Littell's Living Age/Volume 136/Issue 1756/The Dutch in Java
THE DUTCH IN JAVA.
BY SIR DAVID WEDDERBURN.
The magnificent archipelago which Holland claims as her Indian empire, and which a Dutch author has described as "a girdle of emeralds strung along the equator," deserves to attract greater attention than it has hitherto done in Europe, more especially in England. It is indeed difficult to obtain books treating of Netherlands India in any language except Dutch, and although Sir Stamford Raflies's work on Java is now somewhat out of date, it is still by far the best available source of information for Englishmen desirous of knowing something about this island, the brightest "emerald of the equator." The work entitled "How to Manage a Colony," by Mr. Money, contains much that is interesting and important about the system of government in Netherlands India, but considerable changes have taken place since Mr. Money visited Java, and his description of the Dutch colonial system is rather that of an advocate than of an impartial critic. He contrasts Dutch rule in Java with British rule in Hindostan, and appears determined to prove that in all essential respects the latter should take an example from the former. On the other hand, such stories as "Felix Batel, ou la Hollande en Java," and "Max Havelaar," which has been translated into English, are (in the form of a novel or a biography) severe indictments against the entire political system of the Hollanders in the East. How far the publication of such books may have assisted in bringing about the reforms recently introduced into Dutch colonial policy it is not easy to say; it is probable that"Max Havelaar," which attracted great attention in the Netherlands, produced considerable benefit in opening the eyes of the public to the evils liable to be fostered under a system of monopoly and secrecy. The story has a distinct appearance of truth and reality, but it is evidently written by one smarting under a sense of personal injury, and little disposed to do justice to those authorities by whom he conceives himself to have been very unjustly treated. The Comte de Beauvoir's account of his travels in Java was the subject of review in a leading Dutch newspaper while I was in that country, and was somewhat severely criticised as exaggerated and misleading. When allowance has been made for youthful enthusiasm in the author, and for his inexperience as a traveller, it seems to me that M. de Beauvoir's descriptions of Java, its scenery and its people, are remarkably graphic and true to nature, although the language may be sometimes a little highflown. Besides Mr. A. R. Wallace's "Malay Archipelago," one or two treatises on the antiquities of Java, and a few colonial bluebooks of the Dutch States-General, no other literary sources of information are available to a foreigner in Batavia. On the other hand, nothing can exceed the friendly courtesy with which information upon any subject is communicated to an inquiring stranger by the Dutch officials and other European residents. Nearly all these gentlemen speak English or French, or both languages, with perfect facility, so that a knowledge of Dutch is almost unnecessary to a visitor, except in order to read the journals. The dialects of Netherlands India are numerous, those spoken in the west, centre, and east of the island of Java being respectively Sundanese, Javanese, and Madurese; but the common mode of communication between Europeans and natives is the Malay language, which plays here the same part as Hindustani throughout the British empire in continental India. Java and Hindostan present many striking contrasts in scenery, in institutions, in manners and customs, these contrasts being due mainly to the great difference in their physical conditions. The glorious fertility of Sunda, with its forest-clad volcanoes, its rushing rivers, and broad green valleys, could certainly not be produced on the arid plains of the famine-stricken Deccan by any amount of energy and wisdom on the part of the government. In order to make a fair comparison between British and Dutch rule in Asia we must pass over from continental India to the island of Ceylon, which in climate, scenery, and products is merely Java on a smaller scale. Java lies a few degrees south of the equator, Ceylon about as far to the north; in neither island does the temperature vary much throughout the year; in both the rainfall is very copious, especially on the western coasts; but the seasons are reversed, the rains terminating in one island just when they commence in the other. Java and Ceylon were both taken by the British from the Dutch; Java was restored, while Ceylon was retained; both islands are financially prosperous, and both owe their prosperity in a great measure to coffee; but Java has progressed far more rapidly than Ceylon has done under similar natural conditions, and it seems fair to give some credit for this to political administration. The superficial area of Ceylon is just three-quarters of that of Ireland, and nearly one-half that of Java, but the population of Java was in 1871 just seven times that of Ceylon, having increased with steady rapidity since 1816, when it had nearly the same density of population as Ceylon has at present. In Ceylon great tracts of fertile land have relapsed into jungle, tanks constructed under former dynasties have fallen into ruins, large imports of rice are necessary to feed the scanty population, many of whom are not permanent residents, but emigrants from the mainland, working as coolies on the coffee plantations. Java, although three or four times as densely peopled, is able to export rice, the staple food of the inhabitants, as well as the coffee, sugar, indigo, and tobacco from which its European masters derive their wealth. In estimating the merits and demerits of the so-called "culture system" of Java, this comparison with Ceylon is not without significance, nor is it to the disadvantage of the former island.
Englishmen are disposed to believe that no other race except their own understands the management of colonies or the administration of a subject country, and in support of this belief they contrast their own colossal empire with the fragments now alone remaining to those nations who were once their rivals in maritime and colonial enterprise. The truth appears to be that our colonial success is due mainly to our maritime supremacy, which has gradually given us possession of all the most desirable territory, either by conquest or colonization, while other nations are obliged to content themselves with what has been left. In the Eastern seas the flags of France, Spain, and Portugal are still kept flying over possessions, the intrinsic value of which to the mother country is comparatively small, and which attract little attention or interest in the outside world. But the possessions of the Dutch in these seas are on a very different scale. Twice in their short history that indomitable people have established a colonial empire: the first was due to their maritime power, and passed into the hands of the English, their successful maritime rivals; while the existing Netherlands India has been created within the last sixty years, almost unnoticed by the great powers of Europe, among which Holland once held so proud a place. By far the most important and valuable part of Netherlands India is Java (of which the small adjacent island of Madura, incorporated with it for all administrative purposes, may be regarded as a portion), slightly exceeding in superficial area England without Wales, and containing at the last census a population of nearly eighteen millions, four time as great as it had in 1816, when it was restored by the British to the Netherlanders. Many persons regard the surrender of this magnificent island as a piece of reckless folly or quixotic generosity, but it was truly nothing more than an act of simple justice, and one which Englishmen may remember with unmixed satisfaction. We then restored to Holland, our ally at Waterloo, a colony which had formerly been hers, and which we had recovered from the common foe. While the French armies overran the Netherlands, the British fleets took possession of the Dutch colonies in Asia, Africa, and America, until it could be said that the Dutch flag remained flying nowhere on the globe, save over the factory of Desima in Japan. But the restoration of Java provided the nucleus of a new colonial empire, which has since spread gradually over the whole Malay archipelago, and although the outlying possessions are now governed as mere dependencies of Java, and are still comparatively unproductive, their vast extent and great mineral resources must eventually give them a very high value and importance.
