exactly such as is established in all the great
empires of Asia. There is no hereditary nobility
with privileges to control or limit his authority.
He is himself the first minister of religion, so that
even religion has but trifling influence in restricting
his authority; in short, the monarchs of Java
may be considered as among the most absolute of
eastern potentates. In every word which relates
to the monarch, the servile copiousness of the Ja