ous dialects of the country; and in the acquisition of many interesting particulars regarding the extensive colonies of Chinese, by whom the gold-mines of this latter island are worked.
Some notices have been received of ruins of temples, of statues and dilapidated cities in Borneo, and of the existence of various inscriptions, in different parts of the country, in characters unknown either to the Chinese, Malays, or Dayacs, but the information yet obtained is too vague, and, in some instances, too contradictory, to be relied upon; and the question, whether this island, at any former period, rose to any considerable degree of greatness, must yet remain undecided. Embanking, as it were, the navigable pathway between the eastern and western hemispheres, and lying contiguous to the most populous regions of the globe (China and Japan), there can be little doubt but at one period it must have risen far above its present state of degradation and neglect. That Borneo was visited, many centuries ago, by the Chinese and Japanese, is well established; but whether it was ever more extensively colonized by either of those nations, than it is at present from China, must be left to future inquiry. Porcelain, jars, plates, vases, and earthen utensils of various descriptions, the manufacture of China and Japan, are frequently discovered in different parts of the country; and such is the veneration in which these articles, so found, are held, that a single jar of this description has been known to be purchased by Dayacs of the interior, for a sum little short of two hundred pounds sterling. They are prized by the Dayacs as the supposed depositaries of the ashes of their forefathers.
I would here take notice of the information collected concerning the different tribes of Dayacs which have come under consideration, but that the detail might appear misplaced in the very general view of the subject which I am of necessity compelled to take. I will only observe, that from a comparative vocabulary of as many of their dialects as are at present accessible, they appear to differ but little from the Malayan; that of the numerous tribes distinguished by their names and other peculiarities, several are represented as tattooed; and that some have curled hair, and resemble the Papuas.
In the vicinity of Banjar-masin no opportunity of increasing our information has been suffered to be lost. Mr. Alexander Hare, the founder of the interesting colony established in the southern part of the island, has himself penetrated across the south-west peninsula; and, as confidence advances, we may look to a more extensive intercourse with the rude and scattered tribes of the interior.
Celebes.—In a former discourse I took occasion to notice, that the most prominent people on Celebes where the Bugis and Macassars; that though speaking different languages, their respective races used the same written character; and that the Mahomedan religion prevailed
