The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1909-07-29
THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS
p,pang-~rh. straits settlements 4


P,uanG-"rhe straits settlements" ID
the cumb ersome and unsainiy name Of
the British Crown colony which con-
trolls, industrisiiy and dsfsnsively. the
sea trade routes between the East and
the Far East. Singapore 10 the chief
city and port Of the colony. and from
II Great Britain governs the nations
and islands Of Malaga, some OF them
directly and others 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 as
sert that the British appetite for
square miles extends to every foot OF
land and sea of whatever description.
But II must be admitted that the Brit
ish palate 10 particuiriy tickled by
bit Of land which lies hard. BIZ mar
row passage Of water connecting two
large bodies Of water" known to the
geoeraphers a. q strait" Take a
map of the world and look It over for
straits Wherever there Is strait.
nine times In ten, there will be Brit
ish possession alongsids. Gibraltar,
Malta. Hong Kong. the Bahamas. ia
naica, Trinidad, Ceylon, Falkland ISL
apds, Alden. and others Of lesser I'M
portance. not to speak OF the occupancy
of Egypt and control OF the artificial
strait Of Sues, are links in the red
chain Of British Empire upon which
the sun never sets"
Some of these straits settlements.
scattered in every quarter of the globe.
are important stations, fortified and
prepared to defend the Empire at the
lannon's mouth a. well as on the quay
and In the counting rooms. Others.
like the Bahamas, are held only be-
cause they were once important and
may again become 80 In time. But
wherever there IL O strait through
which considerable commerce flows. o..
may be expected to how. there 10 the
Englishman. China may recall that
Kong Kong 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 to stay In the
Falklands, even decadent Spain may
keep ND the show of o claim to Gil
braltar; but the British Jack still casts
shadow over every ship that passes
through the narrow straits.
Furthermore, the. England OF Eng
land, the home England. keeps these
scattered bits OF the great empire un-
der Its sole control. No national inde-
D0HQGnCc SuCu 90 ~ rhJOJE0 Wy SNAF
ada, Australia or South Africa Is their
lot. No halfway concessions to ma
tive 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 Grown
colonies, governed absolutely by the
supreme will 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" ana. how
ever inoonvenient for daily use. the
name is full OF meaning and suggests
the secret of the dominancy of the
British Empire. The Straits SettleS
ments controls. Ia both the military ana
business sense, the Straits of Malacca.
The colony consists of the Island OF
Pinang, on the coast Of the Malay
peninsula and nearly opposite the
northern end Of the Dutch Island Of
Sumatra, of Q small section of the
mainland just opposite. OF another tiny
bit of the peninsula further south
called "the bindings" of the city
and territory Of Maiacca. ana of
the island Of Singapore. wen toward
the southern end of Sumatra. All OF
the Malay peninsula is under British
control or protection. and the English
ION the SPOT" look longin6ly toward
the rich Dutch Islands and bewaii the
misguided diplomacy which permitted
The Netherlands to reoccupy those
portions Of Java and Sumatra which the
free hooters Of the East India Com
pany once captured.
In the Settlements, Singapore over
alaa al a1aA N all.
though Pinans IL one OF the chief
tin ports of the world and Is very
prosperous city. Malacca sits brood
ing 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 masters OF the Eastern seas. The
English came, in their turn. built other
cities and Malacca was dead. Neg
lected by liners and mall steamers
served only by small coasters. tramps
and junks, Malacca keeps it's Portu-
guese fort, its Dutch Stadt-house, and
it's 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. II history may
be depended upon to repeat itself.
About a thousand years ago a gKeat
Malay city hourished on the site of
modern Singapore. 1t was 9 maritime
city and its people were sailors. Some
of them were privates and some were
honest merchants, who took the rice
and silks Of China and, transshipping
them from the Cantonese Junks, sent
them on to Egypt and thence to Eu-
rope. The city prospered. but it
aroused the hatred of other Malay
States. An invasion from Java was all
too successful, and the Malay city of
"Singa-pura." the City Of the Lion,
was laid waste and utterly destroyed.
The surviving inhabitants fed across
the narrow strait to the mainland.
made their way up the west side of
the peninsula and established the new
maritime city of Malacca.. Five cen-
turtles later the Europeans drove them
away and scattered their descendants
about the islands to live by piracy.
lust ninety years ago an agent of
the Honorable East India Company
returning from an incursion into the
Dutch colony of lava, evolved the no.
tion that the thing for England to do
was to hold the StraitsI Pinang had
already been taken from a native prince
under circumstances not at all rebound
ing to the credit OF the East India
Company. Maiacca was handed back to
nc