24 SPORT AND TRAVEL 



a few more years we shall be able to travel from 

 Singapore to Bangkok by rail, for even now railways 

 are being pushed rapidly through Johore to the 

 south, and northwards towards Si am. 



It was in 1874 that England first sought to 

 interfere in the state of perpetual warfare which 

 existed between the various independent states of 

 the peninsula. Agents were sent, one at least was 

 killed, his death avenged, and from that epoch 

 England's rule became predominant in the four 

 States of Perak, Pahang, Negri Sembilan, and 

 Selangor ; while during the past year, through treaty 

 with Siam, Kelantan, Kedah, and Trengganu have 

 passed also under British control. Now, under the 

 title of the Federated Malay States, which came 

 into existence in 1896, the government of the pe- 

 ninsula is carried on under the supervision of the 

 British Governor and the Residents in the various 

 districts, though the Sultans and Rajahs of the differ- 

 ent states still retain much of their former state 

 and power. 



With the coming of British control, industry be- 

 gan to awaken. Hitherto it had been dangerous to 

 accumulate wealth, for no rich man's life was safe ; 

 now, under peaceful conditions, the vast tin mines 

 of the country are opening up, pepper and spices are 

 cultivated, rubber plantations begin to yield enor- 



