The New York herald., 1873-12-24
The Dutch victory I'm Aoheen -
Companion TO tho Ashsntee Expedi-

tlOns
The Dutch have SO long been playing a
jackal game in colonizing that when we learn
how manfully they have gone out against
Acheen, and how summarily they are reported
to have brought the Sultan to his knees we
may wonder for what lion they are providing
colonial meat The Dutch have been the most
pertinacious Of traders in the Eastern
Archipelago, and there they hold the
most valuable of their possessions They
have made frequent attempts to OBJ
tain entire possession of Sumatra. In
the Malacca war Of 1641 the Sultan Of Acheen
joined hands with the Dutch, but when he
discovered that he was simply acting as con-
venient tool, to be cast off when his services
would be of no further value, he withdrew
from the conflict, and Acheen has managed
ever since to maintain a powerful place in the
politics of the Archipelago Her sultans
have been, with some rare exceptions, opulent,
sagacious, Mahometan princes carrying on a
large trade with the Asiatic Powers. This
prosperity was ripe even at the beginning Of
the sixteenth century, when the present
capital was an important commercial mart
The European Powers were attracted by the
fame and wealth of this end Of Sumatra and
commercial treaties were eagerly sought by the
different nations. The Dutch, meanwhile,
watched this little State, containing but four
hundred thousand people, with restless
jealousy and ambition, but Holland never
had the power to crafty her greed in that
direction. She found that Acheen was not her
only enemy English influence began to as
sert itself. and by and by the truth of that
well known saying that "Holland has cooked
the dinner and England has eaten it, began
to pass around the world. One by one
the Dutch strongholds passed into Eng
lands hands and the hardy enterprises
of the Dutch admirals and statesmen
became the roadmakers to British success.
Even in the past few years Holland has been
ceding to England forts, islands and coast
wise colonies, and the next generation may
see even Holland herself ceded or annexed to
her grand and grasping neighbor, Germany.
Yet as long as the Low Countries have possess
sions in the East their ambition will never
diminish. In October, 1872, proposition
was made to the Sultan of Acheen for the ces-
sion OF certain islands to Holland, together
with sites for several lighthouses. These
propositions were declined by the Sultan
Siri, who is man of progressive ideas, great
wealth and fully alive to the necessity Of ex-
tending and protecting his commercial rela-
tions. He said that if any lighthouses were
necessary he would provide the beacons,
and as to the islands, he would keep them.
These complications led to war, and the Bat
talks prepared an ambush for the Hollanders,
who were defeated with severe losses Every
European house in the vicinity of Acheen be-
came a fortress, and the garrisons were obliged
to retire behind entertainments. The subse-
quent slaughter of the Dutch troops in April
last, when they lost over five hundred killed,
is fresh in the memory Of our readers. They
were badly beaten; nothing remained to be
done but to retire toward the coast and
await the action of the Ministry. The answer
soon came, and operations were suspended. A
rigid blockade was established and the flower
of the army was levied upon for troops now on
their way to Acheen The Sultan, however,
sought an ally in Turkey, and the Sublime
Porte hastened to his rescue by the issue Of an
emphatic protest against the further invasion
of the rights of a Mahometan State The
appeal might as well have been addressed to
the winds 1t was not heard. The Consul of
the United States was also addressed, the
Sultan promising extensive commercial con-
cessions in consideration of moral or physical
aid Commodore Jenkins, then cruising in
those waters, declined to interfere, and thus far
Acheen must stand alone. 1t should be said
that Holland made graceful overtures to the
Sultan after her bitter defeat. Offering to pay
all the expenses of the war and to acknowledge
the independence of Acheen; but she demanded
certain trading advantages in return. Siri,
like all Oriental princes, imagined that the
Dutch were at his feet, and he spurned them
and their offers and declared his intention of
clearing Sumatra Of their presence. Further
negotiations were, of course, impossible and
Holland went forward with her expedtionary
preparations, Notwithstanding the fact that
Turkish feet was held out as an eventuality in
the dispute.
The Dutch expedition was a formidable
one, and fifteen thousand Hollanders, fur
nished with all the modern appliances of war,
supported by fine feet, took possession of
both sides of the river running through
Acheen. The submission of the Sultan, if au-
thenticated, will leave the island in Dutch
hands; for it is scarcely probable that Hol-
land, dealing with Acheen, will do less than
Russia dealing with Khiva. 1t has been big
expedition for Holland, and appears to have
ended with credit to the little nation. The
British expedition to Ashantee is venture Of
the same kind, but the outlook is scarcely so
brilliant in the African direction.