'FEDERATED MALAY STATES
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they have 2,46 miles of roads; and over 2,226 miles of telegraphs. Waterworks, wharves, hospitals, prisons, schools, and many other public buildings have been con- structed, while the Government of Perak has carried out an important scheme of irrigation which will benefit about 60,000 acres of land and cost about £200,000. The principal sources of revenue and prosperity are the alluvial tin deposits, which, at the present price of the metal, can be worked at considerable profit, and the plantation rubber indu try, the country producing one-third of the world's supply of rubber. Tin has been worked
been worked in the Malay Peninsula for centuries, and it is. believed it will still be produced there centuries hence.
The industry has grown of recent years to very large proportions, but it would take a long time to work out the alluvial deposits in the lands already alienated, and these comprise but. a fraction of the unexplored lands which still remain, where there is every reason to believe the mineral will be found in payable quantities. This only applies to alluvial deposits. No one can guess what are the reserves of ore in underground rock forma- tions, as at Kuantan in Pahang, Slim in Perak, and Jelebu in the Negri Senibilan.
The annual export of tin from these States is valued at over 60,000,000. As a matter of fact, the value of 785,670 piculs exported in 1915 was $61,509,037 against 823,909 piculs valued $60,749,556 in 1914. The Government has not overlooked the fact that in the export of tin its capital is being reduced, and it has made an effort to supply another and more useful investment by the construction of railways, with part at least of the revenue. Since British protection the royalty on tin has yielded a total of over $170,000,000, and the Federated States have in the same time expended over $88,000,000 in the construction or purchase of railways. The profits give a return of about 3 per cent. on the capital expended.
Planting enterprise in the Federated Malay States for many years had not proved very successful, but the introduction of rubber cultivation has completely transformed the agricultural prospects of the country. The area now in possession in estates of 100 acres and over is 906,001 acres, of which 499,479 acres were under cultivation for rubber at the end of 1915. (The total area under rubber is nearly 900,0. 0 acres.) About 44,523 tons of rubber were exported from these States in 1915, valued at $93,660,621 (£10,927,072) against 30,697 tons in 1914 valued at £6,361,362. Sugar las practically gone out of cultivation. Over 150,000 acres of land are under coconuts, for which the soil and climate of these States are peculiarly well suited; and the cultivation of rice is only a question of irrigation and labour. In 1915, 234,151 piculs of copra, valued at $1,838,508, were exported, against 243,589 piculs, valued at $2,473,248, in 1914. The success of every form of agriculture and of all the efforts of the Government to develop the country by means of railways, irrigation, and other great public works, depends upon an adequate supply of labour. As regards Indian labour, the Govern- ments of the Colony and the Federated Malay States, supported by the planters, by a new system of recruiting and by offering higher wages and other advantages, have succeeded in securing an adequate supply of Indian labour. An agricultural depart- ment to foster agricultural interests, encourage the cultivation of new products, to conduct experiments and to be a general source of information for planters, has been created, and is doing useful work.
It is estimated that there are in the Federated Malay States about 70,000 children of a school-going age, but only about 28,000 of these attend any recognised school; while many live in places far removed from any school-house, it is a fact that education has no great attraction for Malay parents, or Malay children, who might contribute by far the largest number of scholars. The Government offers every reasonable encouragement, and there is even a law in force in Selangor, the Negri Sem- bilan and in Perak for compelling the attendance of children who live within reasonable distance of a school, while scholars are allowed to travel free of charge on the railways. The population of the Federated Malay States was ascertained at the census of 1911 to be 1,036,999 (725,062 males, 311,937 females). Of these, 3,284 were Europeans, 2,649 Eura- sians, 420,840 Malays, 433,214 Chinese, and 172,165 Indians. In 1915, there were 53,100 Indian immigrants against 51,217 in 1914. The excess of Chinese emigrants over immigrants was 7,433, whereas in 1913 there was an excess of Chinese immigrants over emigrants of 44,559. The population showed an increase of 358,404 persons in the inter- censal period from 1901 to 1911.
The imports into the States in 1915 were valued at $ 0,015,935 (£7,001,859), while exports amounted to $162,429,254 (£18,950,079). The total of imports and exports com- bined was $222,445,189 (£25,951,938), against a total of $195,102,934 (£22,762,009) in 1914. The increase in the value of exports is largely accounted for by the rise in the price of tin and the increased output and high price of rubber.
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