The term "Dutch," used in England to denote Hollanders and in America to denote Germans, is not applied by the Hollanders to themselves, their proper designation being "Netherlanders." Isolated in Europe by the fact that their language is spoken by a few millions only, and is little known beyond their own limits, the Netherlanders carry political modesty to excess, and are only too ready to efface themselves, and to take rank as a small nation, almost apologetic for their great Oriental empire. But the modern Batavians possess certain imperial characteristics in common with the two chief nations of conquerors and administrators, the Romans and English; in particular they practice towards the religion of their subjects a policy of complete toleration, thereby obviating what is perhaps the most serious difficulty in governing alien races. Wherever the Portuguese landed in the East they at once proceeded to build a church; when the Dutch came they established a factory. The Portuguese churches are now picturesque ruins overgrown with tropical vegetation; but the Dutch factories, like those of our own East India Company, have developed into an empire. When the Hollanders wrested from the Portuguese the command of the Eastern seas, they substituted for the Holy Inquisition and Jesuit propaganda a system of complete religious impartiality, from which they have reaped no small advantage — originally as mere traders, subsequently as rulers of a powerful State. It is true that a hard and fast line is drawn between Europeans (and persons assimilated with them) on one side and Asiatics on the other. It may be said generally that the profession of Christianity is sufficient to acquire for any one European privileges (with exemption from native jurisdiction), which are thus enjoyed even by persons of African blood.
At first sight this may appear inconsistent with the principles of religious liberty and equality, for which Netherlanders, in the course of their history, have done and suffered so much. It is, however, a necessary result of carrying those principles into practice where law and religion are so completely intertwined as they are in the East, especially in Mussulman communities. In Java a vast majority of the inhabitants are subject to Mahometan law, of which the priest is the chief interpreter, founded as it is upon the Koran. If a Christian is to enjoy religious equality, it is clear that he must be withdrawn from the jurisdiction of the Mahometan tribunals, and this, accordingly, has been done. No privileged religion is recognized in Netherlands India; but so far as possible the free exercise of peculiar laws and customs is vindicated on behalf of every religious sect. The population is therefore divided into two classes, very unequal in numbers: (1) Europeans, including other Christians, and numbering only a few thousands these are subject to European jurisdiction only; (2) inlanders or natives, including all Mussulmans and heathens, such as Buddhists or Hindoos, and numbering more than twenty-four millions. This division of the population into two classes is enacted in the code specifying the constitution of Netherlands India it cannot, therefore, be altered except by the legislative authority of the king and States-General of the Netherlands.
In Dutch India the principle of governing with the aid of native co-operation is carried out with respect to all the Asiatic races; and in this matter the British Indian authorities might learn a useful lesson. As regards the Mussulman people of Java proper, the conquerors have been able to utilize the machinery of government which they found in operation on taking possession. All the other Asiatic races who are found chiefly in the cities of the seacoast, are subordinated to their own recognized chiefs, and these are responsible to government for the maintenance of order. The Chinese officers bear the titles of major, captain, or lieutenant; they are usually men of wealth and position, exercising personal influence over their countrymen, and are treated with marked consideration by the European authorities. The Arabs also have their captains and lieutenants, and there are official chiefs of the Malays, the Buginese, the Bengalis, and the Moormen, these last being Mussulmans from continental India.
Vaccination appears to work successfully in Java, as persons marked with small-pox are rarely seen, and nearly a million are annually vaccinated or re-vaccinated in the island. Now it is precisely in carrying out schemes conducive to the health and comfort of the people, but contrary to their prejudices, such as vaccination, that valuable assistance may be expected from men who understand the people, and combine social influence with official prestige, as do these native chiefs.
Besides all those named, a new race is gradually arising — the offspring of Chinese fathers and Javanese mothers; these half-castes are superior in appearance to either parent, and bear a certain resemblance to the people of Japan.
In the minds of the Hollanders the name of "India" does not denote Hindostan especially, but includes also the whole of the great Malay archipelago; and they are always careful to use the terms "British" or "Continental" India when they wish to distinguish our dominions from their own insular empire, to which has been given the appropriate name of "Insulinde" (Island India). When comparisons are drawn between the modes of administration in British and Netherlands India, there is displayed on either side a certain disposition to believe that things are better managed beyond seas; but the knowledge possessed by individuals of the administrative systems in both countries is seldom sufficient for the formation of a correct judgment upon their relative merits and defects. If the government of British India were to follow the example of the Dutch, and to send a few selected civilians to study minutely on the spot the working of the rival systems, as regards the collection of the revenues, the employment of natives in the public service, the construction of public works, etc., it would be found that we have quite as much to learn as to teach in the management of a great Asiatic dependency.
There are in the world only two States which are constitutional at home and imperial abroad; and those two are Great Britain and the Netherlands. The spectacle of a free European nation ruling with beneficent despotism over a subject Asiatic population, nearly seven times as numerous, is exhibited in the first place by England, and is repeated exactly by Holland upon a smaller scale. It is a remarkable fact that the most important British statistics have only to be divided by ten, in order to be made applicable to the Dutch with approximate accuracy in every detail. Thus, at the last census the population of the United Kingdom was returned at 31,513,442, that of the United Provinces at 3,579,529. The average annual revenue received at the British Exchequer during the last sixteen years has slightly exceeded £70,000,000; that of the Netherlands (exclusive of the Indian contribution) appears to have been as nearly as possible £7,000,000. In 1874 the national debt of Great Britain was £727,993,605; at the same date that of the Netherlands was £77,276,673. When we turn from Europe to Asia the proportions remain substantially unaltered, except in one important particular. The total population of British India, including the feudatory states, was, according to the census of 1872, close upon two hundred and forty millions; while that of the Dutch East Indies was at the same date a little over twenty-four millions. As regards the so-called European troops of the Netherlands colonial army their numbers may seem disproportionately strong, being returned at twelve thousand three hundred and ten, when we had less than seventy thousand European soldiers, all told, throughout our Indian empire. But the disproportion is apparent rather than real, for while our Europeans are all British soldiers, the Dutch "European" companies ought rather to be styled "Christian" companies, including, as they do, men of every race and color who profess Christianity. In fact, less than two-thirds of the rank and file are genuine Netherlanders, so that the usual proportion is here approximately maintained, and there are about ten British soldiers in Hindostan for each Dutch soldier in Netherlands India.
But now we come to a matter in which a great divergence appears from the proportion hitherto maintained between the two empires. During the seven years ending in 1874 the average annual revenue of British India amounted almost exactly to £50,000,000, while the revenue of Java and Madura, which may be called the "regulation provinces" of Netherlands India, has for a similar period averaged 120,000,000 guilders, or £10,000,000 annually. The revenue of Java is thus equal to one-fifth of that of all British India, although its population is barely one-tenth, being as eighteen millions to one hundred and ninety millions. Moreover, we find that in British India the expenditure has for many years (with the exception of 1866, 1871, and 1872) largely exceeded the revenue, while there has been invariably in Java an annual surplus, amounting in 1864 to 35,000,000 guilders. The surplus has indeed dwindled considerably of late, but this diminution is due, not to any failure in the revenues of Java, which are larger than they were ten years ago, but to the increased cost of governing and protecting an empire which has grown in area with rapidity too great for the due development of its resources. The dependencies of Java in the East Indies have twelve times her area, and only one-third of her population. Java is now the queen of the archipelago, but she has not a monopoly of fertile soil, nor of mineral wealth, in which last particular she is far surpassed by other islands. When the resources of the vast islands of Borneo, Sumatra, and New Guinea have been developed even partially, Java may lose her exalted pre-eminence, but she will also be relieved from her present burden of paying for the administration of poorer neighbors.
