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18/1903.1
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CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
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among the natives † 52,000- paying three dollars per head Un- **** doubtedly the largest unenumerated population religion} the is on the west coast and in the interior, ***** rally be described as It would therefore seem that the best way to severe practice.” A increase our revenue is by supplying profitable phrènay" called Maling employment for the native population of the Fred in Borneo from west coast and of theinterior, and by introducing not near coast, but among the more Chinese, and by improving the means of nlightened nativos the interior.** It was transport from the interior. These prints have fested in the year 1891, when a native of the been occupying the attention of the Chartered Sipilote_country in the interior of North Company since 1895, and a railway has been Borneo, had a dream during a severe illness, made, and is being continned to the interior, that provided certain ceremonies were observed, in all, a distance of 110 miles, and lately, the angels would descend and bestów wings upon Governor has asked for 16 miles of rail to their worshippers, with which they "could fly enable him to make two small branch "Ines, to heaven.
Railways without roads would be imperfect, The first prophet was a man named Tahang; and during the past year several bridle paths others soon appeared, and the phrensy rapidly have been made in connection with the railway, spread. The ceremonies appear to have and others have been traced, which will enablo chiefly, bonsisted of feastings and making us to come into touch with the natives in the in- presents to the propheta, who did not scruple terior. English people hare no conception what to threaten the villages with thunderbolts from it means to be without roads. To you the roads heaven, which would ill the people, and from your hou es appear as essential to your hurricanes, which would destroy their houses, life as the air you breathe, and you can hardly if Malingoote were not observed. During conceive existence in a country unprovided Malingdote, all fowls, cattle, pigs, and even with roads. I have lately been much interested dogs, were to be srificed and eaten or in reading a trip made by our Governor last destroyed; the padi crops were cut and the July, with four of his officers, into the interior. grain-turned into intoxicating liquor, and as The party were able to ride in some places, long as the food and drink lasted the natives and in others the walking was to easy over gave themselves up to the phrensy expecting the new paths that I note they travelled from their wings to grow when they would fly to the Kaningow to Fort Birch (25 miles) in one day, sky and live on the padi there. With regard and from Fort Biroh to Beaufort 35 miles in to the sky padi, the prophets asserted that it one day, I happened, in 1892, to travel over took only ten days to grow, and if out to day the same ground with two of the officers, and it would yield again to-morrow. The people we took eight days. When the path from were so eager to become angels that one man, Kaningow to Fort Birch is finished, and the probably under the influence of liquor, elimbed railway to Fort Birch is completed, which Mr. coconut tree and threw himself down, expecting West, the company's railway engineer, esti- the promised wings would transport him to the mates will take another twelve months, the sky, but he only broke s leg.. Another man traveller will be able to ride from Maningow to gave his wife to one of the prophets on the Fort Birch, and rail it through Beaufort to promise, that his wings would grow in seven Jesselton in one day. It is difficult to explain days. One of the consequences of observing what a difference this comparatively rapid com- the cérémonials enjoined by the prophets was munication will make in our relations with that the human body would be invulnerable, the natives or in the transport of produce and and after a feast a native, to prove his inval-merchandise, and also in the revenue, but it nerability, cut his own leg so badly as to will undoubtedly very greatly benefit them all. kever a sinew and was lamed for life. I am The natives already find they can get a higher glad to record the fact that one of the prophets price for jungle produce. game within the grasp of a West coast magis- rate who gave him two years. That was in
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In the latter year I went through the where the prophets had been at work, The natives had at the time of my visit re- sumed their ordinary vocations and treated the Malingcote as rather in the light of a joke. The special object of my visit in 1892 was to report on the best route for a road to the interior, the making of which would introduce the benefits of civilisation, and would prevent the repetition of such scenes as I have just described. In 1895 I made a footpath 33 miles long through the Penotal gorge, to the back of the coast-range, The natives assisted me and I paid them in cloth, a fathom of red or black cloth to each man, woman or child, at the end of each day's work. When they had stored up more cloth than they could use they requested money, and I paid their wages in bronze cents, one hundred to the dollar, and later they took their pay monthly in dollar notes, with which they bought goods at the shops established by traders who gladly took advantage of the new road to push their trade into the interior. When I first went to the interior the price of rattan was one dollar a pioul, paid for in goods, and the trader after transporting the rattan to Labuan received 7 dole. Am enormous difference, but the cost of the transport of the rattan was so the trader only obtained a fair profit. rader paid no money-money was un- thể interior up to 1895, trade was led on bys barter. To-day well supplied are well supported by the natives at Fort Birch
so at Kaningan. 12 rat
n the estimates of orner would gather that the derived from the east coast,
he greatest
Albet revenue is derived e it may be ankly little attention
11901
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önferred on Labuan, and the
abuan and Borneo, by
the olfartered
Labuan
harbour and a these has, however the establishment of Labuan by the Easte Сотрацу.
