Let it be remembered, that, whatever the number of oars paid for may be, so many actual boatmen there ought to be, exclusive of the _manjy_, or steersman, and the _goleah_, or bowman: it is a very common deception to count the latter in among the rowers, because he sometimes sits to an oar fitted out for him on the very prow of the vessel, when there is no occasion for his standing to throw the _luggy_, or bamboo-pole, whereby the boat is kept clear of banks, shoals, stumps, &c.
When an engagement is made of the _teekah_, or job-kind, the _manjy_ will, for his own sake, endeavor to get away as speedily as possible, and will ordinarily make sure of a good crew, in order that his money may be the sooner earned; but, when paid by the month, there will be no end to excuses, delays, and evasions: the _dandies_ will generally be wanting in number, and their quality be very indifferent.
The best mode, on such occasions, is to apply to the police, which, under proper circumstances of established criminality, will put a _peon_ (or messenger) on board, at the expence of the delinquent, and make such a change in the posture of affairs as cannot fail to please the employer. This is a safe and efficacious mode of proceeding; whereas, when justice is taken into the hands of the person hiring the boat, and that abuse and blows are dealt out, under the hope of gaining the point, the grounds of complaint are laid, and the _dandies_, so far from doing their duty, will either abscond wholly, or secrete themselves in such manner as effectually to impose an embargo.
I do not mean to say, that sometimes a recourse to the _manual_ may not be advisable, or even peremptorily necessary; but such must be adopted with extreme caution, and with such a mixture of resolution and conciliation, as may produce the desired effect, without establishing a character for brutality, or unnecessary harshness. If, during the trip, occasion for complaint should arise, it is best to refer the matter to any persons in office, whether native or European, who may be within a suitable distance. The _manjies_ have an insuperable antipathy to this mode of proceeding, because it deprives them of all grounds for justification, or representation; the want of which, in the hearing of an European magistrate, speedily induces to their corporal punishment; while, in the estimation of a _cutwal_, or chief of a village, it is sure to subject them to some pecuniary loss, whether by fine, by deduction from the sum to be paid as hire, or by having to maintain one or more _peons_, according to the nature of the offence.