work, or social and festive>'inhMir- hours’ -of;pleasure.’ • One fbfrs'efvation
generally made and admitted, would seem to^militate. against .this part'of the
Javan character ; they -are I remarked j-to^r be «emdouS^and ,'jealMs^Jfepne1
another’s sdMeds’^ditlt-if this trait of' character.be withdifficulty reconciled
fo' their general ■ reputation'! for • contentfedness and- benevolCnc^/pit is surely
still' more .inconsistent'with' tbat-indolent - apathy with1 which th'ey -are;-bften
charged. .
It will appear throughout their history, that when strongly, exe-ited by t e -
animosities’ of "the constant wars in which they were 'engaged,1 they wereifre-
quently guilty'of acts of »-great barbaritysUch as decapitating' a vari<pn'sbfed
enemy,'and kicking'his head about 'like a football. - I'n w.arandpdlitids,
niuch' is1 not to be" said in their favour, stratagem1 and* intrigue' bein’grelied
upon in preference to discipline,7 courage,' hnsguod faith: eventth^Qh^dSe,
during; wh'at-is called the Chinese war on'Java (AkD/17 JOy-would; appear
tov'deserve' a-higher- character for-bravery-and good faith 'than«the$Javans.
But it-is* reasonable to attribute^ this,- in some -measure,” to'-thfe>' degrading
influence of 'European despbtisfliiA -great disfega'Fihfo^fehe-'/iWfe' •people is
shewn throughout'their politicaldfistoisy? astis particukfrly exemplified inWhe
ihstahce- of a mock battle that was foughtdsetwefe'n
near Se'mdrang, :in order to impose -upon thehDutch; rdhenChi®l5<JwMied
to-know how-they-should act upon the-'bcGa&idQi-wHn.Attack th'e-whole army
* lof the Javans by-'surprize,” said the'Javan negociators,*1‘-^but • b'e>careful
r«£rnWto kill a nfbf the chiefs or greS^pedple’ and'ittwill be a sham’'.fight;?
- O f their nationality it. may be-observed,«-'tbait'ievfer-since^tbg-flMfa^Mval
of : Eur'dpeansi' they- have rn'eglhcted-ho^o^brtuhity’UpmEttehffitinf 3to
regain-dSeif independence.' A ;refetehfee t#tJ^e;?eM#ps^n h^loryi^ill
be' sufficient td illustrate' this, as-wfell SfitydShewl^
ericroacb'fhents ’and'-assumptions^of 'their -European rui?efsV- Iii th'dl grikt
cause" of1 national independence all would unite, hutfrth'ey seem hardly tb^be
sufficiently advanced in civilization to effect such an object/ withoutthfetfisk
of relapsing into many barbarities, from the .< practice of which they ‘have
been "weaned’,'-by a long' continuance- of established government? arfd'.geKetal
tranquillity. Quiet and peaceable» as the Javans now are, were* thtyfionce
roused to insurrection; their bloddwould ’rapidly boil, - and they^wouldmo
doubt" be'guilty of many excesses! -i
/ I might illustrate the Javan character still further by//a comparison, of it
With thfe Malayan, by shewing, from the remains of those customs that Are
to
-to, fra» miich.it has beeft.
alteredrby^thddntroffuqj^ci^ffé»Mah0jmetanism, and by giving an estimate of
4he^effecf||(pE(^uced?mpoii^it byithe government, of&fcfre- Dutch j bht-this
-Would. anticipaté-som'ejüBServations,which willhei more appropriate in other
parts? of» this’work.1
-jï[j^4^^fcai?ses‘-^hich.h1av,cit,e^4^d‘;toJower thé-character; ofjthe Asiatics in
ComparisomJwi4;h^Ei^pvsui^noIleahas.. had - airadre/dhCcd.e’cI-SinfluenGe than
polygamy.,-^fgnïall those ,in^lgfyandv'gesije5.Qi^teeljhgs^ all that delicacy'- of
Mntiment^b^0jmanticiandrpoe%^l spititi" rwhife^ ^ayttfous». leverinspire's in
the.ibreagt of an^European^tto^ayan-issa^sttangerj' andein ,the comn&tni.ca/-
tion^bgtween»thejse'xes he. seeks only (convenience, i and> littietoforethan the
gratification of an,appetite., Butf the; evil (Joeanot stop-here; i.pdirc&tion is'neg-
lepted and famijy: attachments!are -.weakened-.Among. the*pBivxleg'e~efrdrders',
the-first twilgjis generally.‘sel'ected':by>the3,friendhtp’f Jhe' party, from»1 mhtï^es
n%in,terëst-.»a,nditi0^streüghtéi^^^ily. alii access • and théikfecqndtis rather to7 be
considered as- gctapf' the hugband-styhpice 1 «Butf.ifiihisrci^cumstances
admit öf i>tj,jihe:l^g,nc'scrupledh;ectfij3t?;irl-PA4r Wpmenras*Qqnoutftftésp{jvho
hgld ..an , honourable, (rank-I in his 1 hau^pipld: t^efapfogenyh'frdm?tft'eSd
B^hWctipn^:^ofrendmmenseftjJ ^ .has:,al'^l!^yf been: staled, ithafe,a Javan
fehief has. been* known 'tpnhave, upwardstof sixty,ackU’Q.wled^edp’ehiMfen‘;
and!it^topJoftén happej^dbat -g^such|Caseah^>uèf hayrnglifrcfen' neglected
iniithein infancy,-jibeeomej dissipated, idle) and styti)j^^^rs/|i^4^sprihg-,'uh
like .^ank^gjSp^. and o&èryipb thu. 'Countryyuc^xs^'e^butiUo^fillh'up ktiljhj*
and. iiselessyrfetinuealit Eortunatelv. fortthe. peasantryg^^^are-' the-, "mass* of
fehC4j(pidputófcip,n;_f' thcyrjhhY<£r escaped ,ithis. dfeferior ating^-institution / ‘n and
perhaps mUchctlfi Jhe comparative,.Superiority of-dhqr chat actef-l>8lf!tthe
peasantry|o>vfer, - that ofi^ljPi higheijjDrdp^s dsrtq^bêJ.attrifruJed [tb this- adVah-!
tage. T^The highqr orders have also been more exgösed^to the! infiöeoc’è
q^^ihomefanism,: and ' Europèan .’innovation ;t-ö(^dift:^Mth^-'föxift'èr', has
removed' fromth&frnuslages^fsome r.fraits, uf: hasbarism, < and/ t'ên‘dh'd?<'Èo tifeit-'
dévelopmentjpf- thèir intellectual qualities,u-it/hak/introduced Mahometan
vices; and^ the- European power having gradually, öhtairied' its feujife'macy
oveistMfi|land, rather by>sfratagèm'‘andüntr4guej;thairby, opcn'ie&nqUesti^- it-
is probable that the; necessity sunder which, the* natives found*’ th'éïn^elvesdq'
resist j its ^encfoachments. by', similars means, has- powerfully ,<^ntribU<Êéd^tó‘
corfuptrlh^é natural ingen)rousnessr5i It is not atltHfe cotift-ufritii^^refeigni'.-
pennèd up as he now is and ,kept like a bird in a^age’by the intrigues and
-1* ;po.Wer