PRINCE of Wales's Island, or Pulau Penang, is situated in the entrance of the straits of Malacca, in 100° of east longitude, and in 5° of north latitude. It is about seven leagues in length and three in breadth, and is supposed to contain about 160 square miles. Its northern extremity runs nearly parallel with the main land at a distance of about two miles, by which a fine channel is formed, where the greatest fleets might ride in perfect safety, the height of the surrounding mountains acting as a barrier against the force of the prevailing winds.

The purchase of this island from the king of Quedah, on the opposite Malay coast, was made on behalf of the East India Company by Mr Light, who took possession of it on the 12th of August 1786. The settlement continued to enjoy peace and security till the year 1791, when a jealousy, on the part of the king of Quedah, probably arising from a collision of interests, threatened it with the calamities of war. Mr Light, however, anticipated the attack of the enemy, and carried the scene of action to his own shores. A fort constructed by the Malays at the town of Prya on the opposite shore, and only two miles distant from George Town in Prince of Wales's island, was taken by assault; and almost the whole of the prows collected in the river for the conveyance of troops to attack the British settlement, were destroyed. A new treaty was entered into, by which it was stipulated, that the Malay king should receive an annual payment of 6000 dollars. In 1800, a tract of land on the opposite shore, of 18 miles in length and three in breadth, was ceded to the company by the king of Quedah, on condition of receiving annually an additional sum of 4000 dollars. The number of inhabitants in 1797 was computed at about 12,000 persons of all descriptions.

The climate, considering its vicinity to the equator, is remarkably mild. The thermometer on the high grounds never rises above 78°, seldom more than 74°; and falls as low as 66°; while on the plain it ranges from 76° to 90°. Its healthfulness is certainly not surpassed by that of any European settlement on the coast. Out of a garrison of 300 troops (natives of Hindoostan), not one died for the space of 14 months; a singular fact to be experienced by a new settlement in an uncleaned country. This great salubrity is perhaps the effect of a constant ventilation, supported by almost continued but gentle breezes, added to the dryness of the soil, the uniform but gradual elevation from the sea to the foot of the hills preventing those stagnations of water which, in tropical latitudes, are so highly prejudicial to the health of man.

A ridge of beautiful mountains, deeply indented with valleys, and covered with evergreens, divides the island longitudinally. Flagstaff hill, nearly the highest on the island, is estimated at 2500 feet above the level of the sea. Innumerable rivulets receive their origin from these mountains, and are remarkable for the transparency and coolness of their waters. The soil, which is light and sandy near the sea, gradually changes to a rich clay as it approaches to the high lands. There the sugar-cane grows with the utmost luxuriance, and the most plentiful crops of rice are everywhere produced. The gardens have already furnished the inhabitants with cabbages and potatoes; and when industry shall have reached the tops of the mountains, it will be no surprise to see in the plantations most of the productions of Europe in their utmost perfection. Here are also produced pepper, cocoa-nuts, coffee, cotton, ginger, yams, sweet potatoes, a great variety of vegetables, and many different sorts of fruits. Among the exotics are the clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, pimento, hyapootee, cola-lava, and a number of other plants from the Moluccas and Eastern isles, introduced only a few years ago. In decorating the landscapes of this little island, nature has been peculiarly lavish. An assemblage of flowering trees and shrubs in perpetual blossom, and endless in the variety of their species, form the first shade. These are over-topped by forest trees of an immense height, which spread their vast branches on every side, and are covered with the richest foliage. Here strangers feel with rapture the effect of the breezes, which, from whatever quarter they blow, are strongly impregnated with the fragrance of the groves.

The original animal productions of this island are very limited. Of quadrupeds, the wild hog, deer, and squirrel, nearly comprehend the whole; but the absence of the tiger and leopard, whose numbers and ferocity almost render the opposite shores uninhabitable, amply compensates for this deficiency. The flying fox and squirrel are natives of this island; the former a non-descript, Prince, descript, and a great natural curiosity. Of birds there are also but few, and only one which is remarkable for the melody of its notes. The crow and sparrow, the never-failing attendants on population, have but lately made their appearance. They are now, however, rapidly increasing and multiplying. All the domestic animals arrive here at great perfection.

