VIII 
PEPPERS 
299 
liberty of disposing of themselves and their property. 
As soon, however, as this period expired, the Dutch 
levied a tax of 36 per cent on the exportation of all 
spices unless sold to the Dutch Government, in which 
case they were exempted from duty altogether. 
Most of the spice plantations belonged to British 
planters, and by 1836 ten of the best plantations had 
gone to ruin and only two remained which paid any 
profit to the proprietors. With the failure of the spice 
plantations, Bencoolen soon ceased to be of any 
importance, and this district, which flourished so well 
under Sir Stamford Baffles, is now practically deserted. 
The- cultivation of pepper, however, still continues in 
Sumatra, chiefly in the Achinese district. 
Though the Honourable East India Company must 
be credited with the first breaking down of the Dutch 
monopoly of spices, by introducing and extending the 
cultivation of pepper, nutmegs, and cloves, the Directors 
of the Company seem to have been remarkably ignorant 
of the nature of the spices they dealt in. It is recorded 
that on one occasion they sent out orders to cultivate 
only white pepper and not black pepper plants ; on 
another occasion they ordered a ship at Bencoolen to be 
loaded with pepper only, refusing to allow some sugar 
to be taken as ballast, being apparently quite ignorant 
of the fact that the extreme lightness of the cargo would 
cause the ship to float so high in the water that her 
passage round the Cape of Good Hope would entail the 
greatest possible risk of being overturned. 
However, similar blunders have been made even in 
later days by directors of companies and merchants 
who had every opportunity of knowing better. 
Java and other Dutch Islands.— K considerable 
quantity of pepper is grown in the islands of the Ehio- 
Lingga group by the Chinese, together with gambir. 
Tschirch [Heil- und Nutzpjianzen) says 100,000 piculs 
(16,633,333 lbs.), more or less, per year. Most of this 
comes into the Singapore port and is shipped thence. 
He gives the export from Batavia as : — 
