April 2, 1894.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
68$ 
SELANGOR: ADMINISTRATIVE AND 
MATERIAL PROGRESS. 
We have had lying by us for some time Mr. 
BJ. W. Biroh's AdminiBtrative Report as Acting 
British Resident of Selangor. It is an able and 
interesting document and we rfgretihat so much delay 
has occurred in making our leaders acquainted 
with Bome of its sal ent points. One does not 
lind it easy to follow all the divisiors and bvib- 
djvisions of the Straits Settlementp, and we do not 
profe s, in the absence of a map from the Report, 
to comprehend the bearings of Kuala Selangor, Ulu 
Langat, Ulu Selangor, &o. ; but of the first-named, 
we are at onoe interested to read — 
Kunla Selaugor is cs'^entially tlio apiicnllural and 
fiebin/? flistrict of Selangor. It is watered by two 
fii e risfrs, end tliion^bnt it there is to be found 
land snitable tor the cultivation of lice. It bus been 
predicted tba\ when ihe railwa-' to Ulu Se'aogor 
from Kuala Lumpur ia completed, the liistrict will 
decay. The prediction is quite groundle-p, and I take 
this ofiportunity ol tarnesily reconitneurii g tlmt a 
colonization echeme be token in hand. Kcalu Selangor 
want8 nothing lut people, ai d the State has in the 
ht-ad if the Ptiblic WnkB Department an ctfioir 
who, from his experi< noa in Cc^j k n, cou'd carrj' out 
a scheme ftr irrigating and dia'niug alerte Irfct of 
country in this district, which would induce setilcrs 
to flock in. It would be ooslly, but lemunerative ; 
and, though Selargor hss set before itself the duty 
of railway extetsioD, it .sliould be forne in mind 
that then.' are other interests to bo conpidertd ih6n 
the carriage by ral, from the interior to the ciast, of 
the tin rnised from the minep, and fecra ;he ccast to 
the int»rior,of the rice to feed the miners. 
It might ha po8-ible for the Straits Government 
to interest the Indian authorities in ecccuraging 
emigration from one or other of the overcrowded, 
but uncertain ricegiowing diitriets of Stuihern 
India — where a good many of the people are often on 
the verge of scarcity if not actual famine — to a 
district which "wants nothing but people" and 
these, a people who will take readily to cultivation. 
Under "Ulu Langat" we have en the oifaer band, 
a paragraph of interest to European colonists:— 
At Dusun Tea, the ti' eof the Government Bungalow, 
theie id fiee tiver-latbii g ai d some very hot enlphur 
springa, the water Irom which has leeu led thruugh 
iron piping into a comfortable bath house . tl e 
buiign'ow IB beautifully tiluated, and being only 16| 
milts from Ktaia Lumpur is a very accessible and 
popular resort. Wr. Lawder bBs taken great pains 
iu improvir.g lleiLce. The laid beyond tins is well 
adapted for coffee, acd I should much like to see that 
k nd of ciiltivntion tried by Europeans iu tbis direotitn 
when the road is more aivanced. 
The extraordinary way in which the export of tin 
ore from Selangor has developed is only paralleled 
by the rise of our own tea exports; the rise teing 
from 6,918 piculs of tin ore in 1S87 to 81,802 
piouls iii 1892, and this is said to be raeinly 
through the inHuenoe and good management of 
the Straits Trading Co. Tne following is the 
most important part of Mr. Birch's Report, so 
far as the planting enterprise is concerned and 
it shows gcoi progress and a good promise for 
the future : — 
C offee planting in Selnngor continues to be popular, 
the area of land granted for that purpose in 18y2 
being nearly 2,')0O acres. The Earopesn owned es- 
t»ti « «re now 17 in number with a total aortaga of 
91,161 acres, of which about 1, COO have been planted. 
