771 
May  I,  1896.]  THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
safe  harbour  for  vessels  at  all  tiiiies  of  the  year, 
being  partially  land-locked,  and  is  capable  ot  ac- 
coinniodating  not  only  the  whole  of  Her  Majesty  s 
navy,  but  also  nearly  tlie  whole  of  tlic  Hritish 
mercantile  marine.  There  is  no  bar  at  its  entrance, 
and  the  depth  of  water  is  sutlicient  in  almost  any 
portion  of  tlie  bay  for  the  largest  vessel  afloat. 
You  will  observe  that  it  is  practically  on  the 
liighway  of  vessels  trading  between  Europe,  India, 
China,  and  Japan.  Its  distance  from  Cochin 
China  is  (iOO  miles,  and  Hong  Kong  1,200  miles.” 
“Truly  a magnificent  harbour;  and  is  there 
coal  there?” 
“ Yes  ; there  are  two  coal  mines,  one  producing 
5,000  tons  of  coal  a month,  and  the  other  3,000 
tons.” 
“Surely  you  have  advised  the  Admiralty,  then, 
as  to  the  advantages  of  Biunei  Hay  as  a coaling 
station  for  Her  Majesty’s  fleet  ? ” _ 
“ Yes  ; we  contend  that  the  Bay^,  fortified  and 
protected  by  torpedoes,  would  make  a magnificent 
harbour  of  refuge,  and  with  its  unlimited  coal  re- 
sources would  constitute  an  unrivalled  basis  in 
time  of  war.” 
“And  what  about  the  railway  which  I under- 
stand you  have  at  last  decided  to  buihl  ? ” 
“ Well,  the  first  eight  miles  of  rail  were  ship- 
ped on  February  20.  We  start  from  Batu  Batu, 
at  the  entrance  of  Padas  Bay,  and  work  down  to 
Sepitong,  thence  to  Sapong,  ami  eventually  right 
away  to  Cowie  Harbour.  The  connection  ot 
Sepitong  with  the  hills  will  provi(le  a fitting 
sanatorium  for  trooi)s,  the  distance  inland  being 
52  miles.  The  propose<l  line  to  Sapong  will  pass 
through  a gorge  only  70  feet  wide  in  the  central 
range  at  an  elevation  of  550  ft.  Tliis  gorge  being 
the  only  practicable  pass  to  the  interior  from 
the  bay  would  form  an  important  strategic 
point  in  connection  with  troops  stationed 
in  the  Pagalan  valley — the  finest  tract  of 
and  in  North  Borneo,  and  already  cleared. 
In  the  event  of  egress  by  Brunei  Bay  being  cut 
off  by  hostile  operations  the  proposed  railway 
wonlil  afford  an  outlet  for  troops,  stores,  &c.,  at 
Cowie  Harbour,  which  has  been  described  as  one 
of  the  first  in  the  company’s  territories.” 
“Ah,  I see  they  could  enter  at  the  northwest 
and  get  out  by  the  east.” 
“Exactly  so.” 
“And  when  do  you  expect  this  railway  to 
Sapong  will  be  completed  ?” 
“In  about  two  years.” 
“Of  course  it  will  open  up  .a  vast  extent 
of  country.” 
“Well,  ■we  I’eckon  it  will  help  to  open  up  be- 
tween 3,U00  and  4,00()  square  miles.  We  have 
now  decided  to  make  the  railwixy  w ithout  any 
outside  aid  at  all.  The  Moss  Bay  Hematite  Steel 
W’orks  are  supplying  the  material,  and  it  will  be 
what  is  known  as  a pioneer  railway,  with  rails 
30  lb.  to  the  yard.  The  material  will  be  ship- 
ped as  fast  as  it  is  reejuired.” 
“And  now  witli  regard  to  the  country 
which  the  line  'will  open  up.  What  arc  the 
products  that  will  be  developed?” 
“ W’cll,  first  of  all,  there  is  tobacco.  That,  I 
may  say,  is  our  principal  product.  We  exported 
last  year  over  .$1,000,000  worth,  to  Amsterdam 
princi[)ally.  There  was  a shipment  sent  to  London, 
but  tlie  trade  simply  boycotted  it,  and  it  was 
rc-shii»ped  to  Holland,  where  the  same  people 
who  might  have  purcha.sed  it  direct  bought  it 
for  double  the  lifui'e.  A great  deal  of  oui’  to- 
liacco  is  transhipped  to  America.  W e.  ourselves, 
made  between  £7,000  and  £8,000  worth  of  cigars 
last  year,  about  £5,000  of  which  were  .sold  by  a 
syndicate.  This  shows  what  can  be  done  in 
regard  to  tobacco. 
