THE VERNACULAR PRESS IN THE STRAITS. 



BY 



E. W. Birch. 

 (Read at a Meeting of the Society, held on the 30th Jan., 1880.y 



No mention has as yet been made in the Society's journal of 

 the recent appearance of a Vernacular Press in this Colony, and a 

 brief notice of its rise and progress may have some interest. 



2. Towards the end of the year 1876 an association, entitled 

 the "Jawi Peranakkan" (Straits born), established a Malay printing- 

 office and began the publication of a weekly newspaper under that 



3. Later on a Tamil Paper — the " Tangai Snahen " — was 

 issued by the same publishers : it is a fortnightly periodical, has 

 been in existence for some two years, and has now reached a circu- 

 lation of about 150 copies. 



4. About the same time efforts were made by others to pro- 

 duce both Malay and Tamil newspapers ; a Tamil Paper having 

 been brought out prior to the publication of the " Tangai Snahen," 

 and two Malay Papers subsequently to that of the " Jawi Peranak- 

 kan," but these have, after a short run, died out, and the " Jawi 

 Peranakkan " and the " Tangai Snahen " are, at the present mo- 

 ment, the sole representatives in Singapore of the two languages. 



The names of the two Malay Papers referred to as having 

 existed for a short period in Singapore were the " Peridarau Shamsu 

 Walkamer " (" The Revolution of the Sun and the Moon "), and the 

 " Bintang Barat" ("Western Star "). 



