The sign on in foreign vessels at the respective Consulates. The whole matter seems to hinge upon the interpretation of the word "Native", which does not appear in our Ordinance, but has a very wide meaning in the Straits, and covers all Malays, including natives of Java and Sumatra. Captain Radcliffe points out that the vast majority of Malay seamen shipping at ports in the Straits are such Dutch subjects, and it was on this account that exception was made in the case of Dutch vessels, which form a large percentage of the foreign shipping there. This exception has gradually spread to other nationalities.
It seems to me that, as the above conditions do not obtain here, and the old Indian Act has been permitted to stand for so long, there should be no objection to our making the proposed amendment.
7.5.09.
(Sd.) Basil Taylor,
Harbour Master.
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