Thus in every detail except Indian finance, the parallel holds good between the two nations, English and Dutch, so closely related in blood and language, so long the allied champions of civil and religious liberty, so long also maritime and commercial rivals, and now the only European States ruling over great empires within the tropics. The United Kingdom has far outstripped the United Provinces in population and power, and the two countries have long ago ceased to be rivals; but Holland continues to play her part bravely on the world's stage, and in proportion to her natural resources administers possessions and bears burdens fully equal to those of England. The ease with which she does both (two-thirds of her debt are held at the rate of 2.5 per cent.) shows still superabundant energy and credit, and leaves little sting in the taunt sometimes directed against England, that she is tending to become a second Holland. The Dutch have succeeded after an arduous struggle in establishing their complete supremacy in the island of Sumatra, larger than the United Kingdom or Italy, where Atjeh (Acheen) was the last remaining native state of importance. This is not an occasion, however, for raising the much-abused cry of "British interests in danger." Great Britain can feel neither alarm nor jealousy at the successful progress of the Netherlands, a smaller epitome of herself. We have dealt hard measure to the Dutch upon a good many occasions in history, and even the recent annexation of the Transvaal republic has been to them a somewhat distasteful transaction, as placing a community of Dutch origin under a foreign flag. But the independence of the Netherlands is to Great Britain a matter of the deepest interest, and prosperous as the Belgian kingdom undoubtedly is, its establishment as a separate State may be regretted on the ground that it has rendered more difficult the future maintenance of that independence. If the great manufacturing and coal-producing provinces of Belgium were now able to share the benefits and the burdens of colonial empire with their northern neighbors, a great additional security against foreign aggression would be enjoyed by all, and the United Netherlands would be a power capable of making its independence respected and its alliance desired.
It is naturally the wish of Englishmen that the constitutional states of Europe should not be swallowed up by the great military powers, and it is clearly to their interest that the splendid maritime resources of the Scandinavian countries or of the Netherlands should not pass into the hands of any nation likely to become a maritime rival. Upon this point Englishmen are sensitive to a degree, which is justified by the fact that the security of the British islands and the maintenance of our colonial empire alike depend upon our maritime supremacy, and would not long survive its decay. The nation which for the time being appears to menace this supremacy is certain to be regarded as our "natural enemy," whether it be Spain, Holland, France, or Russia, and the time may not be far distant when even Germany will be so regarded. Certainly a Pan-Teutonic empire extending from the Little Belt to the Adriatic, and possessing the shores of the Baltic and the North Sea from Dantzig to Antwerp, is a more formidable vision of the future, and one more capable of realization, than any conjured up by those whose nightmare is Panslavism. The German provinces of Austria gravitate willingly towards the united fatherland; but the same cannot be said of the Teutonic Netherlands, proud of their distinctive dialect and independent traditions. Still, many Netherlanders apprehend that absorption in the Germanic empire will be their ultimate fate. Such an event would confer upon a nation already possessing irresistible military strength, the elements of naval power together with a ready-made Oriental empire. It is at least a possible event, and would threaten our Asiatic dominion with the most serious danger to which it can be exposed, the presence of a formidable maritime rival in Asiatic waters. Whether Java and the rest of Netherlands India would benefit by a change which would abolish the trade monopoly of Holland, and throw open the extensive markets of central Europe to the coffee, sugar, and spices of the Malay archipelago, is a consideration not likely to affect the settlement of the matter to any important extent.
The two special characteristics of Dutch administration in Java are the culture system, and the employment of native chiefs in the public service. The culture system was established by General Van den Bosch in 1832, at a period of chronic deficit and threatened insolvency, and resulted in a regular annual surplus. During the generation which witnessed the conversion of a heavy annual deficit into a surplus of three millions sterling, the population of Java doubled itself. The system which produced these astonishing results required the compulsory cultivation by the people of certain valuable products, to be delivered at a low fixed price to the government, who sold them in Europe at an enormous profit. The products so cultivated were those calculated to command the highest prices in the home market, and included originally coffee, sugar, tea, tobacco, indigo, pepper, and cochineal. After a time, it was found expedient to limit the employment of forced labor to the cultivation of coffee and sugar only, and by recent act of the Netherlands legislature the compulsory production of sugar will cease in 1890. The profits made by the government upon this system are so great, that two-thirds of the Java revenue, i.e., nearly seven millions sterling, are annually derived from the sale of colonial produce. Formerly the coffee which each cultivator was bound to deliver was all grown upon special plots of public land, often at a distance from the village, to the great inconvenience of the people. Now the government coffee is chiefly cultivated by each man at his own door, within the village limits, and as the fixed price payable on delivery has been considerably raised, little pressure is necessary in order to insure the cultivation indeed, I was assured by one of the principal Dutch coffee-planters, that a slight additional increase in price would fairly compensate the villager. The material condition of the Javanese peasant has improved under the culture system, which involves no serious hardship in its present modified form; he is obliged to work, no doubt, when he would prefer to be dozing; but he obtains with little trouble a crop which enables him to clear off all his government dues. He has a sure market for his coffee, and although the price fixed may be rather low, it is payable on delivery; whereas if he were free to dispose of his crop as he pleased it might be discounted and made over, before it was gathered, to the Chinese money-lenders, to whom the Javanese is only too ready to mortgage his future earnings.
On the other hand the operation of the culture system, under which a percentage is received by high officials upon the products salable in Europe delivered by them into the government stores, has a tendency to reduce the cultivation of rice in certain districts, and has even produced at times a serious scarcity. Instructions were consequently issued to all residents in charge of provinces to send in monthly reports to government of the amount of rice exported and imported inter-provincially, as distinguished from the rice exported out of, or imported into, the island of Java. The published reports show how little reliance can be placed upon statistics collected by persons interested in obtaining a particular result. Internal traffic only is included in these tables, and the aggregate exports and imports ought therefore to balance each other, but the provinces altogether return many thousand pikols[1] of rice as exported in excess of the amount returned as imported. It was the interest of the native officers in each residency to make it appear as if their particular province produced a surplus of food, and these self-contradictory returns have been adduced by opponents of the colonial government to show that official reports in Java are apt to state merely what may seem agreeable to the authorities at home.