“And  your  next  most  valuable  product?” 
“ Is  sago ; of  which  we  exported  last  year 
8,744  tons.” 
“ Tons?  ” 
“ Yes  ; it  may  sound  to  you  a lot,  but  that 
was  our  export  of  that  particular  product,  which 
in  many  tropical  colonies  is  classed  amongst  the 
‘minor’  products.” 
“Then  you  go  in  largely  for  coffee,  do  you 
not  ? ” 
“ W^ell,  the  area  under  coffee  is  inci-easing, 
and  undoubtedly  will  increase,  but  the  e"x- 
])ort  at  present  is  not  very  considerable.  The 
Development  Corporation  are  cultivating  300  acres, 
and  last  month  they  sent  out  from  their  estate 
five  tons , and  the  Taritipan  Company  expect 
to  i>ay  a dividend  in  1897,  at  which  I should  not 
be  surprised,  for  their  coffee  has  realised  as  much 
as  98s  per  cwt.  one  of  the  top  prices. 
“And  next  to  coffee?” 
“ I should  place  the  jungle  produce.  Here  is 
a specimen  or  our  cutch.  Tlie  Bakau  Syndicate, 
located  in  Glasgow,  exported  in  1894  .$96,350 
worth,  and  no  doubt  it  sold  for  a good  deal 
more.  This  cutch  is  made  from  the  boiling  down 
of  the  mangrove  bark.” 
“ You  have  sjilendid  timber,  I believe — useful 
for  a variety  of  jiurposes  ? ” 
“ Yes,  our  forests  are  very  extensive.  In  1894 
we  exported  timber  to  the  tune  of  over  $71,000, 
lirincipally  to  China.  The  freight  has  hitherto  killed 
the  trade  to  London.  But  we  are  getting  many 
inquiries  here  for  our  bilian  wood,  which  is  likely 
to  come  into  competition  with  Australian  hard 
woods  for  paying  purposes.  It  is  better  in 
every  way,  and  there  is  no  reason  wliy  it  should 
not  be  put  upon  the  market  as  cheaply,  seeing 
that  we  some  3,000  miles  nearer.  Wlien  we  get 
the  railway  built  there  will  be  no  difliculty  in 
bringing  the  wood  down.  Here  is  .a  specimen  of 
wood  which  is  used  for  panelling  and  decorative 
purposes,  and  one  firm  has  promised  to  take  all 
that  we  can  supply  during  the  next  three  years.’’ 
“And  what  are  your  other  products?” 
“ Well,  there  are  what  is  known  as  edible 
birds’  nests,  so  much  prized  by  the  Chinese  as 
an  article  of  luxury,  beeswax,  blachan,  camphor, 
cocoanuts,  copra,  damar,  guttapercha — which  will 
be  largely  increased  when  we  open  up  the  coun- 
try— indiarubber,  rice  — and  here  I might  mention 
that  we  have  just  put  on  a protecti\e  tariff  of 
10  per  cent.,  ho|dng  to  get  the  natives  to  grow 
their  own  paddy — rattans — the  cane  of  commerce 
— seed  pearls— which  the  Chinese  grind  down  and 
swallow — sharks'  fins,  beche-de-mer,  and  tortoise- 
shell. The  export  of  all  these  will,  of  course, 
be  largely  increased  as  soon  as  we  get  things 
organised,  and  especially  will  there  be  an  increase 
in  timber,  as  three-fourths  of  the  territory  is 
forest  land.” 
“But  I understand  the  company  is  now  .sho'W- 
ini'  some  improvement?” 
“Yes,  undoubtedly,  we  have  turned  the  corner; 
but  you  will  understand  the  improvement  better 
when  I tell  you  that  in  1891  we  had  a deficit 
of  £11,579;  in  1892,  £7,418;  in  1893;  £11,057; 
in  1894,  £2,895  ; whereas  1895  shows  an  excess 
of  revenue  over  expenditure  for  the  first  time 
in  the  history  of  the  company.” 
“But  were  there  not  two  small  dividends  paid 
a few  years  ago  ? ” 
“ Yes  ; but  those  were  paid  out  of  the  pro- 
ceeds of  land  sales,  not  out  of  an}'  excess  of 
revenue  over  expenditure.” 
“ Then  I gather  from  you,  Mr.  Cowie,  that 
there  are  plenty  of  openings  in  British  North 
Borneo  for  the  introduction  of  British  capital  ? ” 
