del Gada, and the coast line is very much similar in character to that last described, though the high land above the stony beach, for about a mile and a half along the sea face of the great Lomba, east of San Vincente valley, is more bold and precipitous. At this distance, too, the beach is interrupted by large fragments of rock lying close to it. Threetenths of a mile further is a black rocky bluff, near which the very high lands recede from the coast; and, from that bluff, a coarse stony beach continues to Del Gada, with cliffs still rising from it, but of little elevation.

Ponta del Gada, is a comparatively low point, projecting out threetenths of a mile, and composed of rocky cliffs, with a beach of rocks and boulders lying at their base. There is a town upon the top of it situated near the cliffs, from which the land rises towards the interior of the island, and shews a considerable extent of country, dotted with houses, and overspread with enclosures and other indications of cultivation, amongst which the vineyards are most conspicuous.

Close round the point on its eastern side, is a small bay, with a little bit of fine shingle beach in it, which offers the best landing. The ground about the point is foul, with rocks and large boulders extending from it under water, to the distance of about 300 yards, upon which there is generally a little swell, and at times tremendous rollers, and heavy breakers.

On a N.W. bearing, the edge of the bank passes round it at a distance of one mile and four-tenths, and on a N.E. bearing, two miles and six-tenths. One mile and four-tenths eastward of Ponta del Gada, is a bold black point, named Ponta do Arco. The coast between the two points is formed by lofty cliffs, which commence at the little bay, on the east side of del Gada. Some large stones lie at their base as usual, but several small bold points are to be seen projecting through it, and three or four mountain streams. Nearly midway, are a few large detached rocks, the outer ones lying nearly 400 yards off-shore, with 7 fathoms close up to them. The largest of them named Rocha de Boa Ventura, is pointed, and of a reddish-brown color. A group of low rocks lie off about 230 yards to the W.N.W. of it, and there are several low isolated rocks between it and the shore.

Abreast of this rock are two Ribeiras; the larger named Entroza, has its source amongst the great mountains, a mile and a half west of Pico Ruivo; there are two white houses at its outlet. A quarter of a mile to the eastward of Boa Ventura, there is another and much larger rock, named Bacha; a mass of black lava of some little elevation, about 50 yards from a sharp rocky point on the shore. Ponta do Arco, is a bold rocky bluff, with a few low rocks at the foot of it, and a run of water on the west. Nearly three-quarters of a mile inland from it, there is a very conspicuous sharp wooded peak 2746 feet above the sea, which proved a most valuable station in the survey of the island, from its unmistakeable peculiarities of feature. It forms the summit of the Arco de San Jorge. The mountain from its base, to a considerable height up

the seaward side of it, contains a good deal of cultivated land, and numerons very humble dwellings embowered in trees and vineyards. From Ponta do Arco to Ponta de San Jorge, the distance is about 23 miles. The coast between them is high, bold, and precipitous, with rocky cliffs of varied elevation; and between them there are a few patches of cultivated land on some slopes below the heights, near the sea. Along the whole point of it, is a narrow beach of stones, broken through at intervals by small clean black rocky points, and about midway is a small Ribeira: but there are no outlying rocks, and the whole coast is clear and free from dangers, with 4 fathoms water within 200 yards of it.

Ponta de San Jorge is in lat. 32° 39′ 44′′ N., and long. 16° 54′ 47′′ W. It may be termed the N.E. extreme of the island, and is a high, bold, rocky bluff, nearly 700 feet above the sea. The perpendicular cliffs which face it are of a dirty red color. At the base of it is a little low rocky spur which extends out about 100 yards, and is steep to, and clear without any rocks or stones, so, that, it is not difficult to land on when the weather is favorable, though there are no means of ascending from the spur to the heights above it. On the western side of the point the high cliffs extend without any interruption for half a mile, and are crowned by hills 1142 feet in elevation. On the south-eastern side of the point, at the distance of a quarter of a mile, the cliffs are intermingled by a bold but narrow rocky point, with a very high cliff on its eastern side, and a land slip at the foot of the cliff. Two-tenths of a mile in front of this point is a small low rock just seen above water, on which the sea commonly breaks. It lies S. 81° E., three-tenths of a mile from Point San Jorge, and is surrounded by deep water.