Although salt and opium are the only government monopolies recognized by the Dutch in Java, the culture system has given them, for more than forty years, a practical monopoly of the most valuable colonial products, and has been the mainspring of their financial prosperity. Another successful stroke of policy has been their maintenance in working order of the whole machinery of internal administration, just as they found it under the Mussulmans, while they secured, through the supervision of European officers, such checks and amendments as were deemed sufficient. The title of resident, which is borne by the principal Dutch official in each province, remains unaltered from the time when it was used to denote a representative of the European paramount power at the court of a native prince. The ruling princes, with a few exceptions, have disappeared, but the whole hierarchy of their subordinates remains, and all administrative functions, so far as natives are concerned, are intrusted to them only. A province or residency, containing on an average nearly a million of inhabitants, is divided into several regencies, each of which is governed by a native regent, having under him a host of minor officials, known as dhemang, djaksa, wedana, mantrie, etc. The regent invariably is a man of high birth, and frequently is a member of the princely family who once ruled over his district, so that he enjoys a large amount of prestige and influence apart from his authority as a government officer. In each regency is stationed a European assistant resident, whose instructions are to treat the regent with the consideration due from an "elder brother" towards a "younger," and who has under him a certain number of European kontroleurs. The duties of the assistant resident and his young Dutch subordinates are simply those of control and supervision, except where Europeans or quasi-Europeans are concerned.
The advantages claimed for this system are that it supplies public servants thoroughly known by and knowing the people, they being controlled in their turn by men of high culture, with European ideas of justice and public duty. Economy in salaries is one result of a system which enlists in the government service the willing aid of all ranks, even the most exalted, among the Javanese. Although Dutch officials receive lower emoluments, besides enjoying far less leave of absence than members of our Indian Civil Service, still it is impossible in any tropical country to secure the services of highly educated Europeans, except at rates more than adequate to command the very best native talent in the market. The dignity and privileges attaching to the government service, and the hope of one day being promoted to its higher offices, render it a career eagerly sought after by native gentlemen of position, who are ready to fill the lower grades at merely nominal salaries. But fixed salaries form only a portion of the emoluments of a Javanese chief in the public service; he receives also a percentage on the amount of taxes collected and coffee delivered by him, besides the arbitrary power, which he still possesses in spite of recent enactments, over the labor of the cultivators. And herein seems to lie the practical weakness of this theoretically excellent system, viz., in the imperfect nature of the control which it enables the Dutch officials to exercise over the Javanese. How far it is possible to protect the poorer classes of Asiatics against their immediate superiors, even by the most efficient European supervision, may be open to question, but the Dutch system in this respect certainly seems to require amendment. The local European officials in Java possess no direct authority over the regents and other native functionaries; nor do they incur direct responsibility on their behalf, as they would if the natives were their own immediate subordinates. The assistant resident of a division is indeed the "elder brother" of the regent, takes precedence of him as president of the land-raad, or local council, gives him general directions as on collections of taxes, repairing of roads and bridges; but if complaints or accusations are made against the regent to the assistant resident he can only hold an inquiry and report upon the case, through the resident to the central government in Batavia, with whom all real power rests, and who can dismiss without explanation or appeal any official, however exalted. Should a kontroleur have reason to complain of the conduct of a native functionary in a subordinate rank, and should he fail to obtain satisfaction from the offender's native superiors, the case would have to be carried upwards until it reached the supreme government from lack of power in the assistant resident, or even the resident, to deal with it, except in the way of a report.
In British India, on the other hand, native officials are in every sense subordinate to the collector or assistant collector, who is responsible for their conduct and has power to dismiss them, subject to an appeal, which may be carried even up to the secretary of state. It is clear that such an arrangement affords a more efficient control than that of the Dutch, where native functionaries have been guilty of corruption or oppression, although the ultimate court of appeal may be the same in both cases. In Netherlands India the Europeans and natives may almost be said to constitute two distinct services, working together as naval and military forces do upon a joint expedition; the senior service takes precedence of the junior, and has more gold and silver upon its umbrellas of state, but in its own department, that of native affairs, the junior is not directly responsible to the senior service, which can only appeal to an authority supreme alike over both. Now it is alleged that the central government punish or remove high native officials with extreme reluctance, and regard with disfavor those who bring charges against them, however well authenticated such charges may be. If there be truth in this accusation, and if the omnipotent authorities in Batavia are not willing to do justice strictly and impartially against their own native employes, it is upon them, and not upon the Dutch provincial officers, that the real blame and responsibility must rest. Unless the European assistant residents and kontroleurs are encouraged and supported in any efforts they may make for the protection of the helpless villagers, they will be sorely tempted to let things alone, to live on pleasant terms with their Javanese colleagues, and to report that all is as tranquil or contented in the provinces as it appears superficially to be. Even with the best intentions, and with absolute power at his back, any European in dealing with Asiatics must often find himself utterly unable to protect persons who will in no way take their own part. The first difficulty is to induce them when injured to make a complaint, and the next is to prevent them from withdrawing it when they are confronted with the oppressor against whom they have ventured to complain. This must not be forgotten in considering the present subject, seeing that the Dutch are accused, not of actively oppressing the Javanese, but of failing to protect them against their own chiefs.
It may well be that a mistake has been committed in bestowing upon native chiefs in government pay such a position of dignity and emolument as enhances the natural awe of their subjects, and overshadows that of the Europeans, their nominal superiors. If the idea has got abroad in Java that the native chiefs are regarded as indispensable to the administration, and that the government can hardly be induced to displace them whatever may be their conduct towards their subjects, it is most important that such an idea should be immediately dispelled. Regents strong in the favor of the paramount power are secure against revolt, and are in a position to oppress their people more grievously than independent chiefs could venture to do, and, therefore, for their oppressive acts the paramount power is responsible.
The accusations made by political opponents against the government of Netherlands India can scarcely fail to have a certain basis of truth, for they are founded upon the statement that men are liable to act in an indolent and selfish manner, preferring their own ease and interests to the welfare of those beneath them. Authority is concentrated in the hands of the governor-general and his ministers, who have been hitherto accustomed to govern after a secret and irresponsible fashion, free from the control of independent criticism. Under such a system it was only natural that abuses should spring up, and that internal reformers should be regarded as troublesome innovators, while reform from outside was altogether excluded. But changes have recently taken place, and many reforms have been effected; the old policy of concealment and monopoly has been modified, if not abandoned, and public opinion, as expressed in the home and colonial press, now counts for something in the administration. India attracts now so much attention in the Dutch Chambers as to create alarm in some quarters lest parliamentary pressure may become too important a factor in Indian affairs, and lest ignorant interference may do more harm than can be compensated by good intentions alone. One important advantage the Dutch appear to have gained by giving the most influential classes among the Javanese a direct interest in the maintenance of the existing régime. While the regents with their numerous grades of subordinate officers hold positions in no way inferior to those held by them under native sovereignty, and while they conduct the internal administration in the judicial and revenue departments, they have little inducement to desire the expulsion of the Dutch from Java. One of the most serious defects in our own Indian rule is that it offers no satisfactory career, civil or military, to an educated native gentleman of rank and distinction, and although it encourages the development of a cultivated class, it provides no field for their energies. Such a class cannot fail to become a source of embarrassment, if not of actual danger, unless we manage to utilize the natural leaders of the people, as the Dutch have done. We have now, however, governed British India for so long a time without native co-operation, except in the inferior grades, that we are in a very different position to the Dutch, whose most influential and high-born subjects have never lost the habit nor the desire of serving the powers that be, while ours would have to learn what they have not practised for generations.
