ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SINGAPORE
^ ONE HUNDRED YEARS
OF SINGAPORE
BEING SOME ACCOUNT OF THE CAPITAL OF THE
STRAITS SETTLEMENTS FROM ITS FOUNDATION
BY SIR STAMFORD RAFFLES ON THE 6th
FEBRUARY 1819 TO THE 6th FEBRUARY 1919
GENERAL EDITORS
WALTER MAKEPEACE, FJ.I.
EDITOR OF THE "SINGAPORE FREE PRESS"
DR. GILBERT E. BROOKE, M.A.
PORT HEALTH OFFICER AT SINGAPORE
ROLAND ST. J. BRADDELL, B.A.
ADVOCATE AND SOLICITOR OF THE SUPREME COURT,
STRAITS SETTLEMENTS
VOL. II
WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS
LONDON
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W.
1921
All Rights Reserved
CONTENTS
VOL. II
CHAPTER XII
SINGAPORE HARBOUR
PAGE
The Tanjong Pagar Dock Company, by Sir John Rumney
Nicholson, Kt., C.M.G., formerly Chairman . . i
Sir John Nicholson, Kt., C.M.G 19
CHAPTER XIII
THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
Commerce and Currency, by C. W. Darbishire, formerly
Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Member of
the Legislative Council . . . . . .22
Opium, Liquor, Farms, and the Monopoly, by the late
J. R. Brooke 55
The Opium Commission ....... 58
Botanic Gardens and Economic Notes, by Dr. Gilbert
E. Brooke ........ 63
Mr. Henry Nicholas Ridley, C.M.G., F.R.S. ... 78
Planting in Singapore, by H. Price .... 79
Growth of the Rubber Trade, by H. Price ... 84
Rubber and Rubber Planting, by H. Price ... 88
Early Planting Days, by Walter Fox, formerly Super-
intendent Forests and Gardens, Penang ... 91
The Mineral Oil Trade ...... 97
CHAPTER XIV
THE POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
By T. A. Melville, of the Straits Settlements Post Office . 102
CHAPTER XV
THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
By Walter Makepeace
The Telegraph Co. — Oriental Telephone and Electric
Co. — ^The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation
Co., Ltd. — Banking — The Commercial Firms . . 166
vi CONTENTS
CHAPTER XVI
RELIGIOUS SINGAPORE
By the Rev. W. Murray, M.A.
PAGE
Churches and Missions — The Church of England in
Singapore — The Catholic Church — The French Mis-
sion— ThePortuguese Mission — The Armenian Church
— Presbyterianism in Singapore — The Methodist
Episcopal Church and Mission — Bethesda — The
Jewish Synagogue — The Chinese Gospel House . 235
CHAPTER XVII
INSTITUTIONS AND CLUBS
By Walter Makepeace
The Press — Literature — Journalism — " Straits Pro-
duce " — The Press of the Domiciled Community —
The Straits Settlements Association — The Straits
Philosophical Society — St. Andrew's Society — The
British and Foreign Bible Society — The Boustead
Institute— The Y.M.C.A.— The Y.W.C.A.— The Singa-
pore Club — The Association of Engineers — The
Merchant Service Guild — Miscellaneous Associa-
tions— The Swimming Club — Singapore Yacht Clubs
— Photographic Society ...... 278
CHAPTER XVIII
A CENTURY OF SPORT
Introduction — Cricket — Lawn Tennis — Rugby Foot-
ball — Association Football — Hockey — Lawn
Bowls — Polo — The Ladies' Lawn Tennis Club — The
Singapore Golf Club — Racing — Daddy Abrams's
Last Race — Automobilism — The Singapore Recrea-
tion Club — Shikar (by G. P. Owen) .... 320
CHAPTER XIX
AMATEUR THEATRICALS AND MUSIC 381
CONTENTS vii
CHAPTER XX
CONCERNING KNOWN PERSONS
By Walter Makepeace
PAOB
The Reads — The Braddell Family — The Maxwells — The
Cranes — The Dunmans — The d'Almeidas — The Shel-
FORDS ^ThE KeRS and THE KeRRS ThE GeORGES
The Scrymgeours — The Ormistons — Sir John Ander-
son— Charles Burton Buckley — John Fraser —
Charles Phillips — Miss Sophia Cooke — Sir Henry
McCallum — Manasseh Meyer — K. B. S. Robertson . 416
CHAPTER XXI
THE MERRY PAST
The Good Old Days, by Roland St. J. Braddell . . 465
Personal Recollections, by Henry Barnaby Leicester . 525
Awakening Old Memories, by J. H. Drysdale . . 538
A Mid-Century Diary, by Mrs. G. P. Owen . . . 542
CHAPTER XXII
Singapore's future
By Alexander W. Still, F.J. I., Editor of the Straits Times . 560
CHAPTER XXIII
THE centenary DAY AND ITS CELEBRATION
By Dr. Gilbert E. Brooke ...... 570
Chronology of Singapore . . . .587
Index . . . . . . . .611
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
VOL. II
SIR ARTHUR YOUNG UNVEILING THE MEMORIAL TABLET ON
SIR STAMFORD RAFFLES's STATUE, CENTENARY DAY, I919
Frontispiece
FACING PAGE
STANLEY LANE, THE PRESENT CHAIRMAN, SINGAPORE HARBOUR
BOARD .....
OLD TRANSPORT OF CARGO TO TOWN
PRESENT TRANSPORT OF CARGO TO TOWN
THE king's dock ....
SITE OF THE PRESENT EMPIRE DOCK .
SIR JOHN RUMNEY NICHOLSON, C.M.G.
HON. MR. C, W. DARBISHIRE
THE OPIUM COMMISSION
DR. NATHANIEL WALLICH, M.D., PH.D. .
HENRY NICHOLAS RIDLEY, C.M.G., F.R.S.
THE OLD POST OFFICE ACROSS THE RIVER
THEIR MAJESTIES KING GEORGE V AND QUEEN MARY
PRESENT POST OFFICE IN I9OI
NOEL TROTTER .....
MESSRS. ADAMSON, GILFILLAN, AND WOOD
THOMAS SCOTT .....
ALEXANDER LAURIE JOHNSTON .
WALTER MANSFIELD ....
GEORGE MANSFIELD ....
H. M. SIMONS .....
DEACON-CONVENER JACKSON MILLAR .
HUGH SYME
R. KER ......
W. KER ......
J. GRAHAM .....
ST. Andrew's cathedral, showing the statue
FORD raffles ON ITS ORIGINAL SITE
bishop WILSON OF CALCUTTA
yiii
PASSING THE
OF SIR STAM
6
10
10
14
16
20
22
56
64
78
114
124
162
180
196
200
206
206
212
214
228
228
228
228
238
240
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ix
PACING PAGE
OLD PORTUGUESE CHURCH ....
PRESENT PORTUGUESE CHURCH OF ST. JOSEPH
BISHOP CASTRO OF MACAO ....
REV. DR. SHELLABEAR ....
OLD BETHESDA ......
PRINSEP STREET CHURCH ....
256
256
258
268
272
272
JOHN CAMERON, EDITOR OF THE " STRAITS TIMES " 186I-7 282
ALEXANDER WILLIAM STILL, PRESENT EDITOR OF THE
" STRAITS TIMES " 282
ARNOT REID ......... 29O
Caricature by R. W, Braddell.
WILLIAM GRAEME ST. CLAIR, EDITOR " SINGAPORE FREE
PRESS " 1887-I916 ....... 292
SAMPLES OF GENUINE STRAITS PRODUCE (sONG ONG SIANG AND
DR. LIM BOON KENG) 294
*' I won't resign ! ! ! " (thomas shelford, m.l.c.) . . 294
OUR JOLLY OLD OCTOPUS (jOHN FRASER) .... 294
straits philosophical society dinner .... 302
the second s.c.c. pavilion ...... 322
the third s.c.c. pavilion ...... $22
(sir) e. w. birch ; a. h. capper ..... 326
Caricatures by R. W. BraddeU.
THE S.C.C. CRICKET XI, I902 ...... 328
THE S.C.C. LAWN TENNIS TOURNAMENT, 1 894 . . . 33O
R. W. BRADDELL AND F. M. ELLIOT, PROFESSION PAIRS,
1893-6, I9OI, AND 1904 332
Caricatures by R. W. Braddell.
THE FIRST S.C.C. TEAM TO WIN THE FOOTBALL SHIELD . 334
ladies' LAWN TENNIS CLUB AS ORIGINALLY LAID OUT . 336
THE FOUNDER OF GOLF IN SINGAPORE (SIR JOHN GOLDNEY) 338
Caricature by R. W. Braddell.
"MR. CURPEJEE " (j. PATON KER) 35O
Caricature by R. W. Braddell.
H. ABRAMS ......... 360
MR. C. B. BUCKLEY IN HIS BENZ, THE FIRST CAR IMPORTED INTO
SINGAPORE ........ 364
MRS. DARE (MRS. G. P. OWEN) WITH MR. DARE IN S.I . 364
G. P. OWEN WITH HIS FIRST TIGER ..... 368
J. C. D. JONES ("PANJANG"), A. Y. GAHAGAN, J. M. FABRIS 386
Caricatures by R. W. Braddell.
MRS. SALZMANN . ........ 388
MRS. MELVILLE SIMONS . . . . . . . 38^
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
GROUP FROM "lOLANTHE," 1889
" THREE LITTLE MAIDS FROM SCHOOL," " THE MIKADO," 1893
ROBERT DUNMAN
G. T. BATTY
MR. AND MRS. G. P. OWEN IN " THE GRAND DUKE," 1889
W. DUNMAN AND E. E. SYKES .
"THE YEOMEN OF THE GUARD," I903
THE STAGE OF THE VICTORIA THEATRE SET FOR THE FIRST
ACT OF " here's fun "
EDWARD SALZMANN .
W. H. READ, C.M.G. .
R. B. READ
FOUR GENERATIONS OF THE BRADDELL FAMILY
FOUR GENERATIONS OF THE MAXWELL FAMILY
THOMAS DUNMAN
DR. JOSE DALMEIDA .
SIR JOHN ANDERSON .
CHARLES BURTON BUCKLEY
JOHN ERASER .
MISS SOPHIA COOKE .
MANASSEH MEYER, J. P.
GOVERNOR EUTTERWORTH .
WHITE HOUSE, DALVEY ROAD
SINGAPORE IN THE 'FORTIES
SINGAPORE IN THE 'FIFTIES
COLLYER QUAY IN THE 'EIGHTIES
RAFFLES SQUARE
flint's buildings
cavenagh bridge
orchard road police station, 1880
messrs. a. l. johnston's premises in the 'seventies
the s.v.a. drill hall, backs of the post office. singapore
club, and johnston's pier
h.h. sultan abubakar of johore, g. c.m.g,, k. c.s.i.
Vanity Fair Cartoon by R. W. Braddell.
THE ESPLANADE BEFORE THE RIVER RECLAMATION
SINGAPORE, 1846 ......
BUGIS BOAT WITH LADDER MASTS
LARGE KOLEH ROUNDING FLAG BOAT, SINGAPORE REGATTA
ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF
SINGAPORE
CHAPTER XII
SINGAPORE HARBOUR
THE TANJONG PAGAR DOCK COMPANY
By Sir John Rumney Nicholson, Kt., C.M.G., formerly
Chairman
On the nth September 1863 a meeting was held in
Singapore, at which the following were present : Messrs.
M. F. Davidson, Chairman ; C. H. Harrison, C. H. H.
Wilsone, Tan Kim Ching, J. K. Smith, Thos. Scott,
S. Gilfillan, Syed Abdullah, Pochajee Pestonjee, Wei
Kow, G. H. Brown, C. Puttfarcken, G. Cramer, Th.
Wagner, C. P. Lalla, J. Watson, Geo. Lyon, J. Cameron,
R. Riley, J. Fisher, and Ong Kew Ho.
On these gentlemen promising to take up shares in
a company to provide facilities for ship-repairing, Mr.
Thomas Scott proposed and Mr. S. Gilfillan seconded :
" That the support the scheme has met with from the
number of shares applied for warrants expense being
incurred for plans and estimates for the undertaking."
Plans and estimates were to be called for by adver-
tisement in the newspapers for a patent slip and
graving dock at Tanjong Pagar.
A Committee was appointed, with Mr. Thomas Scott
as Secretary, to carry out the necessary arrangements
and draw up a prospectus.
2 SINGAPORE HARBOUR
The Committee met on the 14th September, and
resolved that the patent shp be not undertaken, but
that a graving dock be constructed on Messrs. Guthrie's
land of the following dimensions : 550 feet in length,
65 feet width of entrance, 23 feet depth of water on the
sill. This was a very large dock in those days, and on
the advice of Messrs. John Baxter, John Clunis, J. L.
Kirby, and E. M. Smith the Committee reduced the
width to 51 feet and the depth to 20 feet, and decided
that the dock be built of wood, with a granite entrance,
and be divided by gates in the middle. At a subsequent
meeting of the Committee it was resolved that Mr.
George Lyon be engaged to carry out the work at a
remuneration of $200 per month, and Messrs. Baxter
and Turnbull be asked to advise. A proposal was put
forward by Mr. Lyon that wharves be built so as to
combine the business of ship-repairers and wharfingers.
Friends in England were to be advised of what was
being done, with a view to their taking an interest in
the undertaking. Plans and estimates were to be sent
to England, the Committee expressing the opinion that
Mr. Lyon's judgment, checked by Messrs. Turnbull and
Baxter, was quite equal to that of any person from
England. We have here the expression of an opinion,
which it is feared lasted to the end of the Company,
that Singapore could learn nothing from England. A
plan of a dock was received from London in June 1864,
and submitted by Colonel Collyer.
On the 29th September 1864 " The Tanjong Pagar
Dock Company, Limited," was registered, with a capital
of $300,000.
Work on the building of a retaining wall and of a
piled wharf had been carried on for some time, but as
the wall had fallen in and other troubles had arisen in
the construction, it was decided to obtain an engineer
from England. Mr. W. J. Du Port was engaged, and
arrived in September 1865, Mr. Lyon resigning, as he
declined to act under Mr. Du Port.
New plans for a dock 450 feet long, 6s feet width of
VICTORIA DOCK 3
entrance, and 20 feet depth of water on the sill were
got out and work commenced. This dock was formally-
opened, and named the " Victoria Dock," by His Excel-
lency the Governor, Sir Harry Ord, K.C.B., on the
17th October 1868, when the Colonial steamers Peiho
and Rainbow were docked together.
For some time previous to this ship-repairing had
been carried out, the ship Moneka, in June 1865, being
the first, and the bill for $200 was remitted. George
Hayes, the first shipwright from England, arrived in
March 1 866. About this time an endeavour to purchase
or to come to an agreement of amalgamation with the
Patent Slipway and Dock Company was made, but
without success.
At the end of 1866 a wharf 1,440 feet long had been
almost completed, and during that year thirty-three
steamers and twenty-eight sailing ships had been berthed
alongside it. The growth of traffic to town had so
increased that the Directors proposed to construct a
road on the same site that Anson Road now runs on,
and pave it with granite to carry steam traction engines,
another proposal being to run a railway round Malay
Point.
Although the undertaking seemed on the fair way to
success, there was considerable difficulty in raising the
money to complete the dock. An issue of debentures
at 10 per cent, in 1868 had not been readily taken up.
Mr. E. M. Smith took charge of the Company's business
as Manager and Secretary on the ist November 1867,
retiring from the service on the 30th June 1881.
In February 1870 we have the first mention of con-
gested godowns, and it is interesting to note the amount
of traffic which passed over the wharves in that year :
coal inward, 24,164 tons ; coal outward, 37,66y tons ;
total, 61,831 tons. General cargo inward, 54,485 tons ;
general cargo outward, 28,485 tons ; total, 82,970 tons.
It was estimated that about 75,000 tons of cargo was
for the town, and the balance for transhipment at the
wharves.
4 SINGAPORE HARBOUR
In June 1870 the Bon- Accord Dock was leased by the
Company, in conjunction with the Patent SHp and Dock
Company, from Messrs. Buyers and Robb.
The competition of the Patent SHp & Dock Company
and the Bon-Accord Dock appears to have been felt, as
we find the Chairman stating, in his report in August
1 87 1, " that the dock has not proved remunerative.
There has been very little business offering as compared
with former years, and your Directors are not sanguine
of large returns from this part of the works. The
employment of steamers in place of sailing vessels, or
iron in lieu of wood, must render docking all over the
East less profitable than in former years."
From the Directors' minutes it appears that a railway
company was being promoted in Singapore, as an entry
in May 1871 states that a petition signed is to be sent
in by the Directors praying the Legislative Council to
give favourable consideration of the Railway Company's
claim. The Directors seem to have recognised the value
of a railway, as in the following year they decided to
lay a railway, 4 feet 8 J inch gauge, behind the wharves.
This railway was laid and worked by horses, but did not
appear to be a success owing to sickness amongst the
horses. In carrying out the new reconstruction works
this old railway was come across.
In the following August, 1872, however, the Chairman
was able to announce a dividend at the rate of 12 per
cent, per annum, which indicated the increasing pros-
perity of the undertaking. No doubt the opening of
the Suez Canal was having a beneficial result to the
Company.
We have an entry in the minute book on the
26th October 1873, which sounds somewhat mediaeval:
" The wat chmen were to be increased, and armed at night
with cutlasses and rattles." We also note that it was
considered dangerous to send goods to town by Chinese
boats. " Watchmen were to be given an occasional half-
holiday for diligent and good service." It is interesting
to note prices then : Ballow timber, cut into planks ,
SERIOUS FIRE AT TANJONG PAGAR 5
38 cents per cubic foot, and coke from the gas-works,
$6 per ton delivered.
On the 30th June 1874 a serious accident to a vessel
in the dock occurred. The ship England fell over, and
was considerably damaged, so much so that she
was purchased by the Company. She was afterwards
repaired and sold.
Business seems to have increased in the Dock Depart-
ment to such an extent that in July 1874 the Board
recommended the construction of another dock, and an
engineer, Mr. Parkes, came out from England to deter-
mine its site and design, Mr. Jackson being engaged as
the Resident Engineer. The funds of the Company now
allowed the commencement of a policy which the
Directors consistently carried out : the purchase of
adjoining lands. Duxton and Spottiswoode estates
were bought.
Passenger traffic to town must have considerably
increased, as in May 1875 the Directors agreed to allow
a Mr. Kugelmann to erect a resting-room on the
premises, and run a service of omnibuses to town
every fifteen minutes.
A notable event occurred on the 13th April 1877,
when a fire broke out in the upper storey of the black-
smiths' lines, and rapidly spread through other coolie
lines to the coal sheds, which were in a few minutes
ablaze. The Government fire-engine and a large number
of volunteers were soon on the spot, together with
soldiers and sailors from the men-of-war in harbour.
Their task seems to have been an arduous one, as the
fire was not got under control until the 23rd April,
when practically the whole of the coal not removed
was burnt or damaged. Up to this time most of the
coal sheds were attap-roofed, and it would be difficult
to confine the fire within limits. There would be
another difficulty in supplying the fire-engine boilers
with fresh water, as up to this time the request of the
Directors that the property should be connected to the
town water supply had been refused. The fire pro-
6 SINGAPORE HARBOtTR
bably hastened a change of opinion in the City Fathei^^
as the connection was made a- few months afterwards.
The Company's loss in buildings and expenses in
extinguishing the fire amounted to $53,209. The
Insurance Companies' loss must have been a heavy
one.
The purchase of the Mount Palmer lands was com-
pleted in 1877, and in the following year the top of
Mount Palmer was handed over to Government for a
battery in consideration for which and the purchase
by the Company of a right of way through Mr. Guthrie's
property the Government agreed to construct a road
from Collyer Quay to the docks, now known as Robinson
and Anson Roads.
The number of men employed daily at the end of
1878 was 2,450.
On the I St May 1879 His Excellency the Adminis-
trator of the Government, Sir Archibald Edward Anson,
R.A., K.C.M.G., before the Directors and a large number
of guests, opened the New Dock, which had been com-
menced in September 1876, naming it the " Albert
Dock," the Government yacht Pluto and the Company's
tug Sunda entering the dock. This dock, which is
496 feet long, 59 feet width of entrance, with 21 feet
depth of water on the sill, was not completed without
trouble. When the dam was removed it was found
that a drain under the sill connecting the body of the
dock with the pumping sump for the purpose of keeping
the dock dry during construction had not been properly
filled in, thus allowing the sea to flow into the dock.
After various attempts to close it had proved failures,
the dam had to be reconstructed, and the drain was then
effectively closed.
The question of lighting the wharves and docks had
often been considered by the Board, and various methods
proposed and experimented with. A limelight appara-
tus had been tried, afterwards purchased by Mr. C. B.
Buckley. Electric light was first installed in the work-
shops in 1878.
•a. 6T
STANI^EY I,ANE
The Present Chairman, Singapore Harbour Board.
RIVAL DOCK COMPANIES 7
Keen competition existed between the Tanjong
Pagar Dock Company and the New Harbour Dock
Company as regards ship-repairing, although the com-
panies worked amicably together in many ways, being
joint owners of tugs and other interests. An agree-
ment, known as the " Joint Purse Agreement," was
made between the two companies, and came into
operation on the ist July 1881, whereby the two com-
panies received a fixed percentage on the profits of
their dock work.
In 1 88 1 the Directors considered the dredging out
of the lagoon behind the wharves (site of Empire Dock)
and making a canal to town, the existing coal-sheds
to be used as godowns.
In 1 88 1 also a proposal was put forward by the
large shareholders in England that they should be
represented by a Board in London. This matured in
1883, when a number of gentlemen, who had when in
Singapore been directors, were appointed as the " Lon-
don Consulting Committee." With the view of develop-
ing the Company's property, the Engineer-in-Chief to
the Chinese Government, Mr. D. M. Henderson, was
asked in 1882 to advise, but as he was unable to visit
Singapore, it was decided to get a competent engineer
from England to report. Mr. Du Port, who was asked,
not being able to visit Singapore, Captain McCallum
(now Sir Henry) made certain recommendations for a
new dock and wharf extension to the eastward, also
the deepening of the Victoria Dock.
In 1 884, the Municipality having raised the assessment
on the Company's property, the matter was taken to
the Courts, and settled by the Appeal Court upholding
the Chief Justice's decision in favour of the Company.
In December of that year application was made to
the Board for the storage of Japanese coal at the
wharves. This was at first refused, but afterwards
granted somewhat tardily, and with many restrictions.
The Board, believing Japanese coal to be very liable to
spontaneous combustion, their cautious action can very
II — 2
8 SINGAPORE HARBOUR
well be understood with the memory of the great fire
before them.
In April 1885 the London Consulting Committee
advised the Board that the time had arrived when a
large dock, capable of taking in modern warships, should
be constructed with Government assistance. This is
the first mention of what for many years was spoken of
as the " Admiralty Dock Scheme," upon which Sir John
Coode reported, proposing a site between Jardine's
wharf and St. James.
The Borneo Company's wharf and property were pur-
chased by the Company, as from the ist July 1885, for
$1,000,000, and the Manager reported that the wharf
connecting the two properties was completed in Novem-
ber of that year.
On the I St July 1886 the London Agency of the
Board was established. We have the first mention of
what was to be the Straits Trading Company on the
8th July 1887, when the Directors decided to lease part
of the Bon-Accord property (purchased in 1882) to
Messrs. Sword and Muhlinghaus.
At the beginning of 1889 the Tanjong Pagar octopus
laid one of its tentacles on the Slipway Company at
Tanjong Rhu by commencing to buy its shares, and
shortly after another one on Prye Dock, Penang, by
leasing that property in conjunction with the New
Harbour Company.
The Trustees of the late Mr. Edward Boustead having
offered to build the " Boustead Institute," the Directors
not having a suitable site on their own property, pur-
chased the site on which the building now stands, and
handed it over to the Trustees in April 1891.
The Singapore Tramway Company, whose lines had
been laid down in 1884, not having proved a success,
the Directors were approached as to the purchase of its
Collyer Quay to the Docks Section, which the Directors
did not entertain ; but in December 1889 they purchased
the whole undertaking for $186,000 on joint account
with the New Harbour Dock Company.
LIGHTERAGE DEPARTMENT 9
A proposal in 1891 to form a Volunteer Company
amongst the European employees of the Company for
the defence of the Company's property did not mature,
the men being of opinion that to be efficient too much
of their rest time would be taken up, which after their
arduous duties during the day in the sun was a ne-
cessity.
The tramways proving unremunerative, it was decided
to cease running the Rochore Section at the end of
1892. The competition of the rikishas proving keen,
the expense of upkeep of rolling stock and permanent
way being heavy, electrical traction had been considered,
but not found to be sufficiently attractive to warrant
further expenditure. The Collyer Quay and Keppel
Harbour Section was kept running, as it was considered
of some use in facilitating the transport of goods to
town, until the ist June 1894, when the whole service
was discontinued, and the rolling stock and plant
disposed of.
In April 1894 the Directors, being urged by several
of their largest shippers, started a lighterage depart-
ment, which has ever since proved a very unremunera-
tive branch of the undertaking. It was handicapped at
the start by several of the lighters being old, the repairs
were heavy and have always absorbed any profits that
the working accounts show and a great deal more.
The department has been continued by the present
Board as an adjunct to the port's facilities, but it is a
very questionable policy.
The electric light was extended to the wharf in 1897,
much to the benefit of working vessels.
In September 1897 plans and specifications were sub-
mitted by Mr. J. E. Tuik and Mr. Hartwig for a large new
graving dock, estimated to cost ;^305 ,000. It was decided
to ask the Admiralty to contribute 85 per cent, of the
cost. The site proposed was to the west of the Victoria
Dock, afterwards changed to the east of the Albert
Dock. Negotiations were opened with the Admiralty,
and continued until 1899, when no agreement was
10 SINGAPORE HARBOUR
arrived at, the Company's proposals not being accept-
able to the Admiralty.
At the general meeting held on the 28th February
1899 a proposal was laid before the shareholders, that
as the value of the Company's assets was greatly in
excess of the nominal capital, a new Company, registered
under the same name as the old Company, be formed to
take over the property, at a price of $3,000,000, as from
the I St January 1899. This was unanimously approved
of and carried out, the shareholders of the old Company
receiving two shares in the new Company in respect of
every share held in the old Company.
In 1900 the Company completed the purchase of
practically all the land known as the " East Reclama-
tion " from the liquidators of the Tanjong Pagar Land
Company, who had reclaimed this area by depositing
the spoil from the land near Mount Palmer during the
construction of Anson Road.
Although the joint purse arrangement between the
Company and the New Harbour Dock Company had
worked for years without trouble, it was decided to
purchase the New Harbour Dock Company (it has
been called an amalgamation, but purchase is a more
correct definition of the arrangement), whereby the New
Harbour Dock Company received 7,000 $100 paid-up
shares of the Company and $1,050,000 5 per cent,
five-year debentures ; also $50,000 for expenses. The
purchase was as from the ist July 1899.
The Prye Dock property was purchased as from the
I St January 1899, there being an option in the lease
allowing of this.
During 1899 the lack of facilities to deal with the
increased trade of the port exercised the mind of the
Directors, and schemes of extension were again con-
sidered ; the dredging of the lagoon behind the main
wharf and building wharves there was considered pre-
ferable to an extension to the eastward. An engineer
was asked for from London to report, and early in 1900
Mr. Edward Manisty arrived in Singapore (in January),
VACILLATING POLICIES ii
and was asked to advise as to an extension of 8,000 feet
of wharfage.
The New Harbour Dock Company having previously
commenced to excavate a dock on the site of " Clough-
ton's Hole " (the old original mud dock), it was decided
to complete it, the dock to be of the following dimen-
sions : length 500 feet, width of entrance 65 feet, and
depth on the sill 35 feet H.W.O.S.T. This work was
afterwards abandoned, and the excavation was filled in.
The shipbuilding sheds now occupy the site.
At the end of 1900 the Board again decided to ask
London to send out an engineer to advise as to mechani-
cal appliances for handling cargo. Mr. Thomas Scott
resigned the Chairmanship of the Board on the 2nd May
1 90 1, on retiring from Singapore ; unfortunately his
time of leisure, after many years of strenuous work,
was short, as he died at Brechin on the 28th June
1902.
In December 1901 the head offices were removed
from Collyer Quay to the new building at Tanjong
Pagar. The first meeting of the Board was held in the
new offices on the 27th December 1901.
During the 'Nineties it became very evident that the
shipping facilities at Tanjong Pagar were totally
inadequate to meet the growing requirements. From
time to time various schemes were evolved to remedy
matters. There existed a chronic state of congested
godowns, consignees not being able to obtain delivery
of their cargoes. A similar block of the roads existed
behind the godowns, as all cargo to town or for tran-
shipment had to be moved by bullock-carts, often leading
to perfect chaos. Proposals to extend to the east
alternated with the idea of dredging behind the wharves
like the pendulum of a clock. Mr. Manisty's eastern
scheme was replaced by the Dock Manager's proposals,
for which a dredger was ordered, but before its delivery
the scheme had changed to an eastern one again, on
which the dredger was put to work in material for
which it had not been built and was totally unfitted to
12 SINGAPORE HARBOUR
deal with. For this vacillating policy the difference of
opinion between the Singapore and the London Con-
sulting Committee may have been somewhat responsible ;
the former wanted relief as soon as possible, the latter
required a definite scheme which would allow of gradual
extension and of a permanent construction. Mr.
Manisty recommended a scheme of wharves to the east-
ward providing for 10,500 linear feet of wharfage at an
estimated cost of ;£i,oi 7,000. He also recommended
the construction of a large graving dock.
After the retirement of Mr. Scott it was decided to
appoint a Managing Director. Mr. George Rutherford
arrived in Singapore on the 13th February 1902 to take
up the appointment. His time was all too short to
make his high quahties and ability felt, as he was
murdered by burglars in his residence on the loth April
1902.
Mr. Nicholson arrived on the nth January 1903 as
Managing Director. His principal instructions received
from the London Committee were to draw up a scheme
of extension which would be the basis of development.
In order to become familiar with the requirements of
the port he did not issue his report until January 1904.
The scheme advocated in the report was the construc-
tion of a dock in the lagoon behind the wharves, the
reconstruction of the wharves, and the construction
of a graving dock, involving an estimated expenditure
of $12,078,153. This report brought the differences
between the Board of Directors and the London Com-
mittee to a head. The scheme being adopted by the
Board, the Chairman advocated the issue of the report
to the shareholders immediately ; but the London
Committee were of opinion that as it involved a very
large expenditure, it should not be issued unless accom-
panied by a scheme showing how the money was to be
raised. On this difference of opinion the Chairman
resigned. The Government had been approached for
a loan, and the outcome of this was that before taking
any further action the Colonial Office referred the scheme
EXPROPRIATION 13
to their Consulting Engineers, Messrs. Coode, Son and
Matthews. This reference resulted in Mr. Nicholson
proceeding to England, and in conjunction with Messrs.
Coode, Son and Matthews a joint report was issued in
October 1904, embracing the first report in its main
features. The estimated expenditure for the work
was : wet dock, ;^790,ooo ; reconstruction of wharves,
£740,000; total, ;^i, 530,000. A separate estimate was
made for the graving dock, the time of completion
being fifteen years.
On the I St October 1904 a conference took place
in London between officials of the Colonial Office and
members of the London Committee on the question of
carrying out the works proposed in the above report,
and at their meeting we had the first mention of the
word " expropriation," should the Company not take
definite steps to provide increased facilities.
Matters now moved rapidly. On the 21st December
1904 a telegram was received in Singapore from the
London Committee stating that they had been notified
by the Colonial Office that Government had decided to
expropriate the Company's property, and that faihng a
settlement the value would be decided by arbitration.
On the 17th January 1905 an interview took place
between His Excellency the Governor, Sir John Ander-
son, K.C.M.G., and three of the Directors, Messrs.
Waddell, Shelford, and Nicholson, when His Excellency
proposed $240 per share as a fair price. The Directors
suggested $700 per share as nearer the value. The
shares then stood in the market about $230.
The Ordinance to expropriate passed the Legislative
Council on the 7th April 1905. As no satisfactory
agreement was arrived at as to the value, arbitrators
were appointed : Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, P.C, M.P.,
Umpire ; Sir Edward Boyle, Bart., K.C., Arbitrator for
the Company ; James Charles IngHs, Esq., Arbitrator
for the Government. Lord Robert Cecil, K.C., was the
leading Counsel for the Company, and Mr. Balfour
Browne, K.C., the leading Counsel for Government.
14 SINGAPORE HARBOUR
The Court sat in Singapore from the i6th to
the 26th October 1905. The Umpire issued his award
on the 4th July 1906, giving a sum which, after all
liquidation expenses were paid, amounted to %y6i.y6
per share.
A contract was made on the loth February 1908 with
Messrs. John Aird and Co., of London, to construct the
wet dock and reconstruct the main wharves, as re-
commended in the report referred to, for the sum of
;^998,700. The wet dock was to be completed within
two years and the wharf in four years, the Engineers'
(Messrs. Coode, Son and Matthews) and Mr J. R. Nichol-
son's estimate for the work being ;^i, 5 18,000. This
dock, 879 feet long, was opened by His Excellency the
Governor, Sir Arthur Young, K.C.M.G., and named the
King's Dock, on the 26th August 191 3. Another con-
tract was made, on the ist January 1909, with Messrs.
Topham, Jones and Railton, for the construction of a
large graving dock for the sum of ;^342,794, to be com-
pleted in three years. Towards the end of 1909 the
contractors for the wet dock, Messrs. John Aird and Co.,
raised difficulties as to their contract, alleging that it
was a physical impossibility to carry out some of the
walls in trenches, and consequently stopped work on
them. After prolonged negotiation, endeavouring to
get the Contractors to proceed with the work, a demand
for arbitration under the contract was served by the
Board on the Contractors in October 19 10. An action
was brought in London by the Contractors, and com-
menced on the 30th January 191 1, to stay arbitration
proceedings, during which they charged the Engineers
with misrepresentation in the drawings, and it became
evident that they did not intend to proceed with the
contract, and thereupon the Board determined it, and
the action was directed to stand over. The hearing was
reopened on the 28th October, and lasted to the 20th
December 191 2.
The Interlocutory Judgment was delivered by Mr.
Justice Parker on the 20th December 191 2, and com-
THE EMPIRE DOCK
15
pletely exonerated the Engineers from any misrepre-
sentation. As long as the Contractors persisted in their
charge of fraud it was impossible to enter into nego-
tiation with them, and on the judgment being given a
settlement of their claim was arrived at by consultation
between Mr. Thomas Cuthbertson, Mr. Malcolm Aird,
and Mr. J. R. Nicholson.
The Board having seized the Contractors' plant as a
result of the decision to cancel the contract, carried on
the work themselves until a new contract was made, on
the 6th June 191 1, with Messrs. Topham, Jones and
Railton, who successfully completed the whole of the
work.
The first ship to enter the new dock was the s.s.
Valdura, on the 2nd June 19 14. His Excellency the
Governor, Sir Arthur Young, G.C.M.G., on the 25th
October 191 7, named the new dock the Empire Dock,
in commemoration of the completion of the whole
scheme, including the dock and the reconstruction
of the wharves, the final certificate for payment to the
Contractors having been signed on the 24th May 191 7,
Empire Day.
It is interesting to note the early payments of the
Company. The minutes of the i8th December 1867
say :
" The following statement of the employees of the
Company and their salaries was examined.
Mr. E. M. Smith .
Mr. W. J. Du Port, ;ti.ooo per
of exchange
Mr. R. H. Smith .
Mr. Hughes
Mr. P. Reutens .
Keat, Chinese clerk
Achong, foreman carpenter
„ „ blacksmith
Ferry, engine-driver
Tone, engine-driver
Achong, machine .
Likman, machine
. $400
annum at current rate
385
175
65
50
8
20
24
8
6
15
15
i6
SINGAPORE HARBOUR
Friday, machine ....
. $IO
Achong
8
Ahque. coppersmith
ID
Aheng, fireman ....
6
Ah Seh, fireman ....
6
Beng Sue, fireman
6
John Arrais, apprentice syce
5
I head syce ....
7
4 syces @ $5 •
20
2 grass-cutters ....
5
Pencharee, Mandore
20
Tay, 2nd Mandore
8
Wharves
Mr. Wells ....
2 Chinese clerks at |20 each
I Chinese clerk
3 godown coohes @ $8 each
6 wharf coolies @ $6 each .
4 Malay coolies @ $6 each .
1 Serang (Dolay)
2 engine-drivers @ I9 and $7
Firemen ....
2 watermen
Office
Mr. G. Ridings .
Mr. P. P. W. Oliveiro .
2 messengers @ $5 and I4
1,222
60
120
30
9
1,282
40
8
24
36
24
7
16
II
10
276
159
Si,7i7
LIST OF CHARGES FOR WHARFAGE LABOUR,
SINGAPORE, 1ST JANUARY 1869
Wharfage
On every ton of cargo landed or shipped
over the wharf . . . . -25 cents
On every ton of general cargo taken on
board from lighters while alongside the
wharf 12J „
On treasure ...... 2^
On opium per chest . . . " .10
On horses and cattle, each . • '25
ETC.,
per cent.
LIST OF MANAGERS 17
Coal
Store rent on coal is 4 cents per ton per month. Coal is stored, with
ventilators through the heaps, in sheds of small width.
Coolie hire discharging coal ships is charged for at the rate of 12 J cents
per ton, and storing, i2| cents per ton. Removing from sheds and putting
on board ships, 25 cents per ton.
Steamers requiring great despatch can be supplied with coolies at 50
cents per day and 75 cents per night for working general cargo.
The Company is open to make special arrangements with consignees of
coal to rent their sheds at a monthly fixed charge.
Coal stowed by the Company is not covered by insurance.
The list of Managers is :
G. Lyon, 4th February 1864 to 30th October 1865,
1 year 9 months.
C. H. H. Wilsone, Secretary and General Business
Manager, 29th July 1865 to ist November 1867,
2 years 3 months.
