PENANG
Penang, or Prince of Wales Island, as it was formerly called, is situated on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula in 5 deg. north latitude. With the Dindings and a strip of land on the opposite coast known as Province Wellesley, from which it is separated by a Strait varying from 2 to 10 miles in width, it constitutes the second in importance of the three governments known as the "Straits Settlements." The island contains an area of about 107 square miles, being 15 miles long and 9 broad at its widest portions, while Province Wellesley extends for a distance of 45 miles along the coast, and has an average width of 8 miles, containing 270 square miles, and about 200 more for the Dindings. The chief town of Penang is George Town, but the name of the island (which signifies "Betel-nut Island") has become so identified with the town that the specific designation has almost dropped out of use.
Penang was ceded to the famous Captain Light for the East India Company in the year 1786 for an annual payment of $10,000 to the Rajah of Kedah, a step which was followed 13 years later by the cession of Province Wellesley. In the year 1805 Penang was elevated to the rank of a presidency, its rising fortunes even then bidding fair to eclipse those of Malacca, while Singapore was as yet unknown as a settlement. In 1826 Singapore and Malacca were incorporated with Penang, and the three were designated by the title they still retain. But as the fortunes of Singapore brightened, those of Penang declined, until the former quite overshadowed her older sister, and in 1837 the principal seat of government was transferred to Singapore.
The Settlement of Penang is governed by a Resident Councillor, and has two unofficial representatives in the Legislative Council, which sits at Singapore. An important department of its trade lies in the business transacted with the Dutch settlements in Sumatra; and recently it has become the chief emporium and port of shipment for the Malayan Rubber supplies. Penang will always remain of a certain importance, although it is not likely to again assume the position in the com- mercial world it formerly held. It is a convenient coaling and man-of-war station, and is of yet greater necessity as the virtual seat of government for Province Wellesley, which must always be an important centre of British influence. The Government in 1906 acquired the graving dock at Prye River in Province Wellesley, 250 feet in length and 50 feet broad at entrance; also a slip for vessels 100 feet long George Town is built on a plain, at the back of which rises the hill which, as Penangites declare, renders life on the island more enjoyable than in any other part of the Colony.
The formation of Penang is granitic, being covered in many places with a sharp sand or stiff clay, the produce of the decomposition of the granite. Above this again comes a coat of vegetable mould of greater or less thickness. With the exception of a plain about three miles in depth, upon which stands the town and environs, the whole of the island consists of hills with narrow valleys. No minerals of commercial value are found in Penang.
The influence of the regular monsoon is more distinctly felt at Penang than in the most easterly part of the Straits of Malacca, owing to the wideness of the latter to the west and vicinity to the Bay of Bengal. During the north-easterly monsoon, from November to March inclusive, clear settled weather prevails, and in the south-westerly, from April to October, the rains take place. But neither rain nor drought is of long continuance. The average heat of the year at the level of the sea is 80, and at the height of 2,500 feet, the highest inhabited" point, 70°, the annual range being about 20°. Where there is free ventilation the climate is superior in salubrity to that of any other tropical one, but in a few close valleys wanting this advantage, the malaria is deemed poisonous, and such localities, few in number, are not inhabited by Europeans.
Of mammals, the principal species are monkeys, and two species of viverrida the musang and binturong. The ornithology calls for no special remarks. The island is a happy hunting ground for the entomologist, numerous fine species of lepidoptera frequenting the hills. The botany of Penang is perhaps better known than that of any part of the Peninsula, and, for the area involved, is particularly rich. Palms, bamboos, banana and other fruit-trees, and nutmegs clothe the hillsides, while ferns are also plentiful. The high land permits the cultivation of many flowers and other plants which will not thrive in the flat level lands of Singapore or Malacca.