The Dutch for their part have been content to govern their subjects in accordance with native ideas, and in making their Oriental conquests have talked very little about the duty of a great Christian nation to convert and civilize ignorant barbarians. They have made no attempt to introduce a national system of education, they even discourage the study of Dutch and other European languages, and they do not profess to regard a native as in any way a political equal. But if their ideal of government is not very exalted, they have fairly fulfilled it, such as it is. They have given to Java peace, prosperity, and religious toleration, with security of person and property; and after paying for the maintenance of all these blessings they consider themselves entitled to appropriate to their own uses the surplus revenue. They do not pretend to govern Java for the benefit of the Javanese alone, and they claim for their own people a portion of the wealth which they have there created. But it may be doubted whether the trade monopoly and the batig slot, or favorable balance paid by Java to Holland, do not inflict a greater injury on the enterprise and energy of the home country than on those of the colony itself.
After all, the worst fault of the Dutch government in Java seems to be a habit of putting an unduly favorable aspect upon affairs, of saying peace when there is no peace, and of making optimistic reports to the home authorities. In the words of Max Havelaar: "The government of Netherlands India likes to write to its masters in the mother country that everything is going on as well as can be wished. The residents like to make the same announcement to the government. The assistant residents, who themselves receive hardly any other than favorable reports from the kontroleurs, send in their turn no disagreeable tidings to the residents." According to the same author it is well understood that the government regard with special favor those officials who never trouble them with complaints or vexatious reports as to the conduct of the native functionaries, and he says it has become proverbial that the government will dismiss ten European residents rather than one native regent, and that reasons of state are always to be found for sparing a chief who may have acted oppressively towards the people under his jurisdiction. If such be really the policy of the government it may be expected that subordinates will prove either unable or unwilling to do otherwise than carry it out, and that there will be no effectual appeal for the Javanese against the rapacity and tyranny of their chiefs.
It is laid down in the constitution and regulations of Netherlands India that the special duty of European officials is the protection of the natives, and from the governor-general downwards all are bound by oath to "protect the native population against oppression, ill-treatment, and extortion." This oath is probably not kept by all to the very best of their ability, but at least the charge of pecuniary corruption is not brought against the Dutch Civil Service; this distinguished and honorable body of men being blamed only for lack of energy and courage in denouncing injustice in which they themselves have no share. Still it is the condemnation of the judge when the guilty are absolved, and an omnipotent governor-general must be held responsible for the shortcomings of his subordinates as well as his own.
The antiquities of Java are of the highest interest, they belong principally to an early period in the history of the island, if not to a prehistoric period, and none of any importance exist that are not of a date prior to the Mahometan conquest. Buddhism as a religion has now no votaries in Java, except strangers from distant China, while Brahmanism has been expelled from the great island where it once reigned supreme, although still holding its own in the little island of Bali, eastward of Java. Mahometanism is the religion professed for three centuries by ninety-nine per cent. of the Javanese, but these centuries have not produced a single edifice or work of art to tell their tale to posterity. Mosques, palaces, and tombs in other lands are the enduring monuments of Mahometan wealth, energy, and architectural skill, but in Java these are wanting alike in beauty of form, richness of material, and solidity of structure. This is especially remarkable in the case of imperial and royal tombs, which are in Hindostan the most magnificent and permanent of all Mussulman edifices, and in Java are mere wooden booths, without painting, carving, or any other decoration. Very different are the massive temples and colossal statues of Boro Boedoer, Mendoet, and Brambanan, where the extinct religions of Hindostan have raised monuments that still defy the injuries of time, and have escaped the hand of the iconoclast. In moist tropical climates the most formidable destroyer of buildings is the vegetation, which forces asunder and throws down the largest blocks of masonry, and has inflicted no little damage upon the Hindoo ruins of Java; most literally does "the wild fig-tree split their monstrous idols." The government has not failed to take some measures for the protection of these ancient monuments, and although more might be done with advantage, the most remarkable temples are cleared of vegetation, and the images of Buddha now run little risk of losing their heads either through Mussulman hatred of idolatry or Christian love of mischief.
The law with reference to treasure-trove is eminently calculated to preserve for the public benefit such curiosities as are discovered in Netherlands India. All precious objects found upon government land (including nearly all the country) are duly credited to the finder, who receives either the full value of each article, or else the article itself, in case the government do not care to acquire it; all ancient monuments situated upon government soil are the property of the public, and the public officials are responsible for their protection. Antiquities which belong to private owners may not be removed from Netherlands India without the permission of the governor-general; if so removed, the home government enjoy the right of pre-emption for the public museums. This last regulation applies to works of art, such as statues and sculptures, but does not include coins or medals. All finders of valuable articles are bound to give notice at once to the public authorities, who have the right of pre-emption; but as the full estimated value must be paid, the temptation to concealment is removed, and the destructive effect of our own barbarous law of treasure-trove is avoided, while the interests of the public are maintained. Until within the last two years only one-half of the value was payable to the finder; but as it was stated on competent authority that valuable antiquities had been lost to the public in consequence, a resolution was passed by the governor-general placing the law in its present satisfactory state. Although care is thus taken of curiosities when found, Dutchmen do not exhibit the same energy as Englishmen in exploring or discovering picturesque and interesting localities, and are wonderfully fond of the steamy flats near the sea to the neglect of hill sanitaria. The European troops are quartered principally in the low country, and the splendid military hospital of Batavia loses half its utility from not being at an elevation of three thousand feet above the sea, which in so moist a climate is considered to be the most salubrious height. The present war minister is in favor of following the British example, and transferring a larger proportion of the Europeans to inland stations; but it is clear that Netherlanders have a weakness for level plains and canals, which remind them of home.
There are four Javanese princes still enjoying a certain degree of independence. The Soesoehoenan[2] of Soerakarta represents the Mahometan emperors of Java, and is treated with the highest possible respect; but a fort garrisoned by European troops commands his capital and palace. A similar fort overlooks Djokjokarta, the capital of the sultan, who is the second native sovereign. The two remaining princes are of inferior rank, and can hardly be regarded as independent; but each of them entertains a body of fairly disciplined troops. The legion of Pangeran Adipati Ario Mangkoe Negoro at Solo numbers nearly a thousand men, embracing all three arms of the service, and this prince, who is a remarkably enlightened and liberal-minded man, sent a contingent commanded by one of his sons to assist the Dutch in the war of Atjeh.