The sea which surrounds the island, affords a vast variety of fish of the most delicious flavour, and its shores abundance of the finest turtle and oysters. In no situation indeed are the conveniences and luxuries of life enjoyed in greater profusion. The advantages of the island in a political and commercial view are very considerable. There were nothing but wooden bridges on this island in the year 1800, which were perpetually liable to be injured, which the rapid swell of the rivers frequently carried away; but four substantial bridges of brick and mortar were soon after that period completed, their foundations being of stone.

The markets are well supplied with different kinds of fish, poultry of all sorts, pork, grain, and great variety of the finest fruits and vegetables. The quality of the beef and veal is none of the best, and they import sheep from Bengal. Milk, butter, and bread, bear a high price, the two former of which are not very abundant.

Prince of Wales Island produces a great variety of timber, fit for every purpose of ship-building, and can furnish masts of any dimensions. Ships of 74 guns were provided with lower masts of one piece in the course of the late war.

There are few, if any places, more abundantly supplied with water, than this island, numerous streams of water flowing from the hills in every direction. Three or four of these streams unite, and form the Penang river, after traversing a considerable space; and it discharges itself into the sea, about a mile to the southward of the town.

This island contains mines of tin; but it is said they have never been worked.

Persons convicted of felonies, &c., in any of the British settlements in the East Indies are frequently banished to Prince of Wales Island, so that it may be considered as the Botany Bay of the East.

The following table exhibits the revenue and disbursements of the island, at several different periods, from 1789 to 1804.

| Year | Revenue | Disbursements | |------|---------|--------------| | 1789 | 2500 | 78,884 | | 1790 | 4100 | 96,274 | | 1791 | 11,235 | 108,290 | | 1795 | 19,612 | 11,5379 | | 1796 | 28,000 | 192,598 | | 1800 | 53,155 | 184,469 | | 1802 | 74,280 | 176,000 | | 1803 | 75,000 estimated | 180,000 estimated |

The imports of this island consist of the various natural productions of the east, as well as of a great variety of the manufactures of the industrious inhabitants of those regions.

In 1799, 95 English ships, 37 American, Portuguese, and Danish, and 36 Asiatic, arrived in this island. The total number of arrivals, in 1800, amounted to 193; and in 1802, to 241, equal nearly to 57,000 tons.

PRINCE William's Sound, situated on the north-west coast of America, and so named by Captain Cook in 1778. The men, women, and children of this sound are all clothed in the same manner. Their ordinary dress is a sort of close frock, or rather robe, which sometimes reaches only to the knees, but generally down to the ankles. These frocks are composed of the skins of various animals, and are commonly worn with the hairy side outwards. The men often paint their faces of a black colour, and of a bright red, and sometimes of a bluish or leaden hue; but not in any regular figure. The women puncture or stain the chin with black, that comes to a point in each of their cheeks. Their canoes are of two sorts; the one large and open, the other small and covered. The framing consists of slender pieces of wood, and the outside is composed of the skins of seals, or other sea animals, stretched over the wood. Their weapons, and implements for hunting and fishing, are the same as those used by the Greenlanders and Esquimaux. Many of their spears are headed with iron, and their arrows are generally pointed with bone. The food they were seen to eat was the flesh of some animal, either roasted or broiled, and dried fish. Some of the former that was purchased had the appearance of bear's flesh. They also eat a larger sort of fern-root, either baked or dressed in some other method. Their drink, in all probability, is water; for, in their canoes, they brought snow in wooden vessels, which they swallowed by mouthfuls. Our knowledge of the animals of this part of the American continent is entirely derived from the skins that were brought by the natives for sale. These were principally of bears, common and pine martens, sea otters, seals, raccoons, small ermines, foxes, and the whitish cat or lynx. The birds found here were the halcyon, or great king's-fisher, which had fine bright colours; the white-headed eagle, and the humming-bird. The fish that were principally brought to market for sale were torf and holibut. The rocks were almost destitute of shell-fish; and the only other animal of this tribe that was observed was a reddish crab, covered with very large spines. Few vegetables of any kind were observed; and the trees that chiefly grew about this sound were the Canadian spruce pine, some of which were of a considerable size.

E. Long, 115. 21. N. Lat. 59. 33.