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The Government of the Straits Settlements is in the hands of a Governor, appointed by the Crown, and assisted by an Executive and a Legislative Council.

The Revenue amounts to over £1,165,000, while the Expenditure is rather more than 1,000,000. There is on'y a small debt of £70,000.

The harbour of Singapore is defended by strong batteries, and there is a permanent British garrison.

THE NATIVE PROTECTED STATES OF THE

MALAY PENINSULA.

Nearly the whole of the Malay Peninsula, south of the territories conquered and annexed in 1821 by Siam, is now under British protection or included in the Colony of the Straits Settlements. The entire region has an area of about 35,000 square miles, and has immense agricultural resources and great mineral wealth.

All tropical products-rice, tapioca, sugar, gambier, pepper, coffee, cinchona -are grown; while tea, and the ordinary fruits and cereals, can be successfully cultivated in the well-watered valleys and uplands of this richly endowed region. Tin is as yet the most valuable mineral product, but gold and lead mines are also being worked.*

The Native States of Pěrak, Sělángor, Sungei Ujong, the Negri Sembilan, Pahang and Johor, are closely connected with the Straits Settlements-the British Residents or Political Agents, under whose advice and direction the native Sultans or Rajahs govern, being directly subject to the Governor of that Colony.

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Pěrak, Sělángor, and Sungei Ujong lie on the western side of the Peninsula, between Malacca and Province Wellesley; TAIPING is the chief place in Pěrak, The Negri Sembilan or the nine States are a confederation of small States in the interior; Pahang, chief town PAKAN, is a large State on the east coast; and Johor is in the extreme south of the Peninsula, and its capital, JOHOR, is only about 30 miles distant from Singapore. The Siamese Malay State of Kelantan is governed by a Rajah, assisted by an English adviser. About 400 miles of railway are now open in the peninsula, and other lines are under construction or projected.

THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO.

The EAST INDIAN or MALAY ARCHIPELAGO is an insular region of vast extent to the south-eastward of the Asiatic continent, and enclosed by the Pacific Ocean, the China Sea, and the Indian Ocean.

Of the islands included within this region, the largest is Borneo, the second in size is Sumatra, the third in this respect is Celebes, and the fourth is Java; next in order of magnitude are the Philippines and the Moluccas or Spice Islands. The total area of the Archipelago, exclusive of New Guinea, is estimated at 773,000 square miles.

The various islands embraced in this region are divided by numberless seas and channels, among which are the following:-the Java Sea, the Celebes

Three-fifths of the total tin supply of the world is derived from the Malay Peninsula.

Sea, the Banda Sea, the Flores Sea, and the Sulu Sea, while the Timor Sea and the Arafura Sea separate them from Australia.

The Straits of Malacca and Sunda form the two great channels of entrance to this region from the westward. The Strait of Malacca divides the island of Sumatra from the Malay Peninsula; the Strait of Sunda intervenes between the islands of Sumatra and Java; the Strait of Macassar lies between the islands of Celebes and Borneo.

Nearly all ships that proceed from the ports of Europe to the coasts of China, or to any of the islands of the Archipelago, pass through one or other of these channels. English vessels-whether direct from England or from the ports of India-nearly always use the Strait of Malacca, along the shores of which are situated the British settlements of Penang, Malacca, Singapore, and the Protected Malay States. Dutch vessels, on the other hand, adopt the Strait of Sunda, which adjoins the possessions of Holland-the islands of Sumatra, Java, &c.-in this part of the globe.

The continents of Asia and Australia were united during the latter part of the secondary geological period, and the shallow sea which separates the three larger islands-Borneo, Sumatra, and Java-from each other and from the adjoining mainland of Asia, marks the Asiatic section, which is divided by the deep channels between the islands of Bali and Lombok, Borneo and Celebes, and Celebes and Mindanao, from the eastern or Australasian section. The latter is essentially Australasian, not only as regards its origin, but also its Fauna and flora. The animals of the western section are similar to those of South-Eastern Asia, those of the eastern section are like those of Australia. The East Indian Archipelago is also divided, ethnically, into two sections; the western section being peopled by the Malayan, and the eastern by the Papuan race. But the line dividing the two peoples is not the same as that which divides the two zoological areas.