Netherlands India is garrisoned by an army specially enlisted for that purpose, the national army of Holland not being liable to colonial service. The European portion of this force numbers about twelve thousand men, and, theoretically, two-thirds of them are Netherlanders; but of late years an increasing proportion of foreigners has been recruited and sent out to India. In 1875 the foreign recruits outnumbered the Netherlanders as two to one; but the pressure of the war in northern Sumatra was assigned as a reason for this divergence from an accepted principle of policy. Formerly, many Africans from the Dutch possessions in Guinea were enlisted for Indian service, and a certain number are still included among the so-called European forces. Europeans and natives are formed into separate companies and mixed battalions, the flank companies, all the officers, and a majority of the non-commissioned officers being European, but Christianized natives and half-castes are classed with the whites. Many white soldiers marry Javanese women, and they are allowed to take their families with them wherever they go. The deck of a steamer bound for the seat of war presented a strong contrast to that of a British troopship in smartness and comfort, and the accommodation afforded to the European soldiers with their dusky helpmates and comrades was slender enough; but the gallant fellows did not seem to be dissatisfied, and the mixed battalions are apparently a success. When our own native army in India undergoes the reform which it so urgently requires, some useful hints may be taken from the Dutch, and they may in their turn learn from us how to dress European soldiers within the tropics.
The Mahometan religion is professed by the Javanese; but the spirit of Islam has failed to take possession of this race, and the stranger in Java is astonished at the absence of outward and visible signs to indicate the popular faith of the country. In the centre of every town or large village is the aloen-aloen, an extensive grassy lawn, shaded with lofty tamarind and waringi trees (Ficus benjamicus), and surrounded by the principal buildings, public and private, of the place. Among these is always conspicuous a pagoda-like edifice, which is the mosque; but few and far between are the worshippers there, while the public performance of devotional exercises, at fixed hours, irrespective of locality, a spectacle so familiar to the traveller in other Mahometan countries, is not practised by the Javanese. The only religious observance witnessed by us among the peasantry was the presentation of coins and flowers as offerings to certain Hindoo idols, relics of the ancient faith still occupying niches in the ruined temples of Brambanan. The Mussulman priest is an important functionary, and is recognized as such by the Dutch authorities, but less in a religious than in a civil capacity, as the learned expounder of Mahometan law. A certain number of pilgrims proceed from Java to Mecca (in 1875 there were thirty-four hundred and twenty-eight), and the white turban of a hadji may be seen here and there in the streets among the lacquered and gaily painted hats of Sunda or the peaked caps worn by the Javanese proper, but the probability is that it encircles the head of a Malay or an Arab. Some of the regents are said to be zealous followers of the prophet, and strong objections are entertained by them against the admittance of unbelievers into mosques; but it must be remembered that the conquerors who introduced Mahometanism into Java were of Malay race, and that many of the present chiefs are descended from those fierce and fanatical vikings of the equator. It is, however, in the treatment of women, especially those of high rank, that Javanese fashions are most at variance with those of continental Asia and with general Mahometan custom.
The degree of emancipation enjoyed by Javanese ladies was strikingly illustrated during an interview most politely granted to us by the sultan of Djokjokarta. Attired according to etiquette in full evening costume, although it was an early hour in the morning, we were conducted by the Dutch officer in command of the sultan's horse-guards into the inmost court of the far-spreading kraton, or palace enclosure, within which three thousand people reside. Except a few sentries, and one or two officials stripped to the waist in Javanese court fashion, not a man was visible in any of the squares through which we passed, and when we reached the audience chamber there sat his Highness, without courtiers or attendants; but, to our extreme amazement, six charming young ladies were seated in a row on his left hand. We scarcely ventured to look at them, unveiled as they were, but our Dutch friend, after introducing us to the sultan, with whom we shook hands, quietly remarked, "Now you must shake hands with the princesses, with all of them; they expect you to do so."
Fresh from Indian durbars, where a mere allusion to the invisible occupants of the zenana would be a breach of decorum, we could hardly trust our eyes and ears; but each young lady held out her hand with a pleasant smile, and we were afterwards seated between the sultan and his blooming family of daughters. Attendants, literally crawling upon the floor, now approached the august presence, bringing tea, which was dispensed to us by the royal damsels, almost as if we had been in an English drawing-room at five o'clock in the afternoon. Unfortunately our conversation was somewhat restricted, as the English idea could only reach the Javanese mind after undergoing four translations, either oral or mental, through the obliging Dutch captain, who interpreted in French and Malay. Meanwhile, the sound of music attracted our attention, and the sultan courteously suggested that we might like to see a little more of his palace. We found that the music proceeded from a large open pavilion, where the queen, or principal sultana, was engaged in superintending a dancing-lesson. The pupils were the daughters of court dignitaries and nobles, more than twenty in number, all very young, and evidently taking the greatest pains in the performance of their graceful position drill.
The dancing was accompanied by singing and by the pleasing notes of the gamelong, which may be described as the Javanese pianoforte, played by women seated on the floor, and producing a liquid melody peculiar to itself, and very different from the harsh discordance of Oriental music in general. The youthful figures of the girls in their bright and elegant drapery, their earnest faces and elaborate movements, together with the melodious orchestra, combined to render this by far the most pleasing nautch which I have yet seen anywhere in the East, although it was merely a private performance of beginners. The queen was seated on the floor beside a low table, playing at cards with her maids of honor, and received us most graciously, inviting us to inspect everything, even to his Highness's private apartments, and in fact to make ourselves quite at home. The whole affair was like a scene out of "Alice in Wonderland," and we almost expected to be addressed by one of the sultan's many large dogs, or the tame crested pigeons as heavy as hen-turkeys. We were three European gentlemen alone (for the sultan did not accompany us) in a zenana, received by the inmates with friendly, unembarrassed politeness, and allowed to wander at will through marble halls open on all sides to the light of day: there were no lattices, no veils, no guards, not even any dueñas, for all the ladies were young, and many of them very good-looking. To my companion, a member of the Indian Civil Service, thoroughly familiar with Indian habits and ideas, this kindly reception en famille by the sultan of Djokjokarta was a new and surprising experience. In Hindostan, the Mussulman religion is professed by a small minority only; but Mussulman ideas as to the seclusion of women have a far more general acceptance, although quite foreign to Hindoo traditions and customs.
