Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-05-03

&5lgY have brought you than you find tina
IVY plenty of previous writers have de
scribed tn spot where you happen to be as the
most beautiful and wonderful place in thu
world. So it was with japan, with Hons
Kong, with Manila, and so it is with Singa
| pore. If you are travelling as I am, with tn.
sun, the picturesque east begins at Singapore
and your eye soon falls from the exquisite
| green hills all around you to the
| marvellous multi-colored wharf o.
Babel awaiting the touch Of the great steamer
where Malay jostles Chinaman. and King rubs
shoulders with Javanese, and Arab elbows
seedy boy, and Dyak stares at Bugis, all their
| dirty bodies swathed either in nothing at a.,
or else in scarlet and yellow and blue and gold
and among whom dainty English lady, come
to meet husband or lover, her eyes full OF
laughter or tears, and her cheeks flushed with
| anticipation, looks so white and fair and fragile
that, although one does not know her from
Eve. one feels proud of her and grateful at the
thought that such as she the mothers of
the men who impose the restraints and the
indictments Of empire upon the millions of
these black races of the earth.
AN INTERESTING CITY.
Singapore is interesting for its beautiful sit
uation; for its history, full of vicissitudcs and
bloodshed till 1t came under the administra-
ton of Bengal ard gradually grew to be the
center of the Straits settlement; for its geo.
graphical situation the extreme southern
limit of continental Asia and the corner" be-
tween the far east and the rest of the world
for the fact that it the first free-trade port
OF modern times; and very interesting to Eng
lishmen, of course, as one of the keystones of
imperial defense. But in Itself, merely as a
community of British subjects residing and
trading on point of Asia, 1t is uninteresting
compared with several other places, notably
with Hong Kong. The figures of its COM
merce are much smaller; there are no tradi-
tons of the great 'hongs' and their merchant
princes to perpetuate high standard OF ma
terial social iife of corporate life there is little
or nothing.
LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY
The best local things about Singapore, by
the way, are its newspapers. The life of the
European community strikes the visitor-not
that it is a whit less hosptable or less kind
or less agreeabie-as on rather smaller scale
than that of many other exiled European COM
munities. Perhaps the topography of the
place Is chiefly responsible for this impression.
The business town Is two or three miles away
from most of the private residences; these are
not Ill groups, but III units, each solitary in its
own charming grounds; you cannot make
call under a half hours drive: the club is
practically closed before dinner or if YOU make
arrangements TO dine there, your single lighted
table only emphasizes the surrounding dark
ness which no flow of soul or bowl dispels As
the mail steams out of the harbor your fellow
travellers speak gratefully OF the kindness and
entertainment they have received bur you do
not hear regrets at being unable to lnger.
Yet Singapore nights are as refreshing as the
hills after July days and nights ill Hong kong,
ana II there Is more charming spot to live in
the far east than Tangnn Barracks, whore the
ever popular tity-eighth are stationed and
where had the privilege of enjoying some OF
their famous and unfailing hospitality for
while, l have not found it.
GOVERNING THE PEOPLE.
This evergreen island, however almost upon
the equator. where neither Christmas nor mid
summer brings any change to the thermometer
and in whose tropical jungles a stray tiger NAV
still be found, is vitality connected with some
very tickllsh problems of government and If
one could see 1t for moment through the gov
ernors eyes fancy one would be astonished
at the variety OF the questions requiring de-
cIsIon.and action. TO begin with, the city it.
self must be hard enough to govern. with its
two thousand Europeans, its four thousand
Javanese, its ten thousand Kings, its twenty
thousand Malays, its elghty-six thousand
Chlnese( these are the quite inadequate figures of
a census ten years ODD. and ali its mixed horde
OF Bengalis and Bugis and Boyanese and Bur-
HieSc anu Arabs ana DNdhS ana ManlIdmen.
These people are quiet enough when lie IL alone,
but single new and unpopular regulation is
enough to bring them rio:ing into the streets
The city OF Singapore was III the hands OF a
mob for two days some time ago simply because
1t was decided to make the causeways clear for
foot passengers
THE CHINESE SECRET SOCIETIES,
too the worst enemies OF government and JUS
tice that have ever existed have their strong
hold IN the Straits, and furnish an almost in
ScrutaDle element of danger. There ia only
one way to deal with them-the way adopted
by the SIamese and by Rajah Brooke recently
but public opinion in England, which turns
sick over the photograph;ng OF u military exc
cution, would hardly stand this, so in the
Straits these societies have been suppressed"
whether really or nomnally, time Will show
As a general rule, II Is as easy to suppress" a
mosquito without killing HIM dlsorderly
Chinaman. But besides mere restraint, the
common problems of sanitation and the like
vastly difficult in Singapore and even the
census Is so laborious and uncertain that | be-
leve the authorities consider it hardly worth
the expense.
DEFENSE OF SINGAPORE
The great question of the defense of Singa-
pore, which was an open sore for SO long be-
cause of the failure of the imperial government
TO provide the promised armament for the
forts built by the colony, and which has been
pTdCtICally clostu dt ldst OE tno placing IN po-
sitlon of the 9.2-inch guns and the announce
ment that the lO-inch guns are now finished -
rendering Singapore safe SO far as artillery
defense Is concerned. has just been reopened
vigorously by the demand OF the imperial gov
eminent for an annual defense contribution of
flOO,O00. instead or the customary $50 las
Moreover, the colony has agreed to pay "a lump
sum OF t25, $40. to recoup the military treasury
Tor loss Oh past exchange. and 1t Is also willing
To erect new barracks at "A cost OF $50 00O
And to complete the picture, it must be re-
membered that the colony has lust paid
ISL, 900 for its forts, that these were left empty
of guns for shameful time, and that the
actual
STRENGTH OF THE IMPERIAL FORCES
OF the colony has varied during eleven years
from 81 per cent to % per cent short of the
strength promised by the military authorities.
Now, when en- the top of all this comes a very
cleverly constructed but III parts extremely
fallacious dispatch from Lord Knutsford
calmly informing the colony that its military
contribution Is to be doubled, and that the
question Will be reopeued i'll four years, no
doubt with view to a further increase no
wonder Singapore kicks. And it is kicking as
1 said. vigorously, in the Legislative council
and at public meetings. 1t is all very fine, too.
FOR the home authorities to hint-indeed, almost
to say-that, after all, they do not particularly
care about Singapore, that its retention In war
time would be merely matter of prestige
&c, but time was and not so long ago when
they felt and exhibited sentiments of an ex-
tremely different nature. / cannot write fur
ther about this without indiscretion, but may
go so far as to ask Lord knutsford il he has
quite forgotten the speech he made at one Of
those confidential meetings of the colonial con-