If They Once Get To Anchor
On The Coast, They May Save Their Voyage With Great Labour.
There also
goes a large ship from Bengal every year, laden with all kinds of fine
cotton cloth, and which usually arrives in the river of Pegu when the
ship of San Thome is about to depart.
The harbour which these two ships
go to is called _Cosmin_. From Malacca there go every year to Martaban,
which is a port of Pegu, many ships, both large and small, with pepper,
sandal-wood, porcelain of China, camphor, _bruneo_[165], and other
commodities. The ships that come from the Red Sea frequent the ports of
Pegu and Ciriam, bringing woollen cloths, scarlets, velvets, opium, and
chequins, by which last they incur loss, yet they necessarily bring them
wherewith to make their purchases, and they afterwards make great profit
of the commodities which they take back with them, from Pegu. Likewise
the ships of the king of Acheen bring pepper to the same ports.
[Footnote 165: Perhaps we ought to read in the text _camphor of
Perneo_. - E.]
From San Thome or Bengal, _out of the sea of Bara_? to Pegu, the voyage
is 300 miles, and they go up the river, with the tide of flood in four
days to the city of _Cosmin_, where they discharge their cargoes, and
thither the _customers_ of Pegu come and take notes of all the goods of
every one, and of their several marks; after which they transport the
goods to Pegu to the royal warehouses, where the customs of all the
goods are taken. When the _customers_ have taken charge of the goods,
and laden them in barks for conveyance to Pegu, the governor of the city
gives licences to the merchants to accompany their goods, when three or
four of them club together to hire a bark for their passage to Pegu.
Should any one attempt to give in a wrong note or entry of his goods,
for the purpose of stealing any custom, he is utterly undone, as the
king considers it a most unpardonable offence to attempt depriving him
of any part of his customs, and for this reason the goods are all most
scrupulously searched, and examined three several times. This search is
particularly rigid in regard to diamonds, pearls, and other articles of
small bulk and great value, as all things, in Pegu that are not of its
own productions pay custom both in or out. But rubies, sapphires, and
spinels, being productions of the country, pay no duties. As formerly
mentioned respecting other parts of India, all merchants going to Pegu
or other places, must carry with them all sorts of household furniture
of which they may be in need, as there are no inns or lodging-houses in
which they can he accommodated, but every man must hire a house when he
comes to a city, for a month or a year, according to the time he means
to remain.
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