E. M. Smith, ist November 1867 to 30th June 1881,
13 years 7 months.
J. Blair, ist July 1882 to 30th April 1896, 13 years
9 months.
W. M. Robertson, ist May 1896 to ist May 1898,
2 years.
W. E. Moulsdale, i8th June 1898 to 6th April 1900,
I year 9J months.
J. Sellar, 14th November 1900 to 12th May 1907,
6 years 7 months.
G. Rutherford, 13th February 1902 to loth April
1902, 2 months.
J. R. Nicholson, C.M.G., 12th January 1903 to
30th April 191 8, 15 years 4 months.
The list of Chairmen of the Company shows how much
Mr. T. Scott had to do with the concern. He was in
office 1865, 1867-72, 1881-3, 1884-5, 1888, 1895-6,
1898, and 1900. Mr. J. Finlayson's years were 1883-4,
1887, 1889, 1890-94, 1895, while his partner, Mr. J. R.
Cuthbertson, four times filled the chair. In continuous
service Mr. J. R. Nicholson easily comes first, 1904-18,
with a very short interval when Mr. W. P. Waddell
was Chairman in 1905.
i8 SINGAPORE HARBOUR
TANJONG PAGAR DOCK COMPANY, LTD.
Capital.
Debentures.
I
Rate of
Year.
Dividend per annum.
Authorised.
Paid up.
1865 .
300,000
256.725
_
1866
300,000
298,042
18.500
—
1867
.
300,000
298,042
200,000
—
1868
300,000
298,042
234.400
—
1869
300,000
298,000
226,900
—
1870
300,000
298,000
226,400
4
1871
300,000
298,000
272,100
5
1872
600,000
378,970
348,900
12
1873
600,000
600,000
272,500
10
1874
600,000
600,000
272,500
12
1875
600,000
600,000
272,500
12
1876
600,000
600,000
343.269
12
1877
800,000
640,000
357.400
12
1878
800,000
800,000
454.326
12
1879
1,000,000
879,460
500,000
7
1880
1,000,000
1,000,000
500,000
7
1881
1,000,000
1,000,000
500,000
loi
1882
1,000,000
1,000,000
500,000
lO
1883
1,000,000
1,000,000
650,000
II
1884
1,000,000
1,000,000
650,000
7h
1885
1,000,000
1,000,000
650,000
10
1886
1,200,000
1,200,000
650,000
10
1887
1,200,000
1,200,000
850,000
10
1888
1,400,000
1.397.330
830,000
10
1889
1,400,000
1.400.000
759.500
10
1890
1,500,000
1.500,000
909,500
10
1891
1,500,000
1.500,000
909,500
10
1892
1,500,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
10
1893
1,500,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
10
1894
1,500,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
14
1895
1,500,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
14
1896
1,500,000
1,500,000
926,000
14
1897 .
1,500,000
1,500,000
675,000
19
7% plus $2 bonus
7% plus $3 bonus
1898 .
1,500,000
1,500,000
614,500
20
7% plus |3 bonus
10%
1899 .
4,500,000
3,700,000
1.576,000
12
A'-' /o
1900 .
4,500,000
3.700.000
1,435.000
12
I901 .
4,500,000
3,700,000
1,435,000
12
1902 .
4,500,000
3,700,000
1,365.500
14
6% plus $1 bonus
6% plus $1 bonus
1903
4,500,000
3,700,000
1,615,500
12
1904
4,500.000
3.700.000
1,615,500
26
6% June half-year
1
20% Deer, half-year
Harbour Improvements
A report dated the loth December 1901 was made
by Messrs. Coode, Son and Matthews on Harbour Im-
HARBOUR IMPROVEMENTS 19
provement at Singapore. It recommended the con-
struction of breakwaters totalling 13,030 feet in length
enclosing the harbour, and having three openings.
These breakwaters were afterwards struck out of the
scheme, and an inner breakwater 5,650 feet long con-
structed to protect the wharves at Teluk Ayer recom-
mended to be constructed in the report. A contract
was let, on the 9th May 1907, to Sir John Jackson,
Limited, to construct some of the works recommended
in the report.
The wharf at Teluk Ayer was originally to be 4,990 feet
long, but as the work progressed it was found that near
the centre the depth of mud was so great that there
was difficulty in carrying out the cylinder sinking, and
as the result of a Committee of Engineers in London
reporting in March 191 1, 850 feet of wharf was left out,
and so formed an entrance to the tidal basin proposed
by the Committee to be constructed behind the wharf.
During 191 7 an embankment was constructed,
carrying a road 36 feet wide, also a railway across the
bay between the East Reclamation and the Teluk Ayer
wharves, thus connecting them with the Tanjong Pagar
and the Federated Malay States railway system.
Plans have been got out and estimates obtained for
the construction of a wharf between the King's Dock
entrance and the P. and O. Co.'s property. This wharf
it is proposed to fit with mechanical conveyors for the
rapid handling of coal, but owing to the circumstances
brought about by the War the construction has been
postponed.
SIR JOHN NICHOLSON, KT., C.M.G.
Mr. John Rumney Nicholson (as Singapore knew
him) is from Cumberland, with all the force of character
of a fell man. He was born at Langwathby, Cumber-
land, went to school at St. Bees, and from there to the
College of Science, Newcastle. Having served his term in
the works of Black, Hawthorn and Co., of Gateshead, he
became Resident Engineer of the Newcastle Electric
20 SINGAPORE HARBOUR
Supply Company when he was twenty-two years of age.
He then had a spell of five years on the Quebrada and
South- Western Railway, Venezuela, where he learned
Spanish, and incidentally a good deal about the handhngof
men other than British. Back again home in 1 895 , he was
Resident Engineer of the Port Talbot Dockfor three years,
after which he became Chief Engineer to the important
Bridgewater Trust. He came to Singapore as Managing
Director of Tanjong Pagar Dock Company in 1902, then
became Chairman, and when the Singapore Harbour
Board was formed he was appointed Chairman and Chief
Engineer, holding the post of Chairman for over fifteen
years. From the time he began to study the port with
an eye to its requirements, on his arrival, there has been
no more strenuous worker. His first report involved
works needing an expenditure of over twelve million
dollars, and on action which was to be taken in this
matter the then Chairman resigned. Mr. Nicholson
proceeded to London for consultation with the Colonial
Office engineers, Messrs. Coode, Son and Matthews, and
a joint report was issued in 1904. The expropriation of
the concern took some time, during which the Engineer-
in-chief was perfecting his plans, all the while he was
carrying on the work of the port and advising the Govern-
ment. It was not till 1908 that construction of the
Empire Dock was commenced, and in less than two years
afterwards began the troublesome and difficult task of
setthng the difficulties with Messrs. John Aird and Co.,
the Contractors. The work on the dock was not stopped,
and this naturally meant more work for the Chief
Engineer and the resident staff. But " dogged does it,"
and Mr. Nicholson carried through his schemes success-
fully in less than the time at first estimated, and when
he retired in 191 8 he could look round with pride on his
work, which is going to stand for a long time, and disprove
many of the criticisms directed against it.
The man who could carry out this great work was
bound to meet with criticism, and it required a vast
amount of self-control not to suggest that the critics
SIR JOHN RUMNEY NICHOI.SON, C.M.G.
II. 20l
SIR JOHN NICHOLSON 21
did not know what they were talking about. " J. R."
may not always have succeeded in keeping his patience ;
but harm seldom comes from knowing what one wants
done, and then going straight to do it, especially
when the result proves so satisfactory, as in the case of
his work. Although conversant with every detail of
what was going on, the Chief Engineer liked to have a
clear desk, as he said it wasn't his duty to tell others
what they had to do (though he did). He also had a
somewhat rare quality for an engineer, a keen commer-
cial instinct. The business of the engineer is often said
to be " common sense applied to matter." And few
engineers will admit that a job is impossible if you are
prepared to spend the necessary money on it. Mr.
Nicholson has the " common sense " applied to matter
and also the less common sense of knowing whether
a work was worth doing from a commercial point of
view. This may have been the result of the double
training he had, as a member of the Institute of Civil
Engineers and also of the Institute of Mechanical
Engineers. Mr. Nicholson was created a Companion of
the Order of St. Michael and St. George in 19 14, and
was presented with his insignia in the Council Chamber.
His strenuous work through the War will always be
remembered, and it was rather characteristic of him
that in the mutiny he was one of the first to be sworn in
as a special constable, and took his turn of duty with the
rest. Mrs. Nicholson, who is a daughter of the late
Sir Herbert Croft, Bart., resided almost continuously
in Singapore with her husband, and there were few
pleasanter houses to visit than Holme Chase, where they
lived. She was as unstinting in her work for Singapore
as was her husband, and among other good work she
helped in the foundation of the Union Jack Club. She
was made a member of the Order of the British Empire
for her services during the War.
The Birthday Honours Hst of 1919 contained the
name of " Mr. John Rumney Nicholson, C.M.G., to be
a Knight Bachelor."
CHAPTER XIII
THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
COMMERCE AND CURRENCY
By C. W. Darbishire, formerly Chairman of the Chamber of
Commerce and Member of the Legislative Council.
I
Visit any Malay village on the coast of Singapore, say
Pasir Panjang or Bedok, and you have a very good idea
of what the port of Singapore was like a hundred years
ago — a group of primitive huts upon the shore, a few
fishermen with their boats and tackle. True, it was the
seat of the Tumunggong, a higher official than the usual
village headman, but his residence was by no means
an imposing one. Of commerce, in the ordinary sense
of the word, there was none.
It was Sir Stamford Raffles who first saw the enormous
possibilities lying in the heart of that little Malay village.
He dreamed of a great port to rival those of the Dutch,
of a world-wide trade, of a gateway for the British
Empire ; and, with what seems like the touch of a
magician's wand, his dream came true. Refer to any
of the records of those who touched at Singapore in the
first years of its existence, and one cannot but be struck
by its extraordinarily sudden and rapid development, and
the great attraction which the place was soon to have
for traders from all parts of the Eastern Archipelago,
turning it, in the course of a few years, into a thriving
and prosperous port.
Before the founding of Singapore the only British
centres in this part of the world were Penang and
HON. MR. C. W. DARBISHIR^.
n. 22]
RAFFLES'S STROKE OF GENIUS n
Bencoolen. The Dutch controlled the ways to China
and Japan through the Straits of Malacca and the Straits
of Sunda ; they headed us off at Malacca and Batavia ;
in fact, the whole archipelago was practically in their
hands. A short-sighted British Government had been
responsible for Holland's supremacy in these Eastern
waters ; but, nothing daunted, Raffles was determined
upon a last great effort to gain for England a firm footing
in the Far East.
The British Settlement at Singapore filled a long-felt
want, though there were few then in authority who
recognised this, or fully reahsed its importance. Raffles,
who had made the study of Eastern politics and trade
his lifework, alone understood what was required ; he
knew that, to use his own words, " we must set up shop
next to the Dutch," and that Singapore was the place
in which to do it.
There had been other places in the mind of Raffles
before he decided on Singapore for the fulfilment of his
purpose ; he writes of Simangka Bay, for instance, as
an entrepot to rival Batavia, and also of the importance
of Rhio on the island of Bintang. But eventually it
was Singapore that was decided upon, in spite of con-
siderable opposition. Bengal and London were doubtful,
while the Government of Penang was of opinion that the
time had passed for obtaining a station to the eastward,
and that the interests of Penang Island would be en-
dangered.
The opposition he received would have disheartened
most men, but Raffles was no ordinary man. It was
in the midst of this discouragement that we find him
writing on the 31st January 1819: ** If I am deserted
now, I must fain return to Bencoolen and become phi-
losopher." He was not actually deserted, but he got no
support ; he was practically left to work out his theories,
and to stand or fall by the results. The British Govern-
ment's hands, however, were soon forced by the phe-
nomenal success of this great man's stroke of genius.
In the first year we find merchants collecting fast.
"—3
24 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
According to Farquhar, " nothing could exceed the
rising trade and general prosperity of the infant Colony ;
it was already one of the first ports of the East." We
are fortunate in having more than one narrative to
which we can refer in our quest for some idea of the aspect
of the port and of the conditions of its trade in those
early days. We find a chorus of wonder and admiration ;
one and all, these writers marvel at the busy scene in the
harbour and at the still greater stir and bustle which
confronted one on landing at one of the quays in the
river mouth. Farquhar tells us that merchants of all
descriptions were " congregating here fast," and that
their one complaint was the lack of more ground to build
upon. During the first two and a half years, 2,889
vessels entered and cleared from the port, 383 being
owned and commanded by Europeans. In 1820 the
town was rising most rapidly in importance and wealth ;
it was already, according to its enthusiastic founder,
" a great and flourishing city." Raffles goes on to tell
us that it continued to rise as rapidly as the out-stations
of the Dutch declined ; and there are other witnesses
to the damage done to Dutch trade — at that time
hampered by innumerable duties and restrictions — by
the opening of the great free port of Singapore.
The neighbouring Dutch port of Rhio lapsed into a
somnolent state ; even the 40,000 Chinese on the island
of Bintang, where Rhio lies, planters of pepper and
gambler, shipped the greater part of their produce from
the northern part of the island to Singapore : they
preferred the free port of Singapore to seUing to the
Dutch, and they would not visit Rhio because there were
no enterprising merchants there. In 1833 Earl tells
us that there was no longer any appearance of commercial
activity at Rhio ; he saw but one solitary ship lying at
anchor near the town, not a soul stirring on board, and
the long wooden jetty occupied only by the native crew
of a Dutch war prahu, lazily mending their sails. In
Singapore everything was different ; even the gaol, we
are told, was a strong and cheerful-looking building,
RAFFLES'S FORESIGHT 25
though it had the misfortune to be situated in a
morass.
To " the magic of free trade " was what Raffles
attributed the unprecedented success of his venture.
But for the first few years he was troubled lest all his
work might be in vain ; there was still opposition from
home, from India and from Penang. The East India
Company, with monopoly bred in their very bones, could
not tolerate the free and open-handed way in which
Singapore invited all to its shores. Nevertheless, the
Colony steadily grew, its trade increased, in spite of
opposition and jealousy. " Considering all the disad-
vantages under which Singapore has been placed,"
Raffles writes, " the want of confidence in its retention
even for a month, the opposition of the English Settle-
ment of Penang and of the Dutch, a stronger proof of its
commercial importance could hardly be afforded."
We can see him in those dark days, though fretting
and tortured with doubt, his indomitable soul aglow
with hope, penning the lines which follow : " What
may we not expect hereafter when the British merchant
has fair play for his industry and speculation ? " The
British merchant did not disappoint him. The East
India Company's monopoly of the Indian trade had been
broken in 18 14, the public was interested and excited,
and there was powerful mercantile feeling in favour
of Raffles. It is recorded authoritatively that '' it
was most probably to the mercantile interest excited in
favour of Singapore that we are indebted for its
preservation."
Raffles had his way; in 1822 the Settlement was
recognised by Great Britain, and in 1824 Holland
acknowledged by treaty the British right to the island.
From that day to this Singapore has never looked back ;
there have been ups and downs in trade, due more to
commercial crises or panics in other quarters of the globe
rather than to any weakness or lack of enterprise in this ;
nevertheless, Singapore has risen above them, and held
on its way triumphant.
26 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
It was to Raffles, with his breadth of vision, that the
initial, the irresistible impetus was due. The merchant,
so he insisted, was to have fair play for his industry and
speculation ; no taxes on trade or industry were to
check the rise and prosperity of the Settlement. He was
alone, unfortunately. We see him surrounded by his
bureaucratic underhngs ; he leaves the Colony for a few
months, only to discover, on his return, his lieutenant
steeped in the East India Company's tradition. It was
after one of these disappointments that we find Raffles
complaining that he was " remodelling everything and
no one to put in charge." There was, indeed, no one
his peer ; no one with his discernment ; no one who knew
why Singapore was Singapore — a great emporium with
doors thrown open to trade from every .quarter of the
globe. And so it must for ever remain, if its great
founder's charter of freedom be kept sacred.
Luckily the early merchants were quick to draw in
his teaching. As the Pilgrim Fathers fled from the
intolerance of the Old World to seek a new and freer one,
so we find merchants from lands where their operations
were trammelled and hampered, where they were
hedged around with duties and restrictions, " congre-
gating here fast." The earliest records, and those writ-
ten later in the century, present to us a picture of the
sturdy, independent merchant, insistent upon his rights,
ready to strike out at any attempt on the part of Govern-
ment to curtail his privileges or to interfere with the
freedom of the port.
II
What were the conditions of trade in those first years ?
Trade centred round the river ; vessels anchored as near
its mouth as possible, and the bulk of the commerce
of the place was done over Boat Quay. Collyer Quay
was not finished till 1864, and up to that date the backs
of the houses on that side of Raffles Square abutted on
the open sands of the roads. Before the advent of
steamers trade was largely seasonal, the arrival of
CHINESE AS TRADERS 27
junks depending upon the favourable monsoon winds.
From China, Siam, and the Celebes, the north-east mon-
soon carried fleets of junks, which returned when the
winds veered round to the south-west. There is a
description of the junks from China with their rudders
up, looking like shops, with samples hanging about in
all directions. They brought tea, raw silk, camphor,
earthenware, etc. Then, as now, the Chinese were the
middlemen, the backbone of our trade. They took over
the cargoes from the junks on arrival, and, in exchange,
loaded the vessels with the manufactures of the more
civilised world, together with pepper, birds' nests, and
other produce of the Archipelago. The most important
trade was, at first, with China. Though the actual
monopoly of Indian trade was broken before the founding
of Singapore, the trade with China, and the tea trade
•generally, was, up till 1834, still confined to the East
India Company. Singapore therefore offered attractive
opportunities for dealing in the products of China ;
here transhipment could be effected, and the sole
surviving monopoly of the East India Company thus
avoided. When the tea trade was freed from monopoly,
the custom of using Singapore as a transhipment port
between China and Great Britain resulted in a certain
amount of this tea trade coming our way. We read of
the first chest of tea being saluted with some ceremony
in Singapore, when, on the 22nd April 1834, the old
Charter of the East India Company expired. Over
6,000 chests were brought by junks that season. Lack
of experience, or adulteration (a practice to be guarded
against even in these days), sometimes led to unpleasant
scenes at the auctions in London. Of one parcel it was
said that " not a single particle of tea was in the goods,
it was rubbish ! poison ! and the objectionable article
was withdrawn." Taken as a whole, however, the
Singapore shipments were of good quality ; but the tea
trade soon died out as direct shipment from China took
its place.
The trade from the Celebes was of considerable im-
28 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
portance in those early days. It was conducted by the
Bugis, who were described by one writer as being the
carriers of the Malay Archipelago. Their fleets arrived
in October and November, bringing to us spices, coffee,
gold dust, etc., and returning with iron, opium, steel,
cottons, gold thread, and other articles. In very early
days the Bugis imported slaves, and not only sold them
at the river-side, close to the Resident's house, but, in
order to ingratiate themselves with Raffles and the
Resident, and to induce them to countenance the trade,
they offered them presents of these human goods 1
From Siam and Cochin-China came junks with sugar
and rice during the north-east monsoon, returning
later with their cargoes of Western and Indian wares.
We read of a large trade with Calcutta, our imports
being chiefly wheat, opium, and raw cotton, and our
exports gold dust, tin, pepper, gambier, and treasure.
Thousands of ships from the surrounding countries
continually entered the harbour ; among them were
Arab ships from Java, flying the Dutch flag, and a varied
assortment of smaller coasting craft. One early writer
tells of the stir and life which this commerce with nearly
all the nations of the East created, and already he pro-
phesies that Singapore will surpass, both in wealth and
importance, most of the old-established marts of the
world. The trade with Europe developed slowly but
steadily, and the number of '* square-rigged vessels "
visiting the port was soon considerable. Most of them
touched here on their way to and from China. In
those days the Captain and members of the crew had some
interest in the trading of their ships, whether junks or
square-rigged vessels, either by being allowed to trade
on their own account to a certain extent, or by having
some share of the space in the ship allotted to them.
There is in Duncan's diary, in 1824, an instance of this
custom being taken advantage of by an artful Singapore
merchant. The story runs as follows :
" We have shipped by the good ship . . . thirty
chests Persian opium to Canton, hoping to get it disposed
PLANTING EXPERIMENTS 29
of before the news of its fall in Calcutta gets wind at
Canton, and as the supercargo of the brig is a speculator
in Turkish opium to a considerable amount himself and
carries no letters, or only conditionally to deliver them
when there can be no detriment to his own views, and
being, too, the first vessel that has gone to that place,
there is a probability, if there is a market for opium at
all, it may turn out a losing concern. But at the same
time there is a great risk, as accidents may occur and
numerous vessels are on his heels."
Later on in the diary it is recorded that the news of
this deal " was not agreeable," and it is to be feared that
an accident did occur, or it may be that the supercargo
was even a little more artful than our merchant friend.
As an entrepot, Singapore was soon supreme ; but
attempts were also made to establish local industries
and agriculture. The art of manufacturing pearl sago
(said to have been invented by the Chinese in Malacca,
in 1 8 16) was introduced into Singapore in 1824, and was,
in 1830, the chief manufacture. There were also two
shipbuilding establishments here at that time.
Nutmegs and cloves were freely planted ; but the clove
trees died off in five or six years, and the nutmegs, owing
to disease, did not survive much longer. The hope
expressed by Mr. Canning in the House of Commons,
in 1824, that in a very short time the island of Singapore
would be able to supply all the spices needed by the
civilised world, was thus dashed to the ground. Cotton
was planted with every prospect of success ; but the
conditions soon proved unsuitable. Sugar met with
much the same fate. Pepper, pineapples, and gambier
fared better ; but there was not much money to be made
in agriculture : capital found a larger and quicker
return in commerce, and it was into trading concerns
that people put their money. The lack of success in
agriculture was partly attributed to the system of land
tenure which then prevailed, and to the inefficiency of
the police, which rendered agricultural pursuits unsafe.
Tigers, too, were a terror all over the island. The seas
30 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
had even worse terrors. They were infested with pirates,
and there was a constant outcry and appeal to Govern-
ment for more energetic measures in deaUng with them.
It was not till 1821 that the first ship arrived from
England. The first steamer seen here was the Dutch
s.s. Van der Capellan^ which called here on the 17th
April 1827, and the Nemesis, the first steamer from Eng-
land round the Cape of Good Hope, arrived on the
30th October 1840. The merchants of those early days
led a free and easy life, being an independent community,
intent on business. There were nine mercantile houses
at the beginning of 1 823 ; and it was, no doubt, a member
of one of these firms who, taking the law into his own
hands, locked up in his godown, for some trifling oifence,
a captain of one of the ships consigned to the firm.
Ill
Although the Chamber of Commerce was not formed
until 1837, prior to that, on more than one occasion,
merchants had combined to defend their interests, or
to air their grievances. We find them assembled, in
1823, to bid Rafiles farewell, and to receive from him,
on his departure, a confirmation of the permanent
Charter of Freedom to which he had pledged himself in
founding the Settlement.
In 1830 we find them again assembled, this time to
meet the Governor-General of India, who was visiting
the port. Three of their number were then deputed to
voice certain grievances — grievances which went to show
that trade was not quite so free as it should have been
had the intention of Rafiles been fully adhered to.
Amongst other things, the merchants requested that
American vessels might be allowed to trade here. This
was an old complaint, yet the absurd restriction was not
removed until a few years later. In 1835 we read of
American ships anchoring at Pulo Bulang, fourteen miles
from our Roads, communication being maintained by
smaller craft. Thus was an excellent cash customer
prevented from freely trading here. Another request
DUTCH RIVALRY 31
was that tea might be allowed to be transhipped to
foreign vessels ; for, as we have seen, the East India
Company did not relax its grip upon the tea trade till
1834. Further, they raised the old questions of the
Dutch duties and of the lack of local currency, and
they asked that war stores might be admitted freely.
It is interesting to note, with regard to these Dutch
duties, that Holland had hoped to destroy our commerce
by imposing heavy duties on British goods, and on goods
carried by British ships ; also by restricting foreign trade
to a few of their ports. At one time Batavia was the
only port in Java where Europeans could trade, and a
duty of 35 per cent, was placed upon English cotton
and woollen goods imported into Java.
The Dutch soon found, however, that protection did
not pay, and that their unsound policy only played more
and more into our hands. Finally, they reaHsed that,
if Dutch commerce and prestige were to be maintained,
the example of Singapore must be followed. But they
learned this too late to shake the foundations of Singa-
pore's greatness, so well and truly laid. We read from a
narrative by a Captain Mundy, in 1843, that
" Singapore owed its prosperity as much to the ill-
advised measures of the Dutch as to the sagacity of
Sir Stamford Raffles ; it was the strong contrast between
Dutch rapacity and English liberaHty which told in its
favour. In former years the Dutch loaded all the native
traders with heavy harbour dues and all sorts of exactions;
but they have now in some measure thrown open their
ports, and are endeavouring to rival us in hberal offers
to native traders."
This altered policy soon justified itself. It is said that
it takes two to make a quarrel ; equally true is it that
it takes more than one to do a deal. All trade is mutually
profitable, and there is no better proof of this than in
the records of trade between Singapore and the Dutch
East Indies.
A hundred years ago we lived in undisguised hostility
with our nearest neighbours ; in 1823 a circular letter
32 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
announcing the appointment of Mr. Crawfurd as
Resident at Singapore was returned to us unanswered
by the Governor-General of Java, and, when Raffles was
on his way to England with his wife, on touching at
Batavia, the party was made the object of studied insult.
After the repeal of the Dutch duties, however, this old
feeling of animosity gradually passed away, friendly
intercourse increased, and trade has now so grown that
we can claim that our trade with the Dutch East Indies
is, next to our trade with the Malay Peninsula, larger
than that with any other country. In the last trade
returns published (191 5) our imports and exports were
$1 10,000,000 out of $654,000,000, or 17 per cent.
In 1 83 1 we read of merchants petitioning Parlia-
ment on the subject of the Court of Justice, as no
Court had been held in the Straits Settlements for
fifteen months. The following year a new Recorder
was appointed.
In 1834 the local Government proposed to levy dues
on shipping, but nothing was done. Two years later
an attempt was made to tax imports and exports, in
order to meet the expenses incidental to the suppression
of piracy ; but at once the merchants were up in arms,
protesting against '' such an impost." Government had
to give way, though within a few months a further
suggestion of a tonnage duty on all square-rigged vessels
was made. This was inveighed against in the Press, and
came to naught.
In 1835 the merchants, with W. H. Read in the chair,
met to make rules for the sale of goods. There had
been a series of failures in the Bazaar. Trade was barter
pure and simple in those early days ; goods were
sold for payment in three to four months, staple produce
under promissory notes. Trade had been pushed to
too great an extent ; importations of European goods
of all descriptions flooded the market, and were forced
upon it ; buyers had the whip hand, and piece-goods
houses did not enforce payment of their promissory
notes when they fell due. It was in an endeavour to
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 33
bring the merchants into hne that the meeting referred
to was called ; and, as a result of it, a cash system was
decided upon, which, we are told, was working well a
year later.
The Chamber of Commerce was first established on
the 8th February 1837, ^^^ there sat on the Committee,
in addition to British members, an Arab, an Armenian,
and a Chinaman. Any member elected to the Com-
mittee who refused to serve was fined $50, and, having
agreed to serve, he was mulcted in a fine of $5 for non-
attendance at a meeting.
The Chamber soon got to work, one of the first items
on its agenda being the question of the infringement of
the Dutch Treaty by the prohibition of the import of
British manufactured goods into Java. The Chamber
seems to have come into existence at the end of a period
of bad trade, perhaps as a result of it. Prior to this
merchants had probably been too busy making money
to worry about co-operation. It is recorded that trade,
which totalled over four million pounds sterling in 1829,
fell to less than three million in 1836. By one writer
(Earl) the retrogression was attributed to the death of
the founder of the Settlement and the consequent
neglect of our commercial interests in the Archipelago,
together with the unwarrantable impositions and re-
strictions of the Dutch. That this question was the
first to engage the attention of the Chamber lends
colour to this view.
Disturbed conditions in the old country (we were near-
ing the Hungry 'Forties) were probably reflected here,
and may have accounted for the set-back, which seems,
however, to have been short-lived ; for ten years later
we find Davidson writing that the trade of Singapore had
gone on steadily increasing. Later in that year there
had, apparently, been severe losses in the Bazaar, due
to giving credit to Chinese ** men of straw." Attempts
were again made to estabhsh a cash system. The agree-
ment amongst merchants to combine with this end in
yiew had evidently been honoured more in the breach
34 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
than the observance, as, indeed, have been all such
attempts down to the present day.
At this time there were misgivings as to the future
of our trade ; the acquisition of Hongkong and the
opening up of commerce with China were expected to
affect our interests injuriously ; it was thought that the
zenith of Singapore's prosperity had been reached.
Later, when Labuan was ceded to us, many were the
evil prognostications in circulation. And so on down
the century we have always had from time to time these
gloomy forebodings. In our own time most of us can call
to mind doleful prophecies that Singapore's supremacy
must decline in these advanced days of communication
and direct shipment. A sound knowledge of the
principles which regulate trade should, however, assure
us that, granted the freedom of the port of Singapore,
there is nothing to fear from any competition ; such
competition will but lead to an increased flow of
capital and encouragement to local enterprise. Certain
branches of our trade may suffer, but the volume of it
will undoubtedly steadily grow.
The records of the Chamber of Commerce extend back
to 1859, and we find reference in those early days to
questions which have agitated us in more recent times.
In i860 a resolution was passed in general meeting
opposing a suggested income-tax on the grounds, firstly,
that it was unnecessary, because there was no deficiency
in the revenue of the Straits Settlements ; secondly,
that no Government is justified in taking even the
smallest sum of money from the people unless it can be
clearly shown that it will be productive of some advan-
tage to them ; and thirdly, that the effect of such an
inquisitorial and oppressive tax would be deeply injurious
to the commerce and revenue of the Settlement, by
tending to drive the migratory population, and with it
the trade, to the neighbouring country of Johore and
other foreign possessions. Very much the same objec-
tions were, raised when this question cropped up again
fifty-one years later. In the same year we find the
MEMBERS OF THE CHAMBER 35
Chamber again strongly objecting to a proposal to levy
port dues as being likely to prove injurious to trade.
In 1862 the following firms were members of the
Chamber :
Messrs. J. d 'Almeida & Sons.
,, Geo. Armstrong & Co.
,, Behn, Meyer & Co.
The Borneo Co., Ltd.
Messrs. Busing, Schroder & Co.
B. H. Cama & Co.
Cumming, Beaver & Co.
Guthrie & Co.
Hamilton, Gray & Co.
Hinnekindt Freres & L. Cateaux
A. L. Johnston & Co.
Wm. Macdonald & Co.
Maclaine, Fraser & Co.
Martin, Dyce & Co.
Middleton, Harrison & Co.
Paterson, Simons & Co.
Puttfarcken, Rheiner & Co.
Rautenberg, Schmidt & Co.
Reme, Leveson & Co.
Shaw, Walker & Co.
Smith, Bell & Co.
Wm. Spottiswoode & Co.
Syme & Co.
Zapp, Rittershaus <& Co.
The Oriental Banking Corporation.
The Chartered Bank of India, London and China.
The Chartered Mercantile Bank of India and
Australia.
The P. & O. Steam Navigation Co.
T. O. Crane, Esq.
Byramjee Pestonjee, Esq.
Of these thirty firms, all have disappeared but the
following six :
The Borneo Co., Ltd.
Messrs. Guthrie & Co., Ltd.
36 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
Messrs. Paterson, Simons & Co., Ltd.
,, Syme & Co.
The Chartered Bank of India, London and China.
The P. & O. Steam Navigation Co., Ltd.
The firm of Boustead and Co., which is still so well
known in Malaya, does not appear to have been a member
of the Chamber in 1 862, though it is known that the firm
took part in the founding of the Chamber, and, of course,
has rejoined it since 1862.
In 1862 there is evidence in the minutes of the
Chamber of attempts by the Dutch to draw trade away
from Singapore, and the Government was approached
with the suggestion that " much useful information in
this respect might be obtained from the nakhodas of
native prahus arriving from the eastward were the
Registrar of Imports and Exports directed to question
them." In 1865 we find that cannon-shot was removed
from the Chamber of Commerce stock list ; so, apparently,
the dealings in war stores, which had so interested the
merchants in 1830, had ceased.
Those early committees jealously guarded the interests
of merchants, and also the finances of the Chamber. On
one occasion we find them objecting to a charge of $6 per
annum imposed by the Post Office for delivering certain
expresses. Correspondence ensued ; eventually the
Postmaster-General refused to cancel or even modify
the charge. In solemn conclave the assembled Com-
mittee, no doubt after a long discussion, decided not
to reply to this last communication, but to treat it with
the contempt it deserved.
It was not until 1878 that the present building,
comprising the Club and Chamber of Commerce, was
built. The gates were installed nine years later, as it
was found that the exchange room afforded a convenient
haven for loafers.
IV
By this time the outline of the town and sea-front, as
we know them to-day, had begun to take shape. Collyer
TRADE DEVELOPMENT 37
Quay was finished in 1864. It had been designed by
Colonel Collyer, Chief Engineer of the Straits Settlements,
when it was found that the river was silting up ; the
traffic on it had become congested, and trade demanded
more elbow-room. The year before the opening of
Collyer Quay the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company was
formed, and its wharves were at once found to be a great
adjunct to the port.
We were then on the eve of a great development of
Eastern trade, caused by the opening of the Suez Canal.
This development resulted in increased traffic from
Europe to the China Sea, and in the more general
employment of steam-vessels of a large class, requiring
much greater wharfage room than sailing-vessels. Thus
the Tanjong Pagar wharves began to handle an ever-
increasing volume of cargo and coal.
An opposition scheme for a screw-pile pier, jutting out
into the harbour near Finlayson Green, at right angles
to Collyer Quay, fell through ; but that it was contem-
plated was evidence of the then existing need of
wharfage accommodation.
In 1 867 the Settlement was transferred to the Colonial
Office. For some years previously it had been obvious
that control from India was prejudicial to our develop-
ment. So far back as 1859 the Chamber of Commerce,
in general meeting, had resolved that a petition to
Parliament should be prepared, and submitted to a
public meeting, praying that the Straits Settlements be
disjoined from the Government of Continental India
and placed directly under the Secretary of State for
India with a Legislative Council.
We needed a local Government with the power to pass
laws demanded by the requirements of the port ; legisla-
tion dealing with bankruptcy, ports and harbours,
stamps, passenger ships, and other matters was long
overdue.
Almost fifty years of our history had then been run,
and we started the new era with little more than our
credit behind us. So low were our finances that, in 1 87 1 ,
38 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
the Governor, in addressing Council, said that he aimed
at having a balance of $50,000 in hand, as a reserve,
a provision for " dark days " ahead.
That year an attempt was made to link up the wharves
at Tanjong Pagar and Keppel Harbour with the town
by means of a railway. Prior to the opening up of
Tanjong Pagar, there had been a dry dock at New
Harbour — the " snug cove," as described by Earl in
the early Thirties. This dock, now known as Keppel
Harbour, was acquired by the Patent Slip and Dock
Company, afterwards converted into the New Harbour
Dock Company. When the opening of the Tanjong
Pagar Dock Company's wharves showed that there was
business to be done, the rival concern built a wharf and
competed for the import trade. A controversy between
the two parties eventually took place concerning the
railway to the town. This dispute was known as the
' ' Long and the Short Line. ' ' Much excitement was caused
thereby in mercantile circles for a year or two, and the
correspondence between the two companies and
Government, which can be found in the Council pro-
ceedings of the period, is both interesting and amusing
reading to-day. The quarrel culminated in a public
meeting, at which the Tanjong Pagar party seem to have
carried the day. The Secretary of State, however,
decided that, if a railway were made, it should be under
Government control ; he was averse to entrusting its
concession to any one faction. This proposition did
not appeal to either party, and little more was heard of
the railway. Although at the time it was urged that
the railway would so cheapen transport as to drive out
the bullock-cart, it is doubtful if it would have done so,
judging by the utter failure of the attempt which was
made, a few years later, to run a steam tramway to and
from the wharves.
In 1872 trade with the Native States of the Malay
Peninsula was beginning to have some attraction for
Singapore merchants ; but they were plainly told by
Governor Ord that their operations were entirely at
SINGAPORE RIVER 39
their own risk, and that they would receive no counte-
nance or protection from Government — a poHcy no doubt
dictated from Downing Street. The call from the Penin-
sula could not, however, long be ignored, and force of cir-
cumstances soon caused a change in the official attitude.
About this time the silting up of the Singapore River
was causing grave concern. As early as 1823 the im-
portance of the river to the trade of Singapore was recog-
nised. In that year Crawfurd writes : " The existence
of the river, or rather creek, of Singapore forms one of the
most valuable and striking features of the place as a
commercial port, and some scheme of dredging it is
indispensable." Attempts had been made to dredge
it, but without success. In 1878 a Committee, the first
of many, was appointed to report on the condition of
the river and its requirements. Though forty years
and more have elapsed, though reclamations of huge
areas in the harbour and developments at the docks
have increased the wharfage accommodation of the port
enormously, the Singapore River, which still remains in
this year of grace (191 9) one of the most valuable and
striking features of the place, has had no attention
bestowed upon it beyond a cursory dredging in the middle
of its channel. It remains undeveloped — useless for traffic
for more than twelve hours of the twenty-four. A Com-
mission is now sitting to decide what is to be done. Let us
hope that it will be the last, and that it will tackle the pro-
blem with foresight and a wide sense of its responsibility.
In 1879 the first reclamation in Telok Ayer was
approved by the Secretary of State. The work was com-
pleted eight years later. An area of eighteen acres was
thus added to the commercial part of the town, and the
fact that $9 J per foot has just been paid for some of that
land is proof of the wisdom of those who pressed the
scheme forward forty years ago.
