Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-02-18

| court in which the natives, even If men,
| bers of his own family, approach him only
on their knees, has numerous suite, eX-
ercises control over the native chiefs or
| the regency; in a word. in the eyes OF the
natives he is their lord and master. To
| this material authority is added spiritual!
authority, for he is also their high priest :;
more than that he is their judge, for he Is
a member of the landraad (counciD, and
presides at the court of the regency. You
! can see that the regent is apparently every
i thing. but it is his elder brother who rules
| him, even while treating him in public and
| in private on a footing of perfect equality
| and frank cordially. The regent would
| take care not to disobey the recommends
| TONS of his brother. for he knows what it
would cost him: appointed by the govern
ment, he knows that he will be kept in
| office only on condition of pleasing the gov
eminent.
Relic of the Feudal Regime.
The regent is always chosen from the
mobiles, who, before the conquest, govern
ed the district in the name of the native
ruler. The last vestige of the feudal re-
gime, which fourished in Java in the past
ages, he descends in direct line from the
vassals of the ancient kingdom of Mata-
ram. The Dutch have reduced the power
of these mobiles, while leaving them their
prestige. which they use to serve their
plans. and il is by their assistance that
they introduced their famous system of
cultivation to which they gained them by
giving them possession of the soil. To keep
them better under control they granted to
them heredity in the transmission of pow
er. thus treating with respect principle
which has prevailed in Java from time
immemOrial. They ccmprehended that the
natives would much more dOcilely allow
themselves to be governed by a regent of
exalted lineage, known and respected in
the country, than by an official chosen
from the lower classes or taken from It
distant DTQyiQpe. As much nOSSiblp the
ancient divisions of the country have been
preserved. so that the authority of the
regent extends over the same territory
and the same populations as that under
the control of his ancestors. He has the
income of the lands which belong to his
charge. But. in spite of all the pomp and
all the dignities which are attached to his
rank, in spite of all the influence due TO his
being prince, he is, under the eXternals
of native rajah, only 4 Salaried empoye
of the Dutch government; when he dies, his
son is ordinarily called to succeed him, out
of respect for the hereditary rule; but this
is not a matter of right, and the govern
nent which appoints this official can also re-
move him
One OF the most interesting character
istics of the Dutch policy is the wisdom
with which it has known how to respect.
the Importance which the natives attribute
to rank and pomp. The first clause to
which the regent submits himself in taking
the oath OF office is that in which he ex-
pressly promises TO observe the DEGREES
relative to these special questions, and to
treat the natives according to their rank.
The Dutch in this respect do not profess
the disdain which the English and French
affect They cOncede that they must re-
gard the ideas of the natives not from
the European point of view, but the native
point OF view; they officially recognize the
Importance of these questions and wisely
leave the regulation of them to the natives
themselves.
Native Hierarchy
Parallel to the hierarchy of the European
officials, there is a whole hierarchy of
native officials. Just as the resident has
under his orders assistant residents and
controllers, so the regent has for subordi-
mates wedonos,- assistant wedonos and
mantries- Each regency is divided into dis
tricts, which are administered by a wedono.
This chief of the district is, like the regent,
native of good family, and he is, like him.
saiaT1ed by the government. but he is elect
ed by the native community, subject to the
approval of the resident. He is charged
with the police Of the district and executes
the orders of the regent: he Dresides at
the district court; every month he accom-
pantes the controller in his tour of inspec-
ton, and the latter indicates what i'm
provements should be made The wedono
is assisted by the Chiefs who have the
title mantries, and whom he selects from
| the young men of the best families even
4
! lives in the house of the wedono who can
| send him at any hour of the day or night
| 10 the place he designates to execute the
| orders of the controller. The young man
trie performs all the tasks recurring a
journey; he constantly travels over the
country on horseback and that is why an
the day of his appointment, he receives a
pony and a kris. The government thus
saves the cost of those innumerable poems
or messengers which elsewhere surround
european or native officers
one OF the most skllful means by which
/ the Dutch know how to temper their rule
| IS the employment of the native language
| in all the relations between the Europeans
| and the natives. In the greater part of the
| colonies founded by great nations in our
| own as well as in ancient times the con-
| queror has been seen to impose his own
| language on the conquered. The Dutch. a
| people patient and persevering, find the
| best policy in learning the language of the
| people they govern. and they practice this
| system not only in Java but in the whole
| extent of their colonial empire. In Java
/ the problem is complicated by the presence
| of four races which divide the island
i among themselves and which speak each
| their own language: Malay. Soudanese
| Javanese and Madourien. l saw at Djok-
| JOkata resident who spoke no other
European language than Dutch. but who
| knew thoroughly the four native Ian
| guases one of which. the Javanese has
| three dialects according to the rank of
| the person addressed; one can judge of the
| complication.
| The Javanese emperor"
! In order to give to the natives the illus
| ion Of autonomy. the Dutch do not content
| themselves with leaving their regents, their
wedonos, their village chiefs, they even
| leave them their emperor. The territory
! of the yorstenlanden (princes lands), this
] central province which occupies the fif-
| teenth part of Java. forms little empire
| the last remains of the kingdom of Mata-
| ram. This territory is divided between two
| princes, the soesoehOenan and the sultan;
| the former lives at Solo or Sourakarta and
| the latter at Djokjokata. These two CAPT
! tails are still the centerS of Javanese life,
, and there one can best get an idea of what
| Java must have been in the past.
| The present emperor and sultan are the
! descendants of these two princes. The en-
! peror has the title Of sOesoehoenan, which
| means his highness;" he also has the title
| OF Glove of the world" commander of
| the army" Servant of the merciful,"
| master of culture and regulator of re-
| Lyon" He is regarded as the elder broth
| err of the sultan. This is rather typical
| example of the skillful management of the
/ Dutch
| In compensation for the concessions of
! authority and territory the emDeror and