[66] If current report is to be credited, the fate of this unfortunate prince has been at last sealed; and the undisputed successor of "that great and puissant king," to whom Queen Elizabeth gave an assurance, "that far from ever having cause to repent an intercourse with the English, he should have a most real and just cause to rejoice at it;" and to whom, on the part of the English nation, she gave a pledge, "that her promises were faithful, because the conduct of her subjects _would be prudent and sincere_"--has been obliged to abdicate his throne in favour of the son of a Pinang merchant! [67] "We, the Batavians," says Mr. Hogendorp, "or rather our good and heroic ancestors, conquered these countries by force of arms. The Javans, who are immediately under our jurisdiction, acknowledge the Batavian nation or the East India Company as their lord or sovereign; but by so doing, although they resigned their political rights, they still retained their civil and personal liberty, at least their right thereto. But what relation do the Chinese bear to us, and what are the rights they can require from us? As foreigners and itinerant traders, this may be easily defined, but as inhabitants and settlers a further inquiry becomes necessary. To political rights, or to a share in the government and revenues of the country, they have not the slightest claim, and as inhabitants, they cannot even claim the enjoyment of the same civil or personal privileges as the Javans: in the first place, because they are not natives of the country; secondly, because they take no interest in the welfare or preservation of the country; thirdly, because they only endeavour to derive their gain at the expense of the Europeans as well as the Javans, in order to return to China with the profits they make, or at least to send as much of it as possible to their families there; fourthly, because they have no regard whatever to the welfare of our country, and would be quite indifferent to the English, or any other nation, driving us from Java. For these reasons, I conceive that the Chinese have not the same right as the Javans to the freedom or privilege of citizens. The basis of all civil communities is incontrovertibly the sacrifice of a part of the liberty, rights, and even property of each individual, for the enjoyment and security of the remainder; and this remainder, when fixed, forms the civil freedom and privileges of such a community. Not only are the Chinese quite exempt from this sacrifice, but they are also, by the corruption of the Batavian government, much less burdened than all the other inhabitants, even the Europeans, and are besides favoured with considerable privileges and exclusive means of gaining wealth. These are facts, which no one who is acquainted with Batavia can or will contradict.