6 
4. Supposing that factories of various descriptions were started 
at Government expense, and worked by Government paid men, un- 
til all reasonable chances showed that a profit could be made, or 
could not be made out of the industries ; I do not suppose but that 
Government would ultimately be able to induce the public to take a 
going concern off its hands, perhaps at first by selling shares in the 
business, if not at once by passing it over to a company or indi- 
vidual at a price, which need not necessarily be a full return of the 
outlay ; the profits accruing to Government should be recognised as 
indirectly accruing in the way of more population, larger areas of 
land cultivated, and thereby a greater amount of indirect taxation 
paid into the Treasuries of the State, 
5. And even if after money had been thus spent and the venture 
proved unprofitable, I do not think that Government would regret 
it; because there would remain the consciousness that an attempt 
had been made to do something on the lines of good administration 
and it had been proved that certain products were not worth the 
planting. 
6. But I think the Resident wishes me to comment on Mr. 
Arden’s letter in a more particular manner, 1 will therefore proceed 
to take up some of the more salient points that occur to me. 
7. Jam Making Fruit Preserving Etc . — It is well-known that 
many of the fruits of the Peninsula make admirable preserves, I 
may instance rulul, which makes a jelly quite equal to, and very 
similar to red currant jelly. Belimbing buloh (the smaller species), 
which when preserved is very much like gooseberry jam ; and the 
well-know n guava, the guava jelly of India — which is unfortunately 
generally made for sale with coarse sugar, whereby all the best 
qualities of the fruit are so disguised that one might as well be 
eating sticky treacle, whereas if carefully preserved with refined 
sugar it is most excellent. There are, of course, many other varie- 
ties w’hich could also be brought into use. 
The canning of pine apples has for a long time been one of the 
staple industries of Singapore, and might easily become so here. 
The Chinese Babas and Portuguese of Malacca have acquired a 
reputation for preserving many varieties of fruit in syrup, and as 
dry candied sweetmeats. 
1 think that the first and most important industry to start would 
be this, because it would give an impetus to a class of agriculture 
which is essentially a part of Mala> life, and certainly the factory 
which could put on the London market mangosteens or duriens, 
preserved in such a way as to retain their distinctive flavour, need 
not doubt of commercial success. 
The proper way in my opinion to start such an industry would 
be, in the first instance, to obtain the services of an expert man 
who had learned the trade in one of the large preserving houses of 
England, such as Crosse and Blackwell. He should be established 
in a small factory, in or near a large town, so that the fruit brought 
to the markets could be diverted to his place of business, the com- 
petition thus set up would at once encourage a larger plantation. 
