57 
British Residency. 
No. 2304/1903. Pahang, 20th November, /goj. 
Subject : 
Encouragement of Agriculture among Natives. 
Sir,— 
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 
7259, on the subject of the encouragement of agriculture among 
natives. 
2, l am of opinion that the scheme suggested by the Superin- 
tendent, Experimental Gardens, would, if well carried out, greatly 
promote the improvement and extension of agriculture. Its suc- 
cess would, however, depend almost entirely on the personality of 
the officer who was entrusted with the duty of bringing it into 
operation, and I recommend that no action be taken in the matter 
until the post of Director of Agriculture has been filled and the 
Agricultural Advisory Board been established. 
I have, etc., 
WARREN D. BARNES, 
Acting British Resident, Pahang. 
The Resident-General, E.M.S. 
' British Residency, 
R.-G.O. 7390/03 Perak, Taiping, 2yd November , /poj. 
Subject : 
Encouragement of Agriculture among Natives. 
Sir,— 
In reply to your letter No. 7259/03, of the 7th of November, 1903, 
in which you invite an expression of my opinion upon the views of 
the Superintendent of Experimental Plantations on the subject of 
the encouragement of agriculture among natives, I have the honour 
to offer the following remarks. 
2. Mr. Arden’s proposals are based upon the assumption that 
the principal obstacle to the extension of native agriculture is the 
difficulty experienced in the preparation and disposition of produce. 
That is a conclusion with which I am unable to agree. I do not 
think that the mind of the Malay padi planter, the Javanese gardener 
or the Chinese vegetable grower has ever been troubled either by 
the condition in which his produce is put upon the market, or by a 
desire to dispose of it to better advantage. The only market which 
he thinks about is that which lies immediately at his door. If he 
finds that there is a profit worth making in growing produce for 
that market, he will do so, but whenever he finds that he can make 
more money at something else he will abandon hjs cultivation. 
3. As I have had occasion to point out on more than one occa- 
sion, the real cause of the backward condition of native agriculture 
