172 AUSTRALASIA. 



Although less uumerous than the Chinese, the Arabs, being Mohammedans of 

 the " chosen race," have a relativel}^ greater influence, and those especially who 

 have made the pilgrimage to Mecca are venerated as saints. Yet they follow the 

 same pursuits as the Chinese, and as business agents and dealers live at the expense 

 of the native peasantry. Till lately the Javanese Arabs were more or less mixed 

 descendants of the former masters of the laud ; but during the present century 

 their numbers have been increased by direct immigrants from Hadramaut. The 

 men, being engaged chiefly in the sale of European wares, all speak Malay, but 

 in other respects they keep aloof from the natives, and in the family circle care- 

 fully preserve their mother tongue. All learn to read and write, and some are 

 regarded as well versed in questions of Mussulman theology, jurisprudence, and 

 grammar. 



The European population, even comprising the Eurasians, are a mere handful, 

 lost, so to say, in this great sea of Oriental elements. But they are the ruling 

 class, and consequently command an influence out of all proportion with their 

 numbers. Ofiicials who marry native women bring up their children with great 

 care, and in the second generation the " nannas " or half-caste women are regarded 

 as belonging to the white race. Their education is often provided for by the 

 Government, as is also that of the signos or liplctps, as the half-bred men are here called, 

 not without a slight touch of contempt. They receive appointments as notaries, 

 clerks, surveyors, and are reputed to be intelligent, but indolent, effeminate, and 

 excessively vain. Their families are said not to be very numerous, and appear to 

 die out in a few generations, the fact being that they simply become absorbed in 

 the surrounding populations. With them have already been merged the few 

 Portuguese who arrived in the sixteenth century. 



European immigration was formerly discouraged by the Administration, which 

 regarded the Dutch East Indies as a domain to be worked for the benefit of the 

 State, and not as a colony opened to private enterprise. According to the decree 

 of 1818, which long remained in vigour, no European in any capacity had the 

 rio-ht to settle in Batavia, or elsewhere in Java, without the special authorisation 

 of the governor- general, and even then could not remove more than five or ten 

 miles from his residence, according to the locality. But although access to the 

 island is now no longer interdicted, few Europeans settle permanently in the 

 country. 



The excessive mortality, which formerly earned for Java the title of " Cemetery 

 of the Whites," is probably ten times less than in the last century. The maladies 

 by which they were decimated are now better understood, while they have learnt 

 to live more like the natives, and ia accordance with sanitary principles. Their 

 dwellings are built in salubrious places, and the health resorts are situated at 

 various altitudes, so that the climate may be graduated for invalids and convales- 

 cents. Nevertheless, the mortality is still high, and at times the colonial forces 

 suffer terribly, especially from the so-called beri-ben, apparently a kind of low 

 fever or anaemia. The immigrants also tend to lose their moral tone, becoming 

 less vigorous and energetic after a protracted residence in the country. 



