458 



upon all classes of the community and upon all forms of business 

 interests. I have the honour to ask Your Excellency to declare the 

 Show open. 



Speech by High Commissioner. 



In declaring the Show open, His Excellency the High Commis- 

 sioner said that Mr. Belfield had been unkind enough to remind him 

 that he had been more than four years in this part of the world, and 

 that, in the ordinary course of circumstances his time as High Com- 

 missioner was more than half finished. Mr. Belheld had also re- 

 minded them that this was the second time the Show had been held 

 in Kuala Lumpor, and he was sure that those who saw it would agree 

 that the present one showed an enormous advance, not only in the 

 number, variety and quality of the exhibits, but also a great advance 

 in the manner and method of arrangements which the Committee had 

 shown. It was a great advantage to those who had come to the Show 

 that it had been so well laid out, and in consequence they had not to 

 double on their tracks and waste time going from one end to the other 

 in search of particular exhibits. At each succeeding stage they would 

 find something as interesting as where they had gone before. The 

 exhibits of native industries were most interesting. He was sure, 

 that those who looked as the basket work, and not only the basket 

 work but the silver work, and the other varieties of native craft, 

 would see what great strides had been made in the last few years. 

 Not only was Malacca to the front again, but Perak had begun to 

 progress in this direction. Ladies, he was sure would find the Perak, 

 work far more useful than the Malacca basket work, which was, after 

 all, rather a curiosity, whereas the Perak was very useful. 



Bad Times. 



As the Eesident had said, they had been passing through a time 

 of commercial depression. Some prophets said they had got to the 

 bottom and were now on the up-grade. He was sure everyone hoped 

 it was so. But as far as the planting industry was concerned he was 

 not sure they had not been a little in need of a bad time. Everything 

 was so prosperous and prices were so high that there was a disposition 

 on the part of planters to think they had fallen into a fortune and had 

 only to sit still and reap it. It was one of the advantages of bad 

 times that it made people study economy as use their brains to devise 

 improved methods of production and of handling the product. If the 

 bad times through which they had been passing had that result with 

 the planting industry of the Federated Malay States, he felt sure, 

 instead of coonsidering it a bad time, they would all look upon it as 

 a blessing in disguise. Whether or not, all cordially wished the bad 

 times at an end. Towards the end of last year, the planting industry 

 was not only feeling the stress of bad times, but also there was not 

 quite so much harmony among themselves as they ought to expect in 

 such a happy family. Usually, the only enemy of the planting com- 

 munity was the Government ; perhaps he should say the industry had 

 now two enemies, the Government and the white ant. (Laughter). He 

 scarcely knew which was the worst. Perhaps on the whole the white 

 ant left a more permanent mark on the industry than the Government. 



