April 2, 1894.] tME TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
PLANTING IN THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS : 
AN INTERESTING TOUB BY CEYLON MEN. 
CEYLON MEN AND THEIB ENTERPRISE IN THE STRAITS. 
Mr. Forsythe and Mr. Fort left here on January 
1.5th ; arrived at Singpore, the pair spent two 
days there, after which they went by steamer to 
the extreme « astern point of the Johore Pcninsuli 
where they inspected a very fine coffee e9t>>te called 
Penerang, managed by Mr. W. W. Bailey, fornifrly 
of Ceylon. The estat) '^onsisted of abouc 400 acr^ s 
of Liberian coffee, and Mr. Forsythe sa}s, wai ex- 
cellently worked. It was opened about ten years 
ago witb sago, which was followe 1 up by c -coa, 
■ lid eventually by coffee. The younger clearings 
promised very well indeed. Returning tj Singapi re, 
they proceeded to Pinang, and tbeuce to Port Weld, 
leaving which they went up eight miles to Taipiug, 
tbe capital of Perak. Durn.g taeir stay here they 
visited Waterloo > state, which lits about l(i miles 
from Taiping, and here they saw Arabian coffe? 
growing on the hills. The estate is the property 
of Sir Graeme B phinstone. Leaving Waterloo, they 
went about three miies to a spot known as Lady 
Weld's bungalow, near which tiiey visited an estate 
now being opened by Mr. Lutyens, brot' er of the 
Mr. Lutyens Ceylon men are familiar with It is 
being opened in Liberian (Joffee and coconuts for 
Sir Graeme Elphinstono and Mr. Donald Mackay, 
who is at present in Colombo. Worfc there had omy 
just begun. Tne pair htayed the night with Mr. 
Lutyens and pushe i on the next morning lo Kwala 
Eaugai, the native capital of Perak, Kwala Kangsa 
being the place where the Sultan's palace is. 
TRANSPORT DIFFICULTIES. 
At this point Mr. Forsythe broke off ti mention 
that the difficulties in regard to transport werj 
v^ry great. The transport of passeng rs an I their 
luggige 13 all doufj in that pan of the wor'd by 
mcaus of vehicles resemb ii g exaggented lickshaws, 
drawn by country-ponies, and the harness put on 
these quadrupeds is by no m-abs reliable; so much 
so th it Mr. Forsythe says he had occasion often to 
regret that coir rope was not made in the coun ry, 
long de'ays for patching up t.ie harness fol owing 
the frequent brcikdowus. Wheu they reached Kwalu 
Kaogsa ihey found it difficult to get any vehicles 
for ihe day. Prior lo toeir arrival, the bultun had 
B arted off lo Ipoti to open the sectio i of the rai - 
way from Ipoe to Batu Gajah, aud His Highness 
had engaged 70 carriages for his wiv<ss and fsmilies, 
and neither the money nor ihe influencn cf the 
Resident himself could procure the two visitors a 
vehicle. Ihey managed to ge? on by slow stages 
to Kuuuning estate, ownei by Mr. !!■ slop-Hill, lute 
of Ueylon, and there they saw some 250 acres of 
Liberian coffee of all ages up to 8 or 10 years, the 
trees being laden with crop. 
GAIETIES IN PERAK. 
Nest they reached Ipoh, which is an important 
miuing centre, and having breakfasted there they 
went on with the Resident to Batu Gajah to see 
the demonstration over the railway opening. 
COFFEE IN SELANGOU. 
Returning to Ipoh, the visitors proceeded to 
Membang-di-aiwan, an important mining centre that 
has sprung up so recently that it is not marked in 
the maps issued in 1S'J2. It contains, however, a 
population of 8,000 to 10,000 people, principally 
Chinese. From that they went on to Tapa, where 
they stayed with Mr. Wise, the magistrate, who took 
tliem to a Libevian coffee estate of fifty acres be- 
longing to Mr. Baldwin, and also to a gold mine 
where there was n r> head stamp at work. " They 
Inid not got very much gold, " added Mr. For.sythe, 
laugiiiiirf, ■' but they were expectiun it." From Xiipa 
Ihey drove six miles to Tapa Koad Station, where 
tlioy caught the train to Telok Auson, and then 
took ateamor to Klaug, which is a port near Kwala 
Lumpa, the capital ot Sclaugor. From h're they 
yitiited five or au egSee estacea (oU Liberian), tiio 
oldest coffee being upon Weld's Hill, belojiging td, 
Mr. Heslop-Hill and lying about a mile and a half 
from Kwala Lumpa. It is a small property, but with 
very fine highly cultivated coffee. The other estates 
were all in young coffee, and were promising very- 
well indeed. After spei.ding a few days there, the 
two travellers returned to Jvlang, and on the way 
they were much pleased with the native coffee they 
saw growing on ihe flat lands. They next took 
steamer for Port Dickson, the Port for Sereniban, 
the capital of Sungei Ujong, and, half way between 
Port Dickson md Soremban, they came on a very 
fine cs ate indeed, called Linsum, the residence of Mr. 
