practised at Malacca about fourteen years ago,
and introduced into Singapore only in 1824.
This last place is now the principal seat of manufactory.
Ship-building has not hitherto been carried to
any extent, but two establishments exist, capable
of giving ordinary repairs to vessels of any size,
and at which a few small craft, constructed of the
timber of the island, have been built. This timber
however, as already mentioned, is not fit for
building durable ships. Should at any period the
abundant supply of teak timber produced in Siam
become available, it may be expected, as there are
many situations convenient for the formation of
docks and slips, that the business of ship-building
will be established at Singapore upon an extensive
scale. The only other manufactory which
may be worth noticing is the fabrication of native
arms, and of domestic and agricultural implements
for exportation throughout the Archipelago.
In 1825, there were upward of sixty forges »
employed by the Chinese chiefly in this business.
The chief importance of Singapore is as a commercial
emporium, and in this view it has certainly
answered the most sanguine expectations.
When it was founded, in 1819, it was inhabited
by a few hundred piratical Malay fishermen.
Down to the year 1819, both the island and the
harbour may be said to have been almost unknown.
I t was indeed not only not frequented
by European shipping, but carefully avoided. In
1820, the very year following its occupation, not
less than 13,000 tons of native vessels cleared out
from the port, all employed in one description of
trade or another; and no less than 55,000 tons of
European shipping touched at it, either for trade
or refreshment. For the first three years of its
occupation, no attempt was made at an estimate
of the amount of the trade carried on. I made
an effort to remedy this defect in 1823, when the
exports were found to amount to 5,568,560 Spanish
dollars. In the subsequent years, the account
of the trade was taken more in detail, and as the
absence of all duties and charges left few motives
for concealment, the results are perhaps as accurate
as the greater number of regular customhouse
returns. The following is an abstract of
the trade of the place for the years 1824, 25,
and 26:
IMPORTS. EXPORTS.
Span, dollars. Span, dollars. Total.
1824 . 6,914,536 . 6,604,601 . 13,519,137
1825 . 6,289,396 . 5,837,370 . 12,126,766
1826 . 6,863,581 . 6,422,845 . 13,286,426
I t appears from this statement, that in the
years 1825 and 1826, so calamitous to the general
commerce of the world, the value of the trade of
Singapore, before so rapidly progressive, suffered
some slight diminution. On inspecting the re