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Engli
by the English Crown to the chartere
The administration of Lab
pany, in 1990. The revenue in t 20,000 dola, last year it was 60,000 dols. Thi increase is entirely due to the Incred brought about by the policy of the company in offering
i gs to the Telegraph Would lay a cable vid pore and i'ongkong,
$
site and bulld. ided they an, between Singa
immediately became a place of graat strategio The cable was laid in 1894, and North Borneo importance, and has since bash periodically visited by English men-of-we phic communication thus established with the The falegra- world has enabled the ocal companies of Tabua and Borneo to arrange to supply bunker passing steamers, and I see by our loos! the North Borneo Herald, that în October 2 as year, eleven large steamers--bound to New I to Natal, to Madagascar in the west, to Cale in the north, and to Saigon and Hongkong in the east-called" at Labuan for bunker coal. Homeward bound steamers also call for Labuan, notably the Olen line, and I understand that other lines are willing to burn 1 coal provided they ate guaranteed a sumbient quantity. The output at present 50,000 tons a year, but it can be ingreased, ."--
About
brought to our very door by reason of the The supply of world bound, shipping" thus Labuan and Borneo coal may be increased by the opening of other coaldelds
pe shortly.
export of North Borneo products. on the mainland, and also by the increasing
timber, tobacco, and sago.
The products we'export on a large scale are suffered in value owing to the want locally.
Our sagonas
be
ready
good supply of fresh water for washing 1 The railway from Jesselton to the interior short branch lines 16 miles in length,
pose. The present railway, together "with passes through valuable timber forests. The the Governor lately obtained the appro outting down and transport of the timber will the Court" will enable the raw sago t afford a congenial employment to the Malays. brought up from the low-lying sago plantat The natives of the far interior will be able to and cleaned in one of the mountain get the heavier jungle produce transported to near the main life. The kago mills have the coast by the railway, which will also trans- been erected at Beaufort by influential Chinese, port the sago owned by the natives, and the introduced from Singapore by our Governor, tapioca lately planted by Chinese along the Mr. Birch. The merchants have also put up line. Incited thereto by the making of the tapioos mills and have arranged to plant 500 railway, a tobacco estate is now being opened acres of tapioca a year until 5,000 acres have near Fort Birch, in the interior. And shou'd been planted. They are also planting cocoa- the estate prove a success, there is a large area nuts on the same land to be a permanent crop of flat land available for tobacco planting. All after the tapioca has been dug up." * * these employments require Chiness and Malay To sum up the question of transport, I may labour, and instead of being the neglected side of the country the west coast promises to be in a very prosperous condition before long.
Telegraph. Another matter that has received attention is telegraphic communication. We have about 500 miles of telegraph line erected by the chartered company, extending from Labuan avross the territory. to Sandakan, and to: Darrel Bay and along the west coast to Jesselton and Kudat, and from all these points we can communicate with London and the world through the English cable at Labuan.
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remark we are still handicapped by the want of a regular line of steamers to Europe, which has caused our foreign transport to be very costly, and in some cases has prohibited ports, but we now see reason for expecting that we shall shortly have homeward bound steamers calling at our new port Jesselton, in Gaya Bay, to carry away sago, tapioda, to timber, and probably coal besides the usual jungle produce, "such "as rattaus, rubber, and for this, when brought, «bou thanks will be due to the policy of progress initiated by and pushed by Mr. Cowie, the man- aging director of the chartered compan Personally, a Commissioner of Lands, I have always advocated have been a strong supporter of the railway From the frit I
policy, and I made feasibility of constr difoult Padas villoy to the my report was reliable is confirmed by the foot that the railway is now proposed termi
Fort
will be
This means great progress. Up to the last few years, our timber merchants were sorely handicapped by the want of telegraphic com munication. They could out timber, but they could not readily arrange a sale, or engage vessels to carry the timber when sold. To-day, the telegraph line is largely used by our timber merchants, who are in daily communication| with China and with Manila and Singapore and we hope soon to hear of shipments of timber, to other places. One branel of our timber trade is shipbuilding, Manila has been a good market for barges and steam launches built by European firms at Sandakan, and the Chinese have established at Sandakan and at 100 Kudat a boat-building trade which the ar
$11000
I should like to
liláta on the advantag
ingrcom
gress
8-rapor on the
tiway up
Birch
the
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