1048
SINGAPORE
was that occupied before the war by the German community in the Tanglin district. The Raffles Library and Museum, moved in October, 1887, into the new building erected for them, are creditable and well-kept institutions, the Museum having made very fair progress since its inception.
There are several_good hotels, of which the Raffles and the Hotel de l'Europe are· the best. The daily Press is represented by the Straits Times, Singapore Free Press: and Malaya Tribune. The Government Gazette is published weekly. There are also several Japanese, Chinese and Malay papers.
Singapore is a free port, there being no Customs Duties, but Excise Duties are levied on alcoholic liquors, opium, tobacco and petroleum. There are no Port, Harbour, Docks, Town or Light dues. The Harbour is practically landlocked by islands, and the rise and fall of ordinary spring tides is 9 feet. Although the majority of ocean- going steamers are berthed at the Harbour Board's wharves, many vessels discharge- and load in the Inner and Outer Harbour, the Inner Harbour being protected from the north-east monsoon by a mole of granite rubble nearly a mile long. The Singapore Harbour Board's premises are about a mile to the westward of the town. The Singapore- Harbour Board (constituted under an enactment by the Governor of the Straits Settle- ments entitled the Straits Settlements Ordinance No. 130 (Ports) now control all the wharves and dry docks in Singapore. The Board's assets and capital outlay at June: 30th, 1926, totalled $75,000,000 v.e., £8,750,000 sterling (exchange being fixed by Govern- ment at 2s. 4d. per Straits Settlements Dollar). There are 10,608 lineal feet of wharves, including Empire Dock (24 acres) with 30 feet and over depth of water at L.W.O.S.T. There is storage capacity for about 150,000 tons of cargo, and some 150,000 tons of coal, the stocks being chiefly Natal, Japanese, Indian and Welsh, but there is. a variety of supplies from local sources such as Borneo, Sumatra, Labuan and Sarawak. The Board own steam tugs with complete fire and salvage plant, shear-legs with lifting capacity to 60 tons, cranes, railways (11 miles), launches, and over 100 lighters and other appliances for the expeditious handling of cargo. There is an installation for the bunkering with fuel oil of ships at the Wharves.
There are five dry docks, one of these ("The King's") being divided by an intermediate caisson into two docks of 486 and 325 feet each, and its equipment includes a 30-ton electric travelling crane. The machines and tools in the Board's workshops have recently been extensively replaced with up-to-date appliances electrically driven and capable of effecting repairs to vessels of the largest class and their machinery. Castings and for- gings of the largest size can be made on the Board's premises. The power of the: electric plant totals 5,000 k.w. Almost all the machinery on the premises is electrically driven. The Crown Agents for the Colonies, London, are the Board's sole agents in England.
The total value of the foreign imports and exports of Singapore (merchandise only). for the years 1924, 1925 and 1926 (excluding Inter-Settlement trade) are given below:-
Imports Exports
Total......
1924 $622,615,788
1925
$978,026,852
1926 $975,078,505
525,196,847
865,276,600
833,417,473
$1,147,812,635 $1,843,303,452
$1,808,495,978
It thus appears that out of a total of £294,910,788 representing the Colony's foreign. trade, Singapore is responsible for £210,991,197 or 71.5 per cent.
The climate of Singapore is remarkable for its salubrity, and the island has been described by medical writers as the "paradise of children," infantile diseases seldom being at all malignant. Despite its proximity to the equator, under normal circumstances a daily rainfall tempers the heat so thoroughly that many sleep beneath blankets. Droughts, however, have been experienced of from one to six months. The climate of the island is thus described by Mr. Thomson, in the "Journal of the Indian Archipelago, "his. remarks still holding good:-"Singapore, though within 80 miles of the equator, has an abundance of moisture, either deposited by the dews or gentle refreshing showers, which keep its atmosphere cool, prevent the parching effects of the sun, and promote continual verdure. It seldom experiences furious gales. If more than ordinary heat has accumulated moisture and electricity a squall generally sets in, followed by a. heavy shower of rain, such squalls seldom exceeding one or two hours in duration..