The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-07-31
THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS
III-SULTANATE OF JOHoRE.
BY Frederic J. Haskin.

pecially fond of racing and Of backing
his judgment at the track, but he has
settled down" considerably under the
wise advice Of persons who have point
ed out the dangers that lie in sowing
oats while occupying the throne Of
country unable TO defend itself, and
which Is desirable as a tin mine and
rubber plantation.
One evidence Of the willingness Of the
sultan Of JOhOre to encourage the in
dustrial development Of his country lies
in the fact that he is permitting the
Federated Malay States to build rail-
road through his dominions. He has
also undertaken rubber growing upon
a large scale, and may become a rubber
king as well as a sultan. If he should
now turn his attention TO road building
and construct feeders for the railroad,
Johore might move along in the pro-
cessiOn with the other Malay states.
At present the revenues of JOhOre are
derived chiefly from the Chinese who
nave settled there. and go mostly into
the pockets Of the sultan. The country
has never been accurately surveyed,
and its actual area and population are
unknown, but, roughly speaking, it IS
about as large as three or four counties
is sparsely populated, and most of it is
jungle, yet the sultan's official income
is more than twice the salary of the
president of the United States. As
there are no roads in Johore. save in
the vicinity of the principal city, the
few farms upon which the Chinese pro
duce pepper, gambir and other crops
are situated on the coast or along the
rivers, so that transportation to mar
IL fN.1e DFu hnF
readily be settled if there were roads
are lying idle beneath the primeval
jungle.
Johore maintains treaty relations
with the British government, and
British agent is appointed to reside in
the country. A few European officers
and number of Malays assist in the
management of the sultans govern
mental affairs. but there is little sys-
tenn in the routine work of the govern
ment, and no vigorous effort TO i'm
prove the country has been made, In
the Federated States where native SUI
tans still sit upon their thrones. but
have little 10 do with the conduct of
affairs, allowances to the titUlar rulers
have been reduced in order that the
revenues Of the states may be applied
to their development The maximum
salary of sultan in British Malay is
these states have advanced in prospect
ty. His advisers have limited to the
sultan of Johore that he should make
personal sacrifices for the benefit of his
people, In other words give up a part
of mis- prinCely income, but uD TO the
present time he has not consented to
do so.
In the hands of an energetic execu-
tive, JOhore presents as many attraC
tons as any toy kingdom in the world.
Its agricultural and mineral resources
are Of considerable Importance, and al
though it lies near the equator, it
boasts an equable and comfortable Gle
mate. It IS rolling country OF beau
tiful landscapes clothed with all the
verdure of the tropics. Road building
is comparatively easy and economical
If it were properly opened up by trans
pOrtatiOn facilities it's population
would increase by leaps and bounds.
and if converted into d model kingdom
there would exist no excuse for any
other country taking 1t over. Few
young men in the east or west have
such a magnificent opportunity as the /
sultan Of JohOre, who is still upon the /
sunny side of middle age.
Personally the sultan is well liked /
both al home and abroad He is un- /
assuming in his manners and not given /.
10 mSlSlenC6 upon tne observance OF /
formal etiquette BETTING the magni- /
tude of his title. His friends hold that /
he is acquiring balance with increas- /
ing years. and that the public should /
be indulgent enough to forget his early /
pecoadillOes, including an event in Cal /
CUtta. where he was charged with hav-
ing entered d purse winner in the /
maiden stakes. Time viii tell whether /
he viii go down in history as the first /
progressive sultan of JOhOre, and the !
father Of his country, or as the las; /
real sultan of Malaga.
Rubber and tin have made many
large fortunes in the Federated States /
The tin mines are historic yet unex- |
hausted. The growing OF rubber is 4
new industry out of which large and /
comparatively quick returns are to be /
made. With his hand about a country /
that viii produce both rubber and tin |
and unresuained by me laws that /
hamper captains Of industry where rep /
resentative government exists, Sultan /
Ibrahim might easily become famously 4
rich and at the same time greatly in I
crease the wealth of his subjects.
TomOrrCw-The Straits Settlements