The harbour of Batavia is generally accounted the finest in India; and indeed it answers that character, being large enough to contain any number of ships, and having such good holding ground that no ships ever think of mooring, but ride with one anchor, which always holds as long as the cable. How it is sheltered is difficult to say, the islands without it not being by any means sufficient, but so it is that there is never any sea running at all troublesome to shipping. Its greatest inconvenience is the shoal water between the ships and the mouth of Batavia river, which, when the sea breeze has blown pretty freshly, as it often does, makes a cockling sea very dangerous to boats. Our long-boat, in attempting to come off, struck two or three times and with difficulty regained the river's mouth; the same evening a Dutch boat loaded with sails and rigging for one of their Indiamen was entirely lost.
Round the outside of the harbour are many small islands, some of which the Dutch make use of; as Edam, to which they transport all Europeans who have been guilty of crimes not worthy of death. Some of these are sentenced to remain there 99, others 40, 20, 5 years, etc., according to their deserts, during which time they work as slaves, making ropes, etc. etc. At Purmerent they have a hospital in which people are said to recover much more quickly than at Batavia. On Kuyper are warehouses in which are kept many things belonging to the Company, chiefly such as are of small value, as rice, etc.; here also all foreign ships who are to be hove down at Onrust discharge their cargoes at wharves very convenient for the purpose. Here the guns, sails, etc., of the "Falmouth," a gun-ship which was condemned here on her return from Manilla, were kept, and she herself remained in the harbour with only two warrant officers on board, who had remittances most regularly from home, but no notice ever taken of the many memorials they sent, desiring to be recalled. The Dutch, however, for reasons best known to themselves, thought fit about six months before our arrival to sell her and all her stores by public auction, and send her officers home in their ships.