V
In 1886 Government resolved to treat the Chamber of
Commerce as a representative body, and the right to
II— 4
40 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
nominate an Unofficial Member to sit on the Legislative
Council of the Straits Settlements was conceded. At
this time the question of bankruptcy was again to the
fore. The Ordinance of 1870 had quite broken down.
It was said that the way to wealth for the dishonest
native trader was through the Bankruptcy Court, and
it was authoritatively stated that the great majority
of failures were fraudulent. The 1870 Ordinance was
founded on the English Act of 1869, the leading idea
being that creditors could be trusted to look after debtors
themselves. The result here, however, was that com-
positions were preferred to bankruptcy proceedings,
which often wasted much time and caused much trouble.
The English law of 1883 made insolvency something
approaching a crime, and on this our new legislation
was based : proceedings, once commenced, could not be
withdrawn without the consent of the Court. A satis-
factory feature of recent years, whether due to our
legislation or not, is the dechne not only in the number
of failures, but in the fraudulent character of those
failures.
In this year (1887) commercial men were agitated by
the new import tariff established in French Indo-China.
In view of the fact that trade had hitherto been free,
it was serious enough that any tariff should be raised
against us ; but what we protested against most
strenuously was that we should have to penetrate the
maximum and not the minimum tariff. Our contention
was that, as Singapore was a free port with no tariff of
any kind, its merchants were entitled to the lower rate.
Our representations, however, were not well received,
and we were advised by the Foreign Office to let the
matter drop. It was raised again in 1893, 1895, and 1896,
with no better results.
It is interesting to reflect that this differential tariff
was the direct result of the decision of Canada and other
British Colonies to give preference to British goods, and
this retaliation by the French affords us food for thought
in these days, when there is so much talk of Imperial
REGISTRATION OF PARTNERSHIPS 41
Preference. As our trade is largely barter, the high
tariff imposed at Saigon practically stopped imports
from Singapore, and this resulted in our ceasing to buy
our rice and salt fish from Saigon. We were driven into
the arms of the Siamese for these two vital necessities,
and a large and important trade was diverted to Bangkok.
Our relations with France at that time were not, of
course, as cordial as they are now, and as we hope they
always will remain.
During the Great War these Saigon duties have been
to some extent relaxed. May we not hope that they
may ere long be swept away altogether, and that we may,
by freer trade, return to a larger intercourse with our
neighbours and allies in the East? In this connection
it is interesting to note what a hold Singapore still has
on the Bangkok trade. In spite of many attempts to
do a direct trade between Europe and Bangkok, these
have generally proved unsuccessful. The Singapore
dealer has an agent or a branch in Bangkok to ship
rice to Singapore in exchange for piece goods, and this
interchange of commodities is still considerable.
In 1888 we find the first attempt on the part of
Government to deal with a very much disputed question
in commercial circles, the Registration of Partnerships.
The Government, in introducing a Bill to deal with this
subject, professed to meet the wishes of the mercantile
community. They were justified in the attempt, for
there had been for some years agitation on the part of
the Chamber of Commerce for registration. In i860
the Chamber memorialised Government " regarding the
necessity of passing an Act for the Registration of all
Partnerships and changes of Partners in firms trading in
the Straits Settlements." In 1864 the Chamber re-
solved, " That the Chinese and other dealers in the
bazaar be invited to enter their Chops and the names
of the various partners trading thereunder in a register
to be kept by the Chamber, and that any changes be
communicated." The Chinese, no doubt, refused to do
anything of the kind, and interest languished for some
42 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
years ; in fact, there seems to have been a reversal of
opinion on the part of the Chamber of Commerce, for
when the Bill of 1888 was introduced, it was opposed
by their member of the Council (Mr. Adamson), and was
withdrawn. A few years later Government again took
up the matter. A Bill was introduced and carried, the
Chamber of Commerce member (Mr. Thomas Shelf ord)
being the only one to vote against it. But the Chamber
of Commerce in general meeting opposed the Bill, and
Government decided not to proceed further. After
lying dormant for eleven years, this question was again
raised in 1905, when a new Bill was introduced into
Council. In the following year it passed its second read-
ing by nine votes to four, and was then referred to a
Select Committee ; but the Chamber of Commerce, the
Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and the Chinese Ad-
visory Board were all found to be against legislation,
and the Bill never got as far as the third reading.
Three attempts have now been made to frame a work-
able measure, but the obstacles to the success of regis-
tration are great. It would be difficult to decide where
to draw the line and where to start, and, further, it would
be almost impossible to prevent evasion and fraud,
where fraud was intended. The strongest argument
from the mercantile point of view is that registration
is unnecessary, that there is little demand for it from
those most concerned, and the less interference and
inquisition on the part of Government, the better for the
trade of the port.
In 1889 a matter of some interest to traders was
brought before the Chamber of Commerce, namely, the
advisability of introducing legislation for the registration
of Trade Marks. It cropped up again in 1892, 1896,
1904, and 191 8, but the unanimousopinionoftheChamber
has always been that registration of trade marks is
unnecessary and unworkable here, and would lead to
endless confusion. Adequate protection has always been
obtained under the present law, and it is interesting to
learn that, even in the old country, manufacturers are
THE SHIPPING CONFERENCE 43
nowadays beginning to rely less upon registration and
more upon the right of prior user, which prevails here.
In 1897 there came into existence an association of
shipowners and shippers, known as the Straits Home-
ward Conference, which caused endless heartburning
and turmoil in mercantile circles for a number of years.
Government appointed a Commission, in 1902, to investi-
gate the grievances under which the trade of the port
was alleged to be suffering, but nothing was done.
Agitation showed its head again in 1905, and then in 1908,
when Government refused to take any action, pending the
issue of the report of the Royal Commission on Shipping
Rings. Even after the publication of this report
opposition to the local Conference still continued.
Government sympathy was enlisted, with the result that
in 1 910 a Freight and Steamship Bill was introduced
and passed in Council, with but one dissentient voice.
It aimed at freeing the port from the incubus of Confer-
ence vessels. As the time drew near for the Ordinance
to come into operation, the possibility that Conference
tonnage would be withdrawn, and that there would be
little or no outside tonnage to take its place, caused
some alarm. The date of the commencement of the
Ordinance was postponed, in order to enable the
Governor, Sir John Anderson, who was going to England,
to interview the Conference shipowners, with a view
of finding a way out of the impasse. The chief com-
plaints against the Conference were :
(i) That, by a system of deferred rebates, shippers
were irrevocably bound to the Conference, and had to
ship at rates which were considered too high ; they were
unable to take advantage of any cheap tramp tonnage
which might be in the neighbourhood.
(2) That at the inauguration of the Conference it had
been arranged that a sum, amounting to 5 per cent,
on the total freight earned (known as the secret rebate),
was to be divided annually, and paid over in varying
proportions, to certain firms which had made a sacrifice
44 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
of chartering business, in order to support the Conference,
or which might have been of service in other ways, such
as being able to control large shipments of cargo.
The Conference supporters repHed to these com-
plaints :
(i) That, though rates undoubtedly were above
current market freights, there were compensations in a
more regular service, by higher class steamers, to a larger
number of ports in Europe.
(2) That the extra rebate paid was a preference which
large and influential firms would always obtain, even
in a free market.
As a result of the discussion in London, the deferred
rebate system was maintained, but with triennial
periods, at the end of which any shipper could break
away from the Conference without forfeiting his rebates.
In actual practice this triennial chance of freedom is
of little or no value. The '' secret rebate " was done
away with, the firms being compensated for their loss
in lump sums, at the expense of the shipowners. The
result of this has been that shipowners now pocket
5 per cent, more freight than they did in the past.
The bulk of this sum represents dead loss to the producers
in the Colony and elsewhere, in whose interest Govern-
ment was urged to act. To explain : in the old days, as a
result of competition, the recipients of the '' secret
rebate " were compelled to give most of it away in
purchasing produce, thus ensuring a better price for it
than would otherwise have been obtainable.
VI
Let us now turn to the question of currency. Origin-
ally the Spanish dollar was the standard of value adopted
here. It was in this coin that payment was made to the
Sultan and the Tumunggong, under the treaties which
transferred to us, first the Harbour, and later the island
of Singapore. The Spanish dollar was the popular
CURRENCY PROBLEMS 45
coin even in Penang, where one would have expected
the rupee to find favour. As Sir Robert Chalmers
records :
*' In spite of the fact that the East India Company,
in 1787 and 1788, struck a silver coinage consisting of
rupees with half- and quarter- rupees, and copper cents,
half-cents, and quarter-cents, the trade relations of the
Settlement (Penang) constrained the mercantile com-
munity to adopt as their standard not the Indian coin,
but the universal Spanish dollar, the coin famihar to the
conservative races with whom they had commerce."
Low, in his Dissertation on Penang, tells us that the
dollar was the favourite coin in the Straits. Indian
rupees were also in circulation, but gold was hardly ever
seen.
In 1835 the East India Company revised its currency
legislation for the whole of its territories, including the
Straits Settlements, and made no exception in favour of
the dollar-using Colony when enforcing the rupee as the
standard coin ; but later a concession was made by which
it was provided that the Indian regulations should not
apply to the copper currency of the Straits Settlements.
These copper coins, cents, half-cents, and quarter-cents,
were struck at the Calcutta Mint, and were legal tender
only for fractions of a dollar. But even this concession
was withdrawn by an Act of 1855. The intention of the
East India Company was, undoubtedly, to force the rupee
into general circulation in Singapore, as it had already
attempted to do, many years before, in Penang.
The project was countermanded by the Home Author-
ities, however, as the result of a report by Sir Hercules
Robinson, in which he dwelt upon the great inconve-
nience experienced and the public demonstrations which
took place against the change of currency. In his report
Sir Hercules Robinson also pointed out the unsoundness
of the system then prevailing, under which coins not in
circulation were declared by law a legal tender, and
under which the public accounts were kept in the
46 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
denomination of one currency, whilst the real monetary
transactions of both the Government and the public
were conducted in another. It was, as he said, a system
productive of nothing but endless labour and confusion.
In actual fact, as far as the mercantile community was
concerned, all the Indian Acts favouring the rupee were
nugatory — " Law is powerless against public con-
venience " — and the dollar, in all its varied forms, held
the popular fancy. In 1 863 the Chamber of Commerce
advocated the coinage of a British dollar. The Hongkong
Mint, which opened three years later, met this demand
to some extent by striking a coin modelled on the
Mexican dollar. The Hongkong Mint, however, closed
in 1868, and this source of supply was therefore cut off.
In 1867 (the year of the transfer of the Settlement
to the Colonial Office) an Ordinance was passed by the
local Government repealing all laws which made Indian
coins legal tender, and declaring that, from the ist April
1867, the Hongkong dollar, the silver dollar of Spain,
Mexico, Peru, and Bolivia, and any other silver dollar
to be specified from time to time, should be the only
legal tender. Subsidiary coins were at first supplied
by the Hongkong Mint, but later on were obtained
either from England or India. By an Order-in-Council
of 1874, the American trade dollar and the Japanese
yen were admitted to unlimited legal tender. In 1872
the question of a British trade dollar was again raised.
At that time it was felt that a recent decision of the
Mexican Government to remit the export duty of 8 per
cent, on dollars, and to allow the free export of silver
bars, would have the effect of so increasing the price
of dollars on the London market, and reducing the
number in circulation, as to render it necessary for the
Government to coin a British dollar for the protection
of the trade of the Colony. The alarm subsided, how-
ever, as the Mexican Government soon revised its
financial policy.
In 1874 the Singapore Chamber of Commerce joined
hands with the Hongkong Chamber in advocating the
MONETARY CHANGES 47
introduction of a British dollar, for general circulation
in the Straits and China. It was very generally held
that it was most unsatisfactory to be entirely depen-
dent for our coin on two foreign countries, Mexico and
Japan. The Home Government, though sympathetic,
refused to carry out the suggestion, as they feared it
would be impossible to lay down a coin as cheaply as
the Mexican dollar. Nothing further was done until
1886, when the Chamber of Commerce passed a reso-
lution unanimously proposing that the Mexican and
other dollars, and the yen, be demonetised, and that a
British trade dollar, weighing 416 grains and of 900
fineness, should be accepted as the only legal tender
in the Colony. The Legislative Council approved and
passed a similar resolution ; but the proposal did not
appeal to the Home Government, and again the matter
dropped. In 1890 all previous laws regulating legal
tender were repealed. The Mexican dollar was con-
stituted the standard, and the American trade dollar,
the Japanese yen, and the Hongkong dollar and half-
dollar were made unlimited legal tender. The Straits
Settlements half-dollar and other subsidiary silver
coins of 800 fineness were made legal tender for an
amount of two dollars, and the Colonial copper and
mixed metal coins for an amount of one dollar.
In the following year an Ordinance was passed,
giving the Governor-in-Council power to prohibit the
importation or the circulation of such coins as were
not legal tender. The American trade dollar and
Japanese yen were soon afterwards demonetised, and
the importation of the latter coin was prohibited, except
for transhipment.
This is how matters stood, when, in our search
through the records of the past, we first came across,
in 1893, the suggestion that something should be done
to secure some stability in our standard of value. In
that year the average value of the dollar was 2s. 7f^.,
having dropped nearly lod. in three years. The Sher-
man Act had just then been repealed in America, and.
48 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
further, the Indian mints were closed to the free coinage
of silver. A further fall in the price of silver was
feared.
A local Committee, consisting of Government officials,
members of the Chamber of Commerce, and representa-
tives of the Chinese community, was appointed to
consider the matter. The Committee could not agree :
half the members, including a banker and three Chinese,
were against the introduction of a gold standard ; while
the other half were in favour of it, provided that the
Indian scheme for fixing the value of the rupee was
successful. They further held that the gold standard
could be best established here by extending the circu-
lation of the Indian currency to the Straits Settlements.
This latter recommendation causes some surprise in
view of former oft-repeated expressions of aversion to
the rupee. It was based upon the fear that the diffi-
culties in the way of bringing the dollar on to a gold
basis were insuperable.
Bankers had all along been antagonistic to fixity ;
probably they quite naturally regarded the scheme as
an attempt at control of a commodity in which they
were primarily interested. They were supported in
their opposition by many planters and miners, who
were of the opinion that a falling dollar had the effect
of giving an impetus to planting enterprise and produc-
tion generally. One banker even went so far as to
assert that any attempt to fix the rate for a British
dollar would be a great failure, and would not work
satisfactorily.
It is amusing to recall that the Chinese members of
the Committee were of the opinion that though fixity
of exchange might attract capital to the Colony, it
would also afford means for the withdrawal of all money
of timid capitalists from the Colony. The Executive
Council, to which body the report was then referred,
were equally divided between a gold standard and
free silver. Accordingly it does not occasion any
surprise that no action was taken by the Secretary of
PAPER CURRENCY PROPOSALS 49
State with fixity in view. In the meantime a Depart-
mental Committee had been sitting at the Colonial
Office, under the presidency of Lord Herschell, to con-
sider currency questions in the Eastern Colonies. It
made no recommendation in regard to any change in
the standard of value in the Straits Settlements, but
advised that owing to the scarcity of Mexican dollars
at that time, a British dollar should be issued for
circulation here and in other Eastern Colonies.
As a result of this, in 1894, the Bombay Mint began
the coinage of a British dollar weighing 416 grains
and of 900 fineness, and in the following year the
Governor was able to state, in his annual address to
Council, that he had heard of no unwillingness to accept
it as legal tender in the Colony.
It was in 1880 that the Lords of the Treasury, having
a short time previously refused to sanction the coinage
of a trade dollar, threw out the suggestion that there
should be a Government issue of one-dollar notes. In
the following year Legislative Council passed a reso-
lution favouring such an issue for a sum not exceeding
$300,000. However, the Lords of the Treasury, on
reconsidering the matter, decided that the necessity for
the dollar note had not been shown, and refused to
authorise the issue. Four years later Council again
voted in favour of an issue of $500,000 in one-dollar
notes, and also recommended Government control of
the note issue. But apparently the time was not yet
ripe for action, for the whole question was dropped
for some years, owing to lack of public interest.
It is a remarkable instance of the tenacity of our
laissez-faire policy that even with regard to currency —
a matter which, it is generally conceded, should be
subject to Government control and regulation — the bulk
of opinion during the first eighty years of the Settle-
ment's existence was antagonistic to any Government
interference. For it was not till 1 896 that we come to
the first serious attempt, on the part of Government, to
legislate in currency matters. In this year the Currency
50 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
Note Bill was introduced into Council. The Unofficial
Members unanimously opposed it, as also did the
Chamber of Commerce, the reasons advanced being
that it was feared that Government intended to oust
the banks' note issues, and, further, that it was not
advisable that Singapore should be the only place
where notes could be encashed. It was held that pro-
vision for encashment should also be made in Penang.
Government persisted, however, and the Bill was passed.
The issue of notes began on the ist May 1899. In that
year a new Currency Note Bill, on very much the same
lines as the 1897 Ordinance which it repealed, was
introduced and passed without opposition.
It is odd that, in view of previous demands for dollar
notes, we find that none was actually issued until
1906. In the meantime the question of fixity of
exchange had again forced itself into prominence. In
1 896 the average value of the dollar was approximately
2s.2\d. In the following year, after a further and sudden
fall in the value of silver, a sub-committee was ap-
pointed by the Chamber of Commerce to enquire into
the local currency and the question of a gold standard.
The Committee reported in favour of fixing the value
of the dollar at 25.
The report met with some criticism, both from the
Government here and in the Federated Malay States,
and nothing was done until 1902. In that year
exchange dropped from is. 10^^^. to is.6^d,, and was on
the downward grade all through the year. The Chamber
of Commerce then addressed a letter to Government
asking if they were prepared to reconsider the question
of fixing exchange. In reply, the Governor invited the
views of the Chamber of Commerce on the advisability
of attempting some arrangement with neighbouring
countries as to a uniform relative value between local
currency and gold. The Chamber was of opinion that
such a scheme of co-operation was impossible, and they
asked for enquiry by an expert. The correspondence
was forwarded to the Secretary of State, with the
FIXITY OF EXCHANGE 51
request that the whole question might be referred to
an expert, preferably with Indian experience.
The Barbour Commission of 1903 was the result.
The chief recommendations of that Commission were :
(i) The introduction of a Straits dollar of the same
weight and fineness as the British dollar then current.
(2) The demonetisation of Mexican and British dollars
as soon as the supply of the new dollars was sufficient.
(3) That the coinage of the new dollar should then
cease until its exchange value had reached whatever
value in relation to the sovereign might be decided
on by Government.
The recommendations were approved both by Govern-
ment and by the Chamber of Commerce, and the sug-
gested conversion scheme was carried out with certain
modifications, found necessary in the course of trade.
In November 1904 the recoinage of the old dollars was
completed, and some thirty-five million new Straits
dollars had been received in the Colony. The demone-
tisation of British, Hongkong, and Mexican dollars had
been proclaimed two months earlier.
The way was now open for fixing the gold value of the
coin. This was not done till, on the 29th January
1906, it was fixed at 25. 4d., the intervening period
being one of great anxiety both to the Government and
to the commercial community, owing to a rise in silver
and to violent speculation in exchange. It is a very
interesting and instructive story, but too long to
relate here, and those interested cannot do better than
refer to Kemmerer's Modern Currency Reforms, or to
Currency Reform in the Straits Settlements, by J. O.
Anthonisz.
It was hoped that our currency troubles were then
at an end, but we had not reckoned upon silver. On
the 29th January 1906 an Ordinance was passed pro-
viding for the issue in Singapore of notes for gold at
the rate of $60 for £7. Further, the Currency Com-
missioners were empowered to issue notes in Singapore
52 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
against telegraphic transfers in favour of the Crown
Agents for the Colonies in London, at a rate which would
cover the cost of remitting the gold from London to
Singapore. Later in the year another Ordinance was
passed legalising the reverse operation, namely, the
acceptance of notes by the Currency Commissioners in
Singapore in exchange for gold paid in London by the
Crown Agents, as also the issue of gold in exchange for
notes in Singapore.
Under these Ordinances a sum of a milhon sterhng
was quickly accumulated. Simultaneously the dollar
note was made unlimited legal tender. In this year
silver rose to such a height as to render it necessary to
review the situation anew. There were two alternatives
before us, either to reduce the silver content of the
dollar or to raise its nominal value, already higher than
was at first anticipated or desired. The former course
was decided upon, and there were then two possible
ways of depreciating the value of the dollar, by
reducing either its fineness or its size. It was decided
to reduce its size, and the old fineness (900) was retained,
the weight being reduced to 312 grs. To obviate a
drain on the silver reserve during recoinage British
sovereigns were made unlimited legal tender, and so
were the 50-cent pieces.
In view of the popularity of the dollar notes, it was
unnecessary to remint the whole of the thirty-five million
Straits dollars ; therefore only nineteen million were
reminted into dollars and fifty-cent pieces, the latter
being changed to exactly half the weight of the dollar
and of the same fineness ; at the same time the opportu-
nity was taken of withdrawing the subsidiary silver of
800 fineness, and of replacing it with coins of 600 fineness.
Once more it was thought that the value of silver had
no further terrors for us. The Governor, in alluding to
these proposed reforms, remarked : " We shall then have
placed our currency on an impregnable basis." But, as
we shall see later, our troubles were by no means at an
end.
GOLD AND SILVER RESERVES 53
In 1908 the important step was taken of legislating
to enable the Crown Agents in London to hold, in gold,
part of the coin reserve of the Note Guarantee Fund,
which hitherto they had been only able to hold tempor-
arily for the purchase of silver or investments. At the
end of 1907 there had been a run on the Currency
Commissioners in Singapore, and the gold reserve had
been rapidly exhausted. Exchange was maintained by
selling telegraphic transfers on the Crown Agents
against loan moneys advanced against the security
of the Currency Commissioners' investments. Probably
it was immaterial, then, where the gold was ; whether
in London or Singapore our reserve would have run
dry. But, as the Governor pointed out in Council, it
was better to keep our gold in the proper place for it —
London. Though unofficial opinion held that the
proper place for it was where the notes were issued,
Government won the day, and it can hardly be denied
that they had the better of the argument, and acted
wisely.
In 191 3 a new Currency Bill was introduced, and
though it was passed in 191 5, it has not, owing to the
War, yet been put into force. The chief feature of this
Bill was the creation of one fund to take the place of the
three funds, namely, the Note Guarantee Fund, the
Depreciation Fund, and the Gold Standard Reserve
Fund, which are now in operation.
The proportions of silver and gold were also to be
altered, as follows :
Present law Proposed law
Silver, one-sixth of note issue. One-fifth of note issue.
Gold, one-third of note issue. Three-tenths of note issue.
Securities, one-half of note issue. One-half of note issue.
The Great War brought more currency troubles ;
silver rose to a height which made it profitable to melt
the dollar ; the " impregnable basis" of ten years before
was no more. An Ordinance was passed, in 191 7,
relieving the Commissioners from the obligation to pay
out dollars for notes. Later, our subsidiary silver
54 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
vanished in a miraculous way, and, as a result of a
Commission of Enquiry, it was resolved to reduce still
further the fineness to 400, and, as a temporary measure,
to issue twenty-five-cent and ten-cent notes. At the
same time it was decided to reduce the fineness of the
dollar to 600.
This is how matters now stand ; and one of the
questions for future consideration is, whether it is
necessary to hold such a large proportion as one-fifth
of our reserve in silver. The dollar note has ousted the
metal coin in popular favour. There is, in normal times,
little or no demand for a silver dollar ; in abnormal
times, when dollars are demanded. Government with-
holds them. The reserves against our note issue are
very strong, and there is little fear now of any serious
breakdown in our currency scheme. In view of the fact
that, twenty-three years ago, unofficial opinion was so
jealous of any interference with the Banks' note issues,
it is of interest to reflect that at that time there were in
circulation some $6,000,000 bank-notes, while to-day
this is reduced to $164,000 — whereas the Government
issue has attained the enormous total of over $80,000,000.
VII
In the hmits of this short history of the " Commerce
and Currency " of the last hundred years, it has been
found impossible to include statistics showing the details
and the ramifications of the trade of Singapore ; and
little reference has been made to the various articles
of merchandise which are dealt in.
One word, however, must be said with regard to
rubber, which is now such a large factor in the trade of
the port. When it was first suggested that rubber
auctions should be started here, under the sheltering wing
of the Chamber of Commerce, mercantile opinion was
by no means unanimous as to the prospect of success —
the powerful interests behind Mincing Lane terrorised
some. However, we went ahead, and now it can be
safely said that Singapore will, under wise guidance, ever
SINGAPORE A FREE PORT 55
remain as it is now, pre-eminently the rubber market
of the world; 51,161 tons were offered at the auctions
in 1918, of which 31,665 tons were sold. In addition to
the rubber sold at the auctions, the business done by
private treaty is increasing rapidly. In the twelve
months ending the 30th September 191 8 the value of
rubber exported from Singapore was $1 53,45 5, 920 out
of a total trade of $512,229,753, a tonnage of well
over 100,000 tons, easily surpassing tin, which used
to be the article of most value handled here.
In closing we cannot do better than set down an
extract from a letter of Sir Stamford Raffles to the mer-
chants of Singapore, written on the eve of his final
departure from the Colony :
" It has happily been consistent with the policy of
Great Britain and accordant with the principles of the
East India Company that Singapore should be estab-
lished a Free Port ; that no sinister, no sordid view,
no considerations either of political importance or
pecuniary advantage should interfere with the broad
and liberal principles on which the British interests
have been established."
These are notable words, and they set up for us a high
standard of what our policy in these Eastern Seas
should be. Let us ponder before we commit ourselves
to any course of action which would in any way pre-
judice the traditional policy of maintaining inviolate
the freedom of the Port of Singapore.
OPIUM, LIQUOR, FARMS, AND THE MONOPOLY
By the late J. R. Brooke
At the very beginning of the Colony revenue from
opium and spirits was to the fore. On the 2nd November
1 819 the Resident proposed to put restrictions on the
sale of these articles. In the following March Raffles
wrote from Bencoolen that he thought this highly
objectionable, although there were Farms at Penang
and Malacca. The Farms, however, were sold, and four
opium shops yielded $395 a month, arrack produced
56 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
$i6o, and gaming-tables $95. The money was spent
in paying the pohce, the Assistant Resident, and the
Tumunggong for assisting in pohce duties. Mr. Craw-
furd, Resident, in 1823 estabhshed, instead of a monopoly
in favour of an individual, licences for each branch of the
revenue. The sale produced $2,960 for opium, $1,540
for arrack, and smaller sums for pork, gunpowder, and
pawnbrokers, the licence for gaming having been
abohshed, although Mr. Crawfurd argued that it was
" an amusement and recreation which the most indus-
trious of them (the Chinese) are accustomed to resort
to. Having few holidays and scarcely any amusements
besides, they consider being debarred from gaming as a
privation and a violence in some measure offered to their
habits and manners." And he pointed out that it
would lead to clandestine play, a source of temptation
and corruption to the inferior officers of the police. In
1824 the opium farm fetched $23,100, spirits $10,980,
gaming $26,112. In 1841 the opium farm was let for
$6,250 a month, the spirit farm for $3,750, the gaming
farm having been dropped, although there were frequent
attempts made to prove that regulation was better
than corruption. By 1855 the opium farm was let for
Rs. 27,100 a month and the spirit farm for Rs. 9,510.
The monopoly continued to increase in value. In 1 867
the regular opium steamers ran monthly from Calcutta :
two arrived in January in that year, the Clan Alpine,
seven days, and the Thunder seven. These two, and the
Arratoon A pear and Catherine A pear, served the first sales,
the second coming by the Reiver, Lightning, and John
Bright. In 1903 the opium and spirit farm paid
$470,000 a month, on a three years' letting. In 1909
the Farmers of the day were in arrears, and the Govern-
ment entered into possession, but withdrew the following
week, on terms arranged.
Things became so unsatisfactory later in the year that,
in view of the report of the Opium Commission, which
was completed in 1908, certain enquiries were made with
a view of ascertaining whether Government could not
FARMS AND MONOPOLIES 57
take over and run the Farms themselves upon business
methods and under scientific control. Cassandras at
once commenced to point out the difficulties and bewail
the prospective ruin of the Colony. However, towards
the end of the year the Monopolies Department was
formed to manufacture and sell chandu in the three
Settlements from the ist January 1910. Mr. F. M.
Baddeley, then on leave, was recalled to organise and
take charge of this new department, and the chandu
factory at Teluk Blanga was put under Mr. J. R. Brooke,
then Government Analyst at Penang. For the first
seven months of the year the factory at Penang was kept
running under charge of Mr. J. C. Cowap, but in May
1 9 10, for the purposes of economy, the cooking there was
stopped, and the whole of the requirements of the Colony,
F.M.S., and Johore, Kedah, Pedis, Kelantan, and
Trengganu have since been met from the Teluk Blanga
factory, ensuring a chandu of uniform standard quality
throughout the Peninsula, an advantage in itself, and
also serving to aid in the detection of contraband, which
in the old days was merely judged by the odour on
burning, and on the absolute judgment of the Farm
tester, instead of by analysis.
In spite of the suspicion inherent in the Chinaman, and
some uncertainty at any new departure, the Department
has undoubtedly justified its existence ; indeed, it is
doubtful if the Government could now do without it.
From year to year its usefulness has been demonstrated,
and other Governments have followed the example of
the Straits.
The policy of the Government has been to reduce the
consumption of opium by gradually raising the price to
consumers, at periods which for obvious reasons must
be irregular. Thus in 1909 the price per tahil (ij oz.)
was $3, whereas in 191 9 it had risen to $10. In the same
way the Indian Government, by reducing the quantity
of raw opium for sale, has progressively raised the price of
the raw material from which the chandu is prepared. In
1909 the average price per chest was $920, whilst to-day
58 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
it is in the region of $2,500. This poHcy, while decreasing
the consumption of chandu, simultaneously increases
the revenue from it, thus conferring a double benefit.
On the other hand, the consumption of alcoholic liquors
has greatly risen during the last ten years, in spite of
increased duties ; nor must the tendency to revert to the
injection of morphia, and its still worse companion
cocaine, be ignored on the other side of the balance-sheet.
High prices always tend to stimulate smuggling of the
dutiable article, and the ingenuity of the Chinese (and
occasionally others) in connection with smuggled goods
has been marked. There is quite an interesting
little museum growing up at the MonopoUes Office in
Cecil Street of various receptacles and methods employed
by detected smugglers captured by the Preventive
Service (first started under Mr. J. A. Howard, and now
under Mr. W. H. Taylor, both ex-chief detective inspec-
tors). The devices vary from false soles of shoes, the
" flock " of a mattress, upon which the smuggler was
lying, and unconsciously gave himself away when the
heat of his body caused the pronounced odour of the
drug to be detected, to the linings of deck chairs, one
of which, accidentally knocked over by a chinting
(searcher), started bleeding chandu at the joints.
More recently, in 1 9 1 6, the Monopolies Department had
assigned to it the collection of the tobacco duty — from
its inception it has had to look after the Liquors
Ordinance — and possibly other fields of usefulness may
hereafter be assigned to it. The magnitude of the
operations of the MonopoHes may be judged from the
fact that the opium revenue was over eight million
dollars in 1914, the liquors revenue being two millions.
THE OPIUM COMMISSION
It is doubtful if there is a more annoying person on
the face of the earth than he who flatters himself that
he takes " an intelligent interest " in subjects beyond
his comprehension ; and probably the political agitators,
THE OPIUM COMMISSION 59
led by the late Sir Robert Laidlaw, and Mr. Samuel
Smith, another M.P., were about the limit in their
ignorance of the opium question. At the same time,
it was undoubtedly due to their persistent efforts that
this Opium Commission was appointed.
Before details are entered into, it may be remarked
that the man in the street appears to be quite incapable
of differentiating between opium smoking (which is as
harmless as tobacco smoking) and opium swallowing^ or
the subcutaneous injection of the highly poisonous
alkaloids to be obtained therefrom. In fact they appear
to be convinced that the mere smell of opium leads to
those deviHsh conditions narrated by de Quincey in his
Confessions of an Opium Eater. Anyhow, the local
Government was ordered from home to appoint a Com-
mission " to enquire into matters relating to the use
of opium in the Straits Settlements." (Later this was
extended so as to include the F.M.S.)
This Commission was presided over by one of the most
level-headed business men then residing in Singapore, the
Honourable Mr. (now Sir) John Anderson, of Messrs.
Guthrie and Co., for many years a member of the Legisla-
tive Council and Past President of the Chamber of Com-
merce. The other Commissioners only have to have their
names put down to show how thoroughly representative
they were : The Hon. Dr. D. J. Galloway, M.L.C. (who has
now returned to the Colony), and Dr. W. R. C. Middleton
(representing the medical profession) ; the Rev. Bishop
W. F. Oldham (a very acceptable, efficient, and highly
esteemed representative of the Church) ; the late Mr. E. F.
H. EdHn (a rising lawyer) and the Hon. Mr. Tan Jiak Kim,
who capably represented the Chinese community ; whilst
Messrs. Alex. Cavendish and A. M. Pountney (the present
Colonial Treasurer) acted at various times as Secretaries,
with the appreciated assistance of Mr. R. D. Davies (of
the Singapore Free Press) as official shorthand writer.
Unfortunately Mr. Davies was unable to accompany the
Commissioners to Penang, and they appear to have had,
judging from the official report, a very poor, to say the
6o THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
least, reporter in Penang. His name is not mentioned ;
but some very scathing remarks are made over and over
again concerning his dilatoriness ; and, after all, a man
who takes shorthand notes and fails to give his trans-
cription inside of seven and a half months, in spite of
remonstrances, can scarcely be called a " hustler " !
Indeed, some " transcriptions " have not yet arrived I
The Commission met fifty-four times altogether, and
examined ninety-four persons, of all grades of the Com-
munity, who were deemed capable of giving any
information relevant to the subject ; and for this purpose
sat not only in Singapore, but journeyed to Penang,
Taiping, Ipoh, and Kuala Lumpur.
The witnesses included no less than twenty-one nomi-
nated by missionaries or anti-opium societies (by the way,
the writer can vouch for the fact that anti-opium
" remedies " are usually composed of, or at least
contain, as the principal constituent, morphine), and no
less than six missionaries themselves gave evidence.
Other witnesses included the Dutch Consul, the Coroner,
no less than twelve medical practitioners, also miners,
contractors, bank cashiers, merchants, representatives
of insurance companies, rag-pickers, and rikisha coolies.
The enquiry spread over fifteen months, so that no one
can say that all sides were not heard, nor that things
were hurried through without giving necessary time to
probe and assess the evidence.
The conclusions of the Commission were practically
unanimous, and the President, in par. 8 of his final
covering letter to the Hon. Colonial Secretary, states :
" It will be seen that, except for the difference of opinion
set out in Bishop Oldham's rider, all the Commissioners
are unanimous in their findings on matters of principle,
but hold divergent views on one point, which is purely
a question of administrative detail."
Reasons of space prevent the giving of their report in
full, but the following digest may be of interest :
With regard to the evidence generally, the Com-
missioners were of opinion that it had been sufficiently
OPIUM COMMISSION REPORT 6i
exhaustive to give them a thorough insight into the
circumstances surrounding the use of opium in the areas
with which they have had to deal, and enabled them
to formulate their conclusions, which, briefly stated,
are :
(i) Women, and boys under the age of fifteen, also
members of other nationalities than the Chinese, scarcely
smoke at all.
(2) The consumption per head of the population
showed a decrease in 1907 (the year the Commission
sat) as compared with 1897, though in some intervening
vears it had been higher.
(3) That owing to the Farmers in the F.M.S. admittedly
adulterating their chandu, comparison with the Straits
Settlements was useless.
(4) That Chinese coming to the Straits get better
wages than in their own country, find they can afford
the luxury, and start smoking chandu as their forebears
always have done as far as history records. This
tendency is probably further influenced by the lack of
family life and home-ties ; the lack of healthy relaxation
after strenuous labours ; its alleged sedative effect
(which the writer would state, from personal experience,
must be purely imaginary. He made his tests, as a
matter of fact, for the purpose of supplying the Com-
mission with all the information available, and smoked,
for the first and last time, chandu in the approved style,
no less than ten pipes one after the other. The only
sensation he obtained was the Devil's own thirst, a throat
like a roll of blotting-paper, also diarrhoea and a headache ;
but there was an entire absence of sedative effect, and
no desire for further indulgence).
The Commissioners state that the purely physical
effects are, so far as moderate smoking is concerned,
relatively harmless. Further, that the number of
" opium sots " is not large ; that life-insurance societies,
with considerable experience of the insurance of Chinese
lives, are willing, cceteris paribus, to accept, as first-class
risks, Chinese who smoke as much as 1 16 grains of chandu
62 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
per day, an amount far beyond the means of an ordinary
coolie.
(5) That though there is evidence which shows that
preference is given to non-smokers amongst the coal-
cooUe class, yet 60 per cent, of them are smokers, and
Singapore comes second only to Port Said in rapidity of
coaling.
(6) Medical men (except those the Commissioners felt
bound to draw attention to as obviously biassed, and
exaggerating their evidence) were practically unanimous
that opium smoking is relatively harmless ; that even
where there is excessive indulgence there is no organic
change in the body, though such excess may lead to
functional disorders, emaciation, and loss of energy.
(7) It is found proved that opium smoking is not
hereditary, and, from concrete instances, they can state
that smoking does not in any way prevent the smoker
having a healthy family.
(8) Moderate smoking prevails here, and excess is
met with only in isolated instances ; the proportion of
population who are smokers has decreased in recent
years.
(9) After taking all evidence, the Commissioners
" were not convinced that, if deprived of opium, the
Chinese would not resort to alcohol as a substitute."
(10) Recommends Government taking full charge of
the manufacture and distribution of chandu of uniform
standard in order to prevent any adulteration or decep-
tion ; that retailing shops be gradually reduced, and the
acquisition of chandu by women and children should be
made as difficult as possible. Price of chandu to be
gradually increased to a prohibitive price to the majority,
and the smoking of chandu dross to be prohibited
altogether.
