686 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, [ApftiL i, 1887, 



United States is the only country in which the fon- 

 sumption of the article has increased, and he freely 

 admits that, owiug to the openiug up of new land 

 iu the Far Wast and ou the banks of large rivers, 

 where fever largely prevails, the consumption has goue 

 up by leaps and bounds; and is now probably about 

 three millions of ounces; but owiog to iniprovud 

 drainage and other means of sanitation, he tiiinks 

 that taroughout Ei'rope fever has declined; and adtled 

 10 which we must not ignore many new febrifuges 

 which have come to the front of late years, though 

 not permanently. Of course ic is ratner difficult to 

 deal with general statements such as appear in the 

 summary of the Mannheim report, 8 id, until I succeed 

 in obtaining a copy of the origin: ' document, I fear 

 I cannot pretend to reconcile the l iufl ctiug opinions 

 of the authorities I have quoted. Dr. Paul regards 

 Ceylon soils, and, indeed, the generality of soils, as not 

 capable of yielding cinchona of a high analysis for 

 any length of time without the aid of manure, and 

 he gave me tj understand that he is now engaged iu 

 conducting a series of experiments with manured and 

 unmauured barks for South American and other 

 growers, the results of which I am to obtain when 

 completed. Dr. Paul assurer me there are very few 

 barks from Ceylon which can compare in quinine 

 analysis with the c "tivat d cinchonas f.om Bolivia, 

 though t le produce from S .ir, Glenlyon, Amherst, and 

 one or two other Ceylon estates, continues t ) hoid a 

 hisjh place in public estimatiou. He a. '.ured me that 

 the finest Bolivian barks seldom come on the opea 

 marke:, nearly ail being disposed af privately to a few 

 continental druggists, who give quite fancy prices for 

 what they want. Another scare iu the quinine mark-t 

 was recently created by an announcement in the Lan- 

 cet ot some very successful trials of a new substitute 

 for the cinchona alkaloid iu the form of jicrate of 

 ananonia, a combination of the al<saline base with 

 ■picric acid. This has been largely tried, and the medical 

 journal tells us that quinine is doomed I But we have 

 heard this so frequently that I was led to institute 

 enquiries as to the cost of t- e new fever remedy, 

 when I learnt, as I fu"y ;cted, that the " new 



quinine" is nearly double the price of the old article; 

 but then people declare that this is only a temporary 

 dearness owing to the enormous demand for [liciic 

 acuJ by the Freuch Government, thi.s same chemical 

 entering into the composition of new war explosive 

 of which large quantities are being produceil iu anti- 

 cipation of an outbreak of hostilities. — London Gov. 



Local "Times." 



_ ^ 



DUTCH V. ENGLISH COLONISATION. 



It is universally admitted that the two great colonising 

 Powers of the world at the present day are Great 

 Britain and Holland. I do not mean by this Powers 

 whose sons and daughters go to swell the population of 

 alien flags, as iu this respect Germany can probably 

 show an annual emigration to the United States 

 equalling if not exceeding that of either of the Powers 

 in question to their colonial possessions. But iu 

 acquiring and rataining colonies both the Dutch and 

 ourselves now take the places once occupied by France 

 and Spain, and it is curious to note the different ways 

 in which we arrive at the one end of governing Asiatic, 

 or other races, so as to combine fairness to them with 

 advantage to the alien lords of the soil. Tersely put, 

 the most striking difference to the chance visitor to 

 Netherlauds India is that, whereas British administration 

 is almost needlessly unsympathetic with the Asiatic, 

 and social amalgamation the exception rather than the 

 rule, the Dutch system is that of living down to the 

 Asiatic standard, and disclaiming, except for official 

 purposes, that assumption of social superiority so 

 characteristic of ourselves. In saying that our rule is 

 unsympathetic I do not mean that it is intentionally 

 unjust. "We are apt, indeed, to push ideal justice on 

 behalf of parties accused of crime to an extent which, 

 to the Asiatic mind, savours of decided injustice to com- 

 plainants. But though we are honestly credited with a 

 desire to do absolute justice between man and mau, it 

 }3 felt that we do not make sufficient allowances for 



'■!ana!W!?^H~~s 



the utterly different modes of thought and reasoning 

 which distinguish the governed from the governors. 

