All but the Malays are engaged in mercantile, artisan, or agricultural avocations, making a little money and returning to their native countries. This is evident from the disproportion of the sexes. The Malaya have 73,644 men and 73,544 women ; but the Chinese men are 86,649, with only 17,287 women ; and the Kling 14,356 men and 4638 women.
Quedah, between lat. 5° and LW N., and its several islands are occupied by the Malay, Siamese, Samsam, and Semang. In the Salangor State, from lat. 3° 50' N., the mass of the population is Malay, but the ruling race are Bugis from the Celebes. This small state, up to the earlier part of the 19th century, was more addicted to piracy than any other of those in the Peninsula.
Tringanu, a maritime state on the east coast, is peopled by Malays. Patani has Malaya and Siamese.
The four inland states of Rumbowe, Sunjie Ujong, Johole, and Srimananti, as also the pro vince of Nanning (4000 square miles), are peopled by the descendants of a Malay colony direct from the ancient empire of Menangkabau. in Sumatra.
The Johore Archipelago embraces several hundreds of islets, and the considerable islands of Battam, Bintang, Krimun, Gampang, Gallat, and Sinkep, in the line of the plutonic zone of elevation of the Malay Peninsula from Singapore to Billiton. Banka and Billiton may also be included in it ; they are so geologically and ethno logically, though not geographically. The more important of the tribes in this Archipelago are those termed collectively Orang Pe-Sukuan, literally the people divided into tribes. They are all vassals of the king of Johore. The tribes of highest rank are the Orang Bentan under an Ulubalang, the Orang Singgera under a Batin, the Orang Kopet under a Jumang, the Orang Bulo, and the Orang Lingga. There arc other tribes of the creeks and the sea, and some in the interior of the larger islands are wild.
Johore, formerly the chief city of the empire of that name, and residence of the sultan, is situated about 20 miles up the river so called. The town was founded in A.D. 1511 or 1512 by Sultan Muhammad Shah it. of Malacca, who, after his expulsion from that place by the Portuguese, fled to the river of Johore. From that time tho town of JohOre has been the capital of the empire, which took the name of the empire of Johore instead of that of Malacca. It is in the extreme southern part of the Peninsula, with numerous islands. Johore is the residence of a Panghulu, who is appointed both by the sultan of Johoro and by the Tumungong of Singapore. It is now
the generally received opinion that Johore derived its population from Menangkabau. The Johoro Archipelago was probably inhabited from a very remote period, anterior even to the existence of any race in Sumatra, by a maritime branch of the same people, radically Malayan, who are now found in the interior of the Peninsula and of the southern half of Sumatra. Several tribes in various stages of civilisation still possess the Johore Islands. Though little known to Euro peans, they can never have been without Malay or Indo-Malay visitors, for it was by the great rivers of Palembang, Jambi, In dragiri, and Kampar, before whose embouchures these islands lie, that the natives of Ceylon and Southern India must have gradually carried civilisation into the interior of Southern Sumatra.
Kalang, Jellabn, Ulu Pahang, Jellaye, and Srimananti are also Malay, subject to Johore.
gold obtained from the Malay Peninsula amounted in one year to 19,800 ounces.
The Portu,gueso and the Dutch have at times held possessions there, but the former were driven out by tho latter nation, who ceded all to Great Britain by the treaty of London of 17th March 1824, Britain undertaking not to hold any of the islands south of Singapore. The dominant powers at present are the British on the west and south, and the Siamese on the east and south.
Kalantan, Quedah, Tringanu, Perak, Kema man, Jellaba, Sunjie Ujong, Jompole, Srimananti, numborre, Johole, Nanning, Sejamet, and Johore ' aro native states, over which Siam claims supre • macy, and the British territory comprises the southern part of Tavoy, Mergui, Province Wel lesley, and Malacca, with the islands of Singapore, Penang, the Andante/is the Nicobars, and the Mergui .Archipelago. Lieut. Newbold furnished an estimate of their populations in 1839 :— Exterior— Interior Quedah and Ligore, 50,000 Rumbowe, . . . 9,000 l'erak, . . . . 35,000 Sunjie Ujong, . 3,600 Selangor and Johole, 3 080 Kalang, . . . 12,000 Jompole, . . . 2,000 Johore with Sejamet Jellabu, . . . . 2,000 and Muer, . 25,000 Srimananti, . . 8,000 Pahang, . . . 40,000 Aborigines scattered over Kemaman, . . . 1,000 the Peninsula, . 9,000 Kalan tan , _ 50 000 British Tringanu, . . . 30,000 Malacca and Penang Patani, . . . . 10,000 (1836), . . . 37,706 ' Pro. Wellesley (1835),46, 880 It was estimated that Quedah had 100,000 souls and Patani 90,000 before the Siamese invasion, when they were reduced to one-eighth of their former numbers.