(11) They consider " that the Chinese are quite capable
of looking after their own affairs, and should be encour-
aged to do so " ; and that Government interference
should be as small as possible. They do not think that
the indulgence in opium is sufficiently acute or wide-
THE BOTANIC GARDENS 63
spread to justify legislative interference by way of
prohibition ; nor has the state of pubhc opinion on the
question reached the stage of rendering a policy of
prohibition desirable or practicable.
The Government very wisely adopted these recom-
mendations, and are still carrying them out.
BOTANIC GARDENS AND ECONOMIC NOTES
By Dr. Gilbert E. Brooke
If Singapore were famous for nothing else, its intimate
pioneer connection with two of the most useful substances
of modern life — gutta-percha and india-rubber — would
endow it with a good claim to immortahty.
For many years the inhabitants of certain districts in
Malaya had used gutta to make moulded handles of
krises, etc. ; and in the early 'Forties a Malay trader
introduced it to Singapore in the form of riding whips. It
was at once investigated by Dr. Montgomerie, the Senior
Surgeon, S.S., and by the Naval Surgeon d'Almeida,
who was so well known as a merchant in Singapore for
many years. The latter was the first to bring it to the
notice of scientific men in England when on a visit in
April 1843, but the Asiatic Society, to whom he gave it,
did not evince any enthusiasm, and contented themselves
with sending a letter of thanks. At or about the same
time Montgomerie sent someto the Bengal Medical Board,
suggesting a possible use for surgical purposes. Whether
they took it up does not transpire, but in 1845 he sent
further samples to the Society of Arts in London, and
was promptly given their gold medal. It was only six
years later that Professor Wheatstone first used gutta-
percha for coating submarine cables.
Singapore's connection with rubber was no less remark-
able. Dr. Colhns, who from 1874 to 1875 was in charge
of Museum, Library, and Gardens, was already dis-
tinguished by having published the first complete report
on the rubber industry of Brazil ; and had been the first
64 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
to introduce forest-rubber seed into England through
Clements Markham in 1873. The seedlings sent to
Calcutta died, as did the first sent to Singapore in 1876
for the Superintendent, Mr. Murton. Another batch to
Murton arrived safely the next year, and was planted
in Singapore and Perak. Mr. Cantley propagated them,
and got large numbers of trees to grow. Mr. Ridley
prepared specimens of this cultivated rubber, and
exhibited them locally in 1890, the first specimens of
cultivated rubber ever shown to the public. The idea
of any future for cultivated rubber was laughed at by
everyone except Sir Joseph Hooker and Mr. Ridley.
The latex was at first coagulated in cigarette tins. It
was intended to get a sheet form, which would be easier
to dry, but funds were not forthcoming, and so common
enamelled iron plates were used, which turned out discs
called by the trade " biscuit rubber."
Singapore Island was originally covered with dense
.jungle. Much of this was felled as time went on, but
the names of many villages and districts are taken from
trees now scarce, but doubtless plentiful fifty years ago.
Such are : Kranji (Dialium) ; Changi {Balauo corpus) ;
Tampenis {Sloetia sideroxylon) ; Tanjong Rhu, the Cape
of Casuarinas ; Kampong Glam, the village of Melaleuca.
Although much of the indigenous flora has been thus
destroyed, most of the plants collected by Wallich in
1 822 have been found.
As cleared land has often been abandoned, there are
large tracts covered with lalang (Imperata cylmdrica) ;
fern {Gleichenia linearis) ; bracken (Pteris aquilina) ;
or with Scleria in swampy spots. In waste ground near
villages there are many widely distributed weeds which
have been probably accidentally introduced in later
periods, as very few are to be found in Wallich 's collec-
tion. Two of these weeds are interesting, Clitoria
cajanifolia and C/^omg<2ct//^a/<2, as being South American,
but escaped in Java, and accidentally carried to Singa-
pore.
The history of the Settlement shows that spasmodic
DR. NATHANIEI. WAI,I,ICH, M.D. PH.D.
n.64]
DR. NATHANIEL WALLICH 65
interest has been taken in horticulture, and more sus-
tained interest in agriculture. The story of the Botanic
Gardens is resolved into three definite periods. The first,
from 1822 to 1829, was an experimental venture under
the aegis of Government. This was followed by a public
eifort, which continued from 1836 to 1846. The third
phase was in the nature of resuscitation in 1859, and has
lasted to the present day.
The first Botanic Garden was the outcome of the
friendship between Sir Stamford Raffles and Nathaniel
Wallich, M.D., Ph.D., the Superintendent of the Botanic
Gardens at Calcutta. He was a Dane by birth. Born
in Copenhagen on the 28th January 1786, he joined the
Medical Service of the Danish Settlement at Serampore
in 1807; and when that place was occupied by the
East India Company in 181 3, he entered the Enghsh
Service. He was invalided home in 1828, but returned
to India some years later. He finally retired in 1847,
and died in Gower Street, Bloomsbury, on the 28th April
1854. His extensive travels of exploration in Nepal,
Western Hindustan, Ava, and Lower Burma, and his
numerous and important publications, brought him such
rapid scientific distinction that he was elected an F.R.S.
in 1829. His most important work was his Plantce
Asiaticce Rariores, 3 vols., London, 1830-32. There
is a portrait of him taken by Macguire in 1849, which
was presented by Mr. H. N. Ridley to Raffles Museum.
Mount Wallich, for many years a striking landmark
between Tanjong Pagar and the town, is called after him.
But little now remains of the hill, which has been used
for purposes of reclamation.
Sir Stamford, who had left Singapore on the 7th
February 1819 for his mission to Acheen via Penang,
had returned to his headquarters at Bencoolen by
October, after another visit to Singapore in June. One
of his first actions was to send a gardener named Dunn
to take charge of the newly laid-out garden of Govern-
ment House, on the slopes of Fort Canning. Dunn
brought with him 125 nutmeg trees {Myristica fragrans) ,
66 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
1,000 nutmeg seeds, and 450 clove plants {Caryophyllus
aromaticus). These were probably planted near the site
of the present Masonic Hall, and gave rise to the nutmeg
plantations, which were such a feature of Singapore
until disease put a stop to their cultivation about 1855.
In 1822 Wallich applied for leave to proceed to China
on account of ill-health. He sailed by the H. C.'s ship
Sir David Scott, bringing with him George Porter, the
head overseer of the Calcutta Garden. Porter was left
in Penang, where he was put in charge of the Botanic
Garden which Dr. WaUich opened there in April
1823. WalUch himself never got further than Singa-
pore ; and, although only a visitor, he took some
part in the public affairs of the youthful town. In
October 1822 Raffles appointed him, together with a
Dr. Lumsdaine, and Captain Salmond, the Harbour
Master of Bencoolen, to form a Committee to report
on the southern bank of the Singapore River, and its
suitability, from a hygienic point of view, for building
purposes.
On the 2nd November Wallich addressed a long letter
to Raffles, " relative to the expediency of establishing a
Botanic and Experimental Garden on this Island." After
pointing out the advantageous nature of the soil and
climate, he recommended that a suitable piece of ground
should be appropriated in the neighbourhood of the
European town for the purposes of a botanic garden and
for the experimental cultivation of the indigenous plants
of Singapore.
Sir Stamford, who was then in Singapore on his third
and last visit (loth October 1822 to 9th June 1823),
agreed to Wallich's suggestion, and asked him to choose
an eligible site, which might include the Government
Gardens on the slope of the present Fort Canning,
where the nutmeg and clove trees had been planted in
1 819. By the 20th November Wallich had staked out
about forty-eight acres ; a grant for the land was issued
on that date, and the first Botanic Gardens were an
established fact.
THE FIRST GARDENS 67
Wallich, however, left for Bengal by the John Adam
in January, and all the arrangement and control of the
Garden devolved on Assistant Surgeon Montgomerie.
This early site, in terms of modern reference, extended
from the Masonic Hall, past the old Fort Canning
Cemetery, to the neighbourhood of the Y.W.C.A. build-
ing, thence to Dhoby Ghaut, along Bras Basah Road to
the Roman Catholic Cathedral, recurving by Victoria
Street and Hill Street to the Armenian Church and the
Masonic Hall. Raffles allowed a permanent establish-
ment of one overseer and ten labourers ; and for the
support of garden and staff a monthly sum of sixty
dollars was sanctioned, a figure dubbed by Wallich
as a " splendid donation."
Dr. Montgomerie confined his attentions to keeping
the site clear and planting spices. In 1827 he wrote a
report on the Garden to John Prince, the Resident
Councillor. Mr Prince seems to have taken some
interest in botany, as Erycibe princei is named after him.
The hill-side had been stepped with eighteen-foot ter-
races, the low ground had all been drained, and roads
had been made. But there were only 200 nutmegs in
the nursery, and the clove trees had not fruited ; and
not much could be done with the staff of eleven labourers
and three convicts. The Resident Councillor then
selected a gunner named George Hall to manage the
Gardens, at a salary of twenty rupees, and allowed
fifty rupees for building a hut to accommodate
him !
The following year this was notified to India, with the
remark that the Garden was not in good order under the
gratuitous superintendence of Dr. Montgomerie ; but
the Company replied that no extra expense was to be
incurred. In consequence, on the 30th June 1829, the
establishment was discontinued, after an existence of
less than seven years, and ten convicts were told off to
keep the place in order.
The original grant was cancelled in July 1834 by
sanction of the Governor-General, part of the site being
68 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
given to the Armenians for a church and part to the
Rev. Mr. Darrah for a school. Also, within a short
time, much of the area had been absorbed by the great
convict lines and hospital, which were so prominent a
feature of the town for many years.
Agriculture by this time was making considerable
strides throughout the island ; but to their cost many were
to find that the shrewd judgments of Crawfurd uttered
in 1824 were to come only too true. He had said that
there was no rich alluvial soil suitable for growing cotton,
sugar-cane, indigo, cacao, mulberry, tobacco, clove, or
nutmeg ; but that soil and climate were admirably
adapted for coconut, mango, mangosteen, durian, pine-
apple, certain vegetables such as egg-plant, yam, etc.,
and especially gambler and black pepper.
The annual recurrence of the durian season has at
least proved him correct in one particular. It might
be mentioned that the taste of that beautiful fruit has
been described by some unkind person as resembling
sour cream which has passed through a dirty gas-
pipe !
Jos6 d 'Almeida, who came from Macao in 1825, did
much experimental work in planting and agriculture.
He introduced cotton {Gossypium barbadense) ; vanilla
{V. planifolia) ; and gamboge {Garcinia nanburii).
None of these ventures flourished, though the cotton had
a vogue for some years. His cotton seeds were obtained
from North America, Brazil, Egypt, etc., and were planted
out at Katong, and over what is now known as the
'* Confederate Estate." The absence of proper seasons
and too constant a rainfall killed it. Mr. T. O. Crane
was also a cotton enthusiast, and had twenty acres
planted in 1 836. The whole area produced only ten cwt.
per annum, instead of the thirty-five cwt. expected, and
was abandoned.
Coffee {Caffea arabica) was another venture tried to
some extent between 1833 and 1839. Charles Scott had
1 ,000 plants at Lesudden ; Dunman had 30,000 at Holly
Hill Estate ; and a Chinaman named Kong Chuan had
EXPERIMENTAL CULTURES 69
fifty acres at Jurong. But the plants were not properly
shaded when young, and they flowered and fruited
continually so that no proper cropping season could be
got, and the cultivation was abandoned.
Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), cocoa (Theo-
broma cacao), indigo {Indigofera tinctoria) were all tried
without success. Coconuts (Cocos nucifera) proved more
promising, and in the 'Thirties there were 660 acres
planted up, chiefly at Tanjong Katong and Blakan
Mati, with about 50,000 trees.
Pineapples {Ananas sativa) were plentiful from an early
date until quite recently, when many existing plantations
were given up to rubber. When first cultivated, the
industry was chiefly in the hands of Bugis settlers, who
had plantations over most of the numerous islands round
Singapore. If bought at the garden ten pines could
be obtained for a cent in plentiful years in the 'Forties.
When the vast gambler plantations throughout Singa-
pore Island were worked out and abandoned about 1850,
the pineapple industry began to be adopted by Chinese,
and the vacated land again came into bearing until the
advent of rubber. A reminiscence of the past came to
light strangely only a few years ago. The island of
East St. John's, or Lazarus Island as it is often called,
has not been occupied within the memory of a living
generation, except for temporary huts erected in 1899
for beri-beri patients from the gaol. About six years
ago, after an exceptional period of dry weather, the high
bracken and scrub with which it was covered caught fire,
and the entire island was burnt bare. This showed up
the serried terraces with which the whole island was
covered, a story of pineapples, forgotten for thirty or
forty years.
The need was early felt for some organisation to take
charge of the growing agricultural interests of Singapore,
and to resume the functions of the abandoned Govern-
ment Garden. Consequently, on the 24th May 1836,
a public meeting was called at the Reading Rooms, and
it was then decided to start an Agricultural and Horti-
70 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
cultural Society, with a member's subscription of $2
a quarter. They were to meet at 7 p.m. on the first
Saturday of each month, and the Committee elected
consisted of the Governor as President, Messrs. Balestier,
Montgomerie, d 'Almeida, and Brennand as members,
and Mr. T. O. Crane as Secretary. Their first meeting
was held on the ist June, with Dr. Montgomerie in the
chair.
The Government of the day did very little to en-
courage agriculture, and reasonable development was
largely hindered owing to the fact that waste or vacant
landwas notobtainableeither on long lease or bypurchase.
One of the first acts of the newly formed Society was to
point this out in a petition to the Governor-General.
The preliminary response came in the form of a grant of
seven acres to the Agri-Horticultural Society on the 19th
November of the same year. The site given occupied
a portion of the original forty-eight acres grant of 1822.
Its area was approximately that which to-day is occupied
by the St. Andrew's Mission property. Raffles Library
and Museum, and the Government residence and Metho-
dist Church which lie behind the Museum.
The first annual meeting of the Society was held in
May 1837, Dr. T. Oxley in the chair ; and it was then
decided not to increase the economic section, but to make
the horticultural garden their chief care. In addition
to the subscription of members, the nutmeg trees were
able to contribute considerably to the Society's funds,
the receipts during the year 1838 amounting to $269.92,
and the upkeep expenses only to $74.99.
For the following nine years very little is heard of the
Society or its gardens. Dr. Griffith was in charge of the
latter in 1844 ; but the Society seems to have become
defunct about 1 846, and the garden site was presumably
resumed by Government.
The agriculture of Singapore was, however, beginning
to assume a considerable importance, as will be seen
from the following table, which refers to the year
1849:
GAMBIER AND PEPPER
71
Product.
Acreage.
Number
of ^rees.
Gross
Revenue.
Approx.
Revenue
per acre.
$
$
Nutmegs
1,190
71.400
29,679
24
Cloves .
28
—
Coconuts
2.658
342,608
10,800
4
Betel-nut
445
128,821
1,030
23
Fruit
1.037
—
9.568
92
Gambler
24,220
—
80,000
3"3
Pepper .
2,614
—
108,230
41-4
Vegetables
879
—
34.675
395
Sugar-cane, .
Pineapples, etc.
400.
1,562 /
—
32.386
165
Pasture
402
—
2,000
5
Total
35.435
—
308,368
8-7
The gambler {Uncaria gambir) and pepper culti-
vation began early in the history of the Settlement,
and was carried out entirely by Chinese. The former
is a plant which looks like brushwood of three years'
growth. The leaves are collected three times a year.
They are then boiled, and the yellow precipitated
matter is collected and cut into cubes of ij inches,
being used in commerce as a tanning agent, and in
medicine as an astringent under the name of catechu.
The cultivation of pepper {Piper nigrum) was carried on
by the gambler planters, who used the refuse gambler
leaves as manure to the pepper vines, which were trained
on tampenis posts. Three acres of pepper were usually
allowed for thirty of gambler. Unfortunately gambler
is a crop which exhausts the soil in about fifteen years ;
and, by 1850, the eight hundred estates in Singapore
were rapidly beginning to fail, which had the result of
gradually sending the gambler planters to Johore.
A novel use for gambler was suggested by a local
shipwright named Clunls in 1849. It. appears that a
ship named the Ocean Queen, with a general cargo, but
chiefly gambler, was wrecked near Singapore in December
1 848. After being four months in nine fathoms of water,
Mr. Clunis found the whole upper deck riddled with
live barnacles. Directly the gambler was opened up
n — 6
72 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
and dissolved in the surrounding water, the barnacles
were promptly killed. After further experiment, Mr.
Clunis evolved a composition of gambier, lime, and
damar oil for protecting boat bottoms and other
immersed timber ; and Mr. J. C. Drysdale suggested
that it might be of use also against white ants.
The cultivation of sugar-cane aroused considerable
attention about this time, consequent on a modification
of terms of land-taxes and a prospect of diminution of
duties on sugar. Canes were first imported by Mr.
Joaquim d 'Almeida in 1846. The European cultivation
never exceeded 400 acres, and was chiefly in the district
to the left of Serangoon Road, where the Balestier Rifle
Range is now situated. Both Mr. Balestier and Mr.
Wilham Montgomerie, junior (son of Dr. Montgomerie),
tried to manufacture sugar on a considerable scale :
Balestier's plant was run by a steam-engine, Mont-
gomerie's by water-power. Montgomerie 's plantation
was situated on the far side of Kallang Stream, and was
called " Kallang Dale." Mr. R. C. Woods afterwards
built a house there, and called it " Woodsville." The
usual output from one hundred pikuls of raw sugar was
fifty-five pikuls of dry sugar and 400 gallons of rum.
The industry was killed chiefly because Singapore was
denied the privilege accorded to Province Wellesley of
having her sugar and rum imported into the home
markets at a reduced duty.
In October i8S9 a movement was once again made
by the public to start an Agri-Horticultural Society, and
the early Colonial records show that the Government
again allotted the ground on Fort Canning which had
been given to the previous Society in 1 836, and gave some
convicts to keep it in order. One can only imagine
that promoters raised objections to so small a site with
such a dismal history ; for, two months later, it was
announced in the Press that an eligible site of nearly
sixty acres at Tanglin, belonging to Whampoa,
had been obtained from him by the Government, in
exchange for a quantity of swampy ground on the banks
THE PRESENT GARDENS ' 73
of the Singapore River. Whether Whampoa scored
or not by his exchange history does not relate ; but
the Singapore pubhc have certainly reason to be thankful,
for they thereby gained access to the larger portion of
the fine gardens which they possess to-day.
Members were enrolled on paying $25, and a monthly
subscription of $1. Second-class subscribers had the
use of the Gardens for $1 .25 a month, but the pubhc had
free entry on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
The large Committee of fourteen, with the Governor as
Chairman, was increased to twenty-one in September
1 860 — probably for the sake of getting all the influence
possible. Their efforts were certainly popular, for while
they hoped eventually to benefit agriculture, their first
object was to create a pleasure-garden which might serve
as a rival to the Esplanade, where they had so long
doubtless gossiped and flirted during their evening drive.
The main entrance was in Cluny Road, by what we now
call the Office Gate Road, and the crest of the hill, to
which the road led, was the first part of the garden to be
developed. Here a bandstand was erected, and the
hill-side was terraced and laid out with flower-beds and
stands under the superintendence of Mr. Niven, junior,
whose staff consisted of a mandore, ten coolies, and
ten convicts, housed in lines on the site of the present
lake.
The band was a regimental one, and played twice a
month. At first the Committee were a little doubtful
as to the heavy expense of fourteen dollars a month
which it entailed, but they thought, on mature considera-
tion, that it was a legitimate expenditure in that it
might add to the number of subscribers !
While the Garden was thus under construction, the
Society organised flower-shows to encourage local culti-
vation. The first one was held in a tent on the
Esplanade, on the 27th July 1861, and another in
December, at which fruit and vegetables also were shown.
The further development of the Garden was becoming
urgent, and so the Society made a new entrance — the
74 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
present main gate — and proceeded to develop the
neighbouring southern section during 1863 and 1864.
The work was carried out by young Niven's father, Mr.
Lawrence Niven, who was the superintendent of an
adjoining nutmeg plantation. This, however, was a
strain on the resources of the Societ}'', so they held a
" horticultural fete and fancy fair " on the 28th
December 1864 to increase their funds, and they got
the Government to bear the cost of the main gate. The
fancy fair was held in the mess-house of Tanghn Barracks,
then unoccupied, and probably proved successful,
for another fete was held in the same place in May
1866. It might be mentioned that on the i6th August
1906 a Singapore Agri-Horticultural Show was opened
by H.E. the Governor on Raffles Reclamation Ground,
the last of the kind during the century. In March 1866
an addition had been made to the Garden, when Mr.
Leveson, as Trustee of the Society, bought for $1,700 a
contiguous block of twenty-four acres on which to build
a house for the Superintendent and some nurseries and
coolie lines.
The Government of India had now found out the gift
of seven years before, and they issued a grant for the
original fifty-five acres on the 27th October. Meanwhile
Lawrence Niven found that the service demanded of
him by his growing charge was inadequately paid for,
and he asked for a rise of salary of $50 a month. This
was refused by the Indian Government, but was duly
paid by the Society.
The Superintendent's house, on the land newly acquired
from Adam Wilson, was constructed with bricks supplied
from the Government kilns at cost price ; and, in con-
nection with the site, the present Garden Road was made,
which added a narrow strip to the old area near the
coolie lines. On this new strip and on the site of the
coolie lines the existing lake was excavated in 1866..
The Government allowed the services of sixty prisoners
from the House of Correction ; but as^there were so few
prisoners in gaol at the time, only ten to thirty were
GOVERNMENT CONTROL 75
available, and the work had to be completed by Chinese
cooHes.
Up to this time the Society had had two Secretaries :
firstly Mr. J. E. Macdonald, and secondly Mr. E. S.
Leveson. The third Secretary, in 1867, Mr. C. H. H.
Wilsone, was less fortunate than his predecessors, and
left the Gardens with a debt of over S700 on the contract
for the Superintendent's house. When their financial
position was reaUsed, the Comrnittee prevailed on the
Government to increase their monthly grant from $50
to $100 ; but Governor Sir Harry Ord only sanctioned
this on the understanding that living economic plants
should be exhibited for the benefit of enquiring travellers.
At the same time he suggested the formation of a Zoo as
an educational attraction, and offered to present some
animals.
Dr. Little, however, stated in Council on the 24th
December 1 874 that the Society had not grown economic
plants as required by their compact, and that their
interest was dying. That this was indeed the case was
proved by a resolution forwarded to Government on the
13th August 1874, asking that the Gardens might be
taken over by Government, which was finally effected on
the 7th November.
For a short time the Garden was placed under the
control of the Committee of Raffles Museum and Library,
which Institution had also been taken over by Govern-
ment not long before. The Curator had arrived that year.
He was a Dr. James CoUins, who had been Curator of the
Museum of the Pharmaceutical Society, and had been
chosen by Sir Joseph Hooker. He was an expert on
rubber, and had been responsible for introducing the
first rubber seed to England through Clements Markham
in 1873. He started a journal in July 1875, the /ojirna/
of Eastern Asia, which was intended to appear quarterly
and take the place of Logan's Journal, long defunct ;
but only one number appeared. His idea of a local
commercial museum was carried out only forty-four
years later, and then by Japanese.
76 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
Dr. Collins left Singapore about 1 877, but his temporary
control of the Gardens had ceased two years previously,
when Henry James Murton had come out from Kew
Gardens (at the age of only twenty) to take charge as
Superintendent. The latter brought many plants from
Ceylon, and with later supplies from Kew, Mauritius,
Brisbane, etc., the Agri-Horticultural Society's Park was
at last converted into a proper Botanic Garden. Mr.
Niven was retained with the title of Manager, but died
when on leave shortly afterwards. A man named
William Krohn was employed by the Committee to
build up the collection of animals. Mr. Murton was
the first to plant para-rubber trees in Singapore and
Perak, and published reports on native rubbers and
gutta-perchas. He left the Gardens in 1 879, and obtained
an appointment under the King of Siam in 1881, but
died the same year by falling from a window in the
palace. Niven was replaced by a head gardener from
England, named George Smith, but he died in about a
year.
Walter Fox was appointed in June 1879 as Assistant
Superintendent to Murton, and did most excellent work
in the Garden for many years, retiring only in 19 10 when
the appointment he then held, Superintendent of Forests
and Gardens at Penang, was abolished.
Meanwhile the story of the Zoo must not be omitted.
Immediately it was generally known that the Govern-
ment would maintain a collection of animals in the
Gardens, gifts poured in. Sir Andrew Clarke presented
a two-horned rhinoceros. Sir Ernest Birch a sloth bear,
Captain Kirk two orang-utans, the Acclimatisation
Society in Melbourne an emu, one great kangaroo, three
red kangaroos, and a bushy-tailed wallaby, all in 1875.
In 1876 the King of Siam gave a leopard, and the
Sultan of Trengganu a tiger. By 1877 they had 144
exhibits, and the expenditure far exceeded the Govern-
ment grant. At first two privates of a regiment
stationed in Singapore were employed as keepers ;
then, in 1876, a Mr. Capel, for whom a small house was
MR. RIDLEY'S APPOINTMENT 77
built below the aviary, but he was dismissed because
he wanted more pay. Chinese were next employed as
keepers, and then Javanese.
There were big losses amongst the animals. For
instance, one night in 1876 some reprobate killed the
emu, a bear, and a cassowary. In 1877 the rhinoceros
and tw^o kangaroos died, and in 1 878 both of the leopards.
This decided the Committee to keep only birds and small
animals. So they sent the tiger and orang-utan and
other animals to Calcutta in exchange for some Indian
birds.
The shrivelled Zoo kept up a precarious existence until
1905, when the last occupant was sold. Its fame was
not realised until after its abolition, when, in the follow-
ing year, nearly 2,000 globe-trotters are said to have
visited the Gardens to see it, and left in disgust, as there
was nothing else to see in Singapore !
Nathaniel Cantley succeeded Murton as Superintendent
of the Garden in November 1 880. He had been attached
to Kew Gardens, and had also been Assistant Superin-
tendent of the Botanic Gardens in Mauritius. He w^as
not strong, but got through an immense amount of
work. The Economic Gardens were founded by him on
ground formerly belonging to the military authorities,
which had been the site of the camp of a West Indian
regiment. He originated the Forest Department, and
made the first proper herbarium in Singapore. At the
end of 1887 his health broke down, and he died in
Australia when on leave.
He was succeeded by Mr. H.N. Ridley, M.A. (Oxon),
F.L.S., in November 1888. The services of Mr. Ridley,
who retired in 191 1, are too recent to be reviewed at
length. Suffice it to say that his fine herbarium and his
indefatigable literary contributions to botanical science
throughout a career of practically a quarter of a century
in Singapore were recognised by an F.R.S. in 1907, a
C.M.G. in 191 1, and the gold medal of the Rubber
Growers* Association in 19 14.
The present holder of the post is Mr. I. H. Burkill,
78 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
M.A. (Cantab.), F.L.S., late of the Botanic Gardens in
Calcutta, and formerly a Principal Assistant at Kew
Gardens, who assumed his duties in the Straits Settle-
ments in October 191 2.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anecdotal History of Singapore, C. B. Buckley, 1902.
Journ. Str. Br. Roy. Asiatic Soc. : No. 33, Jan. 1900 ; No. 65, Dec.
1913.
Gardens Bulletin S.S., vol. ii. No. 2, Aug. 1918 ; vol. ii, No. 3, Nov.
1918.
Journ. Ind. Archip., vol. i, 1847 ; vol. iii, 1849 ; vol. ix, 1855.
Early Col. Records, vols. 93, loi, 103, 195, 220, 229, 310, 334, 671,
751. 911.
Proc. Leg. Co., 1878, App. 32.
Diet. Nat. Biography LIX.
MR. HENRY NICHOLAS RIDLEY, C.M.G., F.R.S.
The work of Henry Nicholas Ridley in the Colony
extends from the 25th September 1888, when he was
appointed to be Director of Forests and Gardens, to 1 9 1 1 ,
when he retired. Born the loth December 1855, he
was educated at Haileybury and Exeter College, Oxford,
taking his M.A. degree and winning the Burdett-Coutts
Geological Scholarship. From 1880 to 1888 Mr. Ridley
was assistant in the Botanic Department, BritishMuseum,
and his connection with the Museum, keeping touch
with the work there and its personnel, has been of the
greatest benefit to the Colony. In 1886 he undertook
a trip to Brazil for the Royal Society, and came out to
the Straits in 1888. He received the C.M.G. in 191 1.
Mr. H.N. Ridley's work for the Royal Asiatic Society,
Straits Branch, is contemporaneous with his becoming
a member in 1 890. The time was critical for the Society,
as the early interest had died out and new members had
not come forward. Mr.. Ridley's interesting personality
and wide scientific sympathies soon gave birth to a new
order of things. He was Honorary Secretary from 1890
to 1893, ^rid again from 1897 to 191 1, when he retired
and was made an honorary member. Writing fluently
nUNRY NICHOLAS RID^TiY, C.M.G., F.R S.
n. 78]
PLANTING IN SINGAPORE 79
on such diverse subjects as '* A Stone Implement in
Singapore," " A Day in the Cocos," " On the Habits of
the Karinga," " The Earthquake of 1892," " List of
Mammals recorded from Penang," he made all branches
of scientific work interesting, his qualifications including
Corresponding Member of the Pharmaceutical Society
and Ethnological Society of Moscow, Member of the
Zoological Society and of the Society for Psychical
Research, Fellow of the Linnean Society, the Royal
Horticultural Society, Society of Arts, and of the Royal
Society. His work in the East has largely been connected
with his special subject of botany, and his work in con-
nection with the flora of the Malay Peninsula can per-
haps only be properly appreciated by scientists. He
was always ready to discuss horticulture and economic
botany, and is a most interesting conversationalist.
PLANTING IN SINGAPORE
By H. Price
Planting on the island of Singapore dates back to
our early occupation ; and many kinds of crops have
been tried, and have not all been successful ; but in spite
of failures, it has not discouraged the trial of still further
plants. The soil, on the whole, is not very good, but the
rainfall, being rather equally distributed over the year,
is a help to certain kinds of planting, though a regular
dry season (which we do not get) is necessary to others.
More of the fruits we eat could be grown here, and of
better quality, but there does not seem much incHnation
to plant fruit gardens. This is a pity, as the fresher
fruit is the better.
The planting of gambler {Uncaria gambir) seems to
have commenced in the island as early as 18 19. An
extract is made from it by macerating the leaves and
twigs ; this makes an unholy-looking mass, which is
used principally for tanning. To see a gang of coolies
working at pressing and packing this article might
8o THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
make you think that they would never come clean
again ; but most Hkely it is not a bad thing for them,
as they certainly have to take a very complete bath
to get rid of the stuff. For a time the planting of
gambler extended rapidly up to 500 estates, inter-
planted with a certain amount of pepper, as the waste
in the manufacture of gambler makes an excellent
manure for the pepper vine. As the supplies of fuel
became scarce, the number of plantations fell off, so
that by 1850 there were only 400, and in 1866 they
were rapidly disappearing ; but there was later another
rally, because more labour was imported, and the
demand from Europe became stronger; so that by 1870
the amount exported was up to 34,550 tons, about half
of which had been grown on the island. From then
onwards it steadily increased ; but though in 1 892 there
was an export of 56,303 tons, very little of it was
growm on the island. Gambler is very exhausting to
the soil, and no doubt that was the principal reason
why it was given up. The cultivation died out slowly,
and up to the 'Nineties there w^ere still some gambler
and pepper gardens in the western part of the island,
but none now exists. In 1883 the price went up, and
this induced Europeans to go in for its culture ; but
they stood no chance in this line of business in com-
petition with the Chinese. The European is very much
handicapped when working with Chinese coolies, as
their own countrymen get more out of them and at a
cheaper rate. The Chinese also manage so that most
of the wages which the coolies are paid come back
through their hands as payment for opium, food, and
clothes. They, of course, understand the character of
the Chinese coohe better than we do, and to-day much
of the work done by Chinese on rubber estates is done
through Chinese contractors. The cutting off of the
pigtail does not so far seem to have changed the attri-
butes of the Chinese very much, except to make him
far less picturesque. He is by nature quite a good
planter, and where modern science does not come in.
EUROPEAN PLANTERS 8i
his lower expenses usually enable him to beat the
European ; and he is wilKng to copy an idea when he
is convinced he can make more money by doing so, but
he is slow to change.
As mentioned above, pepper was planted in conjunc-
tion with gambier, and naturally it died out with it,
though the name *' Singapore black pepper " is still
known in many of the world's markets. This qualit}^
is not in nearly such good odour as it used to be, a fact
largely to be traced to the manipulations of the article
by the Chinese merchants who buy and prepare most
of it, and sell it to the European merchants. I have
often had pepper to sell direct from the plantations,
and the Chinese would pay no more than the European
merchants ; they then prepared it, and sold it to the
European merchants at a profit. European merchants
have not been willing to buy up the stocks and hold
them as the Chinese have, or thoroughly to learn the
trade, and thus see that they received what they ought
to have.
Singapore gets the produce of adjacent places ; so
with the decrease of gambier and pepper on the island,
the Chinese planted near by, and in 1895 Johore had
3,760 acres planted, mostly with coffee, pepper, and
gambier, and some 4,000 acres in Cucob with sago and
coco-nuts. There were at times around the district a
certain number of European planters : J. R. Watson
and S. W. Moorhouse at Batu Pahat ; J. H. M. Staples
(Cambus) ; W. W. Bailey (Pengarang) ; J. Halliday (Loon
Choo) ; H. O. Rowe (Pulo Layang) ; and on Singapore
Island J. W. Angus was in charge of 300 acres of coco-
nuts in Bedok. The Chasseriau Land and Planting Co.
was in liquidation. R. Dunman was at Grove Estate
with 400 acres of coconuts, and C. H. Allen was Manager
of Perseverance Estate, Gaylang, containing 450 acres
planted with citronella, patchouli, and pineapples.
There were also quite a number of small estates, mostly
devoted to fruit-growing. At Pulo Obin C. E. St. G.
Caulfield was manager of a Liberian coffee estate of
82 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
200 acres, and up in the States at Krian about 1 8,000 acres
were under sugar, only four Europeans being employed,
the rest being Chinese. So that at that time Malaya
was finding billets for only a handful of Europeans,
who were planting various products which have since
mostly died. The rise of the rubber-planting industry
has found employment for a large number of Europeans.
You might now ask many Europeans in Singapore
what a nutmeg tree is Hke, and they could not tell
you ; but time back the planting of this spice was an
important industry in Singapore and the Straits, and
Singapore Island had quite extensive nutmeg gardens.
This tree was introduced in 181 8 (Dennys) ; by 1843
there were about 43,500 trees, and in 1848 4,000,000
nuts were produced. In 1843 the district of Tanglin
consisted of barren-looking hills covered with short
brushwood and lalang. This was the result of the
deserted gambier plantations, and immediately on the
inauguration of granting land in perpetuity in that
year a large number of nutmeg trees were planted in
this district. Dr. Montgomerie had a nutmeg garden
of forty acres on the south side of Neil Road extending
to Tanjong Pagar Road, and including the houses
named Everton and Duxton ; the former was occupied
in 1872 by the mess of the 19th Madras N.I. ; but by
that time there could not have been many nutmeg
trees left, as in 1 848 a curious disease of the nut, resem-
bling leprosy in the human being (Dr. Little in /. /. A.,
vol. iii, p. 679), broke out in Penang, causing great
havoc amongst the trees ; and in Singapore it did quite
a lot of damage, and became so fatal that by 1 862 the
cultivation of nutmegs had entirely ceased. An article
was written in 1850 by Colonel Low on the nutmeg
plantations of Singapore, so they were not quite gone
at that time. The last talk of nutmegs seems to have
been in 1880, when Mr. Cantley mentions that the
plants in the Garden's nursery looked very promising,
and seemed as if preparing for another cycle of satis-
factory growth in the Settlements ; but this never seems
TAPIOCA AND COTTON 83
to have been realised, and planting nutmegs is a thing
of the past for Singapore.
Tapioca {cassava ; Malay — Ubi kaya) was also a
favourite cultivation of the Chinese here up to the
'Eighties ; but it is a very exhausting crop, and the
abandoned tapioca estates turned into the extensive
stretches of lalang that formerly existed on the island,
and only after a number of years returned to bluker
undergrowth, which in due course has been mostly
planted with rubber. In 1880 Trafalgar Estate had
1,000 acres in tapioca. The planting of this crop in
large blocks has died out, but it is still planted in small
patches all over the island for food for the native
population. It is said that exhausted tapioca ground
takes fifteen years to recover.
The sago palm never seems to have been grown very
much here, and no doubt one reason is that it takes
some twelve years to mature. The last block of this
palm from which sago flour was made was at about the
ninth mile at Changi Road, where a small business was
carried on in this article, the flour being made by
crushing the pith from the palm. There is still a sago
factory in Singapore, but it is not supplied from palms
grown on the island.
Cotton has also been tried, but it is one of those
things that this climate is not suitable for, as it requires
a dry season for the pods to ripen and be gathered. It
was tried by Mr. T. O. Crane, with Mr. Jose d 'Almeida
and the late Babu Whampoa, in his coconut planta-
tion facing the sea at Tanjong Katong, where he had
samples of- the Capas murice, the Bourbon Mauritius
variety. Mr. Crane got a number of varieties from
his brother at Calcutta, but the trial was unsatisfac-
tory, and the attempt to grow cotton was given up.
There was quite a talk later of interplanting it with
rubber, and a certain amount was tried by the Chinese,
but again it was not successful.
Before the days of synthetic indigo this plant was
extensively cultivated by the Chinese twenty or thirty
84 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
years ago on the low-lying ground at the west of
Thomson Road, and a common sight on that road was
a string of coolies carrying the thick liquid, giving out
a terrible musty smell, in baskets lined with cloth that
looked as if they must leak. Some indigo dyeing is
still done in that quarter.
