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SECTION 2.-The Netherlands Indies.
Source of Information. The information contained in this section has been obtained at interviews with the heads of the principal British merchant houses trading in the Netherlands Indies, and my thanks are especially due to Messrs. Myrtlo, Burt & Co., the largest British distributors of textiles in the islands, for valuable help and advice. Memoranda have been received from the Advisory Committee of British merchants and bankers appointed to assist 11.M. Consul-General at Sourabaya with regard to commercial affairs, from the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, and from two or three prominent British merchants and residents in the islands.
General Description. The great importance, both political and economic, attaching to the rich and rapidly-developing Dutch Possessions in the East Indies has tended to be somewhat overlooked by the proximity of the Straits Settlements, upon The natural which British attention and aspirations have been largely centred. tendency has been to regard the Dutch Islands as a commercial dependency of the Straits Settlements, and while-in the interests of the Empire-it is highly desirable that the commercial ties uniting the Colony and its great economic dependency should be maintained and strengthened, it is impossible to blink the fact that the dominant feature of the economic development of the Insulinde during the past decade has been the increase in the direct trade, both outwards and inwards, resulting from improved transport services. In this direct intercourse with the world's markets British merchants in the islands have taken no inconsiderable share, and it is from their standpoint, and from that of the British direct shipper, that the following pages are written.
The Netherlands Indies are divided for administrative and other purposes into the main island of Java (with which is actually associated the island of Madura, although the latter is comparatively unimportant), and the Outer l'ossessions consisting of Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes, and the smaller islands. The Outer Possessions are far greater than Java as regards area, but are much inferior to that island, both in respect to population and development, although their natural wealth is immense were it only exploited.
The wonderful island of Java, "the Garden of the East," is the centre of Govern- ment, of trade, and of foreign activity. It is the wealthiest, the most civilised, and the most densely peopled, having a population in 1905 of over 30 millions, that is four-fifths of the population of the Dutch East Indies. The three great centres of trade activity are the ports of Batavia, Sourabaya, and Samarang, where the majority of the European merchants reside.
The subjoined statistics of population illustrate the distribution among the various races, and are taken from the census returns of 1905.
Java and Madura - Outer Possessions
Grand total
Europeans. Chinesa. Ambs.
Other Orientals.
Natives,
Total.
563,149 29,388 22,970
61,917 295,193 19,148 2,842 29,715,908 15,993 268,256 10,140 20,128 7,304,552
80,910
37,020,460
30,098,008 7,619,369
37,717.377
The total population at the present time is estimated at 50 millions. Position of the Chinese Traders.-Throughout the Dutch Indies, precisely as in the Federated Malay States, Burma, Siam, and the Philippines, the Chinese control the avenues of industry and commerce. Arab dealers compete with them to some extent, but these have acquired a somewhat unwholesome reputation for untrustworthiness, and lack of probity. The Chinese possess three important advantages, numbers, wealth, and ability. The value of Chinese property in Java has been estimated at 16,000,000, and there is reason to believe that this figure is well below the mark. The Javanese and the natives of the Islands exhibit the Malay characteristics of apathy and lack of ambition or enterprise. Life is easy for them in a country richly endowed by nature. They can live on a handful of rice and a little fruit, which can be obtained without great effort by the mere fertility of the soil. As their wants are limited to the bare means of subsistence, they prefer to limit their labour, and consequently their rôle is that of the agriculturist. As Java is practically one vast plantation of
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rice, coffee, sugar-cane, tea, cinchona aud indigo, it will be seen that there is plenty of scope for their patient, plodding labour. The Chinese is the merchant, the banker, the shopkeeper, and the artisan throughout the territory, and his enterprise and ability have secured for him wealth and position. As one authority on the islands has written :-
"What would become of the European and the Dutch Government without the presence of the Chinaman in Java? A hard worker, meditative, mindful of his responsibility, he is the linch-pin of all great public or private enterprises; to the native the necessary intermediary, the obscure but neces- sary cog-wheel, the middleman, the go-between, whom the European would not and the Japanese could not as yet replace."
The Chinese trader is, in fact, the intermediary between the European merchant in the principal ports and the extensive market which he serves. He brings down the produce from the outer fringes of the archipelago and sells it to the Dutch, British, or German firms in Sourabaya or Batavia, and receives in return European goods which he distributes among his various clients. In this connection it should be noted that there is always considerable competition between the local European merchant and the market in Singapore or Penang, particularly for the produce of the outlying islands.
Competition with the Straits Settlements. The large Chinese merchant almost invariably is in close touch with either his own house or else clients in the Straits Settlements, and the decision as to whether he shall sell his produce and buy his manufactured goods in a Java or a Straits port depends mainly on the competitive prices ruling in those markets, and the shipping facilities. Broadly speaking, Singapore and Penang secure a large share of the trade of those portions of the archipelago such as the east coast of Sumatra and Borneo, which are nearer to their doors; and for the rest, it is largely a matter of price and transport facilities. It is noteworthy that while the outward shipments of produce to the Straits Settlements have fully maintained their relative position during the years 1902-1912, the imports from the Straits have steadily decreased, not only relatively but also in actual values, during the same period. This is largely to be attributed to the superior direct shipping facilities provided by the Dutch companies between Europeña ports and Java, which have stimulated the direct import trade, but have not had quite the same effect on the export trade, as the latter is largely with Oriental countries, and is conducted by chartered steamers.
British Commercial activity in Netherlands India.-One of the most striking features which impresses one in studying the trade of the Netherlands Indies is the paucity of British merchant houses settled in Java and the islands. The total number of British male residents throughout the islands in 1905 was only 312, as compared with 9,480 Dutch (born in Europe), 1,406 Germans, 315 Belgians, and 64,314 half- castes, mainly of Dutch descent. Owing to the influx of British capital to finance rubber estates and tea gardens during the past ten years, the number of British planters have increased, and in 1913 the total British male population of Java alone was 380. This increase, however, is almost entirely among the ranks of the planter class, and the mercantile community has for some years been almost stationary.
The principal British firm in Java is the powerful house of Maclaine & Co., London, representing Maclaine, Watson & Co., of Batavia; Fraser, Eaton & Co., of Sourabaya; and McNeill & Co., of Samarang. This firm holds exceedingly valuable shipping and insurance agencies, and has a very strong position in the export trade, particularly in sugar, Messrs. Burt, Myrtle & Co. (Myrtle Burt & Co., of Manchester) practically confine themselves to the import trade in textiles, and are the principal British outlet for Manchester goods throughout the islands. They are established at Batavia, Sourabaya, Samarang, and Cheribon, and have admirable facilities for distribution in the less important ports. Messrs. Pitcairn, Syme & Co. (Ker, Bolton & Co., London and Glasgow; Ker & Co., Manila; and Syme & Co., Singapore) do a considerable trade in imports and produce, and are a financially strong firm. There are some half-dozen or so other British merchants on a smaller scale, one or two firma specialising in tea (e.g., Messrs. Harrisons & Crosfield, Ltd.) or in rubber, and this completes the British mercantile community. Branches of both the Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China, and also the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation are established at the principal ports.
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