Rains are frequent at Singapore throughout the year, but more especially during the months of November, December, and January. The principal buildings are constructed of bricks, and roofed with red tiles; but many of the Chinese dwellings and shops are constructed of wood. The roads in the town, and also in the vicinity of the settlement, are excellent, being of a mixture of sand with a clay iron ore, which make very durable roads. The markets at Singapore are well supplied with all kinds of provision, vegetables, and fruit; and considering how little the island in itself produces, and that the supplies are brought from Malacca and the neighbouring islands, are sold at a very cheap rate. The population of the settlement of Singapore consists of nearly twenty thousand, exclusive of the troops and convicts, (the troops being about five hundred, and the convicts eight hundred in number,) the majority of which is formed by the Chinese. _Comparative Statement of the Census taken on the 1st January, 1833._ -----------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+------------- | 1832. | 1833. | Increase. | Decrease. +------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------ | Mal. | Fem. | Mal. | Fem. | Mal. | Fem. | Mal. | Fem. +------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------ Europeans | 83 | 22 | 91 | 28 | 8 | 6 | — | — Indo-Britons | 67 | 27 | 56 | 40 | — | 13 | 11 | — Native Christians| 274 | 146 | 167 | 133 | — | — | 107 | 13 Armenians | 20 | 6 | 27 | 8 | 7 | 2 | — | — Jews | 5 | — | 2 | — | — | — | 3 | — Arabs | 61 | 3 | 96 | — | 35 | — | — | 3 Malays | 3748 | 3467 | 3763 | 3368 | 15 | — | — | 99 Chinese | 7149 | 613 | 7650 | 867 | 501 | 254 | — | — Natives of the | | | | | | | | Coast of | | | | | | | | Coromandel | 1374 | 40 | 1762 | 57 | 388 | 17 | — | — Natives of | | | | | | | | Hindostan | 408 | 121 | 389 | 116 | — | — | 19 | 5 Javanese | 391 | 253 | 361 | 234 | — | — | 30 | 19 Bugis, Balinese | | | | | | | | &c. &c. | 735 | 692 | 794 | 932 | 59 | 240 | — | — Caffries | 7 | 1 | 23 | 14 | 16 | 13 | — | — Parsees | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | — +------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------ Total |14324 | 5391 |15181 | 5797 | 1029 | 545 | 172 | 139 Females | 5391 | — | 5797 | — | 545 | — | 139 | —