The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-05-15
Copyright. 1906. by Joseph g.. Bowles
Copyright i'll Great Britain
All Rights Reserved

= III III tf1iA
All Rights Reserved.)
Singapore. Feb. 8. 1906.-As the
Dutch have administered in what they
call Netherlands-lndia a colonial sys-
tenn quite different IL IT'S methods
from the systems adopted by other ma
tons, | have thought it worth While
to make some Inquiries concerning it.
The Malay archipelago, which might
also be described as Il continent cut
III into islands, has furnished Il farm
ON which several nations nave expert
Inented in colonialism, but the Dutch,
both in length of and i'll
the number OF people subjected to
their rule. are easily first. The archi-
pelago is more than 1000 miles long
from east to west, and ii the Philip
pine islands are included, 1900 miles
wide. Some of the islands are larger
than European States; BOrneO and
New Guinea each haye an area great
er than the British Isles. On the map
the islands of the archipelago look
like stepping stones connecting Asia
with Australia, but some writer's, argu-
ing from the fauna and nora as we'll
rs from the depths OF surrounding wa
terS, contend that the western islands
are an extension Of Asia and The east
tlIl ones are IN extension of AuStr2ila.
Alfred Russell Wallace, for instance.
points out that the animals. birds and
natural products of the two sections
differ so much as to suggest that one
gr0u is much older than the other.
This archipelago is the home of one
Of the branches into which the human
family is divided. viz, the Malay or
brown race. These people are distinct
in appearance and in many of their
characteristics from the yellow and
black races. as we'll as from the white
race. There are in some of the islands
remnants of aboriginal tribes, but the
MalayS from time immemOrial have
furnished the prevailing type. They
have shown themselves capable of
continuous and systematic labor where
they I'VE been subjected to coercion,
or where a sufficient inducement has
been presented as a stimulus, but the
depressing influence of a continuous
summer, added to the bounty OF the
tropics, has naturally made them less
industrious than those who live in the
temperate zone. The clothing re-
quired by the Malay is insignificant in
%s,4nOunt and value. The little children
are bare and seem to enjoy a shower
as much as ducks do; In sourabaya,
the second city in Java. we saw a
group of them naked sliding on their
stomachs on the marble floor of an
open porch during a heavy rain. This
seemed a fairly satisfactory substitute
or the ice ponds of the north.
The adults. both men and women,
wear q sarong Except when the men
content themselves with a breech
clOut). The Sarong, a simple strip of
cloth, is draped about the figure with
all the fullness in front. and fastened
in some mysterious way without the
aid of buttons. hooks or pins. This
garment. if garment it may be called,
gives opportunity for the exercise OF
taste, and the range in price is Sutfi-
Cient to permit of some extravaganza
tn dress. The best native arong are
more expensive han silk. the cloth
being OVerlaid with wax, upon which
he pattern is traced, and the dyes APP
piled by hand. The MASSES use a cheap
cotton print manufactured in Europe.
One of the striking peculiaritieS OF
JaNanese life is the adoption of the
sarong by the European women fol
morning wear. Ladies who appear al
dinner in full evening dress may be
seen on the balconies and streets in
the morning hours. clad in loose hang
ing sarongs and thin dressing sacques
their bare feet enCaSed III sandals. Or
the Dutch boat upon which we left
I&taNia We saw posted notices desig-
mating the hours during which the
sarong could be worn, and giving per
mission to men to wear a p~ajama-like
outfit during the am hours.
The Malay WOmen wear no hats. bu1
he men usually wear a turban. the
tying of which is a great perplexity t.
the foreigner.
The natives of the Malay islands
appear to be q mild-mannered an6
peaceful people. although fighting
tribes have been encountered in the
mountain regions. the suppression o
which has cost the Dutch many lives
and a large outlay of t1orins. In Su.
matra there are sections that have
never been subdued.
The Chinaman is to be found
throughout the archipelago: in fact
he far outsrips all other foreign ele.
ments. The population of Java i
given as 2S.747, 600 in the governmen
statistics. and of this total PIT 900 arr
Chinese The number of European.
is given as GAIT. and the lumber O.
Arabs at $4,000. while a little more
than 5000 come from other Asiatit
countries. | was informed that tn
$4,000 described as Europeans includ
ed the half castles, who number NOR,
than 10000, the number of real Euro
peans beng about 20. 900. In the othe.
islands controlled by Holland, tn,
population is given at Il little NOR