The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-05-13

the one-fifth rent while a separate
property system was encouraged. AS
soon as the Dutch resumed control,
they went back to the old regime
except that they demanded one days
labor in seven instead OF one day In
five By regulating the crops to be
planted, by collecting the firth of the
produce of the land, and by COMPEL
ing the peasants to plant One-f1fth OF
the village land in crops to be sold to
the government at fixed price far
below the market price, the govern
ment of Holland derived large reVe-
nues from its India possessions. 1t has
been estimated that in fifty years a
sum exceeding 100000 600 was exacted
from the natives in forced labor and in
the sale of produce below the market
price. As might be expected the
greed which manifested Itself in the
conduct of the government aroused in
creastng criticism and the authorities
were at last compelled to change their
methods.
Those who travel through Java are
unanimous in their praise of the beau
tfful roads and the substantial bridges
that span the streams: they admire
the commodious plantation homes. the
splendid tea and coffee farms and the
we'll built and we'll kept cities, and
they are inclined to excuse the means
employed by the fore. gne-s in the de-
Velopment of the islands. It must be
rice
fields, which are most attractive, ex-
listed before the Europeans set foot
upon the soit and that the spices, in
stead Of being introduced by the
Dutch, were the products which first
attracted their attention The Dutch
have charged a high price for the SER
vices rendered and have given little at
tentiOn to the intellectual and moral
Improvement of the people.
Being surprised that the Javanese
"a n roll dow a1, --fe ,F
culture and irrigation before the Eu-
rOpeans arrived. I asked an intelligent
Hollander: What. then, have the
Dutch taught the Javanese?" and he
replied. laughingly. we have taught
them to pay us their money"
The fact that the culture system
has. after full discussion. been aDan-
doned. is a sufficient condemnation of
1t. and the fact that reforms are being
introduced is a confession that they
meeting the present governor, General
Van Heutsz. and found him interested
in charging the educational system
and in tightening the burdens upon the
people. He has already reduced the
labor requirement one-half so that the
natives now give one day I'm fourteen
/ to the government instead of one day
in seven.
The governor Of Netherlands India
receives the same salary as our preSi-
dent, and the resident receives q. salary
! which, including allowances, amounts
! to nearly $4,000. The expenses of the
| colonial government are paid by the
natives and by the FOREIGNERS residing
! there, but the. government of Holland
no longer draws an income from the
| islands. Her advantages are at pres
| ent indirect ones and consist, first, of
| profits earned by her citizens in trade
| with the islands; second, of rents coll
| lected by her citizens from pIanta-
/ lions: and, third, of salaries drawn by
! her citizens for civil or military ser
! vice in the islands.
Formerly land was sold to foreign
! ers, but for great many years it has
! been the policy of the government to
! sell no land whatever to either Euro
pears or Asiatics, but 30 lease il for
/ seVenty-five years or less l was much
/ surprised to find that the natives own
! considerably more than twice as much
as foreigners hold under lease or deed