595 



value to the general public in Singapore or Penang when the 

 shows were held there. — Ed. 



RESIDENT, PERAK, TO RESIDENT GENERAL. 



British Residency, 



Per nk, Taiping, <S'f/i October, /po2. 



R.-G.O. 6635/02. 



Sir, — 1 have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your letter, 

 5386/02, with enclosures, of the 15th September, on the subject of 

 holding properly organise ! Agricultural Shows, annuallv, in the 

 Federated Ma lav States and the Colony. 



2. In reply to the enquiries contained in the second paragraph 

 of your letter, 1 think that Kuala Lumpur will be the best place in 

 the States for the "first Show, in 1903 ; and I would recommend the 

 three following gentlemen as representatives of Perak on the pro- 

 posed standing Committee: 



Mr. A. B. STEPHENS, Forest Officer and Acting Superintendent 



of Government Plantations ; 

 Mr. H. C. Barnard, Resident Engineer for Railways ; 

 Mr. A. L. iNGALL, District Magistrate, Batang Padang (Acting 



Senior Magistrate). 



3. The great object to be aimed at, in connection with these 

 shows, is that they should be of as practical a character as possible ; 

 and in my opinion, unless the exhibits themselves, and the manner 

 in which they are shown, are such as to afford a reasonable prob- 

 ability that they will be of practical benefit to the persons locally 

 interested (especially Asiatics), there is no justification for holding 

 the shows at all. 



4. Dealing seriatim, with the exhibits classified in paragraph 7 

 of Mr. CURTIS' memorandum, I would offer the following sugges- 

 tions : — 



Agriculture, — This is by far the most important of all the classes, 

 and we want to do three things : (1) improve the local cattle, sheep, 

 pigs, horses (ponies) and poultry ; (2) improve the grain sown 

 (especially rice) and the method of cultivation ; (3) introduce simple 

 agricultural machinery. In England, private enterprise can be re- 

 lied on for effective representation at these shows in every depart- 

 ment, but here the initiative must largely be taken by Government. 

 From Perak we can send fairly good cattle, selected from the Gov- 

 ernment herd ; but I should like to see a Federal Model Farm in 

 the Federated Malay States, on which not merely live stock of every 

 description would be raised, but rice and other agricultural products 

 would be cultivated, according to the methods and with the machi- 

 nery best suited to the local surroundings. In the meanwhile, and 

 at this first show, I would suggest that the Government of the 

 Federated Malay States can best demonstrate its interest in this 

 very important question, and afford the best object lesson to native 

 visitors in the following manner: by purchasing and exhibiting good 



