PRINCE OF WALES ISLAND, or PULO PENANG, is the seat of government of the British possessions in the Strait of Malacca. These possessions consist of Prince of Wales Island, Province Wellesley and the provinces of MALACCA and SINOAPORE. The two latter are noticed under separate heads. These possessions, under the title of the Eastern Straits' Settlements, were in 1851 by an order of the Court of the East India Directors, formed into a separate government Prince of Wales Island lies between 5° 16' and 5° 30' N. lat., 100° and 100° 9' E. long., and extends from south to north about 16 miles, with an average breadth of 8 miles, which gives a surface of nearly 130 square miles. This island consists of a mass of rocks, and of two tracts of alluvial soil, which extend on the eastern and western sides of the rocks. The western plain is mostly a swamp, and nearly uninhabited; but the eastern, which on an average is two miles wide, and opposite George Town more than four miles, is well cultivated and populous. The highest portion of the mountains occupies time middle of the island, where Mount Elveira, or Mount Macalister, rises to the elevation of about 2500 feet. The hills which lie between this highest range and the eastern plain rise to the height of 600 to 800 feet. Time mountains are covered with lofty trees, except their summits, which are naked for about 200 or 300 feet from the highest point downwards.
Province IVellesley lies opposite Prince of Wales Island, on the Malay Peninsula, and is separated from the island by a strait, which at its southern extremity is nearly 10 miles wide, but grows narrower farther northward; opposite Fort Cornwallis it is hardly two miles wide. Province Wellesley extends from 5° 10' to 5° 38' N. lat., and lies between 100° 11' and 100° 18' E. long. It extends along the coast about 30 miles, and from 6 to 10 miles inland. On the east it borders on the kingdom of Keddah, or Queda, which is dependent on Siam. The northern boundary-line is formed by the river Made, which separates it from Keddsb, and on the south it is separated by the river Krean from the state of Perak. The area is estimated at 160
square miles. The mountain ranges in this part do not approach ao near the sea as to enter tho province, except near the river Juni (5° 20' N. lat.), where one of their offsets terminates in the Moratajam, a hill 1800 feet high, the western slope of which lies within the British territory. The coast-line exhibits a narrow sandy belt of low land in the northern districts, and in the southern a broad mud flat covered with mangrove-trees and flooded at high-water. Behind the sandy belt and mangroves there are extensive alluvial tracts under rice cultivation, alternating with gentle swells of light soil running parallel to the coast. About four or five miles from the coast are dry alluvial plains which stretch Booth and north. The soil of the alluvial plains and rice-grounds is superior in fertility to lands of the same classes on Prince of Wales Island.
There are no permanent streams in the Island, but several rivers traverse Province Wellesley from east to west, rising in the elevated mountains in the state of Keddab. All these rivers have bars at their mouths, generally with seven to nine feet of water on them, and they are navigable for moderate-sized vessels nearly the whole length of their course within the province. Between the rivers Muda and Pry is the mouth of a creek called Qualls Tulloh, which forms a good harbour for boats; and near it is an extensive village of the same name.
The dry and wet seasons in these countries are not so distinctly marked as in other parts of the East Indies. What is properly called the rainy season occurs from September to November, but showers, frequently heavy, fall in all the other months. The heat is not oppres sive, and is greatest in June and July. The highest temperature in George Town is Fahr., and the lowest 70r. The northern half of Province Wellesley has the more healthy climate, as it enjoys the advantages of a regular change of sea and land breezes. The rainy season is considered the spring, and January, Februar7, and March the autumn; in the former period the rice is sown, and in the latter it is harvested.