These slaves are wholly in the power of their masters, with respect to any punishment that does not take away life; but if a slave dies in consequence of punishment, though his death should not appear to have been intended, the master is called to a severe account, and he is generally condemned to suffer capitally.  For this reason the master seldom inflicts punishment upon the slave himself, but applies to an officer called a Marineu, one of whom is stationed in every district.  The duty of the Marineu is to quell riots, and take offenders into custody; but more particularly to apprehend runaway slaves, and punish them for such crimes as the master, supported by proper evidence, lays to their charge:  The punishment, however, is not inflicted by the Marineu in person, but by slaves who are bred up to the business.  Men are punished publicly, before the door of their master’s house; but women within it.  The punishment is, by stripes, the number being proportioned to the offence; and they are given with rods made of rattans, which are split into slender twigs for the purpose, and fetch blood at every stroke.  A common punishment costs the master a rix-dollar, and a severe one a ducatoon, about six shillings and eight-pence.  The master is also obliged to allow the slave three dubbelcheys, equal to about seven-pence half-penny a-week, as an encouragement, and to prevent his being under temptations to steal, too strong to be resisted.

Concerning the government of this place I can say but little.  We observed, however, a remarkable subordination among the people.  Every man who is able to keep house has a certain specific rank, acquired by the length of his services to the Company:  The different ranks which are thus acquired are distinguished by the ornaments of the coaches and the dresses of the coachmen:  Some are obliged to ride in plain coaches, some are allowed to paint them in different manners and degrees, and some to gild them.  The coachman also appears in clothes that are quite plain, or more or less adorned with lace.[160]

[Footnote 160:  The distinctions of rank, and all the punctilios of the respective ceremonies and homage, are attended to at Batavia with the most religious exactness.  Stavorinus specifies many instances, which, to some readers, it might be amusing enough to transcribe.  But in fact, and to be honest, the writer has neither time, inclination, nor patience to interfere with such mummeries, or investigate the claims to precedency and peculiarly modified respect set up by Dutch merchants, and their still more consequential spouses.  He has not the smallest pretensions to the office of master of the ceremonies for any society whatever.—­E.]