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

! liquor. In all Of the archipelago the
vices Of the people seem TO be as re-
muneratiVe to the government as their
virtues, and I was reminded of the
! Chinese official at Peking who jOk-
! ingly informed me that he had a self
ism reason for opposing the boycott of
American goods because it would de-
prlVe him OF American cigarettes, OF
which he was very fond.
The Dutch traders followed the
Portuguese into the East Indies and in
time supplanted them. Holland then
chartered the East India Trading COM
peny and Amsterdam became the
spice center from which ali Europe
drew it's supplies. The Dutch Trading
company was manned by a thrifty
crew. and II was not long before they
conceived of mOnOpOlizing the worlds
spice market. and they accomplished
this by destroying groves and pro
hitting competition by treaty with
/ the natives. They are also charged
with destroying spice by the ton in
Amsterdam in order to maintain the
price. one apOlogist for this almost
universally condemned practice of
the Dutch says:
When the Dutch established their
influence in these seas and relieved
the native princes from their POr-
tuguese OppressOrs they saw that the
easiest way to repay themselves would
be to get the spice trade into their
]
adopted the wise principle of Concen-
trating the culture of these valu-
able products in these spots of which
they could have complete control. To
/ do this effectually it was necessary t.
abolish the culture and trade in all
other places, which they succeeded in
doing by treaty with the native rulers.
! These agreed to nave all the spice
/ trees in their possessions destroyed.
/ They gave up large though fiuctuating
] G,FYY Cd
! fixed subsidy, freedom from the con-
slant attacks and harsh oppression of
/ the Porting ueSe, and a continuance of
/ their regal power and exclusive au-
/ tnority over their own subjects, which
! is maintained in all the islands except
| Ternate to this day. 1t is no doubt
supposed by most Englishmen, who
( have been accustomed to look upon
this act of the Dutch with vague hOr-
ror as something utterly unprincipled
and barbarous; that the native popu-
IatiOn suffered grievOusly by this
destruction Of such valuable property
But it is certain that this is not the
case"
He then proceeds to charge that the
native sultanS had a rigid monopoly"
of the sDice trade before the Dutch
arrived and that the latter. by pro-
hibiting the cultivation of spices, left
the natives more time for the produc-
ton of food and other salable things,
that this abolition of the spice trade
in the MOlucCas was actually benefi-
Cial to the inhabitants. and that it was
an act both wise in itself and morally
and politically justifiable."
It will be noticed that in very
brief space he employs the arguments
mainly relied upon TO support mOnop-
oily wherever it has appeared, and also
for cOlOnialism in it's worst form. In
the first place, the Dutch had to re
for haN roll or
the native princes from their Portu-
guese oppressOrs'' that is. they had
to collect pay for their philanthropy
! second. as the sultans were doing the
same thing, the Dutch might as vel
do it-that is. the very familiar aTgu-
ment. ''if we don't do it, somebody
else WILL and third, it was a good
thing for the natiVeS-it is never diff
ficult 70 prove this to the man who
| profits by the system. But nothing IS
said as to the effect of the monopoly
upon consumers of spices Throughout
the world. It does not seem to occur
to the writer above quoted CWallacel
that they are to be considered. The
view point from which he looks at the
whole matter can be judged from his
admonition to the British that they
2 n est not be too much afraid of the
cry of despotism and slavery" if they
, are to improve their rude subjects
: and raise them up toward their Owl
level.
At the beginning of the nineteenth
, century, the Dutch East India com
pany became involved and turned it:
possessions over TO the crown of HOl
t land, since which time Netherland:
7 India has been a crown colony. There
: was brief interim of British ruiz
: 0S11 to 1850, but at the close of th'
1 NapoleOnlc wars the Dutch regainec
: their possessions by treaty, and the
t English congratulated themselves tina
2 they had been relieved of a burden.
: The Dutch have governed java
5 through the natives, a resident acting