By The Law Of The Country There Ought To Be
Just 1000 Cashes Upon A String Or Pecoo, Or They Must Give Basse,
Which Is Allowance For The Deficiency.
On the departure of the junks,
you may buy 34 or 35 pecoos for a dollar; which, before next
Year, you
may sell at 22 or even 20 pecoos for a dollar; so that there is great
profit to be made on this traffic; but the danger of loss by fire is
great.
[Footnote 144: Cherringin, is probably that now called Cheribon on the
south side of Java; but Jauby is not to be recognised in our modern
maps. - E.]
The weight used in the purchase and sale of bezoars is called a taile
which is 2-1/4 dollars, or 2 English ounces. A Mallay taile is only
equal to 1-1/2 dollar, or 1-1/3 English ounces. A China taile is
1-7/20 dollars, or 1-1/5 English ounces; so that 10 China tailes are
exactly equal to 6 Javan tailes.
The English commodities vendible here are as follow: English iron in
long thin bars, sells for six dollars the pekul. Lead in small pigs,
5-1/2 dollars the pekul. The barrel of fine corned powder 25 dollars.
Square pieces sanguined 10 dollars each. Square pieces damasked all
over, 6-1/2 feet long, 15 dollars each.[145] Broad-cloth, of ten pounds
the cloth, of Venice red colour, sells for 3 dollars the gasse, which
is 3/4 of a yard. Opium misseree,[146] which is the best, 8 dollars
the cattee. Amber, in large beads, one wang and half a taile
mallay, for 6 dollars. Coral in large branches, 5 or 6 dollars the
taile mallay. Dollars are the most profitable commodity that can be
carried to Bantam.
[Footnote 145: These pieces were probably matchlocks. - E.]
[Footnote 146: Misseree here certainly means from Egypt. - E.]
In February and March every year, there come to Bantam three or four
junks from China, richly laden with raw silk, and wrought silks of
various stuffs, China cashes, porcelain, cotton cloth, and other
things. The prices of these are as follow: Raw silk of Lanking
[Nankin] which is the best, 190 dollars the pekul; raw silk of Canton,
which is coarser, 80 dollars the pekul; taffeta in bolts, 120 yards in
the piece, 46 dollars the corge, or 20 pieces; velvets of all colours,
13 yards the piece, for 12 dollars; Damasks of all colours, 12 yards the
piece, at 6 dollars; white sattins, in pieces of 12 yards, 8 dollars
each; Burgones, of 10 yards long the piece, 45 dollars the corge;
sleeve silk, the best made colours, 3 dollars the cattee; the best
musk, 22 dollars the cattee; the best sewing gold thread, 15 knots,
and every knot 30 threads, one dollar; velvet hangings with gold
embroidery, 18 dollars; upon sattins, 14 dollars; white curtain stuffs,
9 yards the piece, 50 dollars the corge; flat white damask, 9 yards
the piece, 4 dollars each; white sugar, very dry, 3-1/2 dollars the
pekul; very dry sugar-candy, 5 dollars the pekul; very fine broad
porcelain basons, 2 dollars the piece; coarse calico cloths, white or
brown, 15 dollars the corge. They bring likewise coarse porcelain,
drugs, and various other commodities; but as these are not suitable to
our country, I omit to mention them, but the following may be
enumerated: Very good and white benjamins, from 30 to 35 dollars the
pekul; alum, from China, as good as English, 2-1/2 dollars the pekul.
Coromandel cloths are a principal commodity here, and those most
vendible are goobares; pintadoes or chintz, of four or five colours;
fine tappies from St Thomas; ballachos; Java girdles, otherwise
called caine-goolong; calico lawns; book calicos; and white calicos
made up in rolls.[147] A goobar is double, and contains 12 yards, or 6
hastaes single; coarse and fine ballachos contain from 32 to 34
hastaes, but the finest are always longest. In general, all sorts of
cotton cloths that are broad and of good length are here in good
request.
[Footnote 147: Probably turbans. - E.]
The king's custom, called chuckey, is 8 bags on the 100, rating pepper
always at 4 dollars the sack, whatever be its price. Billa-billian is
another custom of this port, by which every ship that arrives here,
whatever be its lading, as cloth or the like, must in the first place
give notice to the king of all the sorts and quantities of commodities,
with their several prices, before landing any of them; upon which the
king sends his officers to look at the goods, who take for him such
goods as he inclines, at half the prices affixed to them, or somewhat
more, as can be agreed upon: Thus, if the cloths be rated at 20 dollars
per corge, the king will only give 15 or 16 dollars at the most.
Instead of this, the Hollanders have been in use to pay to the king 700
or 800 dollars at once for the freedom of a ship's loading, to clear
them of this troublesome billa-billian. By the custom of the country,
this duty upon 6000 sacks of pepper is fixed at 666 dollars, if you
purchase and load the pepper from the merchants; or otherwise to
purchase so many thousand sacks of pepper from the king, paying him half
or three quarters of a dollar more than the current price at the time.
Even if you have provided a loading beforehand, you must pay this
exaction before you can be permitted to load. Rooba-rooba is the duty
of anchorage, and is 500 dollars upon 6000 sacks. The sabander's duty is
250 dollars on 6000 sacks. The weighers have one dollar on every 100
sacks; and the jerotoolies, or weighers belonging to the customhouse,
have a similar duty of one dollar the 100 sacks.
Jortan is a place to the eastwards of Jackatra, called likewise
Sourabaya, which produces plenty of provisions, together with cotton
wool, and yarn ready spun.
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