Reminiscences of the Straits Settlements. 165 
Tar PREsiDEeNt’s REMARKS. 
The President said they were all very much obliged to His Honour for giving 
his experiences of a country which in many respects resembled their own. The 
climate seemed tu be very much the same and the rainfal!, but the possibilities 
for development were much better realised there than here, but nevertheless 
very much the same. When His Honour was there, there was not a single mile 
of railway. The population was about the same as here at present. The pepu- 
lation of the Straits Settlements had nearly doubled since—was 600,000—and 
the mileage of railway in the whole country was over 700. The British territory 
did not seem to form a large portion of the country, judging by the map, and 
there possibly not more than 100 miles of railway had been actually built. The 
whole peninsula was only one-third the size of British Guiana. But in 
close connection with the British territory were the Federated States, each of 
which had a British Resident. At Jonore the ratlway was 150 miles long and 
was being 
PusHep Into THE HeArT or THE Country. 
towaras Penang. The mileage altogetner was 700 and there were branches in 
various directions. As to roads they had ebout 2,500 miles. He had heard a 
good deal about the railways from Mr. George Pauling. The railways had been 
built, not for a dense population such as existed in Java, but by a popa- 
lation nos widely different from their own. The Brittsh possessions had only 
500,000 to 600,600 and in the whole territory outside there was probably not 
a larger number. 
RUBBE: IN THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS. 
The Stiatts Settiements were now associated with rubbez in such a way that 
it was clear that the fortunes of those territories would be connected 
with rubber as long as it was grown for the purposes of commerce. 
They had enormous opportunities and had taken every advantage of the 
semi-independent position of the administrators. They had laiger revenues 
than this colony to dispose of, which were very little interfered with from 
home. He hoped one day this country would share in the progress those coun- 
tries had made and would havea succession of administrators such as had ruled 
them for the past twenty-five or thirty years, who would succeed in bring- 
mg the enterland into prosperity similar to that which those countries 
enjoyed. He was very glad to convey the vote of thanks. 
His Honour personally thanked Mr. Bowhill, who was present, for the map 
with which the lecture was illustrated. It was an excellent example of what 
the Department could do. 
