Directory_and_Chronicle_1941 — Page 1520

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BRITISH NORTH BORNEO

be noted elephants, rhinoceros, deer of three kinds, wild cattle, proboscis mon- key, orang-utan, pig, bears, pythons and crocodiles. Of game birds there are a few wild duck, many varieties of wild pigeon, doves, snipe and quail.

Sandakan, the capital, has a magnificent harbour and is the chief place of trade. Jesselton, on the West Coast, is developing, and several of the Govern- ment Departments are located there. It is also one of the termini of the State Railway. The imports include cloth, rice, hardware, manufactured goods of all kinds, Chinese tobacco, Chinese coarse crockery, matches, machinery, biscuits, oil, sugar, etc. The chief exports are rubber, copra, timber, dried and salt fish, native tobacco, rattans, hemp, edible birds'-nests, seed pearls, bêche de mer, sharks' fins, Borneo crystalline camphor tortoise-shell, beeswax, and other natural products, which are brought in from the interior, the neighbouring Sulu Archipelago, etc.

Revenue in North Borneo amounted to £408,947 in 1939 as compared with £379,101 in 1938. Expenditure in North Borneo was £257,285 in 1939 (including £33,216 for depreciation, railway renewals, contingencies, etc.), as compared with £247,288 in 1938.

Timber and Rubber are now the largest industries in the country, having displaced tobacco from the premier place; and coconut cultivation is one of the features of the country, in which there are large areas still to be exploited. Cutch, which is extracted from mangrove bark, is being exported in considerable quantities. There are now many companies operating in North Borneo, the majority being engaged in rubber growing. 131,380 acres are under rubber cultivation. The population of the town of Sandakan, the capital of the territory, according to the 1931 census, was 13,286 (as compared with 11,936 in 1921), composed of Europeans 111, Chinese 11,030, Javanese 562, Indians 193, Japanese 39, Malays 176, Philippine Islanders 248, natives of Borneo 1,356 and others 111. The North Borneo State Railway has a total mileage of 127 miles. The main line runs for 56 miles through flat country to Beaufort. From Beau- fort to Tenom it runs through 30 miles of the Padas Gorge, noted for its beau- tiful scenery; and thence on through undulating country to Melalap, the pre- sent terminus. A branch line runs from Beaufort to the small port of Weston, a distance of about 20 miles. The railway is playing an important part in the development of the West Coast. Already there are 14 large rubber estates and numerous small holdings served by it, whilst the acreage under paid, sago and coconuts is steadily increasing. Sandakan is distant about 1,000 miles from Singapore, 1,200 miles from Hongkong, and 660 miles from Manila. It became connected telegraphically with Labuan on the 7th May, 1897, and was thus placed in communication with Europe, etc. There are now nine wireless in- stallations in the country-at Jesselton, Sandakan, Kudat, Tawau and Lahad Datu. The State Bank of North Borneo was established in 1921 with its head office at Sandakan and an agency at Jesselton. A lighthouse has been establi- shed at Batu Tinagat, near Tawau, and at Tanjong Trang, near Tambisan Island, on the East Cosst. Unattended lights have been placed on Tanganac Island, near Sandakan, Kalampunian Island, North Point, Kudat, and Arm- strong Reef, near Lahad Datu.

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The territory of North Borneo was acquired from the Sultans of Brunei and Sulu by cession for small annual payments in 1877, and the British North Borneo Company was incorporated by Royal Charter on the 1st November, 1881. The area of the territory is about 29,347 square miles, and the population, as ascertained by the census of 1931, was 270,223, as compared with 257,804 in 1921. This total included 340 Europeans, 205,218 natives of Borneo, 47,799 Chinese, and 11,494 natives of the Malay Archipelago. The Company's authorised capi- tal is £2,000,000. A dividend of 3 per cent was declared for 1916, 4 per cent for 1917, 4 per cent for 1918, 5 per cent for 1919, 3 per cent for 1920, 3 per cent for 1921, 3 per cent for 1922, 2 per cent for 1923, 11 per cent for 1928, 2 per cent for 1936 and 4 per cent for 1937,1938 and 1939. In May, 1888, a British Protectorate was established.