The chief state on the eastern eoast is Pamir, si. taste about fifty miles up a river of the same name. This district is very low and flat ; and, were it not cooled by the sea breezes, would be intensely hot. Being marshy and filled with woods, it is extremely unhealthy. The town is said not to contain above A09 wooden houses, which are built along the river. The Sultan has a palace. and wooden fort, along the northern bank. The people of Passir. have an ex tremely bad reputation as to their conduct in mer cantlle transactions. They use false weights and measures,— manufacture counterfeit articles,— and embrace, in short, every opportunity of cheating that offers. The English East India Company made an attempt, in 1772, to establish a factory here, but it did not succeed.
Banjar Musk' is the principal state on the south. ern coast of Borneo ; like the others, it owes its pro• verity to a large river, on the banks of which it is situate. This river is five or six fathoms deep; but, unfortunately, the bar does not allow above 12 or 18 feet of water, and requires the aid of the tide to produce even, that depth. Ships, however, may anchor in the port of Tombangou or Towbar nit, near the mouth of the river, where they are well supplied with water, and provisions. Banjar Massie; in 1780, was estimated to contain a population of 8500 Mahommedsns, chiefly Javanese, with a con siderable proportion of Bugis, Macassars, and Ma. lays. The Chinese are also pretty numerous. The Sultan resides at Martapura, about three days' jour• aey up the river, to which he is attached, by the circumstance of its being an uncommonly fine hunt. ing station.
The district of Banjar produces gold and dia. mends, both of superior quality to those found is other part* of the Island. Pepper is so abundant, that, in a commercial view, it may be considered as the staple commodity. The iron is very excellent, and peculiarly fit for steel; though Dr Leyden as• serts, that the inhabitants do not, themselves, us. deranged the art of manufacturing it.
by the natives on so great a scale, and with such fury, that, though repulsed, it seemed to leave no choice, hut the immediate evacuation of the factory, without even removing the stores. The damage sustained on the occasion is estimated at 50,000 dollars.
Succadana, or, as Dr Leyden calls it, Sacadina, was anciently the most powerfulstate on the western coast of Borneo. The Dutch began to trade there in 1604, but they soon after attached themselves, in preference, to Sambas. In 1628, they abandoned their ory at Succadana. In 1786, they united with the Sultan of Pontiana in an expedition against this place, which they took and entirely destroyed. It.appears to have been since rebuilt, but is entirely in the hands of the Malays, and scarcely ever visited by Europeans.
Pontiana is a state of very recent origin, but it now exceeds, in wealth and power, all others von the western coast of Borneo. This distinction it owes to the wisdom of the Arab Prince by whom it was founded. He renounced, from the first, the pernicious policy, almost universal in these petty states, of embarking in trade, and monopolizing its principal articles. He confined himself to his pro per functions, of dispensing justice, and securing protection to all, of whatever country or religion, who resorted to his dominions. Under this sahrtary policy, Pontiana soon rose to be the 'greatest em porium in those seas. It is situate on a large river, called, formerly, Laua, and the country behind pro duces diamonds the most abundantly of any district in Borneo. The Dutch established a factory, here in 1776, and maintained ever after a good under standing with the Sultan. In 1813, after the Bri tish force had taken possession of Batavia, that Prince, dreading an attack from Sambas, solicited the pro• tection of a British garrison, which was immediately sent; and he afterwards assisted our troops in the reduction of Sambas.
Momparwa, situate a little to the north of Pon liana, is the best market for opium upon this coast. The city lies 19 miles up the river ; the entrance of which is obstructed by a bar, and by several small Islands. This is probably the same district Mattan by Dr Leyden, who says, that the King possesses the finest diamond in the world, for which a high price was offered by the Dutch, which he refused to accept.