Heslop-Hill. It consisted of 30O acres of coffee, the 
younger fields being particularly fine and here 
their investigations into cpffee practically ended. 
THE L.UJOUR TROUBLE : A COOLY-CRIMPISG GOVERNMENT. 
And here it will be well to give Mr. Forsythe's 
opinions as he expressed them. " That cofl'ee grows 
and crops well there cannot be a shadow of doubt ' 
was his first judgment. "But one ot the first 
things that strikes a Leylon man is the great dith- 
culty in connection with labour, not only because 
the labourers demand very high wages ; but because 
there are so many restrictions in the way of re- 
cruiting, and because the Government, which is en- 
gaged in different public works, never by any chance 
gets any labour ou its own account, but, by paying 
a higher rate than the planter can afford to pay, 
indirectly crimps the planters' labourers. 
TAMIL coolies' P.U'. 
"A Tamil cooly gets from the planter 3U to 36 
cents of a dollar a day, just double the rate given 
the Ceylon labourer. He knocks off work at 2-30 in 
the afternoon, an.i, if he works for six days in a 
week, gets a Sunday name thrown in, free, gratis, 
and for nothing. The average cooly receives 'J to 
10 dollars a month, aud grumbles at i hat. A carter 
e riving a mail-cart,complained to me most bitterly 
that he had got to take his . cart and pair of bulls . 
six miles along the road and six mileo back and 
feed them every day, a.,d he only got 12 dollars a 
month. Of course, on the other hand, food-stuffs 
aud c'othes and cooly requirements are double "hat 
they are here ; but sti 1 at the eud of ti.e mouth 
the cooly conies out with a handsomer balance 
than he makes in Ceylon. 
THE LAND OF THE CELESTIAL. 
"Practically the Chinaman, from Pinang lo 
Singapore, is the master of the situation. He bosses 
everyone, whether European or otherwise- He ij 
in every occupation and every culling, from that of 
rickshaw-cooly — the lowest of the low — running a 
rickshaw in Singapore streets, to that ot the 
toir/d, or gentleman, who owns half a dozen 
carriages and runs a magnificent house, aud lives 
at the rate i f many thousand dollars a month. The 
hardest woiked Chine e are the rickshaw-uien and 
the miners. Chinese estate laborers get more money 
a day than Tamils. They get half a dollar a day. 
They are willing to work at task work or contract 
work; but their chief attention is devo ed to m.nes 
and mining. A Chinaman i!> a born gainbljr at 
heart, and his employer at a miue always gives 
him a share of the find, though he really profits 
little by this, as every Chinese lieiidman or employer 
at a mine, when he gets a grant icr mining aud 
obtaic s perhaps a hunared i-inku-.i (iLdenturcd coolies 
from China), secures in connection with tlie grant a 
license to run a gambling farm, and an opium (arm, 
aud when the CliiQaiuan gets Ms pay (say about once 
a quarter or less often) he goes auu gambles with i5 
iiu tlie gambling farm, or speuda it ou the opium 
farm, a d so it goes back to the employer. InJecd, 
instances ore known where mines do LOt pay from 
the tin got from them, but only pay iluough tha 
profits derived from this system. 
A WKAI.TIIV COUNTRY. 
" It ia impossible to calcuhvte the enormous woalth 
of the country. I hoard of an iudiMduul instance 
where a Chiuaman, who had taken up a miuiui,' ^ruul 
oi two 8<crea goc 17U,U(X) dQllora' wpub 9t iiu out. 
