VIII 



PEPPERS 299 



liberty of disposing of themselves and their property. 

 As soon, however, as this period expired, the Dutch 

 levied a tax of 36 per cent on the exportation of all 

 spices unless sold to the Dutch Government, in which 

 case they were exempted from duty altogether. 



Most of the spice plantations belonged to British 

 planters, and by 1836 ten of the best plantations had 

 gone to ruin and only two remained which paid any 

 profit to the proprietors. With the failure of the spice 

 plantations, Bencoolen soon ceased to be of any 

 importance, and this district, which flourished so well 

 under Sir Stamford Raffles, is now practically deserted. 



The cultivation of pepper, however, still continues in 

 Sumatra, chiefly in the Achinese district. 



Though the Honourable East India Company must 

 be credited with the first breaking down of the Dutch 

 monopoly of spices, by introducing and extending the 

 cultivation of pepper, nutmegs, and cloves, the Directors 

 of the Company seem to have been remarkably ignorant 

 of the nature of the spices they dealt in. It is recorded 

 that on one occasion they sent out orders to cultivate 

 only white pepper and not black pepper plants ; on 

 another occasion they ordered a ship at Bencoolen to be 

 loaded with pepper only, refusing to allow some sugar 

 to be taken as ballast, being apparently quite ignorant 

 of the fact that the extreme lightness of the cargo would 

 cause the ship to float so high in the water that her 

 passage round the Cape of Good Hope would entail the 

 greatest possible risk of being overturned. 



However, similar blunders have been made even in 

 later days by directors of companies and merchants 

 who had every opportunity of knowing better. 



Java and other Dutch Islands. A considerable 

 quantity of pepper is grown in the islands of the Rhio- 

 Lingga group by the Chinese, together with gambir. 

 Tschirch (Heil- und Nutzpflanzeri) says 100,000 piculs 

 (16,633,333 Ibs.), more or less, per year. Most of this 

 comes into the Singapore port and is shipped thence. 

 He gives the export from Batavia as : 



