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their scas unsafe, attacked and plundered their vessels, taking the crews prisoners and selling them as slaves for cultivating the ground or compelling them to work in their prahus. They appear to have learned piracy from the Illanuns and Sulos and to The ease with have speedily rivalled their instructors in renown. which in this manner they provided for their necessities and the despotic government of their princes and chiefs, are probably to be counted amongst the causes of the principal traits in their character, such as idleness and laziness, cowardice, falsehood in conversation, and treachery.

Besides this, they are jealous, vindictive, cruel, haughty, addicted to gambling and betting, uncleanly in their clothing and houses, spendthrift and utterly indifferent regarding the daily The chiefs always maintain the greatest Occurrences of life. gravity as a mark of propriety, and appear as if nothing could excite their wonder. One seldom sees in a meeting of friends the slightest mark of satisfaction on the countenance or a smile ou their lips, or hears them engaged in cheerful conversation. This indifference shows itself in their attention to their affairs. They live from one day to the other, without giving themselves the slightest concern about the future. Commerce instead of being in any way encouraged is driven away by the most despotic extortions. Taxes are imposed in the most arbitrary manner and exacted with great cruelty. No man is certain of his property or of the fruits of his labour. Princes and chiefs can appropriate the same at their pleasure. It is evident that in such a state of things all energy must be repressed and a continual state of fear and suspicion prevail. On places under the Dutch or English government, where their rights are recognised and they can hold their property in peace, a different state of things prevails with

them.

Their intellectual capacity is good although little cultivated. They have generally good memories, especially as regards places, a consequence of their seafaring lives. The Malays, in my opinion, must be ranked below the Javanese in the general acceptance, as regards morality, disposition and habits, as well as intellect and ingenuity. The only good qualities which I can attribute to them, are a great capacity of endurance and the strict

performance of their religious duties. The Malays are first-rate seamen. The fearlessness and dexterity with which they manage their small sampans has often excited my admiration. We may often see whole families, men, women and children, passing from one island to the other in these small boats, which we should think the slightest accident would upset. This, however, seldom happens and when it does, they all betake themselves to swimming, right the sampan, re-embark in it and pursue their voyage.

There are two distinct classes to be distinguished amongst the Malays, the orang darat and the orang laut otherwise called tambus or orang rayat. The first named reside on land, are traders, agriculturists, handicraftsmen and the like. The second class have their residence in prahus, in which they constantly live with their families. These prahus are to be found in numbers in the river at Lingga, as well as at Bintang and other islands. They are less civilized than the orang darat, probably because most of them have not yet embraced islamism. They are mostly fishermen and were formerly pirates. These people are all feudal vassals of the nobles. There are some peculiarities in their language as well as manner of speaking.

Here and there amongst the large islands are still found some completely wild or uncivilized races. These people live in the forests and in huts of branches and leaves on the trees. They are entirely naked and are extremely timid. They however carry on a little traffic with the Malays and barter the natural productions of the forests, such as dammar, lakba, garu, getah, &c., for knives, parangs, &c. It appears that these people are not very numerous. They are probably descended from the aboriginal inhabitants of these places. Formerly these races lived in Johor, but the viceroy of Rhio has allowed them to settle at Bulan Strait, where they are under a chief called batin, named by the viceroy. Their language is quite different from the Malay. If a stranger is not accompanied by the batin they will not approach him, but shoot at him with poisoned arrows from their blow-pipes.

ERRATA IN CHAP. V., SEC. II. "ENQUIRIES INTO THE ETHNIC HISTORY AND RELATIONS OF THE DRAVIRIAN FORMATION, &c., &c."

IN THE PRESENT NO.

Page 7 line 12 from bottom, after "Pl.," delete the comma and insert a full stop

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9 last line after "only" insert a comma

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10 line 18 from top, for "dialective" read dialectic

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11 line 18 from top, after "adi,-" delete, and insert -,

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15 line 14 from top, betwixt "nyu" and "mu" insert

15 line 17 from top, betwixt "mu" and "sometimes" insert a comma

15 6th line of the first note from top, for "present" read parent

16 line 13 from top, betwixt "we" and "Tamil" delete. insert

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16 line 6 from bottom, betwixt "bu" and " am delete insert,
19 line 15 from top, betwixt "Libyan" and "form" delete,

line 18 from top, betwixt "the" and "affinity" insert pronominal

20 line 11 from top, after "ing" insert,

20 line 17 from top, after "eng" insert

20 line 21 from top, after "plural" insert,

20 line 22 from top, after "possessive" insert

20 line 9 from top of the note, betwixt "incorporation" and a" insert of 20 line 3 from bottom of the note, betwixt "Kinawari" and "Tibetan" in

sert,

21 line 17 from bottom, after "i" insert, ni

22 last line, after languages delete (and insert

22 last line of the first note, for vol. ii. read vol. i.

