THE MALAY PENINSULA

Evening Star, Issue 15343, 18 November 1913, Page 8

THE MALAY PENINSULA

AN INVERCARGILLITE'S IMPRESSIONS. CLUB LIFE AND TIGERS. FREEHOLD UNKNOWN. [Froji Our Own Correspondent.] INVERCARGILL, November 17. Your representative had an interesting chat with Mr Ernest wlare, an old Invercargili boy, who is seizing the opportunity offered by an 11 months' vacation to visit his relatives in this country and to renew acquaintances with tho scenes connected with the exploits of his childhood's days. Mr Clare is in the employ of the Imperial Government in the Federated Malay States, having been an officer in the Revenue Survey branch for the last 15 years, and stationed in the Negri Sembilian (9th State). His work consists in laying off for the Government blocks of land which are leafed as tin areas or rubber plantations. The tin subdivisions vary in area from 1 acre to 100 acres., while the blocks designed for the planting of -rubber trees contain anything from 50 to 10,000 acres. —Tin Mining.— From this little group of States in the narrow peninsula comes 70 per cent, of the world's tin. All the ore at. present being obtained is what ;s known as " stream tin, - ' and is won by processes somewhat similar to those, used in alluvial goldmining. The Chinese have control of this industry, and engage in sluicing, dredging, and. in a few cases, crushing operations. The tin, which in appearance resembles grains of black Mind, is caught, by "ripples" on long boxes, over which the water carries the debris and leaves the- heavier tin at the bottom. The ore is then shovelled into hags and exported from either Port Dickson or Singapore. So far there is very littlc lode .mining, as from the. swamps and rivers tho product is more- easily obtained. In time, however, the limestone terraces will be systematically worked and exploited. On the face. l ; of "some of the' hills rich pockets have been discovered, and from these the ore is brought by means of aerial tramways. The tin hoklings are all under lease'from the Government, and revert to the State when they are workd out. The Malay is the gentleman of the States, and leaves propositions which involve enterprise and risk to the Chinamen, whose business instincts are developed to an acute degree. Hence it- is that the Chinese- are to be found at the head of industries such as tin-mining nnd jungle-clearing, while, the Malays fill the positions of Government servants and such like, where a stylish outfit Ts included. The Government wage for laborers, is 50 cents a day, but for other jobs, such as jungle-clearing, 80 cents may be earned. —A Delectable Country.—

Tho capital city of the Federated Malay States is Kuala-Lumpor, situated some 170 miles from Singapore. From what Mr Clare says of it, it must be the last word in municipalities. The Government own and xun everything. The railways, electric teams, electric lighting, hotels, etc., are all conducted by the Government. Here there is a white'population of 2,000. In the Malay States there, is no such thine as freehold. All land belongs to the State. The. rubber plantations "are leased for a term of 999 years on a system similar to our l.i.p. For six years; until the trees become productive, the rental is 2s 4d (Idol) per year; after that the annual rental is 9s 4d (4-dol). The railways and State utilities are free of debt, and the company's annual surplus now amounts to a, handsome sum. Recently a Dreadnought, to cost two and a-half millions, was presented to the Imperial Naw. Almost on the Equator, the district'has a delightfully equable climate. The average temperature all tho year round is about 80deg in the day time and 75dec at nicht. There is an abundant rainfall all the yearround, and the narrowness of the peninsula precludes any extremes of heat. There life is free and easy. Men spend their leisure at the clubs," which abound everywhere, and indulge in sports and exercises. .European women acquire adiposity and become enervated. They have no work to do whatever. For the slightest tnfle a "boy" is summoned. Thev do not go m for tennis or golf, but 101 l around wishing they were back in England. Office hours are from 10 to 1 and 2 to 4 five house a day. Government officials rereive eight months' leave on full pay eveJ X fo "? y«ws, and are pensioned off B P ,? 5 -. -Pensions are computed at onemxtieth of the retiring salary per year for eve™ year's service. Most of" the high officials retire on £I,OOO a year Cadets coming from England start on a year, with an additional £75 a year "duay allowance," and earn increases proportionate to their a.bility and tervice The majority of cadets are ■drafted from those whose examination marks have not been quite high enough to entitle them to the much-sought-after'posi-tions in the Indian Civil Service, Native magistrates deal with petty cases, while big matters, such as murders, are heard before a Judge and two associates Trial py jury was abolished some time aco. as it was found unworkable. In every settlement are to be found Government "resthouses. They are comfortably-furnished and well-appointed bungalows, and are erected mainly for the convenience of Government officials on tour in connection with their duties. The tariff runs to about /s a day for civilians and 5s a day for officials. —Man-eaters.— Wild animals are plentiful. While lions *re non-existent, there are plenty of elephants, rmnoceroses, bears, and titrers. the latter are particularly troublesome, and. are a source of constant tenor to the natives. There is a belief that a "maneater" will not attack a white man—a superstition duo probably to the fact that tnere are many more natives to be picked up than there are white men. As soon as a native is carried off. a hue-and-cry is raised._ and the whole settlement turns out,, with an armament that would scare anything. Tf the man-eater be not located, and eats one or two more natives, the white population become uneasy in spite of their supposed immunity. 'Once the tiger kills an ox, the carcass is poisoned with strychnine, and a- watch is kept from a neighboring tree. This' ruse is invariably effective, and if the man-eater is not shot he is poisoned. The Government offer a reward of ?sdol for every tiger killed. The Sultan of Johore, however, who is the only independent ruler, preserves the tigers on • his State, which is immediately adjoining, and fines any of his subjects who might kill one. He invites his friends—the wealthy merchants from Singapore—to periedicat'tiger hunts nnd they have a. high old time. Those :hey do not kill are chased over the borier, where they prey upon the natives. —The Rubber Industry.— Rubber-growing has gone ahead by leaps v.nd bounds. Four years ago, before, the boom, much of the country wa.s covered by tangled jungle. Now it' is covered for miles with rubber plantations. To clear the jungle, cultivate, and , plant involves an outlay of about 25d0l (£3) an acre, and the. trees do not become productive for five or six years. " Tapping " keeps a vast number of hands employed, and a'great deal of skill k necessary to the success of this operation. The bark of tho tree is scratched with a. knife so that the tree itself is not penetrated. Into the scratch a. tube is inserted, and the rubber is drained off into a cuplike vessel. When the cup is full another scratch is made in a different place at the same level, and the process repeated. The next day the operation is performed another stage 'urther up, and so on, until after a long time tho whoi-i of tjhe trunk has been tapped. By (he time the top is rea-ched the old marks at the base have disappeared; and the "tapper" begins there again. The vessels are emptied into a large vat, and the contents treated in such a way as to hasten coagulation. The rubber is then subjected to machinery processes, and exported in slabs. The cost of production and marketing is equivalent to Is 6d a lb, and ae the selling price during the boom period stood at 12s 6d a lb

some immense profits were made. If the reported price (Is 6d a lb) is a correct one, planters will be having a bad run. Mr Clare starts this week on hie return to the Peninsula, where he is due next March. Many New Zea-landers are out there, and all eeem to be doing well. They have the knack of turning their hands to anything, and so generally fall on their feet.