Lemon grass (Malay — serai) is the plant from which
citronella oil is extracted, a scent used largely in the
manufacture of toilet soaps, and it seems to grow well
here. There are small patches in various places ; but
no attempt seems to be made to plant it on a com-
mercial scale since the palmy days of Perseverance
Estate, which was started by Mr. J. Fisher and carried
on by Mr. C. Allen, the latter of whom, by the way,
accompanied Mr. A. R. Wallace on his journeys through
the Malay Archipelago. Perseverance Estate seems to
have come to the end of its perseverance in the 'Nineties,
but some of the children of Mr. Allen remain in the
Settlement.
It will be seen that planting has been carried on
during the hundred years that we have occupied the
island, and at the present time I suppose more of the
island is planted than ever before with rubber.
GROWTH OF THE RUBBER TRADE
By H. Price
What I have to write about has Aothing to do with
the wonderful growth of rubber planting in Malaya, but
of a result that necessarily followed, namely, the trade
in rubber done at Singapore. London was practically
the rubber market of the world, and at the time of the
flotation of many of the planting companies clauses
were put in the Articles of Association giving the sale
of their rubber exclusively for a number of years to
certain English firms, some of which had branches out
here, so that the whole tendency of these conditions
was to keep the trade in London rather than Singapore.
RUBBER SALES IN SINGAPORE 85
The rubber trade, therefore, grew very slowly here;
and it was no wonder, when estates absolutely refused
to sell rubber locally at any price, and practically all the
early sales were made through London. One of the first
I can trace was a sale made by Barlow and Co., early in
1904, of Bukit Rajah biscuits at a price of $270 per pikul.
Most of the rubber was not sold at all here, but was
shipped to London for sale there. Some of the Chinese
had planted quite early, and though most of their best
estates were sold to London companies, some remained
in Chinese hands, and others were turned into Singapore
and Shanghai companies. In 1908 several firms, notably
Guthrie's, began to sell rubber here, but the quantities
were small ; also some Chinese sold at their shops the
lower grades they were making. In 1910 Guthrie's, the
largest European sellers, averaged about 7$ pikuls a
month, and in 191 1 about 90 pikuls ; the highest price
they reached was $640 per pikul in 191 1, but sales were
made at over $700. The buyers in those days did not
have a good time, for though they begged for more and
better quality rubber, they did not get it, as London was
considered quite invincible, and influenced the branches
here to retard the trade as much as possible. But the
Chinese by degrees obtained larger quantities, and a plan
was instituted by which European and Chinese buyers
went round to the Chinese chops that had rubber to
sell and bought it, on the system of the numbers of the
lots being put on a piece of paper and each buyer filhng
in the price he would give. The slips were handed in,
and the highest bidder was supposed to get it. The
system was very slow and cumbersome, and many
firms sent their Chinese storekeepers to buy for them.
Arrangements for the storekeepers to get return com-
missions on the lots they bought did not help, but
for a time it was the only way we could get much
rubber.
The greater part of the Chinese rubber came here in the
form of unsmoked sheet, very bad to look at and of a
coarse smell, and to overcome this the system was
86 , THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
started of rewashing these sheets and making them
into what was called " blanket crepe," a very remunera-
tive business. I have been told that at least 200
machines were at work in Singapore turning sheets
into blanket ; but though small quantities of this quality
are still sold, it is not generally in demand, partly
due to the chance it gives of mixing in certain quantities
of inferior rubber, which does not show much at the time,
but later causes the blanket to go soft. It was a system
to overcome the want of knowledge in preparing the
rubber, and was really wasteful, because it would be
cheaper to prepare the rubber properly at first. With
time, as the small growers find this out, it should entirely
die out, but it helped over the early period, and showed
the Americans that we had something to sell. At times
Mincing Lane lights drifted through to look at planta-
tions they were interested in and such like, and they
always clearly pointed out that we should never be able
to make a market here. We did not say much, but kept
on at it, and even before the War came we had made
ourselves distinctly felt. The early part of the War
did not help us at first, on account of finance, and then
an embargo compelled us to send all rubber through
England. Had this lasted it might have been serious
for us in the trade ; but the embargo was lifted, and
the London auctions had been stopped. Though some
do not agree with me, I believe this was a distinct help
to us, as our auctions made a definite market, so that
buying and selling of large quantities became easy.
The chance came, and we started to ship via the Pacific,
and gave the American railways an eye-opener which
has taken them years to get level with ; and had it not
been for the restrictions, it is doubtful when they could
have done it. Anyhow, it has taught them to use their
lines. Probably over 50,000 tons, of a value of sixty to
eighty million dollars, was shipped from here in 1 9 1 7. The
position of Singapore as a shipping port was always in
its favour, and taking it altogether, the business has
been done cleanly, which must tell in time.
LOCAL RUBBER AUCTIONS
The Rubber Association
87
The Rubber Association was started in Singapore
with the main idea of having local auctions, and the
first was held on the 12th September 1911, when
there were put up for sale one lot of Coghlan and Co.
and ten lots of Guthrie and Co., the total offered being
66.75 pikuls. The firm buying the first lot was Gino,
Fertile and Co., and the total amount sold was 24.32
pikuls. Soon Barlow and Co., Powell and Co., and Behn,
Meyer and Co. came in as sellers, while the buyers in
those early days were Fertile and Co., Moraux and Co.,
Curry, Forweg and Co., East Asiatic Co., Dunlop Rubber
Co., Otto Isenstein and Co., H. Frice and Co., Low Feng
Soy, Wah Hong Seng Kee, and the East Indies Trading
Co. Boustead and Co. came in as sellers at the tenth
auction, and after fifty-five auctions the buyers and
sellers were practically the same, except that Faterson,
Simons and Co. and Goodall and Co. had come in as sellers.
Frices in the early days were about $276 per pikul for
pale crepe, $266 smoked sheets, and $186 bark crepei
From the 12th September 191 1 to the end of the year
84 tons were put up and mostly sold ; and in subsequent
years the amount of rubber put up and sold at the
Singapore auctions was as follows : — •
1912 .
1913 .
1914 .
1915 .
1916
1917 .
I9i» .
Though in later years a good deal was withdrawn,
the greater part of it was sold between auctions, and
sold more or less as the result of the rubber having
been put up to auction ; so that practically the whole
of the 63,381 tons offered to the end of 191 7 has been
sold as the result of these auctions, and it is plain that
the rubber trade of Singapore would not have progressed
so rapidly if they had not been estabhshed. Many have
spoken against them, but they established a basis of
11^7
Offered.
Sold.
599 tons
522 tons
1,695 .,
1,508 „
3.685 ..
2,666 „
11,167 ..
7.322 „
24.699 ,.
16,659 „
41.452 „
24,316 „
51,161 „
31.663 „
88 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
price on which both buyer and seller could work ; their
value to the stability of the trade is to be found in the
fact that Singapore is the only place that has carried
on its auctions continuously. The price at an auction
is public property, and assists as a basis for outside
sales, by which otherwise a small buyer would be
badly squeezed.
The machinery of the Rubber Association will be
improved as time goes on. Some qualities of rubber
have already been standardised, and forward contracts
made on a known basis. Arbitrations have worked
out very fairly, and a sound basis established for
future development. One thing is badly needed — a
proper building, and the savings by the Committee
have been made with this object in view. The
Association was formed by men of the " City Father"
type, who appointed themselves, whose interests were
mainly in London ; but this soon righted itself, and men
inside the business practically acquainted with its
intricacies and enormous possibilities have come on to
the Committee, men who recognise that the general good
of the trade and the port must outweigh any private
interests.
RUBBER AND RUBBER PLANTING
By H. Price
The earliest use of rubber is prehistoric, for Cortes,
when he went to Peru, found the natives using it for
balls, waterproofing their coats, and making various
utensils. The most important step forward in the use
of rubber was Goodyear's discovery of the process of
vulcanisation, by mixing the rubber with sulphur and
heating it, about 1839 in America, improved by Han-
cock in England in 1 842. The rubber trade is, therefore,
modern, and of very rapid growth. The next great step
was in 1876, when Wickham brought the seeds of the
Hevea from Brazil to London, these being the parent
stock of all the plantations out in the East, and without
INTRODUCTION OF RUBBER 89
which how different would have been the rubber trade
of to-day ! The islands of Singapore and Ceylon have
been the two centres from which all these immense
plantations have spread. Many mistakes were made at
first, such as planting the rubber in the swampy places,
to try to imitate the flooded districts of the Amazon.
The trees first planted here were in a pretty damp place,
but it was found that rubber must be planted in undu-
lating or drained ground. Too dry situations, of course,
give a poor flow of latex. As a new industry, and one
that involves a wait of five years for its result, of course
it had many difficulties to solve, and many experiments
have been tried on this island, such as the proper dis-
tance to plant apart and the best method of tapping to
get a proper bark renewal. As many trees out here
do not winter, and as the Hevea does, it is not so strange
that one of the best-known estates, when the leaves
began to fall, thought that it was some disease attacking
the trees, and cut a lot of them out before they dis-
covered their error. They were sorry afterwards when
rubber was at 12s. (twelve shillings) a pound; but the
men who were running the business were not dis-
heartened by this and other errors, and the Hevea is such
a hardy tree to grow, and seems so well suited to this
climate, that successful companies have paid 200 to
300 per cent. Other kinds of rubber have been tried
out, such as the Ficus elasticay the native tree, but it
does not pay well. A certain amount of Castilloa and
Ceara has been planted, but though the rubber is good,
it cannot compete with the Hevea^ save for specific
purposes.
The Americans spent much money planting rubber
in Mexico, but it was quite a failure. The Dutch, with
seed of Singapore origin, started in their Eastern
Colonies to plant some time behind us, and have done
well, profiting by our experience, and showing their
skill as planters. We cannot boast of the largest rubber
plantation in the world. That is in Sumatra, and
belongs to an American company ; but one of the head
90 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
men was from the Straits, where he had been working
for the Government Agricultural Department.
Tim Bailey, Malcolm Gumming, E. V. Carey, Larkin,
and many others are gone (some, perhaps, to find the
streets of heaven paved with rubber instead of gold,
though rubber produced their gold), but the result of
their labourstill flourishes in the handsof their successors.
Mr. H.N. Ridley, C.M.G., was fortunately at the head
of the Singapore Botanical Gardens during the long
period of early planting, and the trade will never realise
what they owe to his hard work and optimism regarding
the future of the industry. He was indefatigable, and
always pleasant and willing to help all who went to him.
It was through his instrumentality that the Chinese
came in during the early days, and many of the English
plantations started originally with a block of rubber
planted by the Chinese, to which they added, and though
some of it was not too well planted, it made money to
develop the estates further.
The Malay Peninsula had very little suitable labour
for planting, so it had to be imported, and the principal
recruits have been Tamils, Chinese, and Javanese, and
we have had thus to contend with more expensive labour
than in Ceylon or Java. In the early days we had
indentured labour, and there were daily quotations for
coolies, according to quality ; but that has been stopped,
and now there is quite a flourishing business in securing
free coolies from India or China, or even locally.
On the island of Singapore there is a number of rubber
estates, but much of the soil is not the best suited for
the cultivation. They are principally owned by Chinese,
but there are seven European estates. The craze for
planting was so great at one time that a large number
of gardens have rubber trees planted in them, not
sufficient in number to be worth tapping ; but this shows
how the industry took hold of the place. The fairly
well-to-do Chinaman likes to have a plantation on the
island which he can visit on Sunday, combining business
and pleasure.
PLANTING RECOLLECTIONS 91
How much the few seeds that came here helped
Singapore it is quite impossible to say. There is
probably more rubber passing through Singapore now
than through any other place in the world, and in one
way and another most people of the place benefit. A
thousand tons of rubber are weekly put up at the
auctions, worth about ;^200,ooo, and this is only about
a third of the rubber being dealt in. And yet there is
no Rubber Exchange !
EARLY PLANTING DAYS
" Recollections of the Introduction of Planting in the
S.S. and F.M.S./' by Walter Fox, formerly Super-
intendent Forests and Gardens, Penang.
I well remember the day, in the early spring of 1879,
when Sir Joseph Hooker, the then Director of Kew
Gardens, brought round to my department in Kew
Gardens Sir William Robinson, Governor of the Straits
Settlements, who was at home on leave, to see me.
Sir Joseph having recommended me for the position
of Assistant Superintendent of the Botanic Garden,
Singapore, then vacant. The result of the interview
was that I left England for Singapore in July of 1879
in the s.s. Glencoe, and arrived in Singapore in August,
the voyage taking exactly thirty-one days. (Inci-
dentally, I made the same passage thirty-nine years
later, and the time occupied in getting to Penang was
two months and one day ; but, there, the former voyage
was unhampered by submarines and other deadly
obstacles.)
In those somewhat far-off days planting, as we know
it now, did not exist — indeed, it was hardly born. I
believe Sir Graham Elphinstone had planted a small
quantity of coffee around the Hermitage in Perak. At
the Singapore end the first attempt at coffee-planting
was at Gunong Pulai, in which the late Mr. Burkinshaw
was interested, and Mr. E. J. Watson was also connected
with it. It was not a success, however, the elevation
92 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
•not being enough for Arabian coffee, I well remember
visiting Gunong Pulai, I think it was in 1880, and I
shall never forget seeing the long string of coolies wait-
ing for treatment by the apothecary, seeming to be
suffering from all sorts of diseases, but malaria was by
far the most prevalent form of complaint. This sick-
ness of the coolies was one of the main factors in closing
down Gunong Pulai as an estate. About this time
Liberian coffee was coming into prominence in replacing
the Arabian variety. Its value lay in the possession of
two valuable factors : its disease-resisting power and
its adaptability for growing at sea-level. It was only a
few years before that Ceylon coffee-planters had been
ruined by the coffee-leaf disease {Hemilia vastatrix) ;
consequently, a coffee which resisted the attack of this
dreaded disease was a valuable acquisition. The
Gardens Department in Singapore, as well as the late
Mr. Edwin Koek, derived a considerable revenue from
selling Liberian coffee seeds at one cent each. This
was the species of coffee which was planted afterwards
in the F.M.S., preceding the rubber boom, and which a
well-known planter once referred to when he was asked
to plant rubber : " Be hanged to your rubber, coffee is
good enough for me." Yes, coffee was then $25 per
pikul ; but that same planter altered his opinion by
enquiring: " Well, what is this rubber you have been
talking about, how does it grow," etc. ? Needless to say
that gentleman never regretted the fall in the price of
coffee, which was the cause of directing his attention to
rubber.
To go back, however, for a moment to 1879, in those
days the only plantations or estates in Singapore were
gambier and pepper, with two notable exceptions, one
being Mr. Chasseriau's tapioca estate adjoining Bukit
Timah and the other the Trafalgar Tapioca Estate at
Seletar. In that year Mr. Chasseriau was in Europe,
and the estate was in charge of Messrs Perks and de
Boinville. The cultivation of tapioca on this estate
I have never seen excelled anywhere, the estate being kept
MR. W. W. BAILEY 93
like a garden. Mr. Chasseriau was a martinet, and had
a most ingenious method of getting the maximum amount
of work out of his cooUes. His system was perfect in
itssimpHcity,and consisted of working cooHes of different
nationahties together. For instance, when changkolhng
a fallow-field, he would place, say, a gang of twenty-five
Chinese in the middle position, flanking them on either
side with the same number of Klings and Javanese.
Anyone who knows the respective values of the three
nationalities for such work will appreciate how theKHngs
and the Javanese must have worked to keep up with
the stalwart Chinese. Each section had a mandore
marching up and down behind the lines, shouting
frequently ^^ jalan jalan." For this real hard work the
prevailing rate of pay of the Klings and Javanese was
$4 per mensem. It is said, too, that a check was kept
on the mandores, to see whether they had been sitting
down, by an examination of the seats of their trousers.
Some years afterwards, when tapioca declined in value,
it was discarded for coffee ; but for one reason or another
this was not a success, and the once flourishing estate
languished until the rubber boom set things in motion
again, and a certain portion of the estate was put under
rubber, and another portion later was purchased by
the Municipality, as it lay within the watershed of the
town supply.
Among the earliest attempts at planting must be
mentioned an attempt to open up at Gunong Pantei, and
also the late Mr. Abrams's speculation in cacao up the
Johore River, at an estate he named " Theobroma,"
literally, ^'the food of the gods." Both ventures, how-
ever, were not very successful, the latter being eventually
turned into a rubber estate. About this time the late Mr.
W. W. Bailey appeared on the scene, Messrs. S. R. Carr,
of J. Little and Co., and F. G. Davidson, of the P. and O.
Co., being associated with him as partners. They opened
up an estate on the east side of Singapore, at Pengerang,
with cacao, and on the lower portion of the estate with
sago, in what was practically a swamp. The writer very
94 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
well remembers taking a trip up the Johore River to
Theobroma and Gunong Pantei, with Messrs. Abrams,
Bailey, and Liddelow, the last at the time being Manager
of Sayle and Co., at the corner of Raffles Square, opposite
Katz Bros. On our return journey we stopped at
Pengerang to drop Bailey, arriving there at about 3 a.m.
We all saw him to his bungalow, and as a short cut he
took us through the sago palms. The other three are
dead now, but I shall never forget that short cut ; it
had been raining, and we had to walk and balance our-
selves on small tree- trunks made slippery with mud.
The consequence was that we were constantly slipping
off into the mud up to our knees, the only light to guide
us being a flickering torch. I think the only man who
saw the joke was " Tim " himself ; but we soon recovered
under his genial influence, aided by a good peg.
I regret to say that notwithstanding that I planted the
first plant of cacao on Pengerang, the venture was un-
successful. It was most curious to note the cause of
failure, and equally difficult to account for it. In taking
a line one would meet plants in every stage of develop-
ment, good, very good, bad, and very bad, so much so
that the venture was turned down and the cacao pulled
up. Nutmegs were fixed on to follow the cacao, and if
good growth and uniformity had been the only requisites
for a money-making proposition, then Pengerang would
have been a model estate. But, alas, they were not ! It
must here be explained that nutmeg trees may be either
male or female, that is to say, one tree produces only
male flowers and another tree only female flowers ; nor
are there any means of knowing which are males and
which are females before they flower. In this case,
however, there were more male than female trees, and as
the former are no good for producing the nutmeg, the
venture was failure number two. This was enough for
W. W. He shook the dust of Pengerang off his feet and
migrated to Klang, where he opened with coffee the
famous Highlands and Lowlands Estate. Although he
was one of the pioneers in the F.M.S., he was by no means
ORIGIN OF MOUNT AUSTIN ESTATE 95
the earliest. Among his predecessors were the Hon.
Martin Lister and Mr. W. R. Rowland. They, of course,
planted coffee, choosing Sungei Ujong for their estate.
They, too, were the first to plant Hevea, not, however, in
estate form, but in the position of marking boundaries
and such-like places. I believe they made a considerable
amount of money in selling seeds at a cent apiece. One
of the earliest, if not the very earliest, of planters in the
F.M.S. was the late Walter Stephenson, in conjunction
with his brother, who was a chemist at Maynard's in
Dr. Bentley's time. Subsequently they were joined b}^
a younger brother, Percy. They opened near Klang,
calling their estate ** Beverley," after their native place
in Yorkshire. Opening first with pepper, afterwards it
became a coffee estate, and finally rubber.
We are now coming to the time when, in addition to
the genial " Tim," were the Parrys, the Kindersleys,
and the Darbys, not forgetting the brothers Stevens at
Jebong, in Perak, where, I believe, the first commercial
rubber biscuits were made, the rolling machinery con-
sisting of a champagne bottle. I must not forget to
relate an incident which brings Johore, if not to the
earliest place where rubber was planted, at any rate
to a good second. In the early 'Nineties the writer was
Acting Director in Singapore, when a despatch was
received from Mr. J. Chamberlain, the then Secretary
for the Colonies, on the subject of the adulteration of
gambler. I was requested to write a report on the
subject. To do so, I had to visit all the countries round
about to get information. At that time Mr. Larkin was
planting gambler in Johore, and trying his best to im-
prove the article by various methods, including the use
of copper pans for boiling the gambler in place of the
iron pans used by the Chinese. I stayed with him for
some days, and he was very helpful to me in giving me
all the information he could for my report.
In the early days of rubber planting, when general
attention was being given to it by all the planters in the
Far East, it was found necessary to adopt a system of
96 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
regulating the supply of rubber seeds to the various
purchasers. It was laid down that the needs of the
Colony came first, next the F.M.S., and then anyone else
in the priority of their application. The consequence
was that we had not sufficient to supply all the demands
of the two first-named places. It was at this time Mr.
Larkin came to the Gardens Office to see if he could be
supplied. He was shown the order book, and saw how
hopeless it was to expect any supply in the ordinary way
except at some very distant future. I felt very sorry for
him, and, remembering his kindness to me when I was
studying the gambier question, I began to try to think
how I could help him without being unjust to the others.
I saw a way of helping him. In those days we used to
pack down Hevea seeds in dollar-boxes we got from the
bank — each box held about, I think, 300. In filling the
different boxes for sending away to the Colony and F.M.S.
there would always be a broken lot left over. These I
used to put aside for Mr. Larkin and send them to Johore
by the horse-bus, and in such a manner that he got nearly
as many seeds as though he had been among the favoured
few. Such was the origin of Mount Austin. The con-
version of such estates as the Caledonia group and Mala-
koff from sugar and tapioca respectively to rubber I do
not propose to mention here, as it would take me beyond
the limits of my task.
Such, in brief, are a few of the recollections of the early
days of planting, including rubber. Of the latter product
I may say that I have practically grown up with it ; for
in 1876 I was a student at Kew when Mr. Wickham
brought the seeds from the Amazon. I saw them sown
at Kew, and despatched in Wardian cases to the Far
East, following them in 1879, when on my arrival I
found, I think it was, nine trees only, growing in that part
of the Gardens where the Palmetum is now. These nine
trees I later planted in the Economic Garden. Mainly
from the descendants of these trees has grown up that
marvellous industry, without parallel in the history of
tropical agriculture.
MINERAL OIL INSTALLATION 97
THE MINERAL OIL TRADE
The history of the trade in mineral oil and its products
in bulk as concerns Singapore began in July 1891, when
Syme and Co., acting in connection with the London firm
M.Samuel andCo., pioneers of the bulk oil trade in theEast
and founders later on of the Shell Transport and Trading
Co., Ltd., wanted to erect a tank for the storage of petro-
leum in bulk at Bukit Chermin. The Municipality then
discovered that they had no power to give authority
to store bulk petroleum within their limits. An applica-
tion to the Government that then followed for a site at
Pasir Panjang was also refused. This led to the estab-
lishment, by Syme and Co., of the petroleum tank depot
on the neighbouring island of Pulo Bukom, which was the
first of its kind in the East, and was begun with a tank
capacity of 4,500 tons, and a hand tin-making plant.
At great expense, and in face of many difficulties, Pulo
Bukom or, as it was often then called, " Fresh- Water
Island," was made a safe anchorage, and facilities for
discharge of steamers were arranged. In 1 892 the depot
was opened by the arrival of a cargo of Russian kerosene
by the s.s. Murex. Later on the installation was taken
over by the newly formed Shell Transport and Nether-
landsche Indische Industrie en Handel Maatschappij ;
the oil territory in Dutch East Borneo which has Balik
Papan as its centre was acquired and opened up. Oil
products were brought thence to Pulo Bukom, and also
from the oil-fields of the Moeara Enim Co., Palembang,
imports of Russian kerosene being gradually displaced
thereby. From Singapore, the central depot for the East,
were suppHed many of the tank depots of the Company at
other ports, while other markets were supplied with
kerosene packed in tins and cases. In 1 895 the Govern-
ment turned down a scheme for storing petroleum in
bulk at Tanjong Pagar, and next year a Petroleum Depot
Commission sent in their report. The first trial run of
a ship with liquid fuel was the s.s. Haliotis in 1 898.
98 THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
The year 1902 saw an important amalgamation. A
new formation, The Asiatic Petroleum Co., Ltd.,
with head office in London, took over the storage and
marketing interests of the Shell Transport and Trading
Co., Ltd., and of their competitors, the Royal Dutch Oil
Co., owners of the petroleum tank installation on the
neighbouring Dutch island of Puloe Samboe, whose
agents in Singapore were Hooglandt and Co., while the sea
transport interests of these companies were taken over
by a new and allied concern, the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum
Co., Ltd. The business, which continued to be represented
by the respective agents, Syme and Co. and Hooglandt
and Co . , now acting j ointly , steadily increased , embracing,
in addition to various grades of kerosene, liquid fuel,
benzene, lubricating oil, etc., all the products of the
Bataafsche Petroleum Maatschappij, which had taken
over the producing interests of the Shell Transport and
Trading Co., Ltd., in Dutch Borneo, and of the Royal
Dutch Oil Co., in Borneo and Sumatra. Full cargoes
of benzene in bulk to Europe became an important
feature. Until permission was got for the benzene-
carrying ships to go through the Suez Canal, the trip
home had to be made by the Cape. Burning liquid fuel,
the vessels usually made non-stop runs to the United
Kingdom, which served to demonstrate the value of
this kind of fuel and stimulate interest therein. To
cope with developments, the tankage and other facilities
at Pulo Bukom (and Puloe Samboe), already very
considerable, had to be continually added to. It might
be mentioned that in 1906 Syme and Co., as agents of the
Asiatic Petroleum Co., Ltd., secured a decision in their
favour in the Court of Requests that oil-ships not going
to Penang need not pay Muka Head Light dues.
So important did the Singapore business become as a
distributing centre that the Asiatic Petroleum Co., Ltd.,
took the step, in 1908, of opening their own office in
Singapore. This was done under the management of Mr.
F. E. Jago, at one time in Boustead and Co. The present
Manager, the Honourable Mr. Andrew Agnew, C.B.E.,
GROWTH OF OIL INDUSTRY 99
formerly of Syme and Co.'s staff, was his chief assistant.
Enterprise and progress have continued to mark the
Company's business in Singapore. An outward testi-
mony to this can be seen in the handsome offices, St.
Helen's Court, recently erected by them in Collyer Quay.
Particular mention must be made of the important
local trade in motor spirit (almost exclusively of the
popular " Shell " brand), which has expanded by leaps
and bounds concurrently with the enormous increase
in the number of private and hired motor vehicles of all
descriptions employed on the island, a result also of the
rapid substitution of animal traction by motor-power,
which is one of the most remarkable features in the
recent development of Singapore's street traffic. Despite
restrictions imposed by the authorities on the importa-
tion of automobiles into the Colony, the consumption
of motor spirit increased during the War by no less
than 75 per cent. The spirit is packed at the
Asiatic Petroleum Company's installations at Pulo
Bukom and Puloe Samboe, and imported by motor
tongkang to their wholesale storage depot adjoining
Kallang Bridge, whence it is distributed daily by motor-
lorry among the various garages and dealers in town.
The kerosene oil trade is shared with the Asiatic
Petroleum Company by the Standard Oil Company of
New York, who formerly imported their whole supplies
of packed oil direct from U.S.A. Since the completion,
however, of their bulk-oil installation at Bagan Luar
(on the coast of Province Wellesley opposite Penang)
iii 19 1 6, the latter Company have drawn the major part
of their Singapore requirements from the Northern
Settlement.
The consumption of lubricating oil has increased
consistently with the growth of the shipping business
of the port, and the development of local rubber fac-
tories and motor traffic, calling for important supplies
of marine engine and cylinder oils, engine and gear oil,
and motor cylinder oils respectively. Before the War
the major part of this business was in the hands of the
lOO THE COMMERCE OF SINGAPORE
two well-known American companies, the Standard
Oil Co. of New York and the Vacuum Oil Co. During
the War, however, the shortage of American supplies
was made good by the Asiatic Petroleum Company, who
were able to import large supplies from their Nether-
lands-Indian refineries, and who now hold a good share
of the local trade in this line.
The history of Singapore as an oil-distributing centre
would be incomplete without reference to the large oil-
bunkering business, which has grown to considerable
dimensions in recent years, and the rapid development
of which is chiefly due to the far-seeing enterprise of the
** Shell " Company's directors in providing facihties for
the berthage of large ocean-going vessels at Pulo Bukom
and Puloe Samboe, and for the supply of fuel-oil in
bulk from tank lighter to steamers discharging cargo in
the roads. There is no doubt that the existence of these
facilities has given an important stimulus to the use of
liquid fuel in place of coal on steamships, and to the
building of motor-engined vessels for service on the
Far Eastern run. In this respect, indeed, Singapore
has been an object-lesson by which the principal steam-
ship owners all over the world have not been slow to
profit, as is shown by the steadily increasing numbers of
oil-fired vessels now to be seen on all main trade routes ;
while in addition to the virtues associated with the
pioneer, the port can justly claim to have maintained
the distinction of possessing the largest oil-bunkering
depot and of supplying bigger quantities than any other
British bunkering station in the East.
Important quantities of fuel-oil were supplied from
time to time during the War to British and allied war
vessels from the Asiatic Petroleum Company's Singapore
depots, where also big cargoes of motor-spirit for the
Army Service Corps and Royal Air Force were packed
for export to various war areas such as Mesopotamia,
Egypt, East Africa, Salonica, etc. An interesting new
departure in the transport of fuel-oil in bulk, supplies
of which were urgently needed at home for the service
OIL FOR WAR PURPOSES loi
of the Fleet in European waters, was the use of the double
bottoms, or ballast tanks, of big cargo vessels for this
purpose. Large quantities of oil were transported in
this way from Singapore to the United Kingdom in the
double bottoms of vessels belonging to the " Blue
Funnel " Line (Messrs. A. Holt and Co.), the P. and O.
Company, and the Shire Line. The first cargo so loaded
at Pulo Bukom was that shipped per the Blue Funnel
boat Keemun in October 191 5, when the quantity of
1,089 tons was pumped into the ballast tanks in less than
seven hours. Full use also was made of Singapore as
an " entrepot " for the conveyance to the main war
theatres of thousands of tons of the precious Sumatra
and Borneo petrols, and the no less valuable paraffin
waxes from Borneo and Java, which proved to be such
a vital munition of war that in a speech delivered shortly
after the conclusion of the Armistice by M. Berenger,
the Commissioner-General of Petroleum in France, he
was induced to describe them as being '* the very life-
blood of victory." Singapore may well be proud of the
part it played in the continuous flow of this " life-blood "
to the heart of the Empire at the time of its greatest
need.
CHAPTER XIV
THE POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
By T. A. Melville f of the Straits Settlements Post
Office.
The Post Office under the East India Company
The postal regulations in force in Prince of Wales's
Island at, and for some years after, the foundation of
Singapore doubtless applied to the younger Settlement ,
and are given in extenso :
POST OFFICE department
Regulations
The Post Office will be opened at 9 in the morning
and continue open for the receipt and delivery of letters
till 5 in the afternoon.
Letters for England, for any of the Indian Settle-
ments, and for all known stations within the several
Presidencies will be at all times received at the Post
Office (during office hours) for despatch, and packets will
be regularly made up for the transmission of such
letters by the first safe conveyance that offers.
Regular registers will be kept of all letters received at
the Post Office and of the vessels on which they are
conveyed, and stamped receipts will be granted for all
letters sent to the office for despatch.
On the receipt of packets from vessels, the Post
Office Superintendent will proceed to despatch
immediately the letters for the Governor, Members of
Council, and Secretary of Government, and will then
102
EARLY POSTAL REGULATIONS 103
register alphabetically all other letters and without
delay send the peons to distribute them.
No letters will be received at the Post Office without
the postage being sent with it, nor will any letter be
delivered unless the postage is paid to the peon, or the
peon signs a receipt for it.
For the accommodation of the residents on the Island,
however, a register will be permitted to be kept for their
postage account on the understood condition that all
postage claims are regularly settled every month.
No person will be admitted into the interior of the
Post Office on any account.
The following rates of postage continue in force, to be
levied upon all letters with the exception of those on the
public service superscribed as such, and letters to or from
the Governor, Members of Council, Recorder, and
Commanding Officer of the Troops, which are exempted
from postage.
Postage to be levied on the receipt of all letters at
Fort Cornwallis.
On letters weighing less than
Drs.
Pice.
I Sicca rupee .
, 0
6
2 Sicca rupees .
. 0
12
4
. 0
24
8 „ . .
. 0
35
12
. I
00
12
. I
50
On all above
As an encouragement to Commanders of vessels having
private letters to send them to the Post Office, they shall
be entitled to receive three pice upon every letter de-
livered at the Post Office.
Prince of Wales's Island, 1st January 181 8.
Referring to the year 1820, Buckley remarks that
an alphabetical register was kept of all letters that
passed through the office, and a stamped receipt was
given for each letter posted, and that this practice was
carried on for many years. The Post Office revenue
before the Transfer was received on account of the
General Government of India, which also bore the
II— 8
104 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
disbursements. Buckley also gives us what is doubtless
the origin of the " Postal Express," or " Mail Notice,'*
as it is so frequently called (referring to the year 1838) :
" The s.s. Diana left for Malacca and Penang, and it
was a curious sign of the times that complaints were
made by some merchants that they had not heard of her
departure, and had missed the opportunity to write.
So it was suggested that it would be a good plan to
circulate a notice among the merchants when a steamer
was intended to leave."
It was not until November 1879, however, that the
printed Postal Express was published.
In September of the same year (1838) the Chamber of
Commerce succeeded, after some delay, in getting Govern-
ment to allow letters for England to be received at the
Post Office for transmission by the overland mails via
India. The postage through India was paid here and
the steam postage was collected in England. In 1854
the Singapore Post Office was near the Town Hall, on
the river-side. It was said that it ought to be put on the
Commercial Square side of the river. The Grand Jury
alluded to a number of grievances, one of which was the
inconvenient position of the Post Office. Communi-
cation between the business quarter and the Post Office
necessitated crossing the river in boats until some time
after 1856, when a footbridge was erected, toll J cent.
In 1856 the Grand Jury suggested that the Post Office
should be moved across the river to Fort Fullerton,
which was done many years afterwards, to its present
(191 9) site, and that a Court House should be built where
the Post Office then was. The 1859-60 Administration
Report stated that in order to remedy the public
inconvenience of having to employ special messengers
for the transmission of their letters to and from the
Post Office, " a receiving station is in course of erection
in Commercial Square, from which, on mail days, the box
will be removed to the Post Office every two or three
hours." The Annual Government Report for 1864 said
POSITION AT THE TRANSFER 105
that the old Court House (in 1902 a store-room behind
the Printing Office) had been fitted up and converted
into the Post Office. The Post Office was still in that
position in 1866.
In 1855 a separate Postmaster was appointed at
Singapore ; the Postmaster's salary was £396, and was
compared with the Hongkong Postmaster-General's
;^8oo. In the financial year 1859-60 the sale of postage
stamps brought in £4,SSS, and the amount of postage
received from other countries was ;^ 1,656. In 1861 the
Postmaster's salary was still £396, but he was recom-
mended for ;^594 per annum, with the greater title of
"Postmaster and Vendor of Stamps." The Singapore
Review and Monthly Magazine, conducted by E. A.
Edgerton, contained the following remarks in 1861 :
" The present Postmaster has had the management of
this department and faithfully discharged the duties of
it for over thirty years, though till within the last year or
two the Harbour Master has been its nominal head.
The duties have very much increased, as also the revenue ;
it is therefore recommended that his salary be raised
to £S9A, as in the proposed scale, and a more efficient
staff provided. He should also be Vendor of Stamps,
hitherto part of the duty of the Resident Councillor,
to the great inconvenience of the public."
The Post Office was under the Director-General of the
Post Office of India, and some, at least, of the regula-
tions published in the Straits bore his name.
At the time of the Transfer, 1867
The position cannot be better expressed than in the
following portion of a report dated Singapore, the
25th January 1864, from Sir Hercules Robinson, pre-
sented to Parhament on the 4th June 1866 :
" The Post Office Department in the Straits Settle-
ments is one with reference to which some new arrange-
ments will have to be entered into before the date of
the transfer. The present post offices in Singapore and
Penang are mere branches of the Indian Post Office,
io6 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
the Postmasters of both Settlements communicating
with, and accounting to, and receiving all their instruc-
tions from the Director-General at Calcutta. The regu-
lations in force are established under the authority of
the Indian Post Office Act, No. 17 of 1854, and all
postal rates charged are levied under the Act, with the
exception of the rates for correspondence by subsidised
steamers, which are fixed by warrants of the Lords
Commissioners of the Treasury. The Indian postage
rates are specified in annas and pie, and the British in
sterling money ; but only Indian postage labels are in
use, upon which the rates are inscribed in the denomina-
tion of Indian currency ; and these are sold to the
public in exchange for dollars — the real currency of the
Straits Settlements — at a par of rupees 224.8 annas
6t(J*^ pie, equivalent to $100, and are taken in payment
of British postages at the rate of one anna for three-
halfpence. I presume that, if the transfer takes place,
the post offices of the Straits will become subordinate
to the General Post Office in London, subject, however,
as in Hongkong, to the immediate control of the local
Government, and, if so, instructions for the guidance
of the Postmasters will have to be furnished by Her
Majesty's Postmaster-General ; and steps should be
taken at once to obtain a supply of local postage labels,
upon which the rates should be inscribed in dollars and
cents.
" As soon as possible, also, after the transfer, a local
Ordinance should be passed for the management of the
local post offices, and for the purpose of accommodating
the British and Indian postage rates at" present in force
to the currency of the Colony. Pending the enact-
ment of such an Ordinance, the existing arrangements
would be continued by the clause which has been sug-
gested in the Act of Parliament for separating the
Settlements from India ; and the local Government can
fix by regulations the rate at which the new stamps
shall be accepted in payment of British and Indian
postages. But until the Ordinance is passed, rupees and
sterling money cannot be refused at the Post Office if
tendered in payment of such postages."
