THE NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES 253 



The system of tapping in Sumatra is copied from 

 that practised in the Malay Peninsula and Ceylon, and 

 has been fully described in connection with the industry 

 of those countries. 



The buildings on Sumatra rubber estates are similar 

 to those in use in Malaya ; but hard-wood frames and 

 thatched roofing are the general rule, and only in very 

 few cases does one meet with steel frames and galvanized 

 iron roofing. The principal difference is in the expense 

 of construction, those in Sumatra costing the same 

 number of guilders of 20 pence as the Malayan in 

 dollars of 28 pence. 



The standard of discipline varies on plantations. On 

 some estates no complaints are made by the managers ; 

 but on others the reverse is the case, and much bitter 

 sentiment is expressed in connection with the attitude 

 of the Colonial Government. The pith of the matter is 

 that the planters are strictly forbidden to impose punish- 

 ment by fine or otherwise, and the authorities will take 

 no effective methods to correct abuses. This condition 

 is confirmed by quite independent and reliable sources, 

 such as the managers of the Nederlandsche Handel 

 Maatschappij and many agents and merchants in 

 Medan and elsewhere. In the Bila district during 

 1911, one English and two Swiss managers were mur- 

 dered by estate labourers, and inquiries failed to show 

 any reasonable provocation for these acts. Apparently 

 the managers were dissatisfied with the work of certain 

 coolies, and insisted that the men should do it in better 

 fashion ; disputes followed in each case, and the coolies 

 attacked the managers with hoes and knives and killed 

 them. One of the murderers is now in the gaol at 