Travelling in the interior of Java is particularly agreeable; the roads are good, ponies are abundant, and light vehicles for posting are easily obtained. At all places of importance there are comfortable hotels, kept by Europeans and subsidized by government. Without a subsidy such hotels could not possibly be maintained, as they are not used by the natives, and European travellers are rare: in the year 1875 only seventeen strangers are recorded as having obtained official permission to travel in Netherlands India. The Dutch officials, moreover, have the hospitable habits of Europeans in the East, so that it is not easy to see how the hotel-keepers make a living; yet they seem to flourish, and in a country where Malay is the sole vehicle of communication with the people it is pleasant to find an Italian or German interpreter in one's host, who frequently is not a Netherlander.
The light posting carriages are drawn by four ponies, which are changed frequently, and keep up an excellent pace, where the road is tolerably level. At the hills bullocks or buffaloes are harnessed as leaders, and frequently, where the road descends into a deep ravine, the horses' are removed, and a small army of men and boys with ropes attach themselves to the carriage, lowering it into the valley, and hauling it up again on the opposite side. The rivers are well bridged, and these steep inclines, which might be obviated by a little engineering skill at a moderate expense, are the only impediments to rapid locomotion upon the principal roads. The scenery is beautiful and varied, the people and their dwellings are most picturesque, and the total absence of caste enables a stranger, without fear of giving offence, to enter any of the numerous shops and refreshment houses, and partake, along with the natives, of fruit, sweetmeats, coffee, and various refreshing but not inebriating drinks. Everywhere around (especially in Sunda or western Java) eye and ear are refreshed by the sight of fresh verdure and the sound of rushing streams; those who know what it is to ride all day under a vertical sun, without a blade of grass or a drop of water being visible for miles in any direction, can best appreciate the charm of driving along a good road with four stout Makassar ponies through this lovely garden of the tropics.
In order fully to appreciate the scenery and vegetation of Java it is well to ascend one of the volcanic cones in the western portion of the islands, such as the Pangerango Mountain, where an elevation of ten thousand feet can be attained, and which presents a variety of botanical attractions such as can hardly be seen elsewhere. From base to summit the jungle is dense and luxuriant, but you climb gradually from palms, musaceæ and , through tall forest trees festooned with creepers and epiphytous orchids, to the flora of a temperate climate, and the familiar forms of artichoke and strawberry, primula and plantago. Down the steep slopes tumble many streams, their temperature varying between the boiling point and icy coldness, and in the tepid spray of the hot cascades tree-ferns attain their greatest size, rivalling tall palms in height, and excelling them in the gracefulness of their feathery fronds. Near the top of the mountain trees diminish in size, but the undergrowth is still so thick that it is almost impossible to leave the path. The crater on the highest peak is extinct and overgrown with vegetation, but clouds of mephitic vapor rise from a huge crater somewhat lower, and spread desolation around; when the volcano is active, these vapors reduce large tracts of forest to blackened skeletons, but nature soon repairs her own ravages in a climate like that of Sunda. Animals are rarely heard and yet more rarely seen in these dense jungles, but occasionally a troop of large monkeys may leap crashing from tree to tree, or a great hornbill may fly overhead on creaking wings, and near the summit the twittering of small warblers reminds one of Europe, almost as much as do the honeysuckle and St. John's wort. Large game, in the shape of rhinoceros, tiger, deer, wild bull and wild boars, is indeed abundant in the forests of Java, but is not easily dislodged in such cover, and tigers are more frequently destroyed with poison than in any other manner. The poison used is a decoction from the root of a tree, and has the effect of paralyzing the animal, which is usually found alive and helpless within a short distance of the poisoned carcase and is then despatched. If the tiger is dead when found the skin is sure to be worthless, but by this method splendid specimens are obtained when the track is taken up immediately. Wild pigs do much damage in the rice-fields, and the villagers use for scaring them an ingenious mechanical contrivance, which is worked by the water-power used in irrigation; there are two distinct species indigenous in Java and they afford considerable sport, being shot with the aid of beaters and dogs.
Java is in perfection just after the rains, during the months of April and May, when the whole country, from the smoking craters of the interior to the swamps of the seacoast, is clothed with a vegetation so luxuriant that the ruddy color of the volcanic soil is only visible where a recent landslip has occurred; even precipitous banks are densely festooned with green, and so saturated is the ground with moisture that watercresses flourish on the steep face of roadside cuttings. In plain and valley every square yard of soil, except the village burial-ground, is cultivated and irrigated; magnificent crops of sugarcane, rice, and indigo form a sea of verdure, out of which rise like islands numberless groves of bamboos, cocoanut palms, and fruit-trees. Concealed in these groves are the dessas, or native villages, and under their shade is usually cultivated the coffee, which "pays the rent." Some of the lower ranges have been denuded of trees, and display a certain amount of open pasture, but as a rule the mountains are covered with virgin forest, except where clearings have been made for plantations of tea, coffee, or cinchona. High above this fair scene a faint white cloud may be seen curling upwards from the apex of a lofty cone, indicating the volcanic energy that now slumbers beneath, but has broken out violently even within the last few years, and may do so again at any moment.
It may be asked whether the geological condition of Java is not a symbol of its political state, and whether a fair surface does not cover hidden fires in the hearts of the Javanese people. It may be so, but not even a faint white cloud is visible to warn the stranger that such hidden fires exist. Everything externally is tranquil, and in the absence of all means of coercion, tranquillity may be accepted as a fair evidence of contentment. In the wide and populous district of the Preanger Regencies for example, there are no troops at all. A few European soldiers in civil employ and a few native policemen represent the power of the sword, and the most perfect order prevails throughout this beautiful province. The productiveness of the country appears to keep pace with the increasing population. The wants of the masses in all tropical countries are few and simple, and in Java these are amply supplied. While the masses thus enjoy comparative prosperity, those of rank and influence, who might otherwise be dangerous, are enlisted on the side of the government by the possession or the prospect of honorable and lucrative employment. Besides, the Javanese are a gentle and submissive race, unaccustomed to the use of firearms, and could never be formidable as insurgents in a military sense,[3] although Englishmen in the East, who have not visited Java, sometimes assert that Dutch rule is so arbitrary and oppressive as to engender a spirit of chronic disaffection, and that the Javanese are watching for an opportunity to expel their tyrants and take shelter under the British flag; but I could see no evidence for such an opinion. Without pretending to investigate the inward desires or aspirations of the Javanese, and judging solely from external facts, I believe that the Dutch sovereignty is about as popular and as secure as the rule of a few aliens over a great subject population can ever be made, and that the country flourishes under it as well as a subject country can ever be expected to do.