An abstract of the probable annual revenue and ex-
MAILS BY STEAM PACKETS 107
penditure of the Department, if transferred to the Colonial
Office, estimated the Singapore revenue as Rs. 32,000,
as against an expenditure of Rs. 23,700. It was ex-
plained that the gross postal revenue had hitherto been
brought to account, but that in this estimate only the
Colonial share of the postages had been included, at
the same rates as those allowed by the Imperial Govern-
ment to Hongkong towards the expense of local manage-
ment.
The Post Office was situated in Court Buildings, High
Street, and the Postmaster was William Cuppage, who
became Acting Postmaster-General in 1869, and had
carried on the work of the Post Office for very many
years, although, it appears, under the control of the
Harbour Master.
Under the Imperial Act, " to provide for the Govern-
ment of the Straits Settlements," dated 1866 the Straits
Settlements ceased to be a part of India, but the existing
laws and officers were preserved, and the laws governing
the Post Office remained the Post Office Acts of India.
Maritime Mails
One of Raffles 's regulations (1823) for the Port of
Singapore read : " Commanders of all vessels are re-
quested to deliver, when boarded by the Master Atten-
dant's boat, all letters, packets, and despatches for the
Settlement, and to receive and furnish a receipt for Post
Office packets which may be sent on board on their
departure."
In the early days the flagstaff was eagerly watched,
and the signal for a ship to the eastward infused new
life into all, as letters from Europe usually arrived via
Batavia. A voyage from England took four or five
months, and an answer within ten months was con-
sidered very punctual.
The Singapore Chronicle of 1825 contained an article
on the proposal to establish steam navigation in the
Straits of Malacca, and in 1826 announced the arrival
io8 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
in India of the first steam vessel from Europe, the
s.s. Enterprizey which left England on the 19th August
1825 and arrived in Calcutta on the 9th December.
The Malacca Observer of 1828-9 had the following inter-
esting items :
" Steam Navigation. — ^Another advantage may be
gained if Mr. Waghorn succeeds in his attempt to
bring out letters and parcels from England to Calcutta
in seventy-five days, previously touching at Madras,
etc. . . . thus we should have a communication from
England in about eighty days. This, it must be acknow-
ledged, is a desideratum, although the expense attending
the accommodation would be necessarily high."
" STEAM NAVIGATION TO INDIA
'' To the subscribers to the Stearn Navigation Fund and
the public in general.
" I feel it my duty to express my thanks for the
degree of interest that you have already conferred by
assisting my plan of Steam Communication between
England and India.
" The resolution passed at the Town Hall on the
30th July last, and the undermentioned rates of postage
sanctioned by the Governor-General in Council in a
letter to me dated the 7th August 1828, are sufficient
to point out the degree of encouragement I have received
in Calcutta, and I feel sanguine of success. On my
arrival in England I proceeded to build and fit a vessel
for this important undertaking. I therefore still solicit
that as I am labouring to perform a public benefit, I may
not be forgotten — and I can only say that to be the
first individual that shall make a voyage to India and
back to England in six months will to me be a sufficient
reward, and I will devote my utmost endeavours to
effect it. Wishing the Steam Committee and Sub-
scribers who have given their aid to my views every
happiness and my humble thanks, I hope yet to requite
the obligation I lay under to them by opening com-
munication with their relatives in a third less time,
and thereby save them many painful hours of anxiety."
THE OVERLAND ROUTE
109
If less
If less
If less
than 75
than 85
than 100
days
days
days
included.
hicluded.
Included.
For each single letter not exceeding one Sicca
weight, if exceeding one Sicca weight
double, H exceeding two Sicca weight
treble, and so on
3Rs.
2 Rs.
I R.
Newspapers each .....
3Rs.
2Rs.
iR.
Accounts, Law Papers, etc., certified as such
outside and not containing letters, per
ounce ......
3Rs.
2Rs.
I R.
And if more than 100 days the common ship
postage.
In its issue of the 14th July 1829 the same pubHca-
tion states : " We have this day been favoured
with the sight of a few Enghsh papers and periodicals
dated the ist February." In 1826 the East India
Company's ship Thomas Coutts did the round trip,
England, Bombay, Singapore, Macao, the Downs, ten
days within the year, the quickest return trip known.
The first steamship to arrive in Singapore was the
s.s. Jardine, a paddle-steamer. This was in 1836, and
was made the occasion for an amusing picnic.
1844. — '' The time of the receipt of letters by the
overland route at this period was still very uncertain.
In one week in February, for example, instalments of
three mails came in, and in the very reverse order to
that which they ought to have been received. On a
Tuesday a portion of a mail posted in England in
December arrived by way of Calcutta ; on the next
day a part of the November mail arrived by way of
China ; and four days later the brig Sea Horsey from
Bombay, brought the October mail, so that the mail,
not usually, took over four months to reach here,
which was longer than an average passage by a sailing
vessel round the Cape. It was proposed to get the
P. and O. service established to Singapore, and that
' Pulo Labuan, near Borneo,' should be made a point
of call for British men-of-war to coal on the voyage
between Singapore and Hongkong when conveying the
mails from here. The Sea Horse brought forty convicts
no POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
from Bombay under an armed guard, being part of a
famous robber gang known as the Bunder Gang."
One firm in Java, Messrs. Maclaine, Watson and Co.,
in 1848 used to have a special vessel waiting at Singa-
pore to convey its European mail to Java. In 1853
different flags were first used to distinguish the closing
of the different mails : Calcutta by a blue ensign,
Australia a white flag, Europe a red, China a yellow
flag. Jardine, Matheson and Co. and the Apcar steamers
commenced running between China and Calcutta in
1856, and were the first regular vessels to trade with
Singapore in addition to the P. and O. In 1862 the
Messageries Imperiales began to run, and the first of
their steamers to arrive from Suez bringing the mails
from London of the i8th October was the Imperatricey
which arrived at Singapore on the 21st November. It
was then and for some years after a monthly service,
and was due to the opening of Cochin-China by the
French. In 1864, on the 24th November, the French
mail steamer Hydaspe left Singapore for Batavia. This
was the commencement of the Messageries Imperiales
regular service between the two ports in connection with
the mail steamer from Europe. News arrived next
morning that she was wrecked in the Straits of Rhio.
The first German mail arrived in Singapore in August
1886, after which they called at Singapore monthly,
both directions, and the last in 19 14 I She had a post
office on board, and the mail gun was fired on her
arrival. It became a fortnightly service in 1899.
Regular branch lines ran from Singapore to Siam, Java,
PhiUppines, New Guinea, the Caroline, Marian, Marshall,
and Palaos Islands.
In October 1891 the Post Office first issued its " Pro
Forma Time Table," giving the approximate dates of
arrival of mail steamers at and departure from Singa-
pore, and of the movements of connecting packets at
other ports. The publication was continued quarterly
until the War.
THE P. AND O. MAIL iii
In 1896 all the steamers plying between the Colony
and surrounding countries were supplied with letter-
boxes, and the number of letters posted in them on
board the steamers was far in excess of the number
which used to be handed over to the Boarding Officers.
Many Chinchews took to carrying stamps for sale to
passengers and people posting late letters. The system
had a satisfactory effect in inducing the Chinchews to
work with the Post Office instead of evading the law as
to the illicit conveyance of letters on all possible
occasions.
In 1905 the Post Office was provided with a steam
launch for the purpose of shipping mails on board
steamers lying in the roads.
In 1906 direct mails for Canada were sent via Hong-
kong and the East Empress Line monthly.
In 1907, consequent on the lower sea transport rates
payable to the Colony under the Rome Postal Conven-
tion for carrying foreign mails, the gratuities payable
to masters of non-contract vessels were reduced.
The War was responsible for many changes in mail
routes : mails for Australia were no longer despatched
via Colombo ; all mails for North America were des-
patched via the Pacific after August 191 7. The Blue
Funnel Line was used for the conveyance of parcels
between the Straits and the United Kingdom, and vice
versa.
The p. and O. Mail
The overland mail (across Egypt) was established
in 1837, and across France to Marseilles in 1839, and
through Italy to Brindisi in 1870. Camel transport
was used for the mails up to 1858, when the railway
planned by Mr. Robert Stephenson was opened for
traffic between Cairo and Suez. The Canal was opened
in 1 869, but the mails continued to be carried by rail
until 1873, when only specially prepaid correspondence
was conveyed through the Canal. It was not until
1888 that the railway was given up and the Canal route
112 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
adopted for mails. The Peninsular Company was
formed in 1837, ^^^ extended its services to the East in
1840, when it became by Royal Charter the Peninsular
and Oriental Company. Their first ship carrying mails to
India left England in September 1842, via the Cape.
Their regular mail service to Alexandria with the mails
for the East India Company's ships carried the mails
from Suez eastward until 1854, when the P. and O. took
over the through service to Bombay.
In 1 844 the Peninsular and Oriental Company made the
first contract for the conveyance of the mails to China
via Ceylon. The contract was for 140 hours from Ceylon
to Penang, forty-five hours from there to Singapore,
and 170 hours from there to Hongkong. The steamers
were to remain forty-eight hours here. The service was
once a month. The first mail steamer, the Lady Mary
Wood, arrived on the 4th August 1845, having been
eight days from Galle. She brought the mails from
London of the 24th June, having taken forty-one days.
The paper spoke of this matter as follows :
'* The arrival of the first overland mail for the Straits
and China is an event of some importance, and deserving
of special notice at our hands. It is a further addition
to the great lines of steam-packets by which Great
Britain is brought into such close contact with her more
distant Colonial possessions. The American and West
Indian Colonies have long had regular lines of steamers
between them and the Mother Country, and now in the
East it only wants an extension of the chain to Australia
to render it complete. This, we believe, will not be long
withheld, the growing importance of the Australian
Colonies, and the advantages resulting to Government
itself from quick and regular communications with
distant possessions, will speedily bring about the accom-
plishment of this line. It seems almost certain that
Singapore will be the station where the junction of the
Australian line with the Indian one will take place, so
that with the Dutch monthly steamer and perhaps the
Manila one in addition, Singapore bids fair to become a
steam-packet station of considerable importance."
A POSTAL MISHAP 113
The number of letters carried by the succeeding
steamer, the Braganza, from Europe was 652, and news-
papers 673 ; total number of covers, 1,325, Thenumber
taken by the Lady Mary Wood on her return voyage
homewards on the ist September was : Europe, 3,989 '>
Penang, 165 ; Ceylon, 74; Bombay, 242 ; Madras, 281 ;
Aden, 6 ; total amount of covers, 4,757.
There was a good deal of excitement in the Square
because some of the prepaid letters by the first homeward
mail were left behind, and the following appeared in
the paper :
'' We regret to notice that a great number of letters
sent to the Post Office and intended for despatch to
Europe by the steamer Lady Mary Wood, although sent
to the Post Office a few minutes before two o'clock
(the advertised latest hour), were not forwarded to
destination, but returned to the senders. The letters
in question were sent by two commercial houses, whose
communications and correspondence were extensive, and
throughout the day were despatching letters to the Post
Office so soon as they were sealed, in order that the Post
Office servants might experience as little inconvenience
as possible. In the instance of these letters some excuse
is raised, which is not withal very reasonable. The
whole of the ' rejected addresses ' were epistles to foreign
countries, and as such had to undergo various entries
in sundry books of the Singapore Post Office to ensure
the certainty of reaching their destination. Although in
time, that is several minutes before the advertised hour
of closing the mails, the letters were returned ; because,
as alleged, there was no time to perform all the manipula-
tions necessary in the instance of foreign letters. But
a still worse casualty occurred, the whole of the unpaid
letters were forgotten ! They had been placed in a very
snug corner, but were overlooked."
The Chamber of Commerce addressed the Governor
very warmly upon the subject, and Mr. William Scott
and Mr. Cuppage, who were in charge of the Post Office,
got a good deal of warm language. The merchants made
legal protests against the Post Office authorities, holding
114 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
them liable for any loss that might ensue ; but they were
only waste paper, as the India Postal Act exempted
them from responsibility. The paper said shortly
afterwards that the energy of the Chamber had worked
wonders. The forgotten letters were sent on by the
steamer Fire Queen to Calcutta some days after, to go
from there by any opportunity.
At the beginning of 1848 the closing of the P. and O.
mails was first signalled from the Government Hill
(now Fort Canning) flagstaff, the red ensign being used
for the Europe mail and the yellow flag for China, and
a gun was fired when the steamer arrived during the
night. By the contract the mail steamer had to wait
in Singapore forty-eight hours. The first time the yellow
flag was used a report got about that plague had broken
out on board one of the Arab pilgrim ships, which caused
alarm in the town among the natives for a few hours,
from a belief that that signal was made to warn people
of it.
In June 1850 the Naval Commander-in-Chief, Admiral
Austin, stopped the P. and O. mail, as is related in the
following extract from the Singapore Free Press :
" The inhabitants of Singapore on Monday forenoon
were surprised at the report of heavy guns, immediatel}^
after the departure of the Pekin, which was soon
ascertained from those cognisant of naval forms to be a
' recall,' or order for the detention of the Pekin y
which vessel had made a few revolutions when the signal
was made from the steam-sloop Fury, on board which
ship the Naval Commander-in-Chief's flag is at present
flying. These sounds, however, were imagined by those
on board the Pekin to proceed from some junks saluting
prior to their departure, and she held on her way without
attending to them. It appears that important public
despatches had been left behind, and it was therefore
necessary that they should be sent after the Pekin. The
Fury was at this time undergoing some requisite ad-
justment of her ponderous machinery, and one boiler was
under repair, besides other causes of detention, the
details of which we are not cognisant of ; yet at noon she
THE NAVY AND THE MAILS 115
was ready for the chase, on which she started precisely
three hours in arrear of the runawa}^ mail. A stern chase
is generally denominated a long chase, but in the present
instance such proved not to be the fact. The Pekin
was sighted shortly after 2 o'clock, and the distance
between each rapidly decreased. When the Pekin was
some five miles ahead ' blank cartridge ' from the bow
gun, we hear, was fired, but no notice being taken, it
determined to send a shot in the same direction so as to
fall on the starboard quarter, which had the desired
effect, and the Pekin at last pulled up."
Such an occurrence was not unusual in former days.
One Admiral, about 1862, we think it was Admiral Kuper,
shot away part of the fore-rigging of a P. and O. steamer
in Japan for not heaving to when signalled to do so. The
Master of the P. and O. steamer in Singapore in 1867,
having made some demur as to waiting a short time to
take Admiral Keppel's despatches on board, was
actually prevented from going to sea, if he had intended
to do so, by a manned-and-armed cutter being laid
alongside the vessel at the New Harbour Wharf ; the
letters, however, were on board before the advertised
hour for saihng. Another steamer, during the Abyssinian
War in 1 867, neglecting to heave to when passing through
the old harbour, when H.M.S. Satellite signalled to her
to do so, had two blank guns fired at her, and then a
shot was sent across her bows. The shot was so well
in front of her that it nearly hit the powder magazine,
anchored outside the harbour.
The Straits Times of 1850 gave the average number of
days occupied in the transit of mails from England to
Singapore as 43 in 1845, 44 in 1846, 45 J in 1847, 45i
in 1848, and 44! in 1849.
From the beginning of 1853 the monthly P. and O. mail
was changed into a mail twice a month. The first left
London on the 8th of each month, and came direct from
Galle to Penang, Singapore, and China. The second
left London on the 24th, and went from Galle to Calcutta,
and then to Penang and onwards. The first was due
Ii6 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
in Singapore about the 1 5th of each month, the contract
time being thirty-eight days ; the second about the loth
of each month, the contract time being forty-seven days.
The homeward mails left Singapore on the 17th and
28th, the first via Bombay and the second via Calcutta,
the contract time for both to Marseilles being forty-four
days. The steamers went on to Southampton. The
time taken by the steamer going round via Calcutta
caused so much delay that the two mails arrived very
near each other, and this was avoided in 1857 by the
mails being transhipped at Galle.
In the month of September 1854 the P. and O. mail
from London was delivered in thirty-four days, which
was considered very remarkable ; and the paper said :
" When the lines of railway through France and Egypt
are completed, we may expect to receive our mails from
England in thirty or thirty-one days."
In 1867 a new contract with the P. and O. Company
provided a weekly service to Bombay, with a transit of
twenty-six days and a subsidy of ;^400,ooo. Arrange-
ments were made with the Company for a " Parcel Post
Service " between the Straits and the United Kingdom,
with effect from the ist April 1876. There was no
parcel post in the United Kingdom at that time, and
the addressees had to make their own arrangements for
obtaining the parcels from the Company. In May 1879
a " Marine Officer" was appointed to sort the outward
mails by P. and O. steamers between Penang and
Singapore. There were ninety private bags, which were
ready for delivery within a few minutes of the mails
reaching the General Post Office.
Under a new contract in 1880 letters were delivered
in Singapore in about twenty-eight days from the date
of their leaving England. It was decided that the Colony
should pay a share of the subsidy, which it did as from
the I St February 1880, the date of commencement of the
contract. The ten-year contract from the ist February
1888 provided for the mails being conveyed through the
Suez Canal instead of via Alexandria. The rate of speed
MAIL ACCELERATION 117
between Brindisi and Port Said was to be 12*5 knots and
between Suez and Singapore was increased from 10*5 to
11*2 knots. This contract was on a reduced subsidy.
A new eight-year contract came into operation on the
I St February 1890. It provided for the conveyance of
mails between Brindisi and the Straits fortnightly, at an
average speed of over 13 knots. In his report for 1904
Mr. Noel Trotter wrote :
*' The question of the apportionment between the
United Kingdom, India, Australia, Ceylon, the Straits
Settlements, and Hongkong of the subsidy of ;£3 30,000
a year paid to the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navi-
gation Company for the performance of part of the
Eastern and Australian Mail Service from the ist Febru-
ary 1898 has been under consideration for some time.
On the basis of an award by the late Lord Morley, in an
arbitration case between the United Kingdom and India,
the British Post Office claimed £7,719 a year from the
Straits Settlements. The Eastern Colonies all objected
to the method of assessment proposed, and it was there-
fore decided to refer the matter of what these Colonies
should pay to arbitration. At the request of the Colonial
Office I prepared the draft case for Ceylon, the Straits,
and Hongkong, and, according to the case submitted,
this Colony's contribution should be £5,345 only. The
Arbitrator was Lord Balfour of Burleigh, who, after
going very carefully into the whole question, wrote :
I am afraid I am not able to suggest any principle
which would be thoroughly logical, having regard to all
the difficulties of the case, and I am, therefore, reduced to
suggesting that an arbitrary figure should be taken as a
basis for settlement.' He fixed the contribution by
this Colony at £6,goo per annum, which is i6'5 per
cent, more than the round sum we have paid since the
year 1880."
In 1905 the transit between London and Singapore
averaged 21 J days, and between Singapore and London
22 J days. Speed was not a strong point in the service,
and it was pointed out that in 1893 a P. and O. packet
had delivered the London mails in Singapore in 19! days,
Ii8 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
and that in about 1 880 a mail despatched from Singapore
by the Stirling Castle had reached London via Brindisi
in twenty days. The shortest time occupied by the
P. and O. mail in transit London to Singapore in 1906 was
19 days 17 hours 25 minutes; in 1907, 20 days 10 hours
35 minutes; and 1908, 19 days 18 hours 30 minutes.
A new seven-year contract provided an improved
service for a less subsidy, and commenced on the ist
February 1908.
In July 191 7, owing to the War, the P. and O. contract
service to the Straits ceased, but still continued betw^een
the United Kingdom and Bombay, to and from which
port the Straits mails continued to be conveyed. On
arrival in Bombay the mails were railed across to Nega-
patam and brought on by the B. I. contract steamers;
but the service became irregular. The homeward
service via Suez continued weekly, but delays en route
rendered delivery in London very irregular, the period
of transit extending sometimes to as much as fifty days.
Sorting between Penang and Singapore ceased on account
of the censorship. The P. and O. Company conveyed
free of charge any literature collected by the Post Office
for distribution among His Majesty's naval or military
forces.
The British India Mail
In 1883 it was decided, after consulting the Chamber
of Commerce at Singapore and Penang, to discontinue,
after the expiration, on the 30th April 1884, of the con-
tract between the Indian Government and the British
India Steam Navigation Company, the annual contri-
bution of $6,000 made by this Colony for a fortnightly
mail service between India and the Straits via Burma.
The mails had come via India, as \vell as other routes,
since the days of Raffles. In 1887 ^ scheme was under
consideration with a view of having mails from Europe
for Penang sent by P. and O. packet to Bombay, and for-
warded thence via Negapatam in the alternate week,
when there was no opportunity by the direct route.
MAILS BY A NEW ROUTE 119
The scheme depended on a satisfactory arrangement
being made for the subsidised steamers which ran
between certain ports in the Madras Presidency and the
Straits Settlements once a fortnight on the arrival there
of the mails from Europe for Penang. The mails from
London for Penang would be delivered in twenty-five
days instead of occupying a month in transmission by
French packet via Singapore, and the Colony would have
a weekly British mail service with England.
In 1889 the new route, which had been opened to the
Penang public through the energy of Mr. Huttenbach,
had proved a marked success ; the average period of
transit of the mails to England was under twenty-seven
days, and a mail by this service was regularly advertised
and made up in Singapore also.
In his report for 1 894 Mr. Noel Trotter wrote :
" A matter of much importance to Penang is the
inclusion in the estimates for 1 895 of a sum of $1 5,000 as
a subsidy towards the promotion of a fortnightly mail
service between Penang and India, so as to provide,
conjointly with the existing service by P. and O. packets,
regular weekly communication between Europe and the
northern capital of this Colony. The scheme con-
templates placing the present gratuitous homeward
service from Penang, via Negapatam, on a more
satisfactory footing, and the conveyance of the mails
from Europe under contract via Bombay, Calcutta, and
Rangoon, instead of by French packet via Singapore.
The British India Steam Navigation Company is pre-
pared to accept the subsidy mentioned for the service
for a year, and the arrangement only awaits the
approval of the Secretary of State to be brought into
operation. The scheme is tentative, and in the nature
of a compromise ; but I hope it is the thin end of the
wedge which will ultimately result in the permanent
adoption of a mail service for Penang by one or the
other of the direct routes, via Calcutta or Nega-
patam. I believe that if a service possessing the
principal elements of success were established, Perak
would be willing to contribute liberally towards its cost,
and it would also be an advantage to Sumatra and
II— 9
120 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
Selangor to make use of it. Further, the fact should
not be lost sight of that if arrangements were made
for the conveyance of Singapore mails more expe-
ditiously via India than by French packet, a sum of
about $10,000 per annum now paid by this Department
to France would be available. There would be other
sums which could be apphed to the subsidy, provided
success were assured. The best proof, however, that
success is practicable is to be found in the fact that the
two fastest passages of the mails homeward were per-
formed by the Negapatam route, the transit occupying
in each case twenty-one and a half days from Penang to
London. The following are the relative dates in the two
cases in question. The tendency of the time is to increase
the speed of the contract steamers running between
Europe and Bombay much more than between Europe
and China, and on the occasion of some of the recent
fast voyages from Brindisi to Bombay, had there been
a ten-knot steamer at Calcutta or Negapatam to bring
on the mails for the Straits, they could have been
delivered in Penang in twenty-one days and in Singapore
in twenty-three days . "
It was not until 1901 that the homeward B.I. service
from Penang was subsidised, and in 1902 the contract
was extended to Singapore. In 1904 arrangements
were made for the service to be extended to Singapore in
both directions, thus completing the whole scheme.
The mail was to be sorted on board between Penang and
Singapore. The subsidy paid for conveying the mails
between India and Penang and Singapore in both direc-
tions was $75,000 a year, and the full service commenced
in February 1905.
A new five-year contract operated from the 12th
February 1908. From the 22nd February the route
for the homeward mails conveyed by this Company was
via Madras, instead of as formerly via Rangoon. This
contract also provided for a weekly immigration service
from Madras and Negapatam. Of the subsidy of
Rs. 375,000 ($214,286) per annum for this joint service,
the cost of the mail service, defrayed by the Post Office,
MAIL SERVICES BY RAIL I2i
was $90,000, towards which the Federated Malay States
contributed $12,714. This contract was extended for
a further two years, from the nth February 191 8, at a
subsidy increased by Rs. 50,000 per annum.
Railway Mail Services
Singapore has become the terminus of an extensive
railway system spreading through the Malay Peninsula
and Siam to Bangkok, with numerous branches from the
main line. The first railway to be built in Malaya was
that from Taiping to Port Weld, opened on the ist June
1885, an eight-mile track. Another section of twenty-
two miles from Kuala Lumpur to Klang was opened
in September 1886, and extended to Port Swettenham in
the same year. Seremban was linked up with Port
Dickson in 1891. Thus the chief towns in Perak,
Selangor, and Negri Sembilan had railway communica-
tion with their respective ports, and mails to and from
Singapore followed these routes. The next step was
the connecting up of the three chief towns by a line
forming the backbone of the whole system. In 1900 the
main line extended from Prai (Penang) to Seremban.
Seremban was linked up with Tampin and Malacca in
1905, from which date a regular mail train ran to Prai.
The Singapore- Kranji Railway was opened in 1903,
and the mail exchanges with Johore followed this route,
the former mail-coach service being discontinued.
With the completion of the Johore Railway in 1909,
nearly all the mails between Singapore and the central
and western portions of the Peninsula were conveyed
by rail, in most cases with enormous advantage in
speed. The main line has already been linked up with
the Siamese system, and a through train service between
Singapore and Bangkok was opened on the ist July
191 8. The mail service on this section commenced on
the ist November 191 8. There is already another
line branching into Kelantan, another across to Singkhla
(Senggora) on the east coast, another to Kantong (Trang)
on the west.
122 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
Singapore mails are greatly accelerated by the iron
road over the Peninsula. The mails from Europe are
now disembarked from the mail packets at Penang and
sent down to Singapore by express with very often more
than twenty-four hours' gain. For some time before the
War these European mails had been sorted in railway
sorting offices and made ready for immediate delivery on
arrival in Singapore. The War and the censorship put
an end to this.
Siamese and Kelantan mails for and from the West
no longer pass through Singapore, but by rail via Penang.
At the recent rate of progress it will not be long before
Singapore has direct intercourse by rail with Indo-China,
China, and India, and it does not require an exceptionally
strong imagination to take one from Singapore to
London by rail, via Constantinople or via Siberia.
Postage Rates
A survey of the international postage rates of the
Colony divides itself naturally into two periods — before
and after the adhesion to the Universal Postal Conven-
tion in 1877. The local rates are not governed by the
International Convention. Before 1877 the rates de-
pended on the charges made by the various countries
through whose territory correspondence passed, in
whose vessels it was conveyed, in whose territory it was
delivered, on the route followed, on the distance, and on
whether the postage was prepaid or collected on delivery.
In many cases postage to destination could not be pre-
paid, in others prepayment was compulsory. Every
letter was a matter of account between the various
countries concerned in its transmission, a system impos-
sible to imagine as being applied to the millions of letters
exchanged at the present day. Under the Convention,
on the other hand, uniformity of postage rates throughout
the Postal Union was the governing principle, based on
the fact that distance is an infinitesimal factor in the
cost of transport of a letter.
Without attempting to trace the actual rates and their
POSTAL CHARGES 123
innumerable variations during the hundred years, it may
be interesting to recall some of the outstanding features
of the Straits postage from the date of adhesion to the
Postal Union in 1 877. There was animmediate reduction
then. Between 1876 and 1879, for example, the rate to
the United Kingdom was reduced from 28 cents to 12
cents via Brindisi, and from 28 cents to 8 cents via
Marseilles. In the report for 1893 we find the following
passages :
** The Straits rates of postage on letters for all destina-
tions outside British Malaya of 5 cents, which is nominally
the equivalent of 2^d., had continued with the fall of
exchange to shrink in value until it became worth only
one-third of a penny in excess of a penny, a penny being
the rate of postage which must eventually become
universal. But in consequence of the necessity for
raising general revenue, owing to the straitened condition
of the Colonial finances, the Government decided in
August to make use of its rights to level up the rates of
postage to a closer approximation of the Postal Union
unit, and accordingly an Order-in-Council has been
passed raising the foreign letter rate of 5 cents, and the
domestic rate of 2 cents, to 8 cents and 3 cents re-
spectively, from the ist March 1894. The price of
foreign post cards will be raised from 2 cents to 3 cents
each."
In the spring of 1895 ^ suggestion which originated
with the International Bureau of the Postal Union (which
has charge of such matters) was received through
the Secretary of State that for the sake of uniformity
with Hongkong, North Borneo, and Labuan the Straits
should fix 10,4, and 2 cents, instead of 8, 3, and i cents, as
the equivalent of the Postal Union primary rates of 25,
10, and 5 centimes. Of this the Postmaster-General
wrote :
" It is true that, since our present rates were fixed,
silver had further depreciated, and the suggested equiva-
lents were in closer approximation to the Union rates
than our own. I reported against the proposed change,
124 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
as the principle of periodically adjusting the rates of
postage to a gold basis seemed to me, from the point of
view of public convenience, to be an extremely objection-
able one, besides which, in the face of the fact that the
revenue of the Post Office exceeded its expenditure, there
was no departmental reason for making any alteration.
1 also opposed it on the grounds that, taking a broad
view of the matter, the time when adverse conditions of
trade obtain, as they did then, the obligations of the
Department to the public became at once intensified
and enlarged."
The 1902 report had the following paragraph :
" The claim of the cheapest postage in the world is
heard periodically from different parts of the world, but
undoubtedly the Straits Settlements postal tariff as a
whole compares favourably with that of any other
country. Post cards available in the Colony and to the
Federated Malay States are sold at one-fifth of a penny
each ; the latter rate of postage throughout the same area
is slightly over a halfpenny ; the postage on letters to
any place (with very few exceptions) in the British
Empire is four-fifths of a penny per half-ounce up to
2 ounces of printed matter, can be sent to any part of the
civilised world for one-fifth of a penny and 10 ounces for
a penny, which is absolutely the cheapest international
postage I have ever heard of. Thus a letter and a news-
paper can be mailed hence to almost any part of the
Empire at a total cost of a penny. Our registration fee
of one penny is without parallel for cheapness ; most
other countries charge 2d. or 2|<i."
In the 1905 report we find it stated that :
" The question of the adoption of universal penny
postage was discussed a great deal in 1905, especially in
the Press in England, but its proposal in the Postal
Congress recently held at Rome does not appear to have
received much support. Egypt has now taken the lead
in this matter in a practical way, and has offered to
introduce penny postage with any country which will
reciprocate. This Colony is ripe for the adoption of
penny postage with the rest of the world. Imperial
LOCAL POSTAL UNION 125
penny postage, adopted seven years ago on the ground
of sentiment, has proved, in this Colony, a sound
business proposition, and a justification for a general
extension of penny postage. It is certainly anomalous
that a letter can be sent from this Colony to Canada,
a distance of over 10,000 miles, for a penny, whereas
for the same letter from Singapore to Rhio (Nether-
lands India) or from Penang to Kedah (a Siamese depen-
dency), distances of forty-eight and twenty-four miles
respectively, 2^d. is the postage ; it seems still more
anomalous when it is considered that 2^(1. is about a
quarter of a day's wages of an ordinary native working
man in these parts. In such circumstances it can
hardly be a matter for surprise that natives often
evade paying postage on letters when there is an oppor-
tunity of sending them by private hands."
The usual Congress which met at Rome in May 1906
was against the universal penny postage proposal, and
though the primary rates remained the same, the unit
of weight was increased from half an ounce to one ounce,
with effect from the ist October 1907. At the same
time a reduced charge was made for every ounce after
the first. The War of 19 14 was responsible for an
indefinite postponement of the next International
Conference — it was to have been held in Madrid, and
the international rates have undergone no alteration.
From the ist January 191 8, however, the Straits
equivalents were raised to those which had been sug-
gested in 1895, namely 10, 4, and 2 cents for the 25,
10, and 5 centimes international rates. This amounted
to raising the letter rate to countries outside the British
Empire from 8 cents to 10 cents.
In considering postage rates it must always be borne
in mind that the exchange value of the dollar varied
between 1870 and 1906, when it was fixed on a gold
basis at 2s. 4d., from 45. 6d. to is. S^d. in a steady
downward progression.
In 1907 a Local Postage Union was established
between the Colony, the Federated Malay States,
126 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
Johore, Sarawak, and Brunei, by which the rates of
postage on letters, parcels, and other articles trans-
mitted between these administrations were the same as
those in force within the Colony. From the ist January
1908 the British Borneo Government joined this Union
in so far as they agreed to receive and deliver free of
charge postal matter prepaid at these reduced rates,
although they were unable to adopt reciprocal rates.
Consequent on the transfer of the States of Kelantan,
Trengganu, Kedah, and Perils from Siamese to British
protection the postage rates to and from these States
became the same as those of the Malayan Postage Union,
from the ist August 1909. The letter rates remained
the same until the ist January 191 8, when they were
raised from 3 cents for 2 ounces to 4 cents for 2 ounces
(initial rate), and 2 cents for every additional 2 ounces.
Imperial Penny Postage
Christmas Day 1898 was the birthday of Imperial
Penny Postage, and its introduction is referred to by
Mr. Noel Trotter in his report for that year :
" The chief event of the year, postally as well as
otherwise, in this Colony was the adoption, by order
of the Secretary of State, of Imperial Penny Postage,
inaugurated on Christmas Day. Four cents was fixed
as the equivalent of a penny, but that sum is really
slightly less than the popular unit. In a leading article
in the London Times dealing with the brilliant stroke
of Imperial policy in extending the boon of Penny
Postage to every part of Her Majesty's Dominions that
would accept it, it was stated : * Christmas Day 1898
will henceforth be a memorable date in the annals of
the British Empire. It marks the initiation, though
not the completion, of what will no doubt shortly
become a uniform system of postage for letters at the
rate of a penny for half an ounce to all parts of the
Empire. At present the Australasian Colonies, includ-
ing New Zealand, stand aloof, and the adhesion of the
Cape Colony has not yet been received. But the
omission of these Colonies and some others, such as
IMPERIAL PENNY POSTAGE 127
Mauritius, from the list issued by the Post Office of
British possessions and protectorates to which the new
system appHes can only be regarded as temporary. The
contagious momentum of a change so far-reaching, and
so conducive to the social solidarity of the Empire,
must in the long run prove irresistible, even though
financial considerations have led in some cases to hesi-
tation and delay.'
" There are, of course, two aspects in which to con-
template this welcome measure of postal reform ; the
first relates to its social and commercial results, and
the second views it in its financial relationship ; in this
Colony it goes without saying that its success in its
first aspect is assured, and after two months' experience
of the second, I am able to add that the result will
probably surpass the most sanguine expectations.
There will, of course, be a large increase of correspon-
dence with the Mother Country, but owing to communi-
cation being confined to practically only a mail once a
week (the odd monthly mail counting at present for
very Httle), expansion is necessarily more limited than
in cases where there are frequent opportunities of com-
munication ; it is, therefore, on letters going in certain
other directions that we may expect to see the tem-
porarily reduced revenue rapidly recoup itself ; an
extraordinary increase in the number of letters
exchanged with Hongkong has already been observed,
and Chinese traders, alert to take advantage of the
economic improvements, will now be further stimu-
lated to abandon smuggling letters in favour of using
the Post Office. Letters not exceeding half an ounce in
weight from soldiers and seamen in Her Majesty's
service continue to be carried to all parts of the Empire
for a postage of 2 cents each."
Mr. Trotter's prophecy of 1898 with reference to the
financial aspects of the introduction of the Imperial
Penny Post was more than fulfilled. In 1 898 the number
of articles which passed through the post was 6,660,968,
and the postal revenue $234,859, as compared with
19,292,460 and $609,597 in 1908, only ten years later.
Although during the War the Imperial postage in
128 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
many parts of the Empire was raised from a penny to
three-halfpence, the rate has remained unaltered in this
Colony : 4 cents.
Local Newspaper Rates
The postage of 2 cents (limit of weight 4 ounces) on
newspapers of local origin when transmitted between
the Settlements and the Protected Native States and
Johore was abolished in September 1888. The privilege
of free postage was partially withdrawn in 1891, owing
to abuse, and confined to newspapers posted direct by
the publishers within seven days of publication ; but this
concession terminated with the year 1893, when the
rate became i cent for 2 ounces. In 1897 the rate for
local newspapers became i cent for the first 3 ounces
and I cent for every further 2 ounces or part thereof.
In 1914 the maximum postage on newspapers published
locally and posted within seven days of publication was
fixed at 2 cents. From the ist January 191 6 the rate
became 2 cents for any weight not exceeding 4 ounces,
and 2 cents for anything above, with a maximum of
4 cents. Late fees have not been charged on news-
papers since 1905.
Post Cards
The Straits issued international post cards in 1879 at
3 cents postage, an extra charge being made for the
card. In 1883 they were sold at face value. Reply-
cards were issued in 1882. In 1890 the price of these
cards was reduced to 2 cents, increased to 3 cents in
1894, and on the ist January 191 8 to 4 cents. Local
post cards for use within the Straits Settlements and
to the Malay States and Johore were introduced on the
15th December 1884 at i cent and sold at face value.
They remained at the same price until the ist January
191 8, when the postage was raised to 2 cents. At one
period a post card between Singapore and Penang cost
3 cents if conveyed by P. and O. mail, but only i cent
by other vessels.
PARCEL POST SERVICE 129
The Parcel Post
A parcel post service between the Straits and the
United Kingdom by P. and O. packet was inaugurated
on the I St April 1875. The charge was is. 4d. a pound
and the limit of weight so pounds. The following year
the Postmaster-General remarked on the paucity of
parcels — no parcels were received from the United
Kingdom, and only thirty-six were sent from Singapore.
