New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-06-20
'Hh ROHANCE or Az ISLAND
@ ROSS FAMILY SETTLED AM
r. sill GOVERNS THE COCOS

/
rom The Saturday Review
mere has always been a minor;,, 81, .
MAS Sn poii.IGiails OF whom the late Lord Derbv
ready TO n.io De the type and exempIar-
sSieuuous world. that blue hooks ara II IL
claim 70 e. 'olh OF reading. however scant their
c ciUTS pue book were as interesting As hat IA
scrih.d neaue e Straits Settlements" and de-
and Cta Iabers relating to the Cocos- * oeIinr
anu anu Christmas Islands (to be purcbas,.d TS
one shiiinS printers for the modest sum Of
III S,nihS). II may safely he propbesind 49,
.ie pIue book would run the novel bard j., -
storx OF ,he Circulating Library Stakes The
Isiaho or group of coral islands i'm th. IndiS
of the Ii, o Oh course. entirely to students
nevar hture OF travel in Eastern seas: hut
Ever before have we had such a prarbic r,i,, -
niti e vi the most fascinating of island comm,,
WEh the Colonial Office has now nresertaI -.
S, lament The Cocos were first attached ~ ~.
patent granted to the Governor in ISS, 49,, ~
e;, since that datt-with a single excenrinn
islands from Singapore II is The pa r 10 me
70 tS isis ISIS and one by f. w Birch on a yisit
~ th e lsiaIos In lSSo. which make up the hun
III t 'nese papers: and as the duty OF jnsnorti.
$50 la ai was never twice intrusted To the
reports small gallery OF impressonis, nio, n.
possessions. 'e''e Oh brltisn
,, Inc history of the Cocos group goes bacI >.
cnvrIa rIE s Gays OF the present century when =
almost simultaneously effected q se,t,a 10y mane.
~. H.'nerto uninhab ited islands II turnoG o,,~
20 ia no
80, -. - "heh the original Ross first sat,IaN
on .he group. Ross has ruled the Coos ~
the present nroT, tne grandfather and father Of
Ui,bioS, proprietor. ruled the islands as their
i .,shiaho ancestors had held their lands NV M
the Rrfjsb ' La" ana 1t was not until 1856 that
80 ,ilSn Government, having formally an
n p me group. made grant to Georra Ci,nin.
had hnan i' when was already his own There
&C. "eeh FORMAL annexation of tho rr,,,, -
100 by British man -of-war. I'm, ,o,tI o T 10
fettered Inv 80 noss dynasty was practically un-
10 the credit OF the Colonial One ana ar" pi,;s
left nrac,icaI, 'na ma, even now the Ross family 10
;sio t ps.actcaiiy with a free hand TO govern IN.
Islands by the traditional methods sanc;iopna no
past experience ~ "eu ~
ne ne oocos Islands. some twenty in numh.,
are situated in the Indian Ocean 70 Tho sn,,h'
t 49,. OF the Dutch island Of Java far removaA
rtU,I tne ordinary trade routes They form
ttpushIy broken circle with a shallow iagoon q,
reefs The' n projected by an outer barrier Of
oers about six hundred OF whom, ,b e n .u.n-
U,.on are native-born Cocos people and ~.
m"oli'y MaIays from Batavia The Ross -
ny are the only Europeans inhabitin. ,h am
enn Gu .noush all the male members OF the tbirS
a 1esS, as well educated. quick and intei,'
marr,omaS nave almost all contracted native
,,,a'riases and thrown in their lot with tho 49,
6ana among whom they live. Their sons ana
Understand ~1tn E FEW exceptions speak
loss the head Of the family and a man 80 @
ih kapie 1orce OF character was at one i'm.
IA nteen years without hearing English snoInn
a'lu conIesses to being little RUSTY in Ire w
markahia stem or government is sufficiently re-
toss has successfully resisted tho s, AND Mr..
ina, the penal code Of the Straits Settis
S SiI'uiu pe introduced into the islands Thar
no ponce force and crime M Ro.. le -
20 who're OF the land and Is the sole a1nnIu
- aa"oi. Inc currency is parchmant
amS, convertible at fixed ratio into r,,n. ~.
Pn.I "heh an Islander makes a rare v,stt -.
oonIi or singapore. when Rantar
no., ieaVes the island to return how ms
hauaSes. VINO are Maays by race nroress M. Mo
~, ~, He,anlsrn, but there Is the utmnst % Ma
D. .ehslouS matters. and the Influence AZ In
~ family. exercised through thre~o,a -, .no
orea. century rree from disturbing eIementa 80
) n6 leo, many striking changes in the ~, h h
ths oT Sstoms or the people One after an"ths
and a. Siai rom the mainland confess that thr
tha C Uncut 10 institute comparison hat ,uny
me Cocos born Malays and the Waia ue' ween
:" Ioih 'hey nave previously been hrouaS. win
sn'act me Cocos islanders i've In mo-. ~ L. INTO
soini"rtabiy furnished on the Euronaa. houses
In Kept scrupulously clean Thau "inooer
aaoopteo the institution of a we.LI, nave
1ay' ana SIT at table to eat their foo1 w,ashin8
aid OF knives and forks ~ 1000 with tho
. e us ~ is not only In externals thai E
nnuence Is clearly discernible .,rh european
aws' Hugh Clifford states I'm ~. rInSarrage
I'll whicn 20 most Malays represent 80 re-
mo omega or Mahometan law have lie me Alpha
SSuperseoeo by the English marie 90 e.tIre-
oiS Saiy is unknown the fsIan6 u''"hA
.i,e among the Cocos-born MaIavS ~ at any
iii'oi on the subject is suficientlv puDIio
uce any bantaneSe who has NOR ,ba ing 10 IN
= u'Hpense win this Superfiuity" IT, oiS "iIS
- "a 'ne isiano Is copra. which is sent IL *
soi IN 'essel chartered for the -. oiice
~ noss 10 england for sale Eron, Lr, py
90, SuPphes for the islands are obtainsahd