k H a v in g tth u s a ttem p te d a. b r ie f do scrip tio n ofi;the,.dlflfepeRt « la sse s o f th e
A sia tic p o p u la tio n o f th e islan d y I;s h a ll p roceed-to a sh o rt jdetaiL o f th e liabita-
{"’ tioiiSi,
by his master, cm by others* t SltoMfee estimated,by .the «ammo» ru^a,of .persorad-irijuries, and
not by tb^grjn^Ie^pf a.pro^rietor,ahjising his.qwnpfqphrty; .that tha,puni$h)pent_£or murder
committed by a master on. his slave, should be {he same as that of murder a
free person fiharevieiy^ave' sh'ohld Have a right id acqrffis oto^ by his private
industry or labour, nrfoythdbounty-of others ;-that thrs^propeft^Sh5Sd-neVef%e{lefoVveai>Ie*at
the discretion ffipsthe master i; that;by this.-property, thei slave-.should alwaysi.have a .right to
redeem his liberty, after-having continued, with, his .master fpr.theiteriBu of seven years, and on
paying the on estimation, .subjeefctp t&e a p p e a l the magistrate, shoulcLat the
lame bethought an adequate equivalent for his personal services! " ’V
! Thesfe ftindiamentar alterations in the code were submitted by tSe !10c^
higher authority, at a period “when the principal proprietors' evinced a^Sidfcurrl^^Hi the
measure; but the provisional. tenure'of the government, £nd the expectation of i*He *laiJy
transfer, of the island: to- the. crown, induced-a delay, .until die re-establishment of Holland as
a kingdom precluded the adoption .of so essential a change. .
.. /The ,excusft.oi?eted by. the colonists for-, the origin., and (Continuance,,qf slavery on Java i§,
that on,the.iirst establishment of the Butch in:the Eastern Islands, there, did not exist, as“in
IK^temu Jndia,, a [class of people^calculatfed for domestic 'iserviceT; that they had, in neehser
qncnce, toxreate.a cli»ss.ef domestic servants, in doing which theytadopted the,plan of rearing
children in their families from other, qountries,i;in.preference to thosein.their hr,mC^;a>0 neighbourhood,
7who, from their .connexions and.-the-.habits -of fheh-..-r;elatives5 could never be
depended upon.. Whether necessity dictated .this system in the earlier periods of the Dutch
establishment, or not, is at least doubtful; but it,is certain that this necessity no longer exists,
nor is there the. shadow of an excuse for continuing on Java this odious traffic and condition.
The,Javans, during, die residence of the British on Java, have.been found-perfectly trustworthy*
faithful, and, industrious ;-,and the demand, was .alone wanting: in,.this, as in meet .cases,
to .create a. .sufficient,supply,of competent domestics. The, continuance of the traffic, for one
day longer serves but to lower the European in the eyes of the native, who, gratified with the
measures .adopted by,the British, government in its suppression, stands himself pure of the foul
sin. „To the o r^ it of,.the Javan..character, and the honour of -the individual, it should, bp
known, that whip the proclamation of, the British, government was published,-^requiring the
registration of allslaves,- and declaring that such as were: not registered by a certain day shopld
be. entitled to jth^- .emancipation, the, Panambahan, of Shmenap, who had inherited fo his
family domestic .slaves, number,, of not less than fifty;, .proudly s a i d , T h e n I will/pot
I register my slavps--they shall be .free: hitherto, they have been kept such, because it was
t‘ the. custom, and the Dutch liked to be attended - by slaves when they visited the palace;
“ ibut.as .that ,is pot .the case with thc-British, .they, shall- cease to be.elqves :>for long, have I
“ felt-shame-, and’.my blood has run cold, when I have reflected on what . I once saw at Ba-
“ tavia .and Semarang; where: human beings were exposed, for public sale, placed on a table,
“ and examined like sheep and oxen.”
The short administration of the iBridsh <government on Java has fortunately.given rise to
another class of domestic servants... The numerous officers of the army,, mad others whose funds
■ ' did
tiems, dress,-food, and-domestic eeosènaÿ ofthe'33ât»é^ffe»%ïÎQj order to enable
thé-reader ttssimderstand 'sômeDoffàhe.-termsÜiirithe tables, candi likewise in the .
Subsequent! observations* it may* not be'iimprèper simpiyito state*-tshe-'. names
and tifÎÊ^expresâivé of- thef'different,gradations of rank, deaving a more paj>
ticular account 0'f->theJ-pôwër and‘-authority with which* they are {connected
fes another opper,^mity. .who’ ié* »either- éaïïèé StosukàÉ&a,
SusÛHa ^ ot Sultan, is the: foun tain -of hon oid j“and: ‘the1 source -'of a ll distinction.*^
His family are called Pang’érans, his queen Rcitu, the heir apparent
Rangerait adipâti, and the prime minister Râden adipâti. * Governors 19i
provin'cês^.'êàlled by the -Butch RxgWtbz, ,;ane %tyied by the -natives 'Bopatisi,
Pumungung'sp> Of Ang’àbêk-; -andar-e rariked- among- the ehiefi nobility df-the
epuhtry. ' All the inferior ehfefsj”including thösfe termed 'Radens, Miântris)
Demângs, othersÿ' exöepi the bends of* ■ villages,termed1 Kùwus^
Bûlculs,- Pâüâig’gfis, r&c.,l who arfe efefeted by1 the»Jco&Mnor> people .»out" o f
their öVn number for~*the performance o f. specific'duties;-- may* be» coBsü
dered- al petitciioblesseï-’’
The: cottage ^Or-'hut of the* peasant, called* umah' limasan, mhy be^esti* Dwellings,
mated to ebst^în-1-its»-first'eobstrtictian, -from’two tb»fcur:rupees,“dr from
five
did not admit, or whose temporary residence did not require a permanent establishment of servants,
for the most part usually took Javans into -their service ; and though these might, in
the first instance, not be soa/weltiacquainted with European habits, as slaves who had been
brought up. from their, infancy in Dutch families, yet they gradually improved, and were, in
the end,, for the most part very generally preferred. Let not, therefore, necessity he again
urged as a1 plea lor continuing the traffic.
The measures actually adopted by the British government may be summed up in a few
words. The importation was, -in the first instance; - restricted within a limited age, and the
duty On importation doubled. An annual registry of :alli slaves above a certain age was taken,
and slaves not registered within a certain time declared free. A fee of one Spanish dollar was
demanded for the registry of each slave, the amount of which constituted a fund for the relief
of widows and orphans. On the promulgation of the act of the British legislature, declaring
Lhe further traffic in slaves to be felony, that act; with all its provisions, was at once made a
colonial law. Masters were' precluded from-sending their slaves to‘be confined in» jail at their
pleasure, as had hitherto been the, case,. and all committals 'wer.eiré.qftired'.co ;be made through
the magistrates, in .the.same manner as in the case of Other offenders.
These general regulations, with the more rigid enforcement of the prohibition of further
importations, and of such parts of the code of regulations for ameliorating the condition of the
slaves as had become obsqlete, were all to which the local government felt itself competent ;
but it g'ave its sanction to -an institution set on- foot by the English, and joined in by many
of thé Dutch inhabitants, which took for its basis the .principles of the African institution, and
directed its immediate care to a provision for the numerous slaves restored to liberty.