must, as regards the relation of the mother-country to the population, be divided into two very different main sections. One of these is composed of tribes whose princes and princelings have recognized the authority of the Netherlands as suzerain, but with whom the direct ruling power still remains more or less in the hands of the native Chiefs. The other, comprising—with a very slight, perhaps only apparent exception—all Java, is immediately subject to The Netherlands. There is here no question of tribute, or levy, or alliance. The Javanese is a Dutch subject. The King of The Netherlands is his King. The descendants of his former princes and lords are Dutch officials. They are appointed, transferred, promoted, by the Governor-General, who rules in the name of the King. The criminal is convicted and sentenced under a law which is issued from The Hague. The taxes the Javanese pays flow into the treasury of The Netherlands.
It is only with this part of the Dutch possessions, which therefore forms an integral portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, that these pages in the main will deal.
The Governor-General is assisted by a Council, which, however, has no determining voice in his decisions. In Batavia the various branches of Government are divided into “departments,” at the head of which are placed Directors, who form the link between the highest Government, that of the Governor-General, and the Residents in the provinces. In cases, however, of a political nature, these officials apply direct to the Governor-General.
The title Resident derives from the time when The Netherlands Government only ruled the population indirectly as a feudal lord, and was represented at the Courts of the still reigning Princes by Residents. The Princes are no more, and the Residents have become, as district Governors or prefects, rulers of country divisions. Their sphere of activity has changed, but the name remains.
It is these Residents who actually represent Dutch authority with the Javanese population. The people know neither the Governor-General, nor the Councillors of Dutch India, nor the Directors in
