Directory_and_Chronicle_1885 — Page 642

SINGAPORE.

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supplied with necessaries, few of the luxuries, however, which are so prominent in Hongkong or Shanghai establishments finding place. A general want of enterprise, owing probably to the climate, is indeed a distinctive feature of Singapore life.

Singapore possesses a handsome though small Protestant Cathedral (its name having been recently added to the title of the see of Labuan) a neat Presbyterian Chapel, and several Catholic churches of roomy proportions. The principal schools are those of the Raffles Institute and the Christian Brothers, a Convent also provid- ing for the education of girls of the Roman Catholic persuasion. There is a country Club with a well built bungalow situated some three miles out of town, at which latter dances and amateur theatricals are frequently given. The German community have a similar institution, and the best feeling exists between the two nationalities. The Raffles Library and Museum (temporarily located in the premises of the Raffles School) are creditable and well kept institutions, the Museum having made very fair progress since its inception. The Library contains some 12,000 volumes, chiefly of standard modern literature, and includes the valuable philological collection of the late Mr. Logan.

visitors.

Singapore boasts three good hotels, the Hotel de l'Europe, Emmerson's, and the Hotel de la Paix, the latter being chiefly patronised by Dutch and other foreign The Press is represented by the Straits Times (daily), the Straits Intelligence published twice a week, a weekly issue of the Straits Times, and the Governmin' Gazette, published weekly.

The

Singapore is well off for Docks. The Tanjong Pagar Company's premises lie about a mile to the westward of the town, a fine wharf affording berthage for twenty vessels at one time with sufficient water alongside for vessels of the heaviest draught, and protected by a breakwater from the swell from the roads and from the strength of the tides. The business of the wharf is under the charge of an experienced super- intendent and assistants, and there is an abundance of labour, ensuring the speedy discharge and loading of vessels alongside, facilitated by the use of steam winches, cranes, &c. There are commodious godowas erected on the wharf for the storage of goods. Coal sheds capable of storing 50,300 tons of the mineral adjoin the godowns, while a small steam railway essentially aids the labour of unloading vessels. usual accompaniments are also to be found-two docks, one a graving dock 450 feet in length, a machine shop, hoiler and masting shear, &c. The New Harbour Dock Company's premises, situated about three miles further West, include two docks of 415 and 450 feet in length respectively, with sheds, workshops, &c., as at Tanjong Pagar. Both companies forward telegrams to and from the town free of charge. The "Ocean," "Glen," and other local steamer lines usually go alongside the Tanjong Pagar Wharf. The French mail steamers and Messrs. Jardine, Matheson and Co.'s vessels use the Borneo Company's Wharf at New Harbour, while the P. & O. steamers have a wharf of their own still further West at Teluk Blangah, three miles from town.

Communication with other Eastern ports and with Europe is kept up by the P. & O., Messageries, Austro-Hungarian Lloyds', Ocean, Rubattino, Castle, and Glen lines of steamers (with some other occasional visitors); by the Eastern and Australian line with Australia; by the Netherlands India line with Java, Timor, and the islands of the Archipelago; and by a Spanish line with the Philippines; all but the last named running to Hongkong.

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 daily rainfall tempers the heat so thoroughly that many sleep beneath blankets. Droughts, however, have been experienced of from one to five months. The island is not exempt from the animal pests which usually infest intra-tropical locations. Tigers are occasionally seen, and two or three deaths are reported annually from this cause; wild pigs and monkeys (both very destructive to gardens) inhabit much of the jungle surrounding the country residences; while the much dreaded cobra has been