Tokens of respect, savoring strongly of servility, are still shown in the more remote districts to all Europeans, as well as to high native officials, but the prestige of a white face, apart from gold or silver lace, is not so great in the neighborhood of cities and railroads. On the approach of a superior it is incumbent on all natives to remove their hats, to dismount if on horseback, and if on foot to sit down upon the ground; those who wish to be particularly respectful will even turn their backs upon the great man, as if afraid to look him in the face. When the golden umbrella of the Dutch president passes along a crowded street, denoting the presence of the highest official of the province, a very singular effect is produced, the people sinking down before this conspicuous badge of office, and rising again behind it, like a field of ripe corn in a breeze. The Dutch authorities demand honor and precedence for themselves and other Europeans, but they also set an admirable example of urbanity and even of friendliness in general intercourse with natives. The absence of caste prejudice and religious fanaticism among the Javanese permits a considerable amount of sociability to arise between the two races, and the tone adopted by Europeans towards natives in Java is remarkably devoid of the arrogance and irritability by which in other countries it is too often characterized. It is a very unusual thing for a white man to strike or even to menace a native, and acts of violence, when they do occur, are severely punished. While I was in Batavia, a foreign ship's captain, accustomed, perhaps, to less impartial laws, was undergoing a considerable term of imprisonment for laying violent hands upon a native car-driver.
Perhaps the good-temper and urbanity characteristic of the Dutch in Java may be due partly to the general adaptation of their mode of life to the climate, in which respect they are more successful than our own countrymen, although they decline to adopt the punkah. They rise early, and until the meal, known as rijst-tafel, which takes place about midday, it is customary to appear in dresses adopted from the natives, and fashioned of the lightest and coolest materials in various colors. The dress of the ladies consists usually of a gaily-colored skirt and a white jacket, with slippered feet, and hair hanging loose or tied in a knot at the back of the head; and very becoming it is, as well as comfortable and cool. If the tight and multifarious garments of Europe have been assumed during the course of the morning, they are again discarded for the afternoon siesta. Until the cool of the evening no one is visible, and if an inexperienced stranger should attempt an afternoon visit, he will inevitably be received with the announcement, "Tidoer" (asleep). After sunset, refreshed with a bath and dressed in correct European costume, but without hats, ladies and gentlemen sally forth, driving and walking, this being the fashionable time for paying visits, which may, however, be postponed until after dinner. Should there happen to be moonlight, a drive may be taken even as late as midnight, or there may be an open-air concert in the grounds of a club, where the friends and families of the members are made welcome. The presence of children is a conspicuous feature at the opera and other evening entertainments, and is a natural result of the long repose during the heat of the day, indulged in by all, except a few whose business avocations are such as to prevent them from choosing their own time for work and relaxation.
Planters of tea or coffee in the hill country of Java have as agreeable a calling as any set of men that I have come across, and it would indeed be difficult to find any more kindly and hospitable, or more contented with the lot which has fallen unto them in such pleasant places. They lead active, independent lives, with continuous but not laborious occupation, being able at almost any season to take a holiday for the sake of sport, society, or change of scene. The climate at high elevations is the most favorable to quality in coffee and tea, although heavier crops can be grown in the low country, and the same climate allows Europeans to keep their children around them, and to bring up the youngsters as well-educated, as merry, and almost as rosy, as if the peaks towering above them were the snowy Alps, and not the fiery Merapi or Gedeh. Labor can be obtained at moderate rates, while excellent roads and bridges facilitate the conveyance of produce to market. Over a docile and industrious population they exercise a patriarchal sway, although they are invested with no magisterial authority, and a planter is obliged to have recourse to a native official if he wishes to punish a refractory coolie. This is sometimes cited as a grievance by European gentlemen, but it seems, in combination with other circumstances, to promote most satisfactory relations between the planters and those whom they employ. The Javanese are a solemn and silent race, even as children, and it is pleasant to see their faces light up at the approach of the master of the plantation, as he passes along with a kindly word or a smile, ready to give a patient hearing to any desirous of addressing him. Joyous cries of "Toean! toean!" (master) from the children furnish a tribute of popularity which is above suspicion; and upon one plantation, where we spent several pleasant days, even the absurd tameness of every sort of animal testifies to the rule of kindness governing the whole establishment.
But the amicable relations existing between masters and coolies are due, not only to the kindliness of individuals, but also to the peculiar position occupied by planters in Java. They compete with the government as producers of coffee, and are ready to pay good wages to free laborers; they are therefore the natural enemies of monopoly and forced labor, and deserve as such the title of "protectors of the poor," to which planters elsewhere can seldom lay claim. To the advice and influence of eminent Dutch planters are largely due the recent reforms introduced into the culture system of Java, and in particular the increased price now payable to the villagers for the government coffee. It has been made a ground of attack against the colonial policy of the Dutch, that they discourage the construction of railroads and the settlement within their territories of independent capitalists, who would develop the resources of the country but might interfere with existing monopolies. Restrictions as to strangers residing in Netherlands India have been, however, relaxed of late years, and in 1875 one hundred and twenty-eight Europeans, ninety-seven of whom were Netherlanders, received official permission to settle in the country. Only in the north-western provinces do private individuals hold estates in fee-simple, but in other parts the government will lease land to planters and settlers, and will relieve from compulsory gratuitous labor the people employed upon plantations. Coffee and sugar have been hitherto the most valuable products of Java, but the motto "In te spero" has been adopted by a firm of very successful tea-planters, who base their hope chiefly on obtaining for Java tea a higher reputation than it enjoys at present in the London market. Should they succeed in accomplishing this, the cultivation of tea would rapidly develop; but the general climate and soil of Java are favorable rather to quantity than to quality, especially as regards tea and tobacco, in marked contrast to Hindostan, where both these plants attain the highest excellence.
The peculiar form of the island, and the easy communication by sea between the great centres of population, render an elaborate railway system unnecessary in Java, either for military or commercial purposes. Railroads have been constructed, running from the principal ports on the northern coast, into the interior of the island, and linking Buitenzorg, the governor-general's country residence, with, Batavia, also Soerakarta and Djokjokarta, the capitals of the great native princes, with Samarang. These lines have been constructed with free labor by the Netherlands India Railway Company, to whom a concession has recently been made for very considerable extensions, with a state guarantee of five per cent. interest for forty years. At the same time the government have purchased the Batavia and Buitenzorg railway (about forty miles in length), paying five million guilders to the company. A State railway is in course of construction in the eastern districts of Java. Now it seems that the existing lines are precisely those most required for developing the resources of the island, and when the proposed extensions are completed the most important districts will all be brought into direct communication with the coast. At any rate, the revenues of the country have not hitherto been burdened with annual payments to European capitalists for large sums of money sunk in the construction of unprofitable railroads; Java pays tribute to Holland, but that tribute has not taken the form of guaranteed interest. Well-intentioned but ill-considered proposals for developing Asiatic resources by the aid of European capital have not a little to embarrass the finances of British India, and the Dutch authorities in Java are also subjected to increasing pressure from home as to embarking upon similar schemes. The pressure, however, is less, and the power of resistance greater than in our own case.
Beyond all tropical countries Java seems to attract the love and admiration of strangers settling upon her shores, who speak of her as "nôtre Java bien-aimé" and are fond of describing her as "the finest island in the world." Swiss mountaineers are at one with lowlanders of Holland upon this subject, and even islanders from Britain can hardly express dissent.