23 line 12 from bottom, betwixt "the" and "Indo-European" insert DraviroAustralian and

24 line 12 from bottom, after "on" insert

25 line 4 from top, after "Zimbian" insert Draviro

25 line 9 from bottom, for "person" read pronoun

25 line 3 from bottom, after "centre" insert philologically

30 line 15 from top, after "American" delete and African.

36 line 2 from bottom, delete nya-n

36 last line, for "nga-n " read nga-n

37 line 9 from top, for "obl." read abl.

37 line 11 from top, for "Kam." read Karn.

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38 line 17 from bottom, before "double" insert a, and after Chinese" delete, and insert.

38 line 7 from bottom, before "poss." insert in

39 line 4 from bottom, for "Kari" read Khari

40 line 3 from top, for "Toung-lhoo" read Toung-lhu.

The following additional notes were received after the paper had been printed off:

1st Note. To come in on p. 29 on the 2nd line from top, after the word "African &c."

The

In other Indo-European languages the labial is demonstrative &c. Welsh 3rd pronoun masc. is ev, vo, eve, ve, ivo, e, o, the fem. being the common sibilant or aspirate 3rd pronoun hi, si, i &c. This is a remarkable coincidence with Semitico-Libyan. The coincidence between the Welsh and the Egyptian 3rd pers. masc. has been remarked by Dr Charles Meyer. Sanskrit has a demonstrative base ma (Bopp 368). Zend has ava, Sclavonic ovo, "this." The Welsh labial 3rd pronoun is more likely to be connected immediately with the Indo-European labial demonstrative and postfix than with the SemiticoLibyan postfix. It is probably a remnant of the period when the labial as well as the sibilant and dental might be used as a 3rd pronoun and it is quite possible that the former was then masculine and the latter feminine. That the labial had become neuter as a definitive postfix, and that the dental had displaced it as a 3rd proncun and lost its sexual function, would not be anomalous. The Semitico-Libyan family presents similar phenomena. In some languages the sexual functions of the two definitives have been lost. In others the feminine has displaced the masculine. If such changes took place in Indo-European they must

have preceded the separation of all the branches save the Celtic, which appears to bave carried westward the use of both pronouns. The Semitico-Libyan system renders it probable that the sibilant or dental was originally absolute or common. 2nd Note. To come in on p. 29 line 8 from top, after the word "Anam &c."

In the Gond wur "he," bur "who," the plural r of Dravirian occurs in the singular, the pl. taking -g, -k (wur-g, bur-k). This is probably one of the dialectic confusions of form common in the northern dialects and it may have had its origin in the southern use of the plurals as honorific forms of the singular. It may, however, have been the fem. form of the singular with -r for -1. In Australian, Yeniseian, Scythic, N. E. Asian and Semitico-Libyan the labial definitive so frequently occurs with a final liquid in the singular that it is necessary to recognize the existence of this form as a very archaic one (bal, bar, wal, val, mal, man, bari, buli &c. &c.) There are even strong reasons for holding that this particle and the liquid ar, ra, ri, la &c were primarily identical and that the dual and plural function of the latter was secondary, and acquired from the use of the labial definitive in its various full and contracted forms (e. g. bar, bari, ba, ar, ri, li, ni &c.) as the numeral "two."

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NOTES ON THE CHINESE IN THE STRAITS.

THE origin of the emigration and formation of Chinese colonies. in the Archipelago, is of comparatively recent date. There can be little doubt that Chinese traders have been in the habit of visiting the several ports for many centuries; but it does not appear that they formed settlements of their own till after the arrival of Europeans. The emigration to Manila and Java, apparently, did not commence till after both islands had been occupied by Europeans. The Dutch had made considerable progress in forming a settlement at Formosa before the Chinese appeared to pay any attention to that island; though within 20 leagues of their eastern shores. When, however, the move outwards of the Chinese commenced it went on with singular energy, as we find that immediately after Formosa became known as a valuable outlet near their coasts, the Dutch were driven out by the pirate Coxinga (properly Quee Seng Kong), and in a few years the whole island was thickly peopled by Chinese. From VOL. IX., APRIL-MAY-JUNE, 1855.

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