BRITISH NORTH BORNEO
This territory, formerly known as Sabah, situated at the northern end of the island of Borneo, has a coast line of about 500 miles. The population is made up of Malays, Bajaus, Dusuns Sulus, Filipinos, and is supposed to number about 170,000, which includes about 12,000 Chinese. The chief geographical feature in the territory is the mountain of Kina Balu, about 13,700 feet high. The principal river on the West coast is the Padas; but the country possesses many considerable and valuable rivers. On the East there are the Kinabatangan, Labuk, Sugut, Segama, and many others. The best harbours are those of Gaya on the West coast, Kudat on the North, and Sandakan on the East.
The climate is particularly pleasant for the tropics; the days are rarely very hot, while a blanket is often required at night; and very little inconvenience is experienced from insect pests, such as mosquitoes and the like. Hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disturbances are unknown. The seas are teeming with fish, and the export trade in dried and salted fish is increasing. Trade with Hongkong, especially in timber, is well established, and steamers for Hongkong and Singapore, whence the majority of the trade supplies are obtained, are frequent. Amongst the zoological productions of North Borneo are to be noted elephants, rhinoceros, deer of three kinds, wild cattle, pigs, bears, and pythons. Of game birds there are a few-Argus, Fire Back, and Bulwer pheasants, wild duck, many varieties of wild pigeon and doves, snipe, and quail.
Sandakan has a magnificent harbour and is the chief place of trade. The imports include cloth, rice, hardware, manufactured goods of all kinds, opium, Chinese tobacco, Chinese coarse crockery, matches, biscuits, oil, sugar, &c. The chief exports are tobacco, timber, cutch and rattans, gutta-percha, india-rubber, birdsnests, seed pearls, bêche de mer, sharks' fins, camphor, tortoiseshell, beeswax, and other natural products, which are brought in from the interior, the neighbouring Sulu Archipelago, &e. Dianiondiferous ground has been discovered on a tobacco estate on the Labuk River. It has been pronounced to be identical with the Kimberley Blue Clay, with pieces of carbon and burnt garnets in it. At the 45th half-yearly meeting in July, 1905, the Chairman of the Company said the expert had failed to find any diamonds on the sample submitted. Coal fields are now being exploited.
The revenue of the territory for 1904 was expected to amount to $975,000, and the estimated revenue for 1905 was $1,096,000. In July 1905 the shareholders were told: “You will observe, by referring to the profit and loss and land sales accounts, that the gross revenue was £97,940 in 1904, while the net surplus of revenue over expenditure was £35,202. These figures show gross and net increases respectively of £14,283 and £14,535 over the previous twelve months." Tobacco-planting promises to become a great and profitable industry, and the tobacco already raised obtains a ready sale at very high prices. Cutch is extracted from mangrove bark and is being exported in increasing quantities. A great effort to introduce the cultivation of the Chinese poppy (opium) failed, Rubber is the latest and most popular cult. population of the town of Sandakan, the capital of the territory, was 9,541 in 1901, of whom 101 were Europeans and 3,878 Chinese. There are several sections of railway totalling about 100 miles now open, and work is in progress on three other sections aggregating 50 miles in length, The longest line runs from Jesselton to Beaufort, 75 miles, which was built at a cost of £3,000 per mile. The railway is playing an
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important part in the development of the Company. During the construction of the line the revenue of the provinces which it taps has increased from $48,671 in 1895 to $191,844 in 1901, and the total revenue of the Company has increased during the same period from $348,947 to $976,268. Sandakan is distant 1,000 miles from Singapore, 1,200 miles from Hongkong and 660 miles from Manila. It became connected telegraphically with Labuan on the 7th May, 1897, and was thus placed in com- munication with Europe, etc.
The territory of British North Borneo was acquired from the Sultans of Brunei and .Sulu by cession for a small annual payment in 1879-80, and the British North Borneo