SINGAPORE
1213
cleared and planted with pineapple for tinning; the whole of this business appears to be in the hands of Chinese. Considerable interest has also been shown in the cultivation of rubber, oil-grasses, lemon-grass and citronella, as well as indigo, vegetables, pepper and ground nuts. Coconut cultivation increased rapidly for a time but more recently there has been a strong tendency to substitute rubber for coconut, which has been officially declared to be "not an advisable policy."
Singapore offers but few points of salient interest to visitors, the Botanical Gardens at Tanglin, the Waterworks in Thomson Road, and the Raffles Library and Museum being its only show places. Railless cars are now in operation on most of the principal routes. A railway across the island was sanctioned by a vote of the Legislative Council in 1899, and was opened for traffic on 1st January, 1903. An extension to the Tanjong Pagar Docks and neighbourhood was sanctioned and now runs as far as Paris Panjang. This line of 14 miles was the first section of a projected Malay Peninsula and India Railway, passing through and opening up the countries of Johore, Malacca, the Native Malay States, some Siamese territory and Burma, on to Calcutta. The Railway now runs direct from Singapore to Penang; it has been extended on the West Coast through Kedah and Perlis and is now connected with the Siamese railway system. The journey, at present, from Singapore to Bangkok can be made in three days, and from Penang in two days. The railway has also been constructed from a junction at Gemas, near the northern boundary of Johore, through the eastern State of Pahang, and will eventually be extended through Kelantan to form another link with the Siamese railway system on the East Coast. The Singapore Railway was purchased in 1913 for £482,533 by the Federated Malay States Government from the Colonial Government in order to unify the British Malayan railway system under one management. A causeway across the Straits of Johore, carrying a double line of rails and a 26 ft. roadway, connects the Island with the mainland. The first train crossed over it on October 1st, 1923. The length of the causeway is 3,465 ft. There is a lock-170 ft. long and 32 ft. broad, widening inside the gates to 45 ft.-for small craft at the Johore end; otherwise, the causeway cuts off the site of the proposed naval base from sea communication from the West. The distance from Singapore to Calcutta by sea is just over 2,000 miles.
DIRECTORY
(For Government Departments see Straits Settlements section, pages 1208-1210)
A.T.E. MASKATI, Merchant and Com-
•
mission Agent-191, Cecil Street; Tel. Ad: Maskati. Head Office: Bombay. Branches: Bangkok, Pnompenh, Bat- tambang and Ahmedabad
A. V. Arsiwalla, manager
Abdulhusain Abedin, assistant
ABDULLAH SAHIB & Co., A. M., Importers and Exporters-77, Market Street; P.O. Box 19
ABRAM'S MOTOR TRANSPORT Co.-Offices:
195, Orchard Road
A. van Cuylenburg, general manager
Adamson, Gilfillan & Co., Ltd., Mer- chants Hongkong Bank Building, Collyer Quay. Head Office: 2, Billiter Avenue, London, E.C. Branch Houses: Penang, Malacca and Kuala Lumpur W. A. Fell, director (Singapore)
Directors in London-A. J. C. Hart, F. L. Tomlin, H. A. Low, J. Somerville, D. K. Somerville and H. B. Ward
E. C. H. Charlwood, manager
H. W. Moxon, signs per pro. J. S. Miller,
do. Assistants-
A. C. Gilbert
C. E. Hudson J. A. Grant
F. H. Atkinson F. J. Whiteside A. W. L. Ryan
ADELPHI HOTEL-1 and 2, Coleman Street; Teleph. 5061 (4 lines); Tel. Ad: Adelphi
A. Frasseto, managing director A. Moreau, manager
E. G. Jordan, secretary Miss I. M. Byrns
Grill Room
J. Gregory, supt. Dining Room
E. M. Attias, supt.