It has been eaiii, and with much reiison, that as 
colTeo plautiuK is now establif^ho.i in Selangor tho 
Biiuo arguments do not exist, as formerly, for extend, 
iug to vbo plantera Oovornnu iit B^si^laucc in the 
way of loans. While the tteady iucrcosn iu the 
number of tatatea arjjues well for the future of Sel. 
fiT>|or la K coSee-piodacing couotry, it rbould ba 
remembered that it is still to the interest of the 
Stale to attract planters, and that no inducement 
will prove so attractive as the succefs of those who 
first venturof'. To this end it will always Ve advan- 
tageous to the Government to assist, whenever it is 
necessary to do so, the men who have put all their 
available ready money into the opening of estates 
in the country, and who by extending their rpefa- 
tions wlil he enabled to work more economically 
while waiting for their returns. I mny add that 
the Stftto is peculiarly fortotatB in po^8fstling in 
its coffee planters an estimable body of gentlemen. 
The export of coffee from Klang for the year is 
returned at l,12t pikuls, of tlie value of §2.'i,534. 
* * * There are seven European owned estates in 
the Klang district of which five ere cultiva'ed. The 
export of taiiioca was 5,386 pikols, of a value of 
fitout S2O,O0O. * * * Tte S p^ng concession 
(Kuala Langat) of 10,111 acres i« largely cult.vattd 
witb gambler and pepper and the export of tbo.se 
two products in 1892 was of the value of over $100,0(X). 
II. H. the Sultan took the greatest interest in the ex- 
tension of padi cultivation, and advanced, out of his 
private purse, a sum of about .'gS.OOO to cultivators of 
small holdings. The Raja Muda's property at 
Bandar Langat was rescued from the appearance 
of neglect into which it had fallen. The small coffee 
plantation on Jugra Hill changed hands and pro- 
mises to be remunerative to its new owner. The 
Javanese holdings at Klanang are well cared for, 
and the road to Klang is being rapidly occupied as 
the soil is said to be very f. rtile. 
That there has been progress may be judged from 
the "budget" allotted to the P.W.D, under Mr, 
C. E. Spooner formerly of Ceylon. The total was 
808,000 dollars, nemely 380,000 for works and 
buil.iinge, and 428,000 forroade, streets and bridges. 
Only about 60U,000 dollars were, however, actually 
expended. It is interesting to see several familiar 
Cejlon names referred to :— 
Mr. C. E. Spooner was in charge of the Public 
Worts Department, and by his untiring energy and 
great capacity for hard work he has made a consider- 
aile imp: ovemeut m tLe manner in which public works 
have been carried ou^. He reports that he has received 
every aseis'.ance from the mem bers of his staff. 
They were as follows: — 
Mr. H F Bellamy, Deputy State Engi^ eer ; Mr. 
Sf earing. District Eugireir, Coast D.^t^icts ; Mr. 
Stokoe, District BnKiiieer at Ulu Se angor ; Mr, Paxoo, 
in charge of the Waterworks ; Mr. Kormao, Architt ct; 
Mr. Van Rooy. n, Clerk of Works at Ulu Lingat ; 
and Mr. MacQregor, Office Asaistant. 
Also in the following: — 
Mr. A. R. Venning's praiseworthy care of Sydney 
Lake aod of the Gardens is rewarded by the pride 
with which all residents of Kuala Lumpur regard 
them, and by the expressions of admiration which 
fall from all visitors. 
Of the Ceylon system of road upkeep, we are told, — 
To commence wiib, the sysiera did not work aa 
economically as was anticipa'ed, but it was pushed 
forward with great energy and the roads on which the 
metal was tpriaj were much improved. The system 
canuor, however, be criticised in fairness until it has 
been 1r ed for three years, as the essence ot it is the 
gradual additiou jear by year of metal laid evenly 
akng tho whole surface from end to end of each 
road. Mr. U F Beilamy, whose lo^al oo-operation 
and willing work were mnoh appreciated by the State 
Etgiueer, writes of it as lollowa . — " There can le no 
question that the system introduced is undoubtedly 
the best ore, and the condiiion of the mnjorilyof the 
toads in the Kunla Lumpur district proved it." Mr. 
Bel amy is an officer of much ro;ul-mak iiig experience 
and was fir bdme jeiis hcjid ol tho I'ubiio Works De- 
partment iu Sil'irgor. His opinion is endorsed by the 
ilireo other otlicers in ohnrtjc ol districts. 
Selangor is very fortunate in its opened Railways : — 
Tho total sums spent ou r.iilways in Seluugor 
amounted at tho end of the year to S>2,Oi*2,o71, and 
tbo net {iiolit qu that outlay ici' tlio }'0W 
