The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-01-26 00:00:00

SING.4PORE.

We have received some papers from this settlement, not
of very recent date, but they contain some facts not before
published here. The following passage from a paper of June
23d refers to the supply of fire-arms which the Burmese
are said to have received from English merchants. The
Singapore Chronicle denies that the Burmese can have re-
ceived any arms since the commencement of the war. But
it adds, . _

' "It is quite true that the British merchants, not of Batavia but of
Singapore, have supplied the enemies of the Burrnans and our pre-
! sent allies, the Siamese, with fire-arms, with the sanction of then
awn Government, and for doing so we consider them entitled .4
to national reprobation but to national thanks. It weal' be a
weary task to combat all the trash which has been sail .." written
on the subject of supplying the Indian nations wit,. 'te-arna ; mat'
lice it at present to say, that as long as these moons require arms,
years, ,led the Cochin Chinese
and can pay for them, they will inevitably et' them frtml "rne
• The French for ex-
European or American nation or another
quantity, one vessel
ample have within the last few
e Americana,. from 1819 to
with above 29.000 stand of arms.
given to supply the Siamese,
1821, supplied the Siarnes7jri;'_', . stilt larger
d Since the commencement of
alone having imported lelan
the Burman war, no - permission . .
not furnished them with • single musket.
the Americans it'"
After this
..„ -ment, a plain question naturally suggests itself. Is
it more -atr' politic, and equitable in us. to leave the supply of
fire.,.as and ammunition to our own manufacturers and merchants,
~..s retaining a complete control over it ; or, with our eyes open,
to surrender a monopoly of it to commercial rivals, liable in the
course of possible events to become national enemies, and over
whose operations we can exercise no control at all ?"

Another paper, of July 7th, gives an account of a treaty
lately concluded with the Sultan of Johore, for the cession
of all rights to Singapore, and adds the following suss.-
Merin; :,

" Having given this outline of the treaty, we shall add the fol•
lowing brief observat'ons on the present condition of the settlement.
Its population, permanent and floating, amounts to about 14.000
inhabitants. The ordinary charges on account of its civil esta.
blishment amount to 19,010 Spanish dollars ; 'he military to
34,:af1, and the fixed contingent charges to 3.G00, "-king a total
of 87,203. The revenue is derived from an excise on the ~"sump.
Lion of opium, home-made spirits. &c.; firm quit-rents, re. 4 of
government houses, and markets, fees anti tines of the Provisior,j
Court, Post-office does, &c. &c., and amount in all to 87,262,
being 53 Spanish dollars beyond the disbursements.
" The trade of the port is as free and unfettered u the power
vested by law in the Governor-(leneral can make it. There are
neither export nor import duties on any article whatsoever; there
are no harbour or tonnage dues, no fees paid for port elearancts,
passes, or registers; and finally, the wooding and watering of
ships, and the landing and shipping of cargoes, are totally exempt
from privilege and mouopoly, contrary to the practice of many
other ports in India. These few simple and satisfactory state-
ments, we make no doubt, will be perused with pleasure by all
the friends of a free and fair commerce, wherever our limited
journal may be read."