The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-03-07
AMONG THE MALAYS
BY FRANK G. CARPENTER.

his H1gnneSS Alls n Ell Din Su letnlan -Shan,
and the British resident, II. Conway
Belf1eid There is a council of state con-
nected with them and there are sep
arate offices for the secretary of Chinese
affairs for lands, Mines revenue, treas
TRY and public works The English clerks
r.umber several hundred. and in addition
there are other foreigners engaged in
mining and exporting.
The town has a park, native ba-
Ear and gambling farm licensed by
the state The British claim that the
Chinese will gamble anyhow, and that
the best way to restrict the vice and
to make money out of 1t is to take 1t.
Gambling and Opium
Sir Frank Swettenham, who was the
resident general of the country for
long while, claims that the gambling
habit is ineradicable among both Ma
lays and Chinese, and that 1t would
take one policeman to every Chinese
to stop It, He says the Malay rulers
object to having public gambling for
bidden and that they refuse to give
up the revenues which come from 1t.
According to law, gambling is now
| licensed only in places and in build
ings approved by the police. and that
within certain hours. 1t Is provided
that it must be for ready money and
in the halls open to all. The players
| are nearly all miners. The men who
own the gambling houses aid In the
suppression of lotteries.
The opium curse Is handled in about
the same way as the gambling. 1t Is
farmed out to the highest bidder and
| he alone has the right to deal in raw
opium and to make 1t into the chandu
+, in which it Is used for smoking. With
| the consent of the government he gives
out licenses for the sale of this stun
| i III nd rio hx~ lit
| contract. A chest of Indian opium
costs about $3.50 and upward. When
| it Is turned into chandu 1t is worth
$500 and perhaps $4,000. So, you see,
there is a big profit in the business.
The selling of liquors is farmed out the
same way, as Is also pawnbroking. 1t
may be questionable whether such
things are creditable to a Christian
government. They seem a blot on the
British administration, which is other
wise almost beyond criticism.
States without Debts
These federated states are among the
few colonies of the world which have no
public debt They take in more than they
spend every year and none OF them owes
g cent The revenue of Perak amounts
to something like s15,000,0 600 and Its ex-
renditures ara less than 100000 Sc
| langor takes in over 100000 per annum
/
state. NigTi Sembian has receipts of
81, 200, 0C0 and spends about s2,0o0000. The
only state which runs at all behind is
Pahang, and it is yet on the edge of its
development. The governments are man
aged for the people and the money raised
| goes back to them.
The new railways are almost self-sup-
porting. Their receipts last year were
S., 10000 and their expenditures just
| about 100000 more. This, in connection
| with the new tracks which are building
and the fact that railroads are practically
new to the country, is surprising. The Gus
toms receipts last year brought in over
| $12, 100000 and license almost sb.000O00, the
latter being largely made up from gam
bling. opium and pawnbrolSing receipts.
The government spent last year over 3d.
| 100000 on public works, and 1t is encour-
aging the development of the country
along the lines of agriculture. In all the
| colonies plantations are being set out and
large AGRICULTURAL estates started. | have
before me list of those now under OPP
Grafton in Selangor They embrace such
crops as rubber, coffee, cocoanuts, cloves
| and pepper, and they are largely owned
by syndicates and other associations
Many of the estates are Of 1000 acres,
and some of 10000 and 10000 EACH
Among the chief crops of the Malays
are rice and cocoanuts. The Chinese
grow sugar, and the government has
| started pepper plantations, and there
are many good peHser farms. The
British have also introduced SILK
worms and have expended large sums
on tho introduction of Arabian coffee,
rubber and tea, as well as cinchona.
The cinchona failed but the tea and
coffee succeeded, and eventually plan
tations of this kind will be set out.
have already written as to rubber.
Many of the new plantations are of
| para trees, which begin to yield a
profit of 500 per acre per annum at
seven years and which should pro-
duce 5000 per acre at ~ years. 1t is
estimated that when the trees are 20
years old the profits will be $3.50 per
acre per annum. The trees grow well
and yield abundantly. At 10 years old
one recently gave rs pounds of rubber
at a single tapping. That tree was
90 feet high, and at three feet from
the ground 1t had girth of IS inches.
At present the planters hnd 1t hard
to get laborers. The Malays are not
anxious to work. the Chinese are
miners, and 1t has been necessary to
go to India to find workmen for the
plantations. These are brought here in
large numbers and seem to thrive.
The Drones of the Orient
Indeed, ] doubt whether any civiliza-
|
| industrious man. This Is true OF the Phil
ippines, and you will find few steady
workers among the Malays of the Straits
| Settlements or the Dutch East Indies.
These people do not believe In laying up
money where moth and rust will corrupt.
They want only enough to support life,
to dress In good style and to give feast
when their children are married. Their
needs are few. and when supplied they
| lay off until want comes. Some of the
rulers tell me they cannot get their own
subjects to work their plantations, and
the Sultan of Johore, who governs the
state on the mainland opposite Snga-
pore, says that he has to get Chinese
coolies TO do his work, for his own men
will not labor.
How the Malays Live
| / have visited some of the Malay vii
lagos Their houses are scattered about
under the trees near the roads. They are
usually huts about Is feet square, made
of bamboos or boards with thatch OF
| palm leaves The average house has only
one or two rooms, the people eating or
sleeping where the cooking is done. Their
kitchen furniture is an iron pan and
cocoanut ladle, with perhaps pot for
their soups and stews. The bed is a mat
spread on the floor, and the family sprawl
there at full length while resting. The
people of the interior live not unlike the
poorer classes of our Philippine Islands.
and their customs are much the same
Nearly every one chews the betel nut,
and men, women and children smoke
cigarettes and cigars. l have seen girls
of five and six with cigarettes in their
mouths and the babies are taught to
| s,nnLro hx, tha time thev re able TO crawl.