 We insist, for instance, on an absolutely incomprehen- 

 sible oath being taken in our courts, because British 

 law provides it. AVe give prisoners the benefit of a 

 doubt at our assizes, becau.se a couple of Asiatic witnesse.s 

 are utterly unable to detail — without serious di.screpau- 

 cies— cert iin minor matters bearing on the case. It is 

 in vain to point out that perfect agreement ou the part 

 of Eastern witnesses, i.e., the perfect agreement expected 

 from educated Europeau witnesses — is to the experienced 

 magistra ; or judge the surest sign of concocted testi- 

 mony. A id so with a va t number of other matters. 

 We punish gambling in an open space of ground, where 

 nobcdy is inconvenienced, as if it were a crime, and are 

 powerless to deal witli clubs (Chinese) started really 

 for the express purpose. A newly arrived coolie, who 

 has never seen a watertap before in his life, is arrested 

 for " wasting water," while his slow mind is revolving 

 the question how best to stop the running. We give a 

 few months' (it may be weeks') imprisonment for 

 crimes which, under native government, would ensure 

 death or lengthened captivity. We are not saying that 

 all this is wrong ; we are merely putting the Asiatic 

 point of view. Some of the matttrrs complained of 

 are doubtless more trifles, but they are deemed very 

 irritating, and leud colour to the assertion that we are 

 " unsympathetic " in our administration. 



Ttie Dutch; on the other hand, seem to us— especially 

 as regards social matters — to go to the opposite extreme, 

 Their municipal and conservancy rules are less harassing 

 and the native scale of punishment is more closely 

 followed than with us. In many cases this bears far more 

 hardly on offenders than with us. But it is not so much 

 the defendants as the complainants in our courts who 

 criticise our administration, and compare it unfavourably 

 with that of the Dutch possessions. And beyond all, 

 the Dutch follow local customs to an extent which 

 gains native good will, though holding out no example 

 of a higher life. In fact in many of these matters, 

 they leave the natives at precisely the same point as 

 they find them. Slovenliness of dress, an absence of 

 punctuality in small matters, a tendency to sleep much 

 during the working hours of the day, and similar habits, 

 proclaim to the native that the white man makes no 

 aft'ectation of superiority in those directions which 

 supplied the basis of his former victories over indolent 

 Asiatics. Another social custom — that of temporary 

 marriages between Dutch and Javanese has immensely 

 lowered the prestige of the former in native eyes. It 

 is quite true that the latter regard the marriage tie 

 from a different point of view to that held here, and 

 that these pro tern, arrangements involve no local 

 discredit to the woman. Sociologically there is much to 

 be saifl for them, as worse results invariably follow the 

 interning of large bodies of troops at Eastern stations. 

 But the natural effect is to deprive European life of 

 any claims to superior purity in the marriage relation, 

 and morals are apt to run low. 



On the other hand a non-interference policy of 

 legislation as regards the Chinese population is bearing 

 evil fruit. The secret societies throughout the Dutch 

 territories are assuming a position which threaten 

 danger to the Government, and the Java papers have, 

 of late, drawn attention to the fact. It is becoming 

 increasingly evident that unless some strong means be 

 taken to regulate them, the eventual alternatives wi'l 

 be either suppression at the cost of probable bloodshed, 

 or riots which may threaten the very existence of the 

 Government itself. I would strongly advise the Dutch 

 authorities to establish a " Protectorate " of Chinese 

 and Registry of Secret Societies similar to that in force 

 in the Briti.sh Straits Settlements, and I concur with 

 the Singapore Press in thinking that such a measure is 

 probably the most prudent that could be taken. Eieu 

 now the difficulties of bringing the societies under 

 control would be a task of no small difficulty, but the 

 difficulty will increase with each year if they be left 

 unmolested. An additional argument is also found in 

 the fact that other troubles exist at present iu Java. 

 Taxation has been pushed by the authorities to its 

 utmost verge, and combined with bad crops and 

 depreciated prices of produce, have produced consider 