On the meridian of Point San Jorge, at the distance of a quarter of a mile, there is a depth of 19 fathoms; at half a mile, 30 fathoms; at three quarters of a mile, 40 fathoms. Beyond this it deepens rapidly to the edge of the bank, which is one mile and a quarter from the shore. The next point to the south-eastward is Santa Anna, bearing from San Jorge S. 59° E., and distant one mile one-tenth. Upon the same bearing there is a large isolated rock (Ilheo de San Jorge) 134 feet in height. It lies three-tenths of a mile from Santa Anna Point, 270 yards from the shore. There is a depth of 7 fathoms alongside of it on the N.E., and of 3 fathoms between it and the land abreast. The coast from Point San Jorge to Santa Anna Point, forms a bay a quarter of a mile in depth, bounded by a stony beach, and in the centre of it is the Ribeira of San Jorge, with a few houses, and a small fort, built on its western side. There are also some fishing, and large wine-boats belonging to the place, usually hauled up near the houses. The Ribeira has its head waters near the Ruivo and Canario Peaks, five miles inland; and from its breadth and the large stones in the bed of it, there must be a great body of water occasionally discharged; yet, the figure of the beach in front of it, over which it flows is not at all changed. The land on either side is high and precipitous, and there are some steep cliffs between the Ribeira and the Ilheo, to the S.E. of it.

CONSULAR PAPERS.-No. I.

SIR.-Permit an old subscriber to request your co-operation for the benefit of a service, to which your pages convey most useful information, while part of its office is to attend to all those matters relative to navigation A connexion thus mainto whose illustration your labours are devoted.

tained by identical objects may have some claim to your advocacy, and I have reason to believe that such an advance on your part would be properly felt by those to whom you may make yourself useful, and be a great inducement to them to contribute much local information, required by your readers, that does not now find its way to the public.

I allude to the Consular service, so important to the British trade, yet so little known at home; which, charged with such high interests in all parts of the world, has no organ of public representation; and requiring the highest qualifications, has no instructor, keeping pace with the continual progress of all knowledge, to lead it down the stream of improve

ment.

So important a branch of the public service ought not to be without a periodical organ in whose pages its routine may be simplified by approved example; its efficiency ensured by declaration of its rights; its errors prevented by elucidation of its omitted cases; and its sphere of utility enlarged by direction of its researches. Consuls resident in the same dominions are frequently unacquainted with each other; and, as strangers, are unwilling to request that reciprocal advice and enlightenment which, in their varied existence, they are competent to afford. What these officers might imperfectly be, and sometimes are, in their correlative position, a home publication like yours, which is found in all quarters of the globe, could be made to the whole service.

I have heard too many complaints from Consuls of the want of such an aid, to doubt for a moment that its appearance in your periodical will be seen by them with the highest satisfaction; and I am confident that, while they gladly take advantage of your guidance to communicate information interesting to their own service, they will, on other points, be among your most useful correspondents.

To the Editor N.M.

B. C.

[We entirely concur in the justness of our correspondent's remarks. and assure him that our part shall not be wanting to render the pages of the Nautical as useful to our country's representatives abroad, as we know it is to her seamen everywhere.-ED.]

A GLANCE AT RнIO.

WE left Singapore in the H. C. steamer Hooghley, for the neighbouring Dutch Town of Rhio, (we call it neighbouring, in this part of the world, though distant 50 miles), on the morning of the 1st of July. Daybreak found us off the Pan Shoal, a large coral reef, situated in the centre of the channel, and a stumbling-block to mariners; there being no NO. 9.-VOL. XVII.

3 P

good land marks or transit bearings for clearing it, nor beacon to denote its position. As the morning advanced, we found continually disclosed to view the numerous bushy islands which stud the calm waters of the strait, until at noon, we anchored off the small island of Piningat which fronts the settlement and fort of Rhio.

From the anchorage, we could not help admiring the neat appearance of the town and its vicinity, with the well-built fort crowning a grassy eminence, the white walls of which, standing out from the surrounding verdure, helped to give variety to the picturesque scenery. The town of Rhio does not stand on the island of Bintang, but on a small island adjoining it, called Pulo Pinang, from which it is divided by a narrow strait. It is to the produce of the large island that Rhio owes its importance, having been long known for its gambier and pepper cultivation. The island of Bintang, lying on the high road between India and China, seems to have been of early importance, affording excellent harbours and shelter from the storms of the China sea, in the north-east monsoon; and we find Marco Polo, in his celebrated travels, mentioning it under the name of Bentan, while Singapore is passed unnoticed. The shape of Bintang is not, as its name would denote, that of a star, though the untutored Malayan voyager, who could only view its shores in detail, might be led to fancy such a resemblance in the numerous long points and capes which radiate from the body of the island. The shape is more a cresent, whose convex side stems the waves of the China sea, and in the concave side of which the calm harbours already noticed are formed.

