THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS, &C. 47 



for Pulau Weh. Is tliat opinion shared by the honourable gentle- 

 man ? 



Mr. Keutt. — I also do not anticipate any great future for Pu- 

 lau "Weh. The first condition necessary for the development of 

 Pulau Weh is wanting. First of all an orderly state of things in 

 Acheen must be established, and then with careful management — 

 it being of course taken for granted that there is a coaling depot 

 there — the pepper trade of Acheen might gradually be concentrat- 

 ed there. It is of course a matter of indifference to the Chinese 

 whether they sell their pepper at Penang or at Pulau Weh, pro- 

 vided they get a proper profit. But the Achinese ask for more. 

 They do not go to Penang to sell alone, but also to buy. They 

 take this opportunity of making a little journey. A journey of 

 this kind to Penang is a pleasure-trip ; they go to the tvai/anc/, to 

 the Malay comedy, and to other places. When they are able to 

 find all this at Pulau Weh, it might become the central port for 

 North Sumatra. Would Pulau Weh then become an important 

 port for European ships ? 



The only foreign ships to whose interest it might be to take coals 

 at Pulau Weh at dearer prices are the Russian and Prench men-of- 

 war and perhaps some tea-steamers as the island lies in a better 

 position than Singapore as a half-way place on the route between 

 Europe and North China. I do not believe, however, that Pulau 

 Weh will ever become the trade emporium that some people im- 

 agine. 



Mr. YAN Ztjylen. — If I have understood you rightly, you mean to 

 say that if Achinese affairs are put in a better state this port might 

 be one of importance for North Sumatra. 



Mr. Keutt. — Yes, if the business is taken seriously in hand and 

 the circumstance is not lost sight of that the Achinese must find 

 the same facilities and the same treatment as he has always met 

 with in the Straits. 



Mr. W. Elout yan Souteewojs'de.— If I venture, Mr. President, 

 to put a question with reference to one of the many subjects 

 touched upon by the honourable gentleman, I must first say that 

 his excellent address has interested me in the highest degree. One 

 subject touched upon by him especially struck me, viz., the pros- 

 perous condition of the Chinese in the Straits and their influence 

 there. We have heard that Sir Chaeles Dilke in his "Greater 

 Britain" praised the Chinese for having been the means of develop- 

 ing the Straits and we have been told of a Chinaman^ born in th^ 



