Ballast must not be taken out of a ship without leave of the Port Captain; ballast or filth may not be thrown overboard. A boat is sent round once a week, or oftener, if necessary, to take away the filth from the vessels in the harbour.

No goods may be shipped, transshipped, or landed, without a permit from the Customs; and no boats may land goods, except at the wharf, without a Customs permit. Goods landed from boats must be taken away within 24 hours. No boats to remain at the wharf after gun-fire; fires on board vessels in the harbour to be extinguished at 8 o'clock in the evening, and not lighted until day-break: all fires are expressly forbidden on board vessels in the Trou Fanfaron. Vessels at anchor in the harbour must not scale their guns, or fire salutes, without leave of the Port Captain.

Vessels moored on the buoys are obliged to receive the tow-ropes from any vessel warping in, and to execute the pilot's orders. Boats are not allowed to be hauled up in the slips of the Government wharfs, without leave of the Port Captain.

DUTIES.-The duties are generally fixed at 6 per cent. upon the value. By the Order in Council before quoted, foreign vessels trading as there described, may import goods paying the same duties as British vessels; provided that if higher duties are charged by the state to which they belong, on goods exported to the island, then a countervailing duty is chargeable, of equal amount, over and above the ordinary duty. Exports from Mauritius in foreign vessels are subject to a duty of 8 per cent. over and above the duty paid by British vessels: provided, however, that if the articles, when imported into the state to which such foreign vessels belong, pay no higher duties when imported from Mauritius in a British ship, than in their own, and are entitled to the same privileges as to warehousing, and internal consumption; then no higher export duties are chargeable on exports from the island to such state, in vessels belonging to it, than in British vessels.

PORT DUES AND CHARGES.-The following were fixed in 1817: English and foreign vessels pay the same port charges.

HIRE OF MOORING CHAINS.-In the Harbour, mooring with a chain,

8 do.

6 do.

5 do.

3 do.

2 do.

A cable from 14 to 16 inches...............

11 to 13 do...................⌁

8 to 10 do.⌁⌁⌁⌁

6 to 7 do.⌁nu

4 to 5 do.nuunn

BOAT HIRE, &C.-Rates per day :

A lighter....................................... 5 dollars. A launch....
Ditto small

4 dollars.

3 do. Ditto small........................... 3 do. A capstan, per day, 5 dollars.

CAREENING.-Charge for careening a vessel hove down, of 100 tons and under, per day, 3 dollars. Boats, pirogues, &c. per month, 6 dollars. WAGES OF WORKMEN.-Marine blacks, boatmen, &c. per day, 60 cents per night, 60 cents; between hours, 20 cents.-Divers, per day, 1 dollar 50 cents.

WATER. A tank of water, 12 dollars.

RATES OF COMMISSION, settled 1816.-On all sales or purchases (except as hereafter mentioned) 5 per cent.; on bullion or treasure (including 1 per cent. on receipt of proceeds) 1 per cent.; on diamonds and other precious stones, 2 per cent.; on ships, houses, and lands, 2 per cent. ; on goods consigned, and afterwards withdrawn, or sent to outcry, or to a shop,

half commission on net proceeds; on effecting remittances, (not being proceeds of goods on which commission has been charged), 1 per cent.; on sale, purchase, or negotiating of bills of exchange, 1 per cent.; on bills of exchange returned, noted or protested, 1 per cent.; on giving orders for provision of goods, 2 per cent.; on procuring freight, 5 per cent; on shipping goods where no commission has been charged upon purchase (except as hereafter), 5 per cent.; on treasure, bullion, and jewellery, 1 per cent.; on effecting insurances with public offices, on amount insured, per cent.; on effecting private insurances, 1 per cent.; on writing orders for insurances,per cent.; on settling insurance losses, partial or general, 1 per cent.; on procuring return of premium, (exclusive of commission on receipt of cash), 1 per cent; on ships' disbursements, where no commission has been charged on freight or cargo, 2 per cent.; on management of estates, on amount recovered, 5 per cent.; on guaranteeing bills, bonds, or debts in general, by endorsement or otherwise, 2 per cent. ; on del credere, or guaranteeing the responsibility of persons to whom goods are sold, 1 per cent.; on becoming security to Government, or to Public Bodies, 2 per cent.; on recovery of money by law or arbitration, 5 per cent.; on obtaining money on respondentia, or loan, 2 per cent.; on granting letters of credit, 2 per cent.; on collecting house rent, 21 per cent.; on receipt or payment (at the option of the agent) of all monies, not arising from proceeds of goods on which commission has been previously charged, 1 per cent.

rupee. do.

