The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-07-29
THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS
IAN ENGLISH TOLL-GATE.
BY Frederic j. Raskin.

/ Pinang.-"The Straits Settlements" is
! the cumbersome and ungainly name Of
the British crown colony which controls
industria1y ana defensively, the sea
trade routes between the east and the
far east Singapore Is the chief city and
port Of the colony, and from il Great
Britain governs the nations and Islands
OF Malaga, some of them directly and 9TH
ers indirectly, and from here England
takes toll and share of the industrial
profits OF the Dutch East Indies.
Harsh critics of the imperial policy Of
/ England have not hesitated to assert that
the British appetite for square miles eE-
/ tends to every foot Of land and sea Of
Whatever description. But it must be adj
United that the British palate is partic-
ulariy uckled by bit of land which lies
hard by narrow passage of water con-
Meeting two large bodies of water,
known TO the geOgraphers as q strait.
rake map OF the world and look It
over for straits Wherever there is d
strait. nine times in ten there will be
British possession alongside. Gibraltar,
Malta, HongkOng, the Bahamas Jamaica.
trinidad, Ceylun. Falkland Islands, Alden
and others Of lesser importance not to
speak OF the occupancy of Egypt and
control Of the artificial strait of SueZ.
/ are links in the red chain of British en-
pre- upon which the sun never sets"
some of these straits settlements scat
tered in every quarter of the Globe, are
important stations, fortified and prepared
10 defend the empire at the cannon s
mouth as we'll as on the quay and in the
cOuntIng-rOOm. Others. like the Bahia
mas, are held only because they were
once important and may again become SO
IN time. But wherever there is a strait
through which considerable commerce
flows there Is the Englishman. China
may recall that Hongkong was wrested
from the middle kingdom by an unholy
war Argentina may annually protest to
every great power that England has no
legal or moral right 10 stay in the Falk-
lands, even dec3dent Spain may keep up
the show of a claim TO Gibraltar: but the
British Jack still casts shadow over
/ every snip that passes through the mar
row straits
Furthermore. the England of England.
the home England. keeps these scat
tered bits of the great empire under its
sole control No national independence
such as Is enjoyed by Canada. Australia
or South Africa is their lot. No halfway
concessions 70 native opinion. such as are
sometimes granted in India may be
hoped for where John Bull sits to watch
the ships sail through the narrow sea
These colonies built upon straits all Of
them OF any Importance, are crown colo
MES, governed absolutely by the supreme
VIII Of that representative Of the party
IN power IN England who, for the time
being, holds the portfolio of secretary
of state for the colonies
One of these colonies has the name
The Straits Settlements and, however
lnconVenient for daily use the name is
tuh Of meaning and suggests the secret
of the dOminancy Of the British empire
The Straits Settlements controls, in both
the military and business sense. the
Straits of Malacca. The colony consists
OF the Island of Pinang. off the coast of
the Malay peninsula and nearly opposite
the northern end of the Dutch Island Of
Sumatra, of a small section of the main
land just opposite Of another tiny bit Of
the peninsula further south called 1.-THE
bindings" OF the city and territory Of
Malacca, and Of the island of Singapore
well toward the southern end Of Suma-
| ira. All of the Malay peninsula is I'M
der British control or protection, and the
English ION the spot" look longingly to-
ward the rich Dutch Islands and bewail
the Netherlands to reoccupy those por-
tons Of Java and Sumatra which the
| fTee-bOOterS of the East India company
once captur ID.
In the Settlements. Singapore OverShad-
OWs all else i'm Importance. although Pin
ang is one Of the chief tin ports of the
world and is very prosperous city. Ma
| lacca sits brOOdIng over her departed
glory. Here the tide of Portuguese empire
in the east was at its crest when Malacca
was hailed as an eastern home. Here, in
later days. the Dutch held sway as mas
tiers of the eastern seas. The English
came. in their turn, built other cities and
MalaCCa was dead. Neglected by liners
and mail steamers, served only by small
coasters, tramps and junks, Maiacca
keeps its Portuguese fort, its Dutch Stadt-
house and its ancient history. But the
great trading houses, the mission Of St.
Francis Xavier, and the pirates of the
elder day are gone.
Not forever, perhaps. if history NAV be
depended upon TO repeat itself. About 1000
years ago great Malay city flOurished