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The shipping lists give as sea-going craft about 400 ships belonging to various places in Java and Appendix No. 9. the islands, varying from "barks" of 2,000 tons to "praws" of 20 tons.

(c.) It is doubtful whether all the Government and official boats are represented in the official list, but the exact additional number it is difficult to reckon.

(f) There are the armed ships of independent Princes, which are stated to be "considerable but not accurately known."

In 1876 the Sultan of Ternate equipped fifty well-armed karrakoras, carrying 800 men, against Hassan, "which proves that the Law of 1861 against independent expeditions without the sanction of the Governor-General, has not greatly diminished the available ships."

The Dutch restrict the importation of arms and ammunition, and allow ships to go armed only by special license, as when fishing, &c., but the Archipelago was until quite recently the stronghold of sea-rovers; open piracy was only suppressed in 1876, and solitary ships have been seen and chased even later in the western seas; the east coast of Borneo is not yet absolutely free from piratical native craft.

There is, therefore, an element to be reckoned on by one or both parties to a contest in these seas, the armed vessels belonging to no particular State, which might join or oppose the principal combatants as soon as the police of the seas was relaxed.

Of the distribution of the Dutch Indian navy the latest positions of ships with permanent stations will be given in detail, in the account of the various ports, but the general principles may be here stated.

It is the same as that of the army; certain ships in the outer islands have fixed posts, the great reserve is maintained in Java, and the out-stations are reinforced with men and ships as necessity arises. The ships having permanent stations are the smaller ships; the armed boats, river and sea steamers of the Government marine.

With the exception of the three guard-ships at Oleh-leh, Batavia, and Soerabaia, the whole of the military marine, and the auxiliary squadron may be considered the reserve available for general service; this, in fact, corresponds to the garrison battalions and the field army of the land forces.

The naval force employed in some recent expeditions will give an idea of the available powers of the Java navy.

In 1846-48-49, there were three expeditions against Bali with the following forces:—

First; ten war vessels, viz., one frigate, two steamers, four schooner brigs, and three schooners of

the military marine;

One schooner and twelve cruizers of the Government marine;

Besides transports and six "majangs" to assist the landings.

More than forty sail.

Second; eight war vessels, viz., four steamers, one schooner brig, and three schooners; one schooner and ten cruizers of Government marine; besides transport and landing vessels.

Third;

seventeen war vessels, viz., three frigates, one corvette, seven steamers, six schooner brigs; and one schooner and twelve cruizers of Government marine, twenty-six hired transports, and thirty- four tenders for disembarkations.

1859, Expedition against Boni, twelve war vessels, viz., nine steamers, three schooner brigs, and six schooners, Government marine; twenty-four transports and tenders.

We remark the gradual increase of steamers, and the necessity of auxiliary ships for landing on the shelving coast.

CC

A critic of these expeditions considers the number of war vessels too great, as the ships could nowhere get near enough to the coast to use their guns, and the blockade of a coast by vessels which must lie far off is of little avail against country boats which can run close along the shore.”

The largest force employed in the Achin Expedition was in 1873, when there were :—-

Military marine: eighteen steamers and nine steam-launches. Government marine: five steamers and two cruizers.

The largest force of hired ships, but not at the same time as above, was twenty-one ships, of which eighteen were steamers.

The increase of steamers is very marked, and the introduction of steam-launches is a new feature. It will be seen from the above that the available power of the Dutch East Indian navy without any home or external assistance, is by no means to be despised.

It is, of course, exceedingly difficult to generalize from a series of figures derived from a variety of sources, and which do not absolutely agree among themselves; for instance, we have given from one authority the total of the army as 35,000 men, the navy as 5,000, while the Budget of 1880 gives about 25,000 and 3,000 combatants, showing that the numbers have been reckoned upon very different bases, the larger probably including several of the classes enumerated above as auxiliaries to the army and navy, but we shall endeavour to make a rough estimate of the force which the Dutch East Indian Government could probably bring to bear, supposing there were at the moment no formidable internal rebellions, and that the command of the sea was not lost completely.

It would appear that if a great effort were made, the Dutch East Indian Government would be able to dispose of 50,000 men, about two-fifths of these Europeans; that this force would be distributed as follows: from 10,000 to 15,000 in the exterior islands, of these by far the larger proportion natives; in Java from 40,000 to 35,000 men, 10,000 of these a field army, about half Europeans and half natives, specially prepared to reinforce any point assailed in the outer islands, and 25,000 to 30,000 left for home defence, largely composed of natives, but with a considerable leaven of regular Europeans and European volunteers.

Therefore any permanent occupation of any point in the outer islands must expect ere long to encounter an attack from 10,000 to 12,000 men: an invasion of Java must expect to overcome the resistance of an army, allowing for detachments of from 25,000 to 30,000 men, almost entirely armed with Beaumont rifles, and the artillery possessing modern rifled guns besides a few mitrailleuses.

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NETHERLANDS.

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