208 A NATUBALIST IN CELEBES ch. ix 



It is impossible to give the exact numbers, but I should 

 judge that the population of Manado must be between five 

 and six thousand. 



Two fine roads run out of Manado, one to Kema on the 

 opposite side of the peninsula, and another to Lotta and 

 the mountains of the Tondano district. These roads were 

 well made in the first instance, and are kept in good order 

 partly by the prisoners and partly by the heerendienst, a 

 service which the free men of the country are obliged to 

 perform as part of their taxation. 



The system of heerendienst has been very severely 

 criticised by many well-meaning persons as tyrannical and 

 unjust, but I cannot help thinking that everyone who is 

 really acquainted with the circumstances of these colonies 

 and the character and condition of the people must admit 

 that it is a service which is both necessary and just. The 

 Dutch Government has brought to the people of Minahassa 

 not only the blessings of peace and security, but also 

 the possibilities of a very considerable civilisation and 

 commercial prosperity. The natives are now able to sow 

 their rice in perfect confidence that they will gather the 

 harvest in due season; they are able to send their corn, 

 their chickens, and other produce to the markets without 

 fear of being plundered on the road and without expe- 

 riencing the horrors of war and bloodshed ; they pass their 

 lives in peace and quietude from the cradle to the grave. 

 In return for this it is only just that every able-bodied man 

 should be compelled to lend a hand in maintaining this 

 happy condition of affairs. In a land where the necessities 

 of life are so easily obtained, and the wants of the people 

 are few, poverty is inexcusable, and starvation unknown. 

 Under such circumstances it would be impossible for the 

 Government to obtain a sufficient number of men to labour 

 on the roads at a reasonable wage, and in consequence they 