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The Archipelago is traversed "throughout its whole extent by one of the most extensive and continuous volcanic belts on the globe." This belt extends through Sumatra, Java, and the Lesser Sunda Islands, to the east end of Timor. Here it turns in a north-easterly curve by Banda, Amboyna, and Buru, to Gilolo and Ternate. Thence turning westward to the northern extremity of Celebes, it bends abruptly to the north, and passes through the entire range of the Philippines to the extreme north of Luzon. The number of true volcanic peaks and craters in this belt is very great, and a very large proportion of them are in a state of activity, and many have devastated the surrounding country within the historic era."1

Java alone contains zo active volcanoes; the Philippines, 12; the Lesser Sunda Islands, 7; Banda and the Moluccas, 7; Sumatra, 5; and North Celebes, 4. But Borneo on the west, and New Guinea to the east of this volcanic belt, are absolutely free from all signs of recent volcanic action.

In August, 1883, the island of Krakatoa, in the Strait of Sunda, was shattered by a volcanic eruption, and the dust was blown to such a height and in such quantities that it was carried by the air-currents several times round the globe, causing the remarkable red sunsets which were observed all over the world for many months.

1. Stanford's "Compendium of Geography and Travel-Australia," by A. R. Wallace.

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CLIMATE: The entire Archipelago lies within the Torrid Zone, and is crossed by the line of the Equator, which passes through the islands of Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes, and Gilolo. The climate, therefore, is hot, but the generally intense heat is here moderated by the influence of the surrounding seas.

The temperature is, consequently, not so high as upon many parts of the Asiatic mainland, and the air is mostly healthy, excepting in low and marshy districts. Rain falls copiously at particular seasons, and is dependent upon the change of the monsoon.

PRODUCTIONS: The natural productions of this region are rich in the extreme.

Gold, tin, and precious stones in the mineral kingdom, with rich fruits and spices in the vegetable world, distinguish these fertile and beautiful islands of the Eastern seas. Both gold and diamonds are among the productions of Borneo. There are about 400 productive tin mines in the islands of Banca and Billiton, and other metals and minerals are known to exist. But the grains, aromatic plants, and valuable woods, with many curious vegetable productions of the different islands, are of greater commercial value.

The tree which yields gutta-percha is a native of Borneo and some other of the islands. The nutmeg and the clove belong to the smaller islands of the Moluccas or the Spice Islands, as they were, from this circumstance, formerly called. Sago is the produce of the islands in the more easterly division of the Archipelago. Sugar, tobacco, tea, coffee, and rice are also largely grown and exported.

INHABITANTS: The entire population of the Malay Archipelago is probably not less than 40 millions. The island of Java alone has over 2834 million inhabitants, and the Philippine Islands contain upwards of 71⁄2 millions.

The native races are in a state or semi-barbarism. The Malays are the dominant people. In most of the islands there are various Negroid or Papuan races, some of whom are in a very low condition of savage life. The Malays are skil ful navigators and active traders. Piracy upon a scale of great extent was formerly carried on, and the long war-canoes of the Malayan coast tribes were the terror of the Papuan merchantmen of the Archipelago. A great number of Chinese are found settled in various parts of this region.

COMMERCE : The East Indian Archipelago is the theatre of an active commerce, in which the English, Dutch, Americans, and Chinese are the most extensively engaged. Spices, gutta-percha, coffee, indigo, sugar, cigars, and tortoise-shell are among the productions exported to Europe and America, and edible birds' nests and trepang to China.

Edible birds' nests and the substance called trepang are much in demand among the Chinese. The former of these are the nests of a species of swallow, the material composing which is cemented by a viscous kind of substance—the produce of the bird itself; the latter (called also bêche de mer or sea-slug) is a gelatinous mass of living matter, belonging to the order of radiated animals,

and found adhering to the rocks in certain parts of the East Indian Archipelago. Both are articles of luxury to the Chinese epicure.

DIVISIONS: More than three-fourths of the East Indian Archipelago belong to Holland, the rest to the United States and Great Britain, with the exception of a part of the island of Timor, which belongs to Portugal.

DUTCH EAST INDIES.

The Dutch East Indies include all the Larger Sunda Islands (with the exception of a part of Borneo), all the Smaller Sunda Islands (except the eastern part of Timor), and the Moluccas.

The Larger Sunda Islands are Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and Celebes.

The Smaller Sunda Islands include the long chain to the eastward of Java. The largest are Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Sumba or Sandalwood, and Timor, with North and South Timor Laut, &c.

The Moluccas or Spice Islands include the islands of Gilolo, Ternate, Ceram, Amboyna, Buru, the Banda Islands, &c.

Western New Guinea is also included in the Dutch East Indies.

The total area of the Dutch East Indies (Nederlandsch Oost Indie) is 736,400 square miles, or nearly 13 times the size of England and Wales. The population is nearly 38 millions, twothirds of whom live in Java-the most populous and valuable of the Colonial possessions of Holland.

