The R/9 records will be useful to researchers principally from two points of view. Firstly they throw a great deal of light on the administration of justice in Malacca under both the Dutch and British administrations. Secondly, in the form of wills, estate papers and other private records, they provide a wealth of socio - economic information on the inhabitants of Malacca, of all races, espacially for the period around the turn of the 18th century. [1]