In 1880 the number despatched was still less than one
hundred. The great obstacle to the success of the
arrangement was that there was no parcel post in the
United Kingdom, and this difficulty was surmounted by
the establishment of the Inland Parcel Post in the
Mother Country on the ist August 1883. Formerly it
had been necessary that parcels from the Straits should
be applied for at 122 Leadenhall Street, London, the
head office of the P. and O. Company, and this caused
delay in delivery, and expense and inconvenience to the
addressees. In 1885, however, the P. and O. Company
started delivering parcels free of charge within a mile
of its head office, and articles for places beyond that
limit were sent on by post at a trifling cost to the
addressees. On the ist May 1886 the rate of postage
on these P. and O. parcels was reduced from 32 cents a
pound to 20 cents a pound (which was the rate by the
Departmental Service at that time) and has remained
the same ever since ; but the service has been very little
used.
On the ist October 1885 a strictly departmental parcel
post with the United Kingdom came into operation.
The postage was 20 cents a pound, as compared with
32 cents under the former (P. and O.) system, with free
delivery at destination. The limit of weight was 7pounds.
Arrangements were made in the same year for the trans-
mission of parcels to and from various other countries
through the intermediary of the United Kingdom.
This arrangement has been extended from time to time,
and now applies to all countries with which the United
130 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
Kingdom has a parcel post agreement. In October
1886 the rate was further reduced to 20 cents for the
first pound, and 12 cents a pound for each succeeding
pound. Neither the United Kingdom nor the Colony
is a party to the International Postal Union Parcel Post
Convention.
In 1878 a parcel post service with India was under
consideration. There had been a parcel post in India
since 1854. From the ist September 1885 the Indian
Exchange was utilised for the transmission of parcels
between the Straits and numerous other countries.
The service with Hongkong was started in 1878, and
extended during the same year to the British Post
Office in China and Japan. Regulations for parcel post
with Ceylon were gazetted in 1881. Notwithstanding
these various foreign exchanges, there was no local
parcel post within the Colony and between the Settle-
ments. Regulations for this service were published in
1884, with effect from the ist February of that year.
This accounted for a sudden big increase in the number
of parcels handled by the Post Office. In May 1885 the
Straits Settlements local service was extended to the
Protected Native States, and on the ist May 1886 the
limit of weight was raised from 7 pounds to 1 1 pounds
(except P. and O. parcels).
In March 1887 a service by German packet was
started with Europe. In 1895 the parcel tariff to all
parts of the Empire having " Imperial Penny Postage "
was simplified by the adoption of the " triple scale " of
charges. The Department had been unable to arrange
a parcel service with the Phihppines before the ist
January 19 16. Up to that time it had been impossible
to send parcels from the Straits to the Philippine Islands.
In 1895 more time must have been spent in classifying
the contents of the parcels, for it was stated that
millinery headed the list inward, and cigars outward.
It was not until the year of war 191 7 that parcels for
home were sent via India — they had always been sent
by P. and O. mail fortnightly, and occasionally from the
REGISTRATION OF LETTERS 131
I St November 191 3 by German mail. The parcel post
service was considerably restricted during the War owing
to the innumerable import and export prohibitions.
When tonnage became very scarce, attempts were made
to use the parcel post for the transmission of large
quantities— tons — of local produce made up in parcels not
exceeding 1 1 pounds ! When the P. and O. Company's
vessels ceased running east of Bombay in 191 7 the parcel
mails for England were sent by the Holt Line direct or
by B. I. Line across India.
Registration
From the notes on the Post Office under the East
India Company it will have been observed that in the
early days all letters underwent a form of registration,
that is to say, they were all entered in books, andanadvice
accompanied them when despatched. This system did
not, however, provide for any compensation to be paid
by the Post Office in case of loss. Registration, as the
term is now understood, came into operation between the
United Kingdom and the Colonies on the ist January
1858, the fee being 6d. In the Straits in 1872 the fee
was 1 2 cents, which was 4 cents more than was charged
in England at that time. This fee was reduced to 8 cents,
and in August 1890 to 5 cents. It was raised again on
the ist January 1904 to 10 cents — at which figure it has
since remained, in accordance with the Postal Union
Convention. The indemnity, payable only in case of
total loss of the article registered, had been $10 until the
ist January 1899, when it was raised to $20. The steady
increase in the number of articles registered in the Colony
has been ascribed partly to the abandonment, to a certain
extent, by natives of the practice of posting letters wholly
unstamped in favour of the more secure and satisfactory
method. The idea that posting letters unpaid ensures
delivery is still prevalent to a considerable extent,
particularly amongst Tamils
In 191 7, the last year for which figures are available
at the time of writing, approximately 3 per cent.
132 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
of the articles posted in the Straits were registered, and
of those deUvered over 5 per cent. Official registered
envelopes in five sizes were introduced in February 1 891 .
Insurance
The Postal Insurance system was first introduced to
the Straits in July 1 89 1 , when it was applied to the parcel
exchange with England. It was then very little used.
The following year, the i st January, a system of insurance
for all descriptions of articles sent by post within the
limits of the Colony was introduced. The rates were
reduced in 1 894, and the limit of insured value increased
from $250 to S500. In 1895 the arrangement was
applied to the parcel post with India. The reduction
of rates in 1 894 caused a rapid increase both in the num-
ber and value of articles insured. The Colony became a
party to the International Insured Letter Agreement
(Washington) in 1899. The system was extended to
the letter post with the United Kingdom from the ist
January, 1900, since when it has been further extended
from time to time to a great many countries.
In 1906 there was another reduction in insurance
charges, and the number and value of articles insured
nearly doubled, the total being 7,925 articles and
$1,302,422 value (in the whole Colony). The amount
realised from insurance fees was $781.40, so, even
assuming that there were no claims for compensation,
the system was not then — nor is it now — a profitable
one to the Department, as the cost of the special pre-
cautions which have to be taken with such articles is
very great. In 1907 the revenue on this service was
still less than in 1906, owing to the reduction of the
maximum insurance rate chargeable under the new
International Insured Letter Agreement of Rome from
J to ^ per cent, of the sum insured.
By 191 7 the value of insured articles handled in the
whole Colony had reached six milhon dollars. The
maximum amount for which an article can be insured
with the local Post Office is £400.
CASH ON DELIVERY SERVICE 133.
Cash on Delivery and Value Payable Post
At the invitation of the Home Government arrange-
ments were made to introduce, on the ist January 1909,
a Cash on Dehvery service in respect of parcels, both
insured and uninsured, and registered and insured letter
packets exchanged between the Colony and the United
Kingdom and certain British colonies and protectorates.
At first the service was very little used. A similar
service with the Federated Malay States started on the
I St January 19 10, and with Johore, Kelantan, Sarawak,
Gibraltar, Malta, and Egypt during the same year.
Kedah and British North Borneo participated from the
I St January 191 3. The Value Payable Post with India
was inaugurated on the ist April 191 2, during which
year there was nearly 100 per cent, increase in this
branch . The Trade Charges collected by the Department
(including the other Settlements) on c.o.d. and v.p.p.
articles in 191 7 was over $416,000 in respect of some
20,000 articles. There is a great future for this service.
The Indians of the country are already well acquainted
with the v.p.p., which they have had in India since 1877,
and the traffic is all in the inward direction. The War
has shown the Europeans how useful the c.o.d. service
can be to them, though they cannot be said to have
become accustomed to it. In this exchange again nearly
all the c.o.d. parcels are inward to the Colony ; similarly
with Egypt, which sends many parcels of cigarettes.
The outward service is insignificant, except in the case
of the Malay States. The service is very profitable to
the Department, directly and indirectly.
The Chinese Sub-Post Office
" The attachment of the Chinese to their parents and
famihes is one of the most interesting features of their
character, and it is interesting to watch the modes in
which it develops itself amongst those who have migrated
to the Archipelago, and remain for many years, and often
for life, cut oif from all direct intercourse with their
homes.
134 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
" During the past month some of the streets in the
business quarter of Singapore were occasionally densely-
crowded by Chinese. These were principally coolies
from the gambler and pepper plantations who had come
into town for the purpose of sending their annual letters
and remittances to their families in China by the junks
which were leaving on their return voyage. These
letters and moneys are either entrusted to a comrade from
the same part of China who, fortunate enough to have
accumulated a small competency, is about to revisit his
native land ; or they are delivered to a passenger with
whom the remitter may be acquainted ; or, lastly, they
are confided to one of those men, to be found in almost
every junk, who make it a regular business to take
charge of such remittances. Such persons are designated
Seu Pe'Ke, and come from all the different places of
any importance from which emigrants are in the habit
of repairing to the Straits. The remitter entrusts his
money to the agent from his own part of the country,
who for his trouble either receives a commission of lo
per cent., if the money is to be carried in specie, or is
allowed to invest it in goods, the profit or loss on which
is his, as he must pay over in China the exact sum that
has been delivered to him. These persons frequently
for years exclusivel}^ pursue this business : not the
least remarkable of the thousand-and-one modes by
which the ingenuity of the Chinese in making money
develops itself, until they have realised sufficient to
enable them to embark in more extensive pursuits.
" Remittances are made by all classes of the immi-
grants. While the merchant sends his hundreds of
dollars, the poor coolie sends his units or tens. The
amount remitted each year varies considerably, being
dependent on many circumstances, such as the general
state of trade or the particular fortune of individuals.
In some years the aggregate amount reaches as high as
perhaps 70,000 Spanish dollars, while in other years it
may fall as low as 30,000 or 40,000 dollars. In the season
which has just ended the remittances were very small
in amount, owing, in the case of merchants and traders,
to the unprofitable state of trade for some time past, and
in the case of agricultural coolies, to the inadequate
price which gambler has for months commanded, and
CHINESE AND THE POST OFFICE 135
which has seriously affected their wages, the amount of
which is dependent on the price of the product.
" Many of these cooHes, being unable to write, are
obliged to have recourse either to an acquaintance,
if they are so fortunate to possess one having a tincture
of letters, or to one of the public letter-writers, whose
stalls, like those of similar professions in many cities of
Continental Europe, are to be found in the streets, with
their owners ready to be the instruments of communi-
cation for those who cannot write themselves. The
Chinese letter-writer's stall is a very simple affair,
consisting in general of a small rude table, a little bundle
of paper, a brush, some Chinese ink, and a stool on which
the operator sits. These stalls are usually placed at the
side of the street, and sometimes in the public verandahs ;
while, in the outskirts of the town, they may be found
established under trees, or in the shadow of walls. The
person who wishes to send the letter stands, or squats
himself upon his hams, beside the writer, and states what
he wants to have written, and the letter, being finished,
is delivered to him, while he rewards the writer with three
to six cents, according to circumstances. On the
occasion of the departure of two or three large junks, not
only are the whole of the professed letter-writers in full
operation, but many coolies take up the trade for the
time being, and assist in supplying the large demands,
so that sometimes in passing along the streets in the
morning we may count as many as from forty to fifty
stalls. These occasional letter-writers do not expend
much on their outfit. An old packing-case or a deal
board frequently supplies a table sufficient for their
purpose " (Logan's Journal, vol. i, 1847).
The collection, conveyance, and distribution of Chinese
correspondence to and from the Straits — and also of so-
called " Chinese Money Orders " or " Chinese Letter
Remittances " — came to be monopolised by a few
Chinese merchants, and in 1 873 attention was being given
to the want felt by the Chinese labouring class of a cheap
and safe means of forwarding letters and making small
remittances to their friends in the interior of China.
Considerable correspondence took place with the Im-
II — 10
136 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
perial Authorities, the British Minister at Pekin, the
Consuls in China, and the Hongkong Authorities, and
ultimately it was arranged to open a " Chinese Post
Office" at 8 1 Market Street, Singapore, on the 15th
December 1876, the Gazette notice being dated the 5th
December. It was made compulsory for all letters to
be sent through the post. The system was explained
more clearly in the Postmaster-General's (Mr. H. Trotter)
second notification :
" By British Imperial appointment, the Postmaster-
General of Singapore, Pulo Penang, and Malacca.
, '* Notification
" I. This notice informs all you descriptions of people
plainly that on the 1 5th of the present month, December,
i.e. Chinese loth moon, 30th day, small Post Offices will
be opened at 81 Market Street, Singapore, and 52 Beach
Street, Pulo Penang : this is for the benefit especially
of all you coolies ; any labouring man who wishes to
send letters to China, let him come forward and entrust
them to these small Post Offices, and these same letters
will be forwarded to friends or relations in any town,
village, or hamlet of the interior.
"2. These small Post Offices will receive the letters,
which will be sent at once by the Postmaster-General to
Swatow or Amoy, and from those two places they will
be forwarded to and delivered at each village or town.
Answers also will be collected and returned through
Swatow and Amoy to Singapore and the different places
in the Straits Settlements.
"3. These transmitting arrangements will be really
beneficial and advantageous ; when they are in good
working order, all men must forward their letters through
the Government Post Office.
" The Government has also given permission for the
Postmasters of the small offices to carry on a money
letter business, at a fixed scale of charges ; they will
not be allowed to receive for their benefit a cash or hair
more than the scale which is set out for general infor-
mation :
CHINESE POSTAL RIOTS I37
For Money Order (letter) value $ I, fixed rate. . . . lo cents
$2, „ „ per I . . lo „
$3. „ „ per $ . . 8 „
H » .. per $ . . 6 „
„ " $5, and above, fixed rate per $ 5 „
Above $ioo, a lower rate will be charged according to private arrangement.
For Money Orders to Swatow and Taychew the old rates will be charged.
English year 1876, December nth.
Chinese Piah-tsu year, loth moon, 26th day.
Notice for general information."
This scheme would break the monopoly which the
former Chinese letter collectors had built up, and they
maliciously misinterpreted the notification and issued
the following placard :
" We know that since the English Barbarians estab-
lished themselves in Singapore their rules have for a
long time been very beneficial to the people, not like
some of our Chinese, one or two of whom are * red rats,'
degenerate fellows of a completely oppressive nature,
reckless without any regard to the right. Their only
rule is making money ; they boldly intrigued and worked
on the prince of Singapore and secretly with cunning
formed a conspiracy to farm the Post Office monopoly.
This truly is a course that will prevent us from having
any good fortune. This will injure and destroy the
living of the people, and produce misery beyond
description. Alas for our coolies, with their toil, labour,
and miserable condition ! If, after toiling with their
hands or bearing heavy burdens, they have saved a
dollar or two, which they wish to send to their family
halls to assist in providing fire and water, they cannot
get enough to fill the mouth, how much less can they hope
to be able to fill the caverns of this vicious and insatiable
lust for gain ! The classics say, * Those who invented
wooden images, surely it was because they had no
posterity.'
" Now we must clearly awake to this vicious and
delusive system, so as to clear ourselves from a guilt
which cannot be prayed for. As for you who wish
to establish this Post Office, may your wife and
daughter, dressed in their finery, be placed at the door
for men to buy and deride, and for the use of every
lustful person. If not this, then let them die at once.
138 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
" Now, after reading this paper, any one not feeling
his fierce passions arise has not the principles of a man ;
and if the man who wished to assist in the business
does not now change his intention and try to stop it,
he is no man.
" All people reading this must reverently feel grieved
and fiercely determined, and then it will be well.
" Piah-tsu, loth moon, 28th day (13th December).
" If any honest virtuous man will cut off the heads
of the Post Office Farmers, he will be rewarded with
taels 100."
Other notices in an equally inciting tone were pla-
carded, and notwithstanding the precautions taken, a
serious riot took place on the morning of the opening
of the Chinese Post Office. The new Post Office was
wrecked, the Royal Arms pulled down and broken, the
police were attacked. Several Chinese were killed, and
Mr. R. W. Maxwell, the Superintendent of Pohce,
was stoned, knocked down, and beaten. The riot was
quelled, however, and in the course of the afternoon a
detachment of the 80th Regiment took the Chinese
Towkays, who had formerly carried on the letter and
remittance business, and placed them on board the
Pluto, three miles out in the harbour. On Monday
morning, the i8th December, the Sub-Post Office was
reopened in person by Mr. Trotter (Postmaster-General),
the Colonial Secretary and other gentlemen being
present.
In 1877 the Chinese Sub-Post Office was removed from
Market Street to the General Post Office, with favour-
able results. The Sub-Postmaster came directly under
the control and supervision of the Postmaster-General ;
the Chinese, for whom the office was established, were
gaining confidence, and in 1878 the postage collected
by this branch was $4,069. The number of Chinese
letters despatched through the sub-office in 1880 was
estimated at 80,000, in 1881 at 77,000, in 1882 at 90,876.
By 1886 the number had risen to 180,000, and by 1889
to 280,000.
LETTER-SMUGGLING SOCIETY 139
Previous to 1887 only offices for the transmission
of Teow-Chew and Hokkien letters existed, but in this
year offices for Cantonese, Cheow-Wan, and Kheh
letters were established. The number of such offices
open in 1887 in Singapore was 49, of which 34 were
Teow-Chew, 1 1 Hokkien, i Cantonese, i Cheow-Wan,
and 2 Kheh. In June 1888 the postage on these coolie
letters contained in clubbed packets was reduced from
six cents to three cents a letter. From 1 890 the clubbed
packets containing coolie letters bore postage stamps
instead of being paid for in cash.
In Singapore, in 1891, there were forty-nine Chinese
letter-shops and sixteen itinerant collectors, and the
procedure was explained : " The shops have their
branches in China. The collector goes round the
country districts in the Straits collecting letters and
small sums of money from coolies. He makes the
letters into a bundle addressed to himself at a Treaty
Port and posts it, buys a bank- draft, and proceeds to
China. On arrival he claims the packet of letters and
the money, and starts on his errand of distribution. He
obtains an acknowledgment of each payment, and
hands it, on his return to this Colony, to the remitter.
A collector generally makes three or four round trips
a year, and is rewarded with a commission of about
3 per cent, on the amount entrusted to him. The
charges made by the shops are cheaper, and at present
a war of rates is going on, which I fear may end disas-
trously for some of the remitters, as well as for the
shops. Since the private Chinese post offices in the
Straits were brought under departmental control,
several have closed, many new ones have been established,
and two have failed, one in 1890 and one in 1891."
In 1904 a letter-smugghng society, formed by a number
of Hailam servants, several of whom were in the service
of leading European residents, was discovered and nipped
in the bud, not, however, before some of these law-
breakers had endeavoured to get their masters to
140 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
champion their cause. Two letter-shops failed in 1907
owing to gambling in exchange, and remitters lost
considerable sums of money which they had entrusted
to the shops for delivery to their relatives in China.
In this year, also, Mr. Ho Yang Peng, who had been
Sub-Postmaster in charge of the Chinese Sub-Post Office
since 1886, retired. In 1914 the number of coolie
letters in clubbed packets exceeded a million, and was
still over a million in 191 7, though the exchange on
China being so high recently the remittances from the
Straits have been much restricted.
A Chinese translation of the Singapore Postal Express
has been issued since May 1895.
Money Orders
We are so accustomed to the money order system now-
a-days that it occurs to few people that it was first
devised as a means of checking the theft of letters
containing money sent -by post. It was an old institu-
tion taken over by the British Post Office in 1838.
The first money order service in the Straits was with
the United Kingdom, and started in 1871. A local
money order service was introduced in May 1871 ;
the service with Hongkong, China, and Japan in
September 1878. The exchange which at once resulted
in more business than all the others put together was
that with India, commencing on the ist January 1882.
In November of the same year a service with the Native
States was started ; with Ceylon on the i st January 1883;
and with the Austrahan Colonies, Labuan, and North
Borneo in 1885. From the 15th January 1885 arrange-
ments were made for the use of the United Kingdom as
intermediary for the transmission of money orders to a
great many countries with which the United Kingdom
had exchanges. France was the only important country
on which orders could not be issued in the Straits. In
this year, also, the Singapore office became intermediary
for the exchange of Indian orders with various Native
States. The introduction of British postal orders in
MONETARY REMITTANCES 141
1885 relieved the money order business of many of the
smaller remittances, and thus of a considerable amount
of that part of the business which was unprofitable.
Siam and Sarawak entered into agreements for the
exchange of money orders with the Straits in 1888 ;
Pahang and Bandar Maharani (in Muar, Johore) in
1889 ; Jelebu on the ist November 1891.
The report for 1893 stated :
" The silver crisis, which was precipitated by the
amendment of the currency laws and the closing of the
mints in India in June, had a paralysing effect on the
business of the money order branch during the second
half of the year under review, whilst in the settlement
of the accounts for the first two quarters it resulted in
a loss, in consequence of the fall of exchange, of $36,185,
of which sum $17,750 is recoverable from the Native
States. The service with India and Ceylon was sus-
pended from the 13th July to the 31st August, and the
arrangement with India has since been amended with
a view to guard against the occurrence of a loss in
future."
In 1908 the Straits Post Office ceased to be the inter-
mediary for the Federated Malay States money order
business with India, Ceylon, and China, separate agree-
ments having been made between those countries.
After fixing of the exchange on a gold basis early
in 1906, money order business was much simplified.
From ist March 1906 money orders and postal orders
expressed in sterling were issued and cashed at the
fixed rate of 2s. 4J. to the dollar, and orders expressed
in rupees at Rs.175 = $100. By an arrangement with
the Hongkong Post Office, a *' Bearer Money Order "
system was introduced on the ist December 1907,
to obviate the alleged difficulties experienced by Chinese,
owing to the diminished bullion value of the new Straits
dollar, in taking their savings back without loss to
China. These orders were, to meet the convenience
of ilhterate coolies, made payable to bearer, without
142 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
any payee's signature and without any question being
raised as to identification. The demand for these
orders has been small, proving either that the Chinese
prefer the ways they are used to or that the complaints
as to difficulties experienced were greatly exaggerated.
The latter is the more probable, as Straits notes are
easily negotiable in Hongkong and the Treaty Ports.
A money order exchange with Kelantan commenced
on the ist October 1907. This exchange showed a great
increase in 1908, owing to the demonetisation of the
old dollar on 31st December 1908, involving heavy
remittances from Kelantan. This service was very
extensively used, as there was no bank in the State.
The opening of a bank agency in 191 2, however, was
responsible for a sudden big drop in the money order
business, which nevertheless continues to be consider-
able. The same happened to the Malacca money order
business when a bank opened there in 1883.
A telegraph money order service was introduced in
1 910 for inland money orders and for those exchanged
with the Federated Malay States. This service has
grown very rapidly. A similar telegraphic system
with the United Kingdom operated from the ist
September 191 6, and has proved quite useful.
Exchanges were established with Kedah in 19 10;
with the Netherlands East Indies on the 15th April 191 1.
The exchange with the Netherlands East Indies had
been thought of since the 'Eighties, but no agreement
had been come to, chiefly on account of Netherlands
East India having the International Union system,
while the Straits already had several other different
systems with various countries. The service is on the
Union system, and is very simple, and has proved its
value by the extensive use made of it.
The commission on money orders was paid in cash
at first, and in stamps from 1888, the original cash
method being reverted to from the ist April 1895. The
rate of commission was from 2 per cent, to i per cent,
from the ist August 1883, and the reduction causing a
ABUSE OF THE SYSTEM 143
much more extensive use of the system, the year 1884
showing a big increase. The commission on inland
money orders and on those exchanged with the Federated
Malay States, Kedah, Johore, and Brunei was reduced
from I per cent, to | per cent, in 19 10, and the next
year, 191 1, saw a reduction from ij per cent, to i per
cent, in commission on orders drawn on the United
Kingdom, India, Ceylon, Australia, Hongkong, and New
Zealand — on Coronation Day.
The business in 191 7 was phenomenal, and the Post-
master-General's report for that year has the following
reference :
** The total money order and postal order transactions
amounted to $14,760,563.18, as against $4,812,003.35
in 1 9 16, an increase of $9,948,559.83. This very heavy
increase is entirely due to the fall in the bank rate with
India. The rate at which the Post Office issued orders
on India was at a fixed rate of Rs.175 = $100. As
the bank rate was more favourable than this, and was
steadily decreasing, there was a large run on the Money
Order Office, and the Post Office was soon taking up most
of the exchange business with India. The takings in
Singapore at one time reached over two million dollars
per month, and a considerable extra temporary staff
was taken on. Representations were made to Govern-
ment, as it was evident the system was being abused
and made use of for speculative purposes. On the i6th
August 191 7 the rate of issue on India was fixed at
Rs.165 = $100, and other steps were taken to eliminate
the speculator, and although this was a better rate than
the banks nominally offered, still the business was
kept to a fairly low level. As regards Ceylon, also a
rupee country, on the 3rd September 1917a Gazette Extra-
ordinary was issued limiting the amount that could be
sent by any one remitter to any one payee to Rs.150,
and on the ist October 191 7 further restrictions were
imposed by fixing the rate of issue at Rs.i6o = $100.
As a result of the fall in the rate of exchange, there
was a large demand for British postal orders, which
were as good as Rs.175 to the $100 so long as they
could be exchanged in India and Ceylon at Rs.15
144 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
to the £. Steps were taken to curtail the abuse of
these."
British Postal Orders
Postal orders were first issued in the United Kingdom
on the ist January 1881. The introduction of British
postal orders to the Straits in August 1885 is thus
referred to in the Postmaster-General's report :
" The appreciation with which the introduction of
postal notes was received in the United Kingdom
induced this Department to apply to Her Majesty's
Postmaster-General for authority to extend the advan-
tages of the Imperial postal note system to the Straits
Settlements. The issue of what ma}^ be termed" Govern-
ment Circular Notes " for sums of is., 15. 6d., 2s., 5s.,
105., and 205. commenced on the 15th August last,
and from that date to the end of the year 937 notes
for an aggregate sum of £6og los. 6d. were issued in
the Straits Settlements. Such notes were payable in
the United Kingdom, Gibraltar, and at the British Post
Office at Constantinople."
In October 1904 arrangements were brought into
operation for cashing British postal orders in the Straits,
and at about the same time the system was extended
to various other parts of the Empire which had not
previously taken advantage of it. The Federated Malay
States began to purchase their orders direct from
London in July 1906, instead of from Singapore. In
1909, from the ist January, numerous additional de-
nominations were introduced from 6d. up to 215., chiefly
in connection with the cash on delivery service, but
many of the unpopular denominations were abolished
in 1916. British postal orders are on sale at all post
offices in the Colony. The affixing to the orders of
English postage stamps to make up broken amounts
was permitted from the start, and in 191 7 it was made
permissible for Straits stamps to be affixed. At the
outbreak of war in 19 14 British postal orders were made
British currency temporarily.
GOVERNMENT SAVINGS BANK 145
Local Postal Orders
Local postal orders, or postal notes as they were
originally designated, were introduced in 1885 for
sums in dollars, from $1 up to $5 each. They were
obtainable and payable at any money order office in
the Colony, and at the sub-post offices in Province
Wellesley and at Balik Pulau, to which sub-offices it
had not been practicable to extend the money order
system. They could also be cashed by the post offices
in Perak, Selangor, Sungei Ujong, and Johore. The
Post Office Report for 1885 referred to these " notes "
as follows :
" While the new form affords additional facilities for
the transmission of small sums at a reduced cost to the
public, money orders and postal orders have each their
own advantages. The postal note is more quickly and
easily obtained. It is payable at any post office, and
with less formality than a money order ; and some
saving of work to the post office is effected. On the
other hand, postal notes are for fixed sums, and the
maximum amount of a single note is only one-tenth of
that for which a money order can be obtained. A
postal note is lost beyond remedy, whereas if a money
order is lost the amount generally remains safe."
Later they were issued and paid at all sub-post offices,
but the issue of $5 and $1 currency notes by the Govern-
ment did away with the demand for local postal orders,
and they were so little used that they were abolished
in 1916.
The Government Savings Bank
According to Buckley a Government Savings Bank
was estabhshed in Calcutta in 1833, and it was proposed
to open one in Singapore, but nothing came of the
proposal. A savings bank had already been established
in Penang by the Recorder, Sir Benjamin Malkin, who
had been one of the active managers of the Marylebone
Savings Bank in London, and he had drawn up rules,
146 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
called a public meeting, and set the bank going. The
suggestion was brought up again in 1846, but nothing
was done. As early as 1793 there had been a savings
bank in Penang, but it was not until 1872 that the
matter was taken up seriously. In that year His Excel-
lency appointed a Committee, of which the Postmaster-
General was one, to report on the project of estab-
lishing a savings bank in the Singapore Post Office.
From 1874 to 1876 the project was still under discussion,
but during the latter year an Ordinance was passed and
arrangements were made to open the Singapore Savings
Bank at the beginning of 1877. The Post Office Report
for 1877 states :
" The Post Office Savings Bank was opened in
January 1877, with a view to encourage those in receipt
of small incomes to practise economy by affording them
a safe investment for small amounts at a fair rate of
interest, and also of affording borrowers opportunities of
obtaining loans at lower rates of interest than are pro-
curable from other sources, and so long as the arrange-
ments made by Government continued in force the bank
promised to become a very useful institution, and one
calculated to do a great deal of good in these Settle-
ments, and I regret that circumstances arose "which
necessitated loans being temporarily refused. The
office has been opened two days a week since July, and
the number of depositors on the 30th November was
211, and the amount deposited $19,864.90, a state of
affairs which may be viewed with satisfaction con-
sidering the short time the bank has been in existence."
The 1878 report showed satisfactory progress, adding :
" The publication of the correspondence which had
taken place between the Secretary of State and the
Governor on the subject of the management of this
institution created somewhat of a scare at the time,
and threatened to cause a run on the bank ; but when
it was found that action on the part of the Imperial
authorities was with the view to ensure the safe invest-
ment of the funds of the bank, and not to interfere un-
THE BANK'S CUSTOMERS 147
necessarily in its management, a feeling of confidence
gradually returned."
Under the 1876 Ordinance arrangements had been
made for loans to be made to depositors against satis-
factory security, and in order to stop this and to arrange
for safer investment of the bank's funds the Secretary
of State instructed that the 1876 Ordinance be cancelled.
The Ordinance of 1879 was the result, and remained the
main Savings Bank Ordinance until 1907. In 1880 the
direction of the Savings Bank was transferred from the
Postmaster-General to the Treasurer, but the business
was carried on, as before, at the Post Office, Mr. Noel
Trotter continuing to be Secretary to the bank. The
management of the bank reverted to the Postmaster-
General on the ist July 1889. It is curious to observe
that in 1889 the depositors consisted of 307 Europeans,
203 Eurasians, 43 Chinese, 20 Malays, "j^ Klings, 20
Sikhs, 9 other natives ; total 678. The bank's invest-
ments in 1877-8 included mortgages ; and hereafter
consisted entirely of fixed deposits until 1889, when
they were all in municipal debentures. In 1891 they
consisted of fixed deposits, municipal debentures, and
Indian Government securities, an Ordinance having
been passed in February 1891 to enable the funds to be
invested in Indian Government securities. In 1898, on
the Secretary of State's instructions, part of the Savings
Bank funds had to be remitted to the United Kingdom
for gold investments, with the result that they appeared
as part of the assets in 1899. At the time of writing
the investments also include Straits Settlements War
Loan Bonds. The year 191 5 was the first in which the
bank showed a debit balance, due to the depreciation of
securities on the outbreak of war.
The 1879 Ordinance was repealed in 1907, when the
Ordinance now in force was enacted. The new law
provided for the establishment of sub-savings banks ;
the disposal of the deposits of intestates, infants, and
lunatics ; the transfer of depositors' accounts to and
148 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
from other British countries. Most of the sub-post
offices in the Colony are now sub-savings banks . Arrange-
ments for the reciprocal transfer of accounts have been
made with the United Kingdom, the Federated Malay
States, and India.
In 1877 the rate of interest paid to depositors was
5 per cent. ; it was 4 per cent, from July 1880 to April
1883 ; then 5 per cent, till September 1889 ; 4 per cent.
up to September 1891 ; 3I per cent, to June 1895 ; and
3 per cent, ever since.
Separate annual reports on the Savings Bank were
published for the years 1882 to 1901, after which they
were included in the Post and Telegraph Department
annual reports.
Telegraphs
The annual report on the Administration of the Straits
Settlements 1859-60 had the following reference to the
" ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH
*' Although not actually connected with the proceed-
ings of the Straits Government, the laying down the
electric telegraph cable from Singapore to Batavia, the
first link between India and Australia, is a fact of too
much importance to be permitted to pass unrecorded.
The junction between the two places was effected on
the 24th November last, and for some time the tele-
graph worked most successfully ; latterly, however,
there have been, unfortunately, frequent interruptions
of communication, owing to the cable having been
dragged by the anchors of vessels anchoring in the
narrow Straits in its line of passage. The Netherlands
Government has liberally conceded to the Governor of
the Straits Settlements and to British Consuls the same
privileges with regard to the despatch of telegraphic
messages as enjoyed by its own high officers of State."
The Dutch telegraph office here referred to was pur-
chased from the Netherlands Government by the Straits
in 1864. Buckley's reference to this is :
SUBMARINE CABLES 149
" The beginning of submarine telegraph hnes from
Singapore was very unfortunate. In May the Dutch
Government determined to lay a cable to Batavia, and
obtained leave to lay it from Singapore. The line was
completed on the 24th November, and the merchants
in Singapore sent a congratulatory message, to which
the Batavia merchants repUed. The second message
was from the Governor-General of Netherlands India to
Governor Cavenagh, to which the latter replied. Then
it snapped ! A ship's anchor was thought to have
broken the cable. It was repaired, but only remained
a short time in operation, and after having been once or
twice more repaired, it remained obstinately mute, and
on examination was found so much injured, and in so
many places, that the attempt to repair it was aban-
doned. An office, a two-storied building, had been
erected on the left bank of the river, about where the
back of the Government Offices is now, and was used
afterwards as the Master- Attendant's office."
The following early references to telegraphs in Singa-
pore are interesting, taken from the Singapore Review
and Monthly Magazine j 1 861-2 :
" The telegraph between Singapore and Batavia, like
many other submarine electric cables, has, after working
a short time, proved a failure, and a new line must be
laid before further communication can be established.
The telegraph cable to be laid between Singapore and
Rangoon has been found to be damaged by a new diffi-
culty, overheating, and is still detained in England.
From the great uncertainties and difficulties attending
submarine cables it is now proposed to construct the
line overland. The importance of telegraphic com-
munication with Singapore, more especially since the
late troubles in China, is daily becoming more evident,
and the failure of the submarine cable laid between that
island and Java, more than twelve months since, having
shown that no dependence can be placed upon such
means of communication, it is suggested that a more
simple and less expensive telegraph might be carried
overland from Singapore to Rangoon, the latter being
already in communication with India. The chiefs of
the intervening countries, being in friendly relations with
150 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
the British Government, would be found ready to give
every assistance in the construction and protection of
the Hne, were the Governor of the Straits and the chief
British authority at Rangoon authorised to treat with
them on the subject. This would also be a means of
opening up those countries to commerce generally, as
well as conducive to the welfare and civilisation of the
inhabitants. It is understood that the King of Siam
has signified his wish for an extension of telegraph com-
munication with Singapore, and connecting this with
the French occupation of Saigon in Cochin-China, there
would be little difficulty in continuing the line to China
should such be considered advisable."
At that time the Indian Act VIII of i860, regulating
the establishment and management of the electric tele-
graph, was in force here.
In the 1867 Directory the following interesting notice
appears :
Eastern Asia Telegraph Co., Ltd.
(To be registered under the Indian Companies Act 1866)
Capital ;^ 1 50,000, in shares oi £10 each, with power to
increase
Provisional Directors
W. Paterson, of Paterson, Simons & Co., Singapore.
W. H. Read, of A. L. Johnston & Co., Singapore.
Alex. Fraser, Managing Director of N.I. S.N. Co.,
Batavia.
J.J. Greenshi^lds, of Guthrie & Co., Singapore.
J. J. E. Brown, of Brown & Co., Penang.
Law Nairne, of Nairne & Co., Penang.
Samuel Van Hulstijn, Interim Secretary.
A. Logan.
It is intended to form a Board of Directors in London.
All communications may meanwhile be addressed to
W. W. Ker, Esq., Cannon Street, London.
In 1870 permission was granted to the British Austra-
lian Telegraph Co., Ltd., to lay and work a cable between
Singapore, Java, and Australia. The result was that
Batavia was again almost immediately in communication
TELEGRAPH EXTENSIONS 151
with Singapore, and Singapore being shortly afterwards
in connection with Penang and Madras, Java was at
last enabled to participate in the advantages of inter-
national telegraphic communication. In October 1872
the cable between Java and Australia was opened, and
in 1873 the British Australian Telegraph Co. was incor-
porated with the Eastern Extension, AustraUa and China
Telegraph Co., Ltd.
In 1882 the telegraphic position of Malaya was thus
described in military publications :
" Singapore is an important station on the Hne of
telegraphic communication between India, China, and
Australia. From it submarine cables run as under :
" (i) Singapore — Malacca, Penang, Madras.
" (2) Singapore — Penang, Rangoon, thence overland
to Calcutta.
''(3) Singapore — Saigon (Cochin-China), Hongkong,
Shanghai, Nagasaki, Vladivostock, thence
overland to Europe.
'' (4) Singapore — Batavia, Palmerston (Australia).
''(5) Singapore— Palmerston.
'^ There is thus telegraphic communication to Europe
either through India or by Hongkong. There are local
lines connecting the Government House with the offices,
and with the headquarters of the military ; also from
the town to the New Harbour. Penang has telegraphic
communication with India on the one hand and with
Malacca and Singapore on the other, and, through them,
with Europe and Australia. There are also small local
lines for the convenience of the port and the public.
Malacca is in telegraphic communication with Singapore
and Penang. There are no local lines. A few years
ago the Siamese Government contemplated laying a
telegraph line from Singora to Penang ; in fact, the track
was partly cleared, and the posts cut, but the idea was
abandoned. It is to be hoped that the Siamese Govern-
ment will make this road good, and establish telegraphic
communication with Penang. The line should be con*
tinued through the Province Wellesleyforpolicepurposes,
and in time through the Native States to Singapore. In
case of any future disturbances in the Peninsula, the
II — II
152 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
value of a trunk road and telegraphic communication
between the different stations would be inestimable."