JAVA is about 50,000 square miles in area, that is, not much less than the size of England. A chain of lofty volcanoes runs through the whole length of the island, many of them having an elevation of over 10,000 feet. The copious rainfall on the forest-covered slopes of these mountains affords a perennial supply of water to the numerous streams, which render the volcanic soil of the lower uplands and valleys productive in the highest degree. The immense sugar and coffee plantations of Java have been, since 1832, worked on the "culture system," which was based in principle "on the officially superintended labour of the natives, directed so as to produce not only a sufficiency of food for themselves, but a large quantity of colonial produce best suited for the European market." This practically meant that the natives were forced to labour under the direction of Dutch officials. The culture system was never introduced in any of the other islands (except in one province in Sumatra and one residency in Celebes), and in 1870 the forced cultivation of the sugar-cane was totally abolished throughout the Dutch East Indies.

Favourable natural conditions, a dense population and well-directed labour, have made this island the " pearl of the European possessions in the East." Wallace says that, "taking it as a whole, and surveying it from every point of view, Java is probably the very finest and most interesting tropical island in the world, and undoubtedly the most fertile, the most productive, and the most populous within the Tropics."

The inter-island trade and the commerce with the mother-country is carried on by the vessels of the Netherlands India Steamship Company. The chief

1. The Malay Archipe.ago-A. R. Wallace.

port, BATAVIA (115), is also the political capital of all the Dutch East Indies; SURABAYA (146) and SAMARANG (89), both on the north coast of the island, are other important centres of foreign trade. SURAKARTA (109) and JOKYOKARTA (60) are two large cities in the interior. Nearly 2,500 miles of railway were open in 1905.

The whole island is divided into 22 "R sidencies," each governed by a Resident, who is aided by Assistant-Residents and native officials called Contrôleurs. At the head of the government is the Governor-General, who is also

Commander-in-Chief.

SUMATRA has an area of nearly 150,000 square miles, which is three times the size of England. A chain of high mountains runs along its western coast, rising in Mount Indrapura to 12,000 feet in height. Mount Talang, the loftiest active volcano in the island, is nearly 8,500 feet high, but the culminating point of the island is Mount Ophir, 13,840 feet. The population is over 11⁄2 millions.

A chain of islands skirts the western coast of Sumatra, and off its southeastern shores are the islands of Banca and Billiton, famous for their rich tin mines.

All the coast districts are under the rule of the Dutch. There are also several Native States, one of the principal of which, Acheen, has been at war with the Dutch authorities for many years.

The plant productions of Sumatra are similar to those of Java. Pepper is the staple export. There are extensive coalfields, which yield excellent steam coal, and rich deposits of iron-ore and other minerals. PADANG, the capital, and BENCOOLEN, the chief port, are both on the western coast. PALEMBANG is a port on the Musi River near the eastern coast. There are 500 miles of railway open.

BORNEO, the fourth largest island in the world, is about 800 miles in length, and 600 miles in width, and has an area of about 280,000 square miles, or nearly 5 times the size of England. The interior, of which but little is known, appears to be mountainous, but there are no active volcanoes, as in the adjacent islands. The culminating point of the island, Kinabalu, 13.700 feet in height, is in British North Borneo, 52 miles from the northern extremity of the island, and about 25 miles from the west coast. Hundreds of large rivers and streams descend from the interior uplands, and wind through immense alluvial plains and valleys to the sea. Few of them, however, are navigable, and sea-going vessels can only enter the Brunei, Pontianak, and Sarawak rivers, and even these only for a short distance.

Fully three fifths of Borneo belong to the Dutch, whose authority, however, scarcely extends beyond the coast districts, which are governed by the Dutch Residents at BANJARMASSIN (52) on the south coast, and at PONTIANAK on the west coast. Gold, tin, and diamonds are obtained in the neighbourhood of SAMBAS and MONTRADO in the western province, and there are coal mines near Banjarmassin in the southern and eastern province or Residency. SAMARINDA is the principal settlement on the east coast.

CELEBES, which has an area of 72,000 square miles (about 10 times the size of Wales) is an irregular "starfish-shaped" island, with four mountainous peninsulas. Dense forests, alternating with rich pastures and highly cultivated plantations, characterize this valuable island, which has, besides the finest climate in the whole Archipelago. The population is 1,436,000.

The island is politically divided into two Residencies, Macassar and Menado,of which that of Macassar, in the southern peninsula, is the most important. The town of MACASSAR (22) or Mangkassar, is the centre of the trade of Celebes,

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