Gunny bags, cotton, &c.n
Indigo, opium, &C.⌁⌁~~~--~~-~~~~per chest......... { do.
Arrack, wine, &c. ~~~~~~~~~~per leager or pipe... 1 do.
Coffee, sugar, rice, saltpetre, &c. per pecul........ ro do.
Iron, steel, lead, tin, &c.
nun⌁⌁do....... 14 do.

Other articles in proportion, according to bulk or weight.

PROVISIONS AND REFRESHMENTS.-Provisions of various kinds are to be procured here, the greater part of which is imported from Bourbon, which island may be considered the granary of the Mauritius, viz.—Beef and mutton, kid, pork, fowls, ducks, geese, turkies, and pigeons. Bread and wines fluctuate according to circumstances. Of vegetables, the following are to be met with:-peas, beans, cabbages, and cauliflowers; and of fruits, oranges, apples, guavas, apricots, &c. Round the island is abundance of fish of various kinds, and from Rodrigue are brought great

numbers of turtle, which are sold at reasonable prices. The water is excellent, and is brought from a small river, about a league from the town, by pipes to a reservoir, under which boats come and fill their casks with ease and expedition.

COINS. The principal French coin in common currency is the sol marqué, of copper, equal to 3 colonial sols:

The following are the Rates of Exchange, compared with the dollar, at which foreign coins pass here :—

Accounts are kept either in dollars of 100 cents, the mode generally adopted in public or Government transactions, or in dollars of 10 livres, or 200 sols, mostly used by merchants. These livres are called colonial livres, two of which equal a French franc.

The following is an official tariff of the current money, and its equivalent in colonial money. The ten livre pieces struck in the Colony under the French Government, the five franc pieces of France, and the German crown pieces, have the same value in exchange as the Spanish dollar. In converting these monies into sterling, it will be sufficiently correct, for ordinary purposes, to reckon the livre at 51d., and the sol at d.

H

The chief currency of this place is Government paper, payable to bearer on demand in Spanish dollars. The specie dollar is generally at an agio, being the most marketable kind of bullion in the East.

The scarcity of three sol pieces induced the Government in 1818 to issue Indian copper pice, at the rate of 100 per dollar, or 2 sols, or 1 cent. each pice.

WEIGHTS.-The weight used here is generally the poids de marc of France, 100 lbs. of which are considered equal to 108 lbs. avoirdupois. The pound poids de marc is equal to 7555 grains English troy weight.

MEASURES.-The English and ancient French measures of capacity are both used.

BOURBON.-This island is of a round form, about 14 leagues from N. W. to S. E., and about 35 leagues from the Isle of France. St. Denis, the principal town on the island, is situated on its N. side, in latitude 20° 52′ S., and longitude 55° 27′ E. The anchorage is near the shore, and unsafe. This island has no port where ships can lie sheltered from bad weather; and the hurricanes at Bourbon are thought to be more violent than at Mauritius.

The town of St. Denis is agreeably situated on a small plain near the sea, and contains about 150 houses built of wood, a few built of stone, and the greater part of them have gardens behind them. The hanging bridge here merits particular attention; it is constructed to project as it were into the sea, and by its assistance goods may be embarked or disembarked with convenience and safety in the most boisterous weather, and when it is impossible to approach the shore, from the violence of the waves breaking against it.

The population of Bourbon is now stated to consist of 14,790 whites, 4342 free coloured persons, and 49,759 slaves.

Besides

TRADE. The commerce of this island is free to all nations. France, to which it belongs, and its neighbour Mauritius, Great Britain and British India carry on a considerable trade with this island. Its products are similar to those in the Isle of France, but its coffee is particularly celebrated. Bourbon likewise produces a considerable quantity of corn.

COINS, WEIGHTS, AND MEASURES.-While the English had possession of the Isle of Bourbon, the same system of monies, weights, and measures was in use here as at the Mauritius; but since 1814, the French system has been partially re-established.

SAINT HELENA.-This island is situated in the Southern Atlantic Ocean; its length is about three leagues, nearly N. E. and S. W., of a circular form, about 26 or 27 miles round. When first observed, it presents