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were those of Nieuwenkamp in Bali (1906), of Hirschi in Central Borneo (1907), of Moszkow- 

 ski in Central Sumatra (1907), of Elbert in the Small Sunda Islands (1908), of Wanner in 

 the Moluccas (1909), of Abendanon in Celebes (1909 and 1910), of Kleiweg de Zwaan in the 

 isle of Nias (1910), of Molengraaff in Timor (1910), of Heim and of Rouffaer (1910) in the 

 Small Sunda Islands, of Deninger, Tauern and Strefemann (1910 and 1912) in the Moluccas, 

 especially in the isle of Buru. 



The Dutch West Indies consist of the two governments of Surinam and of Curacao. In 

 1911 the population of these two together amounted to 147,564, not counting the Indians 

 and the negroes of Surinam, together perhaps some 10,000. The detailed figures were: 

 Surinam, 92,142; Curacao, 32,585; Aruba, 9,357; Bonaire, 6,383; St. Martin (Dutch), 3,385; 

 St. Eustatius, 1,325; Saba, 2,387. 



Of late years our knowledge of Surinam has been greatly increased by a series of scientific 

 expeditions, organised by the Dutch Geographical Society, which have traced all the larger 

 rivers to their sources and drawn maps of them. The government has published a large new 

 map of Curasao, while those of Aruba and Bonaire will follow soon. There has also appeared 

 a map of Curasao's capital Willemstad; and a beginning has been made to improve its 

 harbour, in connection with the approaching completion of the Panama Canal. 



Political History. The cabinet formed in 1905 by Theodoor Herman de Meester 

 (b. 1851) had to resign in 1907 on account of die rejection of the war budget by the 

 Second Chamber. In its place came a cabinet of moderate anti-revolutionaries and 

 Roman Catholics under the leadership of Theodorus Heemskerk (b. 1852). The task 

 assigned to this cabinet was to settle the quarrel with Venezuela, which had opposed 

 the economic development of the colony of Curacao as much as possible, and finally 

 forbade the Dutch consul-general the country. When lengthy negotiations with 

 Pres. Castro of Venezuela remained fruitless, the Dutch government sent some men- 

 of-war to the West Indies. In the beginning of November 1908 a naval demonstration 

 was made and two Venezuelan ships were taken by Dutch war-vessels. The stagnation 

 of trade and the internal difficulties in the republic, which caused the fall of Castro, led 

 in December to the reopening of negotiations with Pres. Gomez. He sent the minister 

 of foreign affairs, Paul, to Europe to carry on the negotiations, and revoked the meas- 

 ures directed against Curacao. Up to the end of 1912, however, the differences between 

 Venezuela and Holland had not been settled. 



The elections of June 1907 assured a majority of 60 to the Heemskerk cabinet. 

 Meanwhile it appeared that the opinion of this majority about different political 

 questions was not so undivided that they could set to work energetically on social 

 reform. There was a change in the cabinet, when towards the end of 1909 the minister 

 for the colonies, A. W. F. Idenburg (b. 1861), was made governor general of the Dutch 

 East Indies. He was succeeded by the anti-revolutionary Jan Hendrik de Waal 

 Malefijt (b. 1852). In June 1909 the accusation brought against the ex-premier 

 Dr. Abraham Kuyper (b. 1837), that during his ministership he had conferred orders 

 of knighthood in a way that was not quite correct, caused a great stir in the country, 

 and a council of honour was appointed, which acquitted Dr. Kuyper. A bill which 

 caused great difficulties was that for the regulation of the bakers' trade and the pro- 

 hibition of night labour in it. Discussion was repeatedly postponed, and when at 

 last it was taken up, the measure was rejected in June 1912, a new bill being subsequently 

 undertaken. Another bill, for the regulation of the defence of the coast, presented 

 in 1910, met with still greater opposition, not only from military experts but from the 

 public. It would require an expenditure of 46 million guilders, and many people 

 doubted both its necessity and its practical efficiency. The bill attracted considerable 

 attention in France, England and Belgium. In particular, the proposed fortress at 

 Flushing, in regard to which pressure was believed to have been applied from Germany 

 .(a supposition strengthened by not very clear communications from the former am- 

 bassador in Sweden, van Heekeren, concerning intimations from the German Emperor 

 as to Holland's means of defence), was persistently opposed. Meanwhile the nava! 

 minister of the De Meester cabinet, W. J. Cohen Stuart (b. 1857), had introduced a 

 naval defence bill, which entailed an expenditure of So million guilders. Before it 

 came into the chambers the war minister, Wouter Cool (b. 1848), had to resign, on 

 another bill for the raising of officers' pay, in which a regulation of pensions was not 