In 1893 the question of the amalgamation of the
Government telegraph at Penang with the Post Office was
under consideration, but the transfer from the Public
Works Department was not carried out until 1901 . The
Government, however, owned no telegraph lines in Singa-
pore. The Singapore Government Telegraph Office was
opened in 1909, the lines from Singapore to Kuala
Lumpur and Penang being opened for Government
messages on the 15th March, to Kuala Lumpur for
public traffic on the 17th May, and to Penang on the
17th June. There were frequent breakdowns. The
opening of these lines diverted a good deal of traffic
from the cable via Malacca to the through land lines.
In 1 9 10 it was pointed out that during the ten years
that the telegraphs had been under the Postal Department
the number of messages had increased by 245 per cent.
The telegraph was installed at Tanglin Sub-Post Office
in 1 9 10, and at Tanjong Pagar and Keppel Harbour Sub-
Post Offices in 191 3. At the end of 191 7 quadruplex
instruments were set up and worked between Singapore
and Kuala Lumpur. The cable station at Malacca was
given up by the Eastern Extension, Australia and
China Telegraph Co. on the 31st January 191 7, after
which date all telegraphic correspondence between the
outer world and Malacca was borne on the Government
land lines. In 191 7, also, a post office circuit was
opened between Singapore and Johore Bahru.
The Straits are a party to the International Telegraph
Convention. The local or Malayan rates are low at
3 cents (less than a penny) a word. The traffic has
increased, and is still increasing, by leaps and bounds.
The law affecting telegraphs is the Telegraph Ordinance
of 1895.
Telephones
The Government telephones in Singapore were trans-
ferred from the Public Works Department to the care of
THE TELEPHONE IN SINGAPORE 153
the Post Office at the same time as the telegraphs in 1901 .
The subject is not of much pubKc interest, however,
as the only telephones affected in Singapore were con-
nections between Government offices, police, sub-post
offices, etc. The whole of the Government lines were
handed over to the Oriental Telephone Company in
1 91 6 on certain conditions connected with their licence,
and the history of that Company will be found in another
section of this book. The following extract from Mr.
Noel Trotter's annual report for 1898 is, however, of
interest at the present time :
*' I have received frequent representations from
gentlemen, some with knowledge of the rnatter, which
entitles them to speak with authority on the subject,
that it would be a wise policy for the Post Office to estab-
lish efficient telephone exchanges in Singapore and
Penang. The existing service in Singapore consists
of lines owned by four different proprietors, namely, the
Imperial Government, the Colonial Government, the
Municipality, and the Oriental Telephone Co., the latter
controlling most of the lines. The lines are, however,
so mixed up that in some cases the wires of one pro-
prietor are suspended from the poles of two others.
This does not appear to be a satisfactory state of things.
It is very manifest that, for obvious reasons, thetelephone
services in the Colony should, like the land telegraphs,
be entirely under the control and management of the
local Government. I understand that the time is ripe
for the establishment of a public telephone exchange in
Penang. The following extract from an address deliv-
ered at the Institution of Civil Engineers in London, in
November last, by the President, Mr. W. H. Preece, C.B.,
Electrician-in-Chief to the Post Office, is of special interest
in this connection : ' The progress of the use of the
telephone in Great Britain has been checked by financial
complications. It fell into the hands of the" company
promoter. It has remained the shuttlecock of the Stock
Exchange. It is the function of the Postmaster-General
to work for the public every system of intercommunica-
tion of thought which affects the interests of the whole
nation. Telephony is an Imperial business, like the post
154 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
and the telegraph: It ought to be in the hands of the
State. The pubhc and the Press have frequently kicked
violently against the present regime,' "
Wireless
As long ago as 1902 the question of radio-telegraphic
communication between Penang and Pulo Jerejak was
under discussion — a telephone cable was laid instead,
and in 1906 the Postmaster-General had proposed a
scheme for wireless communication between Horsburgh
Lighthouse and Singapore, a distance of thirty-six miles,
for the benefit of shipping. Regulations providing for
the control of apparatus for wireless telegraphy on board
merchantships in the waters of the Colony were published
in the beginning of 1914, and during that year progress
was made with the Singapore commercial wireless
station at Paya Lebar. The station was completed and
opened for traffic on the 8th October 191 5. It is
controlled by the Post Office. The War restrictions
on the use of wireless telegraphy have been so great
that very little business has been transacted with
ships.
Wireless communication with Sarawak was established
on the 22nd May 1917 y and as Sarawak had no other
means of telegraphic communication with the outer
world before this, a fair amount of business has been
done with the Singapore station, which acts as inter-
mediary between Sarawak and the rest of the world in
the matter of telegraphic communication.
The Paya Lebar station was not the first wireless to be
opened in Singapore, for on the outbreak of war in 19 14
the Eastern Extension Co. hurriedly erected apparatus
on their premises, and this served a very useful purpose
until the naval station at Seletar was erected. This
station belongs to the Imperial Government, and does not
transact commercial business, though it will probably
do so in the not distant future. Another and larger
station is contemplated near Singapore as one of the
links on the Imperial chain of wireless stations.
STRAITS STAMPS I55
The Colony is bound by the International Radio-
telegraph Convention.
Netherlands India Postal Agency
Donald Maclaine Campbell's book on Java (191 5)
states that " In 1849 the Dutch authorities concluded
an arrangement for the conveyance of all correspondence
via Southampton and via Marseilles ; this was received
at Singapore by the Netherlands India Postal Adminis-
tration, and forwarded by means of a monthly steamboat
mail service that had been established between Batavia
and Singapore," and " In 1870 the service via Singapore,
and in 1871 the service via Trieste also, which had been
opened in 1849, were discontinued." In 1878 Dutch
East Indian post office officials were appointed as postal
agents at Singapore and Penang. Their duties were to
see that there was no delay in the transmission of corres-
pondence to and from the Dutch East Indies. In
March 1879 the Dutch postal agencies in Singapore and
Penang were reorganised. These agencies (which are
still in existence) deal with a great quantity of mail
matter passing to and from the Netherlands East Indies
via Singapore and Penang, and act as clearing-houses
for the correspondence to and from innumerable small
Netherlands East India ports, which have more frequent
communication with Singapore and Penang than with
the important towns in their own country.
Stamps
The Indian Stamp Act was only introduced into the
Straits on the ist January 1863, and during the first four
months of that year the total sold was Rs.79,651 ; but
the revenue was on Indian account, and most of it was
fiscal as distinct from postal. Buckley refers to the
introduction of this law to the Straits: " The stamps
sent were all in rupees, and there were no rupees, and no
rate of exchange was provided for. Then the number of
stamps was inadequate, and the natives did not under-
stand about them . ' ' Stamps must have been available in
Singapore before this date, however, for we find in the
156 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTOI^Y
1862 Straits Almanack and Directory the following entry
under "Trades and Professions": ''Postage stamp
vendor, de Souza, Alex. M., Raffles Place." The first
issue of postage stamps in India was in 1 854.
The first postage stamps used in the Crown Colony
were Indian stamps surcharged with a crown and the
value in cents — nine different values of Indian stamps
were so surcharged in 1867, the surcharges varying from
'' three half-cents " to '' 32 cents." In 1868 the Colony
issued its own stamps, a set of eight : 2c., 4c., 6c., 8c.,
I2C., 24c., 32c., 96c. ; and Indian stamps were no longer
used here. A 30c. stamp was issued in 1872. In 1882
5c. and IOC. stamps were produced ; in 1892, 3c. and
$5. In April 1902 King Edward took Queen Victoria's
place on the stamps, and a series, ic, 3c., 4c., 5c., 8c.,
IOC, 25c., 30c., 50c., $1, $2, $5, was issued. In this
issue the " postage and revenue " stamps became
unified. In 1904 the ic, 3c., 4c., and 8c. stamps bore
new designs ; they all bore the portrait of the King's head
in vignette: in the case of the ic. there is a coco-nut
palm — one of the emblems of Singapore — on either side
of His Majesty's portrait ; the 3c. shows similarly the
Penang or betel-nut palm, emblematic of Penang; the
4c. has the Gula Malacca (sugar-cane) palm for a sup-
porter,usuallyassociatedwith theancientSettlement; and
the 8c. bears a kris on either side, the typical weapon
peculiar to Malaya. These stamps, which were designed
by Mr. (now Sir) W. Egerton and Mr. Noel Trotter,
superseded the design used in common, with a distin-
guishing name-plate, by all British Crown Colonies, which
have no special stamps of their own. The same series
bore the effigy of King George after His Majesty's
accession. In 191 1 a 21c. stamp was issued for use
on telegrams and a 45c. stamp for use on parcels.
The revised rates of postage brought into force on
the ist January 191 8 necessitated the issue of two new
values, 2C. and $6, and several colour changes. They
had not, however, made their appearance at the date
of the Centenary.
STRAITS SURCHARGES 157
An account of the very numerous surcharges which
were issued from time to time (generally by reason of
the constant reductions in postage), before 1892, of the
frequent colour changes, differences of paper, water-
marks, perforations, etc., would not be appropriate
to a work of this nature ; but the use of Straits stamps
in countries outside the Colony is a matter of some
historic interest, for it is not widely known that all
correspondence from the Malay States, Siam, Indo-
China, Borneo, the Philippine Islands, Java, etc., for
the rest of the world circulated through Singapore, and
was prepaid by means of Straits stamps. In fact, the
first stamps issued in Siam were the 1 867 Indian 2-anna
stamps, supphed by this Colony to the British Legation
at Bangkok in 1882, surcharged with a capital '' B "
and "32 cents." As soon as the Straits issued their
own stamps in 1868 the different values were similarly
surcharged " B " for use on correspondence from
Siam for other countries. The use of these stamps in
Siam ceased on the ist July 1885, when that State
joined the Postal Union.
Until 1 880 it had been the practice of many mercantile
firms in the Philippines to send their correspondence
from Europe under cover to Singapore to be posted —
the enclosures bearing Straits stamps ; this ceased
with the opening of direct communication between
Manila and Europe, Spanish stamps then being used.
Sarawak correspondence for the outer world bore
Straits stamps until that State joined the Postal Union,
on the I St July 1897. Similarly with the Federated
Malay States and Johore it was not until the ist January
1899 that their stamps were recognised as valid pre-
payment of postage to other parts of the world. After
the ist January 1899 Straits stamps were used nowhere
outside the Colony — except that in 1900, owing to an
unexpected delay in the receipt of their new stamps, the
Federated Malay States were supplied with Straits
stamps to the value of $9,360. The amount of Straits
stamps sold to the various Malay States in 1896 was
158 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
Perak, $5,630 ; Selangor, $6,047 ; Negri Sembilan,
$912; Pahang, $1,435; and Johore, $182; Sarawak
took $442, making a grand total of $14,628, or about
£1,500 sterling. In 1897 the total was $13,938,
and 1898, $14,433. The stamps used in the various
Malay States were surcharged with the name of the
State.
Money order commission was paid in stamps from
1888 to the 3 1 St March 1 895 . Telegrams have been pre-
paid by means of stamps since 1908.
In 1886 an Ordinance was passed to render penal in
the Colony the manufacture, issue, or sale of forged foreign
postage stamps, and similar provision is made in the
current Post Office Ordinance V of 1904.
On the 1 7th February 19 1.6 two kinds of special stamps
were on sale — not available for postage purposes —
for the benefit of Lord Roberts's Memorial Workshops
and Local Relief Fund. There was very little demand
for them, however, on account of their uselessness for
postal purposes and consequent disinterest to philatelists.
They were withdrawn in 191 8. Red Cross stamps
were issued in 191 7 — they were the ordinary 3c. and 4c.
stamps surcharged *' Red Cross — 2 cents," and were
sold at 5c. and 6c. respectively. They were available
for local postage purposes to the original value of the
stamps, the additional 2c. on each stamp being credited
to the Red Cross Fund. These stamps, which, as was
to be expected, were much more popular than the
non-postage stamps issued in 191 6, were withdrawn
in 191 8 under instructions.
Stamp booklets were placed on sale in December
19 16, containing ic, 3c., and 4c. stamps. These proved
popular, and a new book containing only 4c. stamps
was issued in 191 7. They were sold at $1 each, the
face value of the stamps.
International post cards (3 cents) were introduced in
September 1879, and sold at slightly above face value.
Since May 1883, however, they have been sold for the
face value of the stamps impressed on the cards. Local
CURIOUS POSTAL REGULATION 159
post cards (i cent) were issued on the 15 th December
1884, for use in the Straits, Malay States, and Johore.
Reply post cards for local and foreign use were introduced
in January 1885.
Official registration envelopes in five sizes have been
available since February 1891.
Relations with Neighbouring States
The treaty of the 20th June 1826, between the
Honourable East India Company and the King of Siam,
contained the following curious article :
" If any Englishman desires to transmit a letter to
any person in a Siamese or other country, such person
only and no other shall open and look into the letter.
If a Siamese desire to transmit a letter to any person
in an English or any other country, such person only
and no other shall open and look into the letter."
During 1881 the Government of Siam, with a view
to establish post offices in that kingdom, sent an officer
to Singapore to gain an insight into the Straits system,
and it was hoped that this would further Siam's wish
to be brought into direct postal communication with
the rest of the world. There was no post office in Siam
at that time, but she joined the Postal Union on the ist
July 1885, and it was no longer necessary for all corres-
pondence to and from Siam to pass a decouvert through
Singapore.
The Maharaja of Johore consulted the Postmaster-
General of the Colony in 1 871 with a view of establishing
a postal service with compulsory repayment and free
delivery at either end, but postal communication was
not established with Johore until June 1884. The
mails were conveyed by coach until the railway opened
in 1903.
The Postmaster-General of the Straits went to Java
in 1 867 to arrange a connection with the Dutch Govern-
ment, the great feature of which was to secure free
delivery throughout Netherlands India of all letters
i6o POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
prepaid with Straits Settlements stamps, the Straits
reciprocally undertaking to deliver free in this Colony
letters from the Netherlands India for the Straits when
prepaid with Dutch stamps.
Singapore's unique geographical position on the great
highway placed the Settlement in a position to influence
the postal arrangements of the neighbouring Malay
and foreign states, many of which followed closely at
her heels in introducing new systems and in extending
old ones. We have seen in preceding pages how and
why the neighbouring States used Straits stamps on
their foreign correspondence, practically all of which
was dealt with by the Straits Post Office ; how, after
estabhshing a local parcel post with the Malay States
Singapore became the intermediary for the transmission
of parcels from those States to the rest of the world
and vice versa ; similarly with money orders until the
Malay States arranged their own direct exchanges with
other countries ; how much more closely connected
the States and the Settlements became on the comple-
tion of the through railway and the overland telegraph ;
how a Local Postal Union grew up, introducing low and
uniform rates of postage, and comprising the Straits,
the Federated Malay States, Johore, Kedah, Kelantan,
Trengganu, Pedis, Sarawak, British North Borneo,
and Brunei ; how the Malayan Telegraph Agreement
between the Straits, Federated Malay States, and Kedah
gave uniformity and a low charge in the matter of
telegraphic arrangements.
Straits officers visited and reported on postal matters
in the Malay States from time to time, and Mr. Noel
Trotter wrote in his 1893 report :
" I attach no slight importance to the improvement
and development of the postal relation between the
Colony and the Native States by the organisation and
maintenance of a complete system, based on uniform
principles and applicable throughout the Straits and
British Malaya. I think it would be a departmental
as well as a public advantage if the Post Office of the
THE FIRST POSTMASTER i6i
Straits and the Peninsula were formed into one service ;
but there are difficulties at present in the way of the
realisation of this idea, the most prominent being the
financial one, although one of the results would be that
of economy."
In June 1902 Mr. Trotter proceeded to the Federated
Malay States to report on the postal service there, and
to advise regarding the adoption of a uniform system
throughout the States. This resulted in the appoint-
ment of a Director of Posts and Telegraphs for the
Federated Malay States in 1904, and the organisation
of the Post Office of the several States on a federal and
uniform basis.
Postmaster-General
His Majesty's Postmaster-General has no powers or
privileges in relation to posts within the Colony. The
powers and privileges of the Postmaster-General of the
Straits Settlements are defined in the several Straits
Ordinances governing the Post Office, money orders,
the telegraphs (including telephones and wireless) and
the Savings Bank.
In Singapore the Post Office was for many years under
the Master Attendant. In 1855 he had the assistance
of a Postmaster with a salary of £2>9^ to carry on
the more immediate duties in connection with the
Post Office. In 1856 a letter, very numerously signed
by the merchants, was sent to Government suggesting
that the Post Office was becoming of great importance,
and recommending separation from the Marine Office
and the appointment of Mr. William Cuppage as Post-
master, this gentleman having carried out the duties
since before 1831, though nominally under the Harbour
Master. Mr. Cuppage became Postmaster, and acted
as Postmaster-General in 1 869, when this appointment
was created.
Mr. Henry Trotter came from Ceylon to be the first
Postmaster-General of the Colony in 1871, and remained
in the post until May 1882, when he was succeeded
i62 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
by Mr. E. E. Isemonger. Except for comparatively
short periods, during which Mr. H. A. O'Brien performed
the duties of his post as Postmaster-General, Mr. Noel
Trotter acted as Postmaster-General from 1883 to 1895,
when he was appointed to the post which he continued
to hold until his retirement in 1907. In 1907 Mr. W. G.
Bell became Postmaster-General, and in 1916 Mr. F.
M. Baddeley, the present holder.
For nearly forty years the Trotters, father and son,
directed the progress of the Straits Post Office. Their
memory still lives in the Department, for there are a
few of the staff who remember the father, and many
who remember the son, with the greatest respect and
affection. They were of the old school, and their
hospitality and innumerable kindnesses to their staff
have left the happiest recollections. Enthusiasm was
encouraged and guided into the best channels, and many
have regretted not having had a few more years of that
guidance and unselfish assistance. There can be no
more fitting conclusion to this chapter than the letter
addressed to Mr. Noel Trotter on his retirement in 1907
by representative members ofthe commercial community,
and the reply which suggests to the reader some of the
ideals which actuated his management of the Post
Office. When Mr. Noel Trotter retired in 1907, the
father, Mr. Henry Trotter, was still alive and well,
and it was a rare pleasure to see father and son both
enjoying their retirement.
" Singapore,
" 25th February 1907.
** Henry Noel Cortlandt Trotter, Esq.,
Postmaster-General Straits Settlements, Singapore.
'^ Dear Sir,
** The Merchants, Bankers, Members of the legal
profession, and others concerned in the Commerce of
Singapore, on learning of your decision to retire from
the office of Postmaster-General of the Straits Settle-
ments, have felt that it is due to you to mark in some
tangible form their appreciation of the manner in which
NOFX TROTTER.
II. 162]
MR. NOEL TROTTER 163
their interests have been studied and advanced through
the highly efficient, organisation into which the Postal
Service of the Straits Settlements has been brought by
you during the long term of your administrative direction
of that Department, and they decided to ask you to
accept a memento of their appreciation in the form of
silver plate.
" A movement towards this end at once received
very hearty and general response, with the result that
$1,460 have been contributed for the purpose, by widely
spread subscriptions, a list of which is enclosed.
*' As you are about to return to England, it is felt that
the form and design of plate most appropriate and suit-
able for this presentation can best be left to your own
choice and decision. It has, therefore, been decided
tohandyouthe amountsubscribed (cheque now enclosed),
and ask you to procure in England, as the gift to you of
the subscribers, such form of silver plate as your own
preference may suggest.
*' The subscribers to this presentation ask that you will
have the following superscription engraved upon their
gift, viz. :
To
HENRY NOEL CORTLANDT TROTTER, ESQ.,
Postmaster-General
OF THE
Straits Settlements
On his retirement after thirty years of service in
that Department.
In appreciation of the high state of efficiency into
which his life's work has brought the Postal organisation
of the Straits Settlements.
A presentation subscribed for by Merchants, Bankers,
Members of the legal profession, and others concerned
in the Commerce of Singapore.
"Singapore, Straits Settlements,
25th February 1907.
" On behalf of the subscribers we thank you for your
invariable study of their interests, and we add the
i64 POST OFFICE AND ITS HISTORY
expression of their hope that you may long have health
and happiness in the Home Country to which you are
retiring.
" For the subscribers
'' Believe us to be, yours very truly,
" Thos. S. Baker
** C. Mc Arthur
" W. J. Napier
" John Anderson."
" Singapore,
" 25th February 1907.
** To The Honourable John Anderson, The Honourable
W. J. Napier, D.C.L., The Honourable T. S. Baker,
C. McArthur, Esq.
" Dear Sirs,
" I have much pleasure in acknowledging the
receipt of your letter of this day's date, on behalf of
the Merchants, Bankers, Members of the legal profession,
and others concerned in the Commerce of Singapore,
expressing their appreciation of my work in the Postal
Departm.ent of the Straits Settlements, and enclosing
a cheque for $1,460 to be used by me in purchasing a
memento in the form of silver plate.
" No commendation could be more gratifying to me
than that of the Mercantile Community, which has had
the widest opportunities of judging my work ; and from
the bottom of my heart I thank the very representative
body of subscribers, whose names are given in the list
accompanying your letter, for the very handsome and
exceptional recognition, both verbal and tangible, of
my official service.
" I shall be very proud to carry out the wishes of the
subscribers with regard to the inscription to be engraved
on their generous gift.
" I have always considered that my first duty was
to the public, and my constant aim in managing the
Post Office was to secure efficiency, or in other words to
provide a safe, quick, cheap, and up-to-date service,
with an absence of red-tape.
A PARTING GIFT 165
' * Whatever results have been accomphshed could not
have been achieved without the excellent esprit de corps
which has animated all branches of the staff, to w^hom
much credit is due.
" I am also extremely grateful for the very good wishes
contained in the final paragraph of your letter, and I
shall ever retain the happiest recollections of the har-
monious relations which have always existed between
the public and myself.
" As my time is so short, it will be impossible for me
to personally thank all the subscribers, and I would,
therefore, ask you to add to your kindness to me by
acting as the channel for conveying my heartfelt thanks
to them.
" Believe me,
" Yours very truly,
*' Noel Trotter.'*
CHAPTER XV
THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
By Walter Makepeace
The climatic and geographical conditions of Singapore
affect the personnel of the firms that carry on business
here (since practically every business man has to go on
frequent leave) and the length of life of the firms, hence
the personal element of the trader is of such great im-
portance. The history of the firms of the Colony shows
a surprising number of firms founded by men who have
come out to other establishments and have chosen to
" go on their own." There has also been a considerable
amount of changing from firm to firm among the juniors
who subsequently became seniors, and, as an inevitable
result of changing conditions of trade, many absorptions
have taken place. An attempt is made to put on
record a brief history of the oldest or most important
firms in the place at the outbreak of war in August
1914, the circumstances of trade during the War being
so far removed from the normal that its permanent
effect on the history of Singapore cannot yet be
judged.
There are also included many firms that have been at
one time or another in existence in the town, these
including the German and Austrian concerns closed under
War Regulations.
Neither list is claimed to be complete, and the Direc-
tories of the last ten years are so readily available that
it was not considered necessary to elaborate the recent
life-history of the businesses, except in a few cases.
166
TELEGRAPH CABLE TO MADRAS 167
The Telegraph Company
The first mention of the electric telegraph is found
in 1859, when the Dutch Government laid the Singapore-
Batavia line, the first message being sent on the 24th
November. Congratulations were exchanged between
the Governors of the colonies thus connected ; but then
the cable s.napped, and there is no indication that the
communication was ever restored beyond an entry in
the 1 860 Directory : " Electric Telegraph Establishment — ■
Office right bank, river side. The line is open between
Singapore and Batavia. D. Gollner, Chief; Schreyner,
Agent."
In 1863 there was a small shed in the Square used for
the telegraph line from Singapore to New Harbour; J.
Fisher, Proprietor ; W. Allen, Manager. Fisher was a
partner of Fisher and Riley, engineers, later Riley,
Hargreaves and Co. This local line was evidently of
considerable use. In 1873 it is recorded as disabled by
a thunderstorm.
The cable to Madras was completed on the 31st
December 1870, and opened to the public in January
1 871, " thus placing Singapore in direct communication
with India, Europe, Great Britain, and America." The
office was in Prince's Street, in a house leased from the
Sultan of Johore. On the 14th April it is recorded that
the result of the University Boat Race was telegraphed
out in four minutes to Bombay. On the 19th May 1871
the ships to lay the China telegraph cable sailed, the
Agnes, Belgian, Minia, and Kangaroo. The Agnes was
the smallest of the four, and took one hundred miles,
returning when it was laid. The question of the branch
to Saigon was then unsettled. The buoys were placed
at Cape St. James the following year, and the cable
joined up. Mr. J. W. Fuller was the first Manager in
Singapore, and when he retired, on the 9th January
1874, he received an address from the merchants
recognising his courteous services. Mr. Bennett Pell
succeeded him in 1881 — he lived at Grasslands, River
II — 12
i68 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
Valley Road — and the Graham Bell telephone, invented
in 1876 and coming into use in 1878, was in use in the
Telegraph Office, Singapore, in 1881 as a private
venture of Mr. Pell. The Singapore venture was then
the Oriental Telephone Company. The Penang belonged
to a Mr. Gott, and that was taken over by Government.
Mr. Grigor Taylor, who succeeded him, was Manager
of the Telephone Co. in Singapore. Mr. Grigor Taylor
was a well-known and much respected resident of
Singapore for many years, and when he left, in September
1902, Singapore ceased to be the headquarters of the
General Manager, and became a district. The per-
manency of the staff of the Telegraph Company is a
great feature of the history of Singapore. For instance,
A. Y. Gahagan, who was still Manager in 191 2, was
a member of the Singapore Cricket Club Committee
in 1 88 1, and the record of the following members of the
staff in that year extends well over the quarter of a
century : Mr. J. C. D. Jones, electrician ; Mr. J. C. Cuff,
assistant electrician ; Messrs. K. A. Stevens, A. C. M.
Weaver, J. H. D. Jones, A. J. Collier (of Malacca).
Mr. J. C. H. Darby is the oldest member of the service
now in the Straits (arrived 1883) ; Mr. H. K. C. Fisher,
who retired from the Straits in 191 7, having been on the
staff in 1880, died soon after retirement.
The dates of laying the various cables now existing
are Madras, Penang, Singapore, 1870, diiplicated in 1891;
to Hongkong and St. James, 1871 ; Singapore-Batavia
and Australia, 1871 ; Singapore-Banjoewangi, 1879;
Cocos Island, 1908; direct Colombo, Penang, Singapore,
1 9 14. The Company's cable ships with considerable
times of service in the Straits are the Sherard Osborn,
1878 to 1902 (Captain Worsley, later Captains W. S.
Fawcus, G. V. Madge, Dunmall, and Rushton) ; Recorder
(Captain Madge, Captain Dunmall); Agnes, 1872 to
1885 ; Edinburgh, 1872 to 1878. In the course of their
work out East most important ocean sounding has been
done, of which careful record was kept and report sent
home to the Admiralty to be entered into the official
CABLE COMPANY FUSION 169
charts. Thus we find in 1889 that from a report
furnished by Captain Madge, of the Recorder ^ the Hector
Bank in the Carimata Straits has been replaced on the
Admiralty charts.
One of the most important of these sounding expedi-
tions may be mentioned, that for the Cape-Australia
cable in 1901, the soundings having been taken in 1900,
when the Sherard Osborn deep was discovered between
Adelaide and Mauritius via Gocos — 5,500 miles — ^when
over 440 soundings were taken in depths up to 3,550
fathoms.
The first instrument used was the mirror. About 1 879
this was replaced by the siphon recorder. The auto-
matic cable relay was introduced about 1900, and a late
development of it is the direct connection between Aden
and Singapore, the automatic relay being at Colombo.
The development in number of connections, in perfection
of instruments and cables, is paralleled by the increase
of staff and business.
In 1 89 1 the Eastern Extension, Australasia and China
Telegraph Company was the successor or amalgamator
(about 1873) of the British India Extension Telegraph
Company, the China Submarine Telegraph Company, the
British Australasian Cable Company. The staff of the
Company at Singapore numbered fifty-three, not in-
cluding the shops. Last year's list includes 116 for
the Singapore office alone. The increase in commercial
and cable work is shown by the figures for March 1 874,
when 74,900 words were signalled by the Singapore
station, and March 191 4, when the total was 1,111,416.
Previous to 1886 spare cable was stored in an exca-
vation at Keppel Harbour, on the site of the present
boat-building shed. In 1879 a sailing ship, the Southern
Ocean, arrived from England (her chief officer was Mr.
H. Owen, for many years in command of local steamers,
and latterly a pilot). She was fitted with tanks, and
was converted into a hulk for stores and spare cable.
She lay off Tanjong Rhu until 1886. (In November
1884 Mr., Gardner, cable foreman on this hulk, died of
170 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
hydrophobia, this being the first authenticated case of
this disease in Singapore.) In 1886 the Cable Depot
was built at Keppel Harbour on land leased from the
New Harbour Dock Company, five tanks from the hulk,
and four new ones. In 1896 the area was doubled by a
lease of further ground, and a factory for the manufac-
ture of cable from picked up gutta-percha core was
started. At present the number of tanks is seventeen,
capacity 95,000 cubic feet, holding 1,600 miles of inter-
mediate cable. In 191 1 electric motors were installed,
power being supplied by the Singapore Harbour Board.
In 1903 the Sherard Osborn was sold to the Eastern
Telegraph Company and replaced by the Patrol. In
1904 the Magnet was purchased as a third ship. The
Sherard Osborn was named after a distinguished naval
officer who wrote a book about " Quedah." The Agnes
was named after his daughter.
Oriental Telephone and Electric Co.
Mr. Bennett Pell, of the Telegraph Co., was the
owner of a small private telephone system, installed
soon after the invention of the Graham Bell Telephone.
In 1878 a trial had been made on Mr. Fisher's telegraph
line from the Square to New Harbour, and a sample
instrument was placed in the Raffles Museum. On the
ist July 1882 the Oriental Telephone Co. bought out
Mr. Bennett Pell, the owner, trading as John Eraser
and Co.
The exchange was situated on the first floor of Messrs.
Paterson, Simons and Co.'s offices, Prince's Street, and
comprised a 50-line standard plug switchboard without
cords. When taken over by the Oriental Co., the
Exchange was removed (in 1898) to 91 Robinson Road,
Singapore.
The first Manager of the Company was Mr. J. B.
Saunders in 1885, followed by Mr. John Sibbons in 1893.
The subscribers in 1882 were: Behn, Meyer and Co.,
Bernard and Son, Borneo Co., Ltd., Boustead and Co.,
Brennand and Wilkinson Co., Cameron, Dunlop and Co.,
TELEPHONE SUBSCRIBERS 171
Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, Chartered
Mercantile Bank of India, etc., Crane Bros., The Singa-
pore Exchange, John Eraser, Hamilton, Gray and Co.,
Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, Katz Bros., John Little
and Co., Maclaine, Eraser and Co., Mansfield and Co.,
Martin, Dyce and Co., McKerrow, William and Co.,
McAlister and Co. ,MessageriesMaritimesCie., Netherlands
Trading Society, Oriental Banking Co., Paterson, Simons
and Co., Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co.,
Powell and Co., John Purvis, Puttfarcken, Rheiner and
Co., Rautenberg, Schmidt and Co., Dr. Robertson, J. D.
Ross, jr., Sayle and Co., W. R. Scott and Co., Syme
and Co., Tanjong Pagar Dock Co., Eastern Extension
Telegraph Co., Gilfillan, Wood and Co., Guthrie and Co.,
New Harbour Dock Co., Ltd., The Maharaja of Johore.
In 1907 the Company transferred their connection
from the two exchanges at Robinson Road and Tanglin
to a central exchange in Hill Street, where a lamp-
signalling system was brought into use. In 1908 Mr.
John Sibbons retired from the Company's service, and
was succeeded by Mr. P. H. Gibbs. For health reasons
Mr. P. H. Gibbs found it necessary to resign in 191 5,
and Mr. J. D. Pierrepont was then appointed Manager
of the branch. In December 1916 the Company
suffered an unfortunate experience in having their
exchange burnt out, and at the present time a central
battery exchange is in course of being erected. There
are now 1,832 exchange lines.
The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation
Co., Ltd.
The actual commencement of the P. and O. Company
was when the Iberia left England in 1837, with the
Peninsular mails. Down to 1840 the mails to and
from India were carried by the H.E.I.C. in their own
steamers between Alexandria, Bombay, and Suez, and
by steamers of the Imperial Government between
Alexandria and Gibraltar. Alexandria to England was
three or four weeks. In 1840 the Oriental, of 1,600 tons
172 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
and 450 h.p., and the Great Liverpool, of 1,540 tons, were
despatched with the Peninsular and Indian mails. These
were the first of the P. and O. mails. The line east of
Suez was opened by the Hindustan in 1842 (1,800 tons),
which went round the Cape. In 1844 a contract was
made for the extension of the P. and O. line to Singapore
and Hongkong at 175. per mile. In this year the fleet
consisted of fourteen ships, including the Hindustan,
the Bentinck, and the Precursor. Also, William C.
Crane was agent for Waghorn and Co. in Singapore.
The landmarks of the Company's property in Singapore
bear date 1850.
The Overland Route is as old as history. Lieutenant
Waghorn revived it — eighteen hours' journey, ninety
miles across the desert in an omnibus on a road hardly
distinguishable from the desert. Fresh water and coal
had to be carried by the same route (coal was cheaper
sent this way than round the Cape by sailing ships).
The railway was completed in 1858. The P. and O. spent
on an average ;£52 5,ooo per annum in coal, and Singa-
pore stocked 8,000 tons. In 1853 the mail was sent
every other month to Sydney by way of Singapore. The
main line was 12 knots, the branch lines 10 J knots,
and 8 1 knots between Singapore and Sydney, the Hima-
laya, Nubia, Pera, and Colombo ; in 1853, Simla, Valetta,
Bengal, and Vectis. In 1857 a strenuous attempt was
made by the European and Australian Co. to obtain the
contract, but it failed miserably. In 1869 the Suez
Canal was opened. For four years the mails were
actually landed at Alexandria and taken overland to
Suez, where they were embarked on the same steamers
which had passed through the canal. In this year the
P. and O. offices in Singapore were in Battery Road and
at New Harbour. Mr. H. T. Marshall was Superin-
tendent.
This is an early phase of the *' fares " question. In
January 1853 a circular was issued announcing a " con-
siderable reduction " in fares. On the ist March 1854,
" owing to the increased price in coal," the fares were
• p. AND O. COMPANY 173
increased, being then $600 from Singapore to Southamp-
ton, payable in Spanish, Mexican, or Peruvian dollars.
A promise was given of reduction when possible, which
promise was redeemed on the 9th August 1856, the fare
Southampton to Singapore falling from £125 to £110;
but excess luggage had to be paid for at the rate of
$14.40 per cwt.
It was not till 1888 that the Suez Canal route became
the exclusive route for the mails, and the condition that
the mails should be sent overland was withdrawn. The
P. and O. Khedive had been put on in 1871, at a cost of
£1 10,000, being under 4,000 tons, built by Caird and Co.,
Greenock.
With its fine general record for safety the Company
has yet suffered losses, which have concerned the
Straits, of recent years. The Bokhara^ of 2,994 tons,
struck on dangerous rocks round the Pescadores in
1892, and foundered with all on board, only seven Euro-
peans and sixteen Lascars escaping to the island. A
worse disaster was the loss of the Aden (4,200 tons) off
the island of Socotra in 1897, on her voyage home from
Yokohama. She carried thirty-four passengers and a
valuable cargo. She encountered very bad weather
from the ist June, when she left Colombo, with coal on
deck to avoid calling at Aden, which coal successfully
got into the bunkers on the 7th. No sights were obtain-
able till the 8th June, when the ship's position was
ascertained, and she struck on the 9th at 2.30 a.m., in
very bad weather and a pitch-dark night. By the
afternoon of the next day the captain had his leg broken,
and was washed away, and the survivors remained
aboard for seventeen days, being rescued on the 26th
June.
The P. and O. Company reached Singapore in 1844,
when the first contract was made for the conveyance of
mails to China via Ceylon. The contract was for 140
hours from Ceylon to Penang and 4 s hours from there
to Singapore, and the first mail steamer was the Lady
Mary Wood, which arrived here on the 4th August.
174 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
The service was monthly, and the early numbers of the
Directories contain copies of the contracts . The passage-
money was then £i6o, including transit through Egypt
and stewards' fees. Spottiswoode and Connolly were the
first P. and O. agents. But in 1852 Captain T. Marshall
was the P. and O. agent, and he gave a ball in the recently
completed offices at New Harbour, in honour of that
and of the opening of the line to Australia, the first
vessel being the Chusan, 700 tons. Next year, 1853,
the mail was made twice a month, alternately via Galle
and Calcutta. The landmarks of the property at
Teluk Blanga are dated 1850. The local agent at
Singapore naturally is an important member of the
commercial community, and usually is stationed here
for a considerable time. Captain James Gardiner
Jellicoe (i860) was relieved by Mr. J. D. Caldbeck in
1 87 1, whom Mr. H. W. Geiger succeeded the following
year, retiring in 1 891 . The P. and O. then, and for many
years aftenvards, had its own pilot. Under Mr. Geiger
(1882-90) the passage Gravesend to Singapore was £6S,
** including all canal dues," but the passenger Suez
Canal transit was by rail.
The P. and O. agents in Singapore since 1875 are as
follows: J.R. Kellock(i875-7); H. W. Geiger (1878-83,
1884-8); D. Low (1883-4); F. G. Davidson (acting
1889-90); George King (1890-95); Frank Ritchie
(1895-9) ; H. I. Chope (i 899-1906) ; L. S. Lewis (acting
1906-7) ; H. W. Buckland (1907 to date). Mr. H. L
Chope lost his life as the result of a carriage accident
near Tanglin Club in January 1906.
The present steel wharves of the Company were con-
structed in 1908, and the railway siding on the Com-
pany's property, connecting with the F.M.S. railway
system, was completed in 191 5.
Banking
Early in the history of Singapore the question of
banking facilities was mooted. In 1833 the first pro-
posal was made to found a Singapore bank, with a
BANKING IN SINGAPORE 175
capital of $400,000, but nothