Evening star., 1935-01-13

swap this incredibly valuable part of
the world for a jungle in South Amer
ica? But let us give the devil his due.
The beavers were gone. The pros
porous republic of the seven Neither.
lands was not land of emigrantS.
Why cross the ocean to wrestle with
Indians and vast tracts of uncleared
forest when you could make an ample
living in your own snug city?
Others Take Over.
And so the New Netherlands passed
into other hands. Afterward, for a
while. they had been reconquered. for
Nieuw Amsterdam was Dutch twice.
Then once more the colony was sur
rendered to the neighbor across the
North Sea. If that had not happened
I would now be writing this article in
some such strange language as
"Amerikaans," sister tongue to the
strange but vigorous "Afirkaans" of
the South African Republic.
TIL; next morning we passed Cape
May, called after the Dutch captain
Of that name who discovered it. Next
came the mouth of the Delaware,
where the Dutch and the Swedes once
fought for supremacy. Three days
later we were among the West Indies,
where part Of the islands still fly the
Dutch flag. And then came Panama
In the royal archives at The Hague
you will find the carefully worked out
plans made during the 20s of the
last century by the engineers of King
William l, the great-grandfather of
Queen Wilhelmina. Holland was Sc
riouSly thinking of tackling the prob
lem of the big ditch that should con-
meet the Atlantic and the Pacific. But
the Belgian revolution spoiled all these
plans. Holland and Belgium should
never have been united. But the
Congress of Vienna knew and cared as
little about geography and sociology
and economics as did the Congress of
Versailles century later.
We are still cleaning up the mess Of
Versailles. During the 30s and
40s Of the last century Europe was
busy cleaning up the mess of Vienna.
That cost money, lot of money. and
there were no funds left for the great
experiment with Panama.
The Northern Pacific was one part
OF the world into which the Dutch
never penetrated. They were too busy
with their infinitely more profitable
possessions in the Indies. Hence Cape
Horn called after the little city of
Hoorn on the erstwhile Zuyder Zee).
Hence that other Staten Island that
lies east Of the Straits of LIE Marie.
the ill-guided skipper who hoped and
believed (erroneously) that he could
break the monopoly of the Dutch East
India Co. by sneaking into its do
minions by the back door.
Traces Picked Up.
But once we had left Honolulu and
were on our way to Tahiti, we ran
across the tracks of Admiral Jacob
Roggeveen, who in 1922 had been the
first white man to gaze upon the mys-
terious stone giants of Easter Island.
so called because it was discovered on
Easter.
Then came the Samoan group.
originally known as Baumann Islands
after one of Roggeveens captains.
Next came the Fiji Islands, which had
been discovered and explored by Abel
Tasman in 1643 He had not found
them on his first great voyage, when
he had set forth to investigate stories
about the non-existing islands of gold
and silver of the Pacific and had spent
several years in the Philippines and
Japan, which Holland had opened up
for eastern commerce two and a half
centuries before the arrival of Admiral
Perry.
But during his second voyage. when
he was deliberately sent out by Cover
nor General Van Diemen to locate the
vast Southland (Australia), which
everybody had suspected to exist for
more than 100 years and which no.
body so far had been able to find, he
made his way through the treacherous
waters of the dangerous Fiji group.
And on the second trip he had also set
foot on land in New Zealand. so called
after the province in which still have
that ancient house, built three-quar-
tiers of a century before the Maoris
slaughtered their first white visitors
(and probably ate them).
Flag Again Flies.
Next Tasmania (called after Tas-
man himself and then the great
Southland itself, known as Nieuw
Holland until a century ago, when it
was rebaptised Australia. And then
giving a wide berth to the Great
Reef-as every careful skipper does
we landed in New Guinea, the greater
half of which still flies the Dutch flag.
And from there on for several weeks
I could buy the same cookies in the
same cookie shops in which I had
bought them as child. and could
ride in the same railroad coaches. and
the policemen regulated the traffic in
the same way at home, and the adju-
tant who introduced me to the gov.
ernor general wore the same uniform
which I had aspired to wear when I
was 10 years old and thought that
a career in the Dutch Navy might be
the easiest way of escape from my ma
tive soil.
And then Singapore, where every
thing that is not Chinese or English
is Dutch, and very amusing expert
ence in Ceylon. For while was talk
ing to the head waiter in Anarad-
hapura, he asked me where was
born, and said, Holland" The
slightly Singalese-looking ,offlcial an
swered, But then we are country
men," and I discovered that anybody
in that blessed island, the one in
contestable paridise of our globe, who
has q remote drop of white blood in
his veins belongs to sort Of Dutch
Daughters of the American Society"
and thinks himself slightly better
than his native or British neighbors,
because he Is a descendant of the orig
inal owners. who ruled this island for
q century and half.
And so by way of British India,
where the Dutch East India Co. had
established number of trading posts.
southwark via Mauritius (called after
the son of William the Silent) to
South Africa. And there ! had the
surprise of my life. For now. only 30
years after the Boer War, found
that I could walk into any store In
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