On landing at the wooden jetty, we found the European town hidden from view by groves of fruit trees, and were only convinced that we were in it, when, on stepping ashore, we found ourselves in front of the public offices. To a Singaporean the change is striking. In five hours from an English town, surrounded by everything as nearly English as the climate will allow, and where English customs and manners prevail, you step into a place where every thing appears strange and foreign. It was midday, but nothing was stirring. Every thing was death-like in comparison with our own busy commercial square. The Dutch sepoy, with his conical long-peaked hat, lounging in front: when asked if mynheer was in office, responded with a yawning "Traada," which spoke volumes. He and all had retired to their siesta.

We took the opportunity of looking about us. The town, small as it is, we found to be laid out with a truly Dutch neatness and regularity. The houses of the Europeans, embowered in groves of oranges, mangosteens, and other tropical fruit trees, imparted a cheerfulness to the otherwise dull and lonely settlement. The residency house is a handsome building, whose facade is ornamented with bold pediments, supported by coupled columns of the Roman doric. It was only a subject of regret to us that a building, which would so much add to the beauty of the place, is hidden entirely from the principal approach to the settlement by close ly planted trees. The fort on the hill, commanding the town, is approached by a drawbridge thrown over a dry moat that surrounds the works.

The plan is square, with bastions at each corner.

It was built from the

remnants of the immense fort which protected Malacca; the stones having been brought in ships from that place during its brief occupation by the Dutch, prior to 1824.

After paying our respects to the resident and his assistant, we sallied forth to view the Chinese and native part of the town. In proceeding, we passed the chapel, a small building, nearly a fac-simile in minature of the protestant church of Malacca, whose style is that which used to prevail in Holland and some parts of England 200 years ago. The Chinese town is built on each side of a semi-circular street, and presents a considerable contrast to the European. The same attention does not seem to be bestowed on the cleanliness of the thoroughfares as in Singapore, the drains being full of filth, with the usual accompaniments of swine, ducks, and geese luxuriating to their hearts' content. It had been generally reported that the Chinese of Rhio were more respectful and less surly to Europeans than those of Singapore; but our observation did not confirm this, as no difference could be noted, nor had they the same idle inquisitiveness of this class in Malacca as might have been expected in a small town. Gambling is allowed, and we were informed, farmed out by the government. The gambling shops were all adjoining and open to the street. They could not fail to excite our curiosity, seeing how vigorous the Singapore police are in rooting out the evil in the British settlement. The shops seemed generally to be but thinly attended, but there was sufficient to convince the observer of the ill effects which this propensity entails on the Chinese. The gamblers consisted of the debauched opium smokers and the leprous, whose wan countenances, lighted up now and then by intense anxiety as to the result of their venture, were only to be contrasted by the forlorn and reckless looks of others.

This picture might be thought overdrawn perhaps, were it not mentioned that, all Chinese are strongly addicted to this vice, so much so, indeed, that it is their ruling passion, and persons of all classes attend the gambling table. The miserable appearance of those who are seen there would mark them as ruined and the dregs of population, who, useless for other employment during the day, idled, until night brings about its usual revels and company.

There has been much diversity of opinion regarding the propriety of the government deriving a revenue from this source, and without expressing an opinion, it will suffice to note the arguments on both sides. First, say the opposers; government, by sanctioning, lend their support and countenance in maintaining the vice, thus ruining their subjects for revenual purposes; keeping an open door for the ruin of the young and unvitiated, and causing a general demoralization of the people. The advocates of the farm, on the other hand, say, government by taxing gambling directly, discountenances the vice, in the same way as it does by taxing opium smoking and spirit drinking; and instead of having a shut door where the addicted may pursue their vices, beyond the pale of public opinion, it wouldforce them to attend the farmers' tables openly, which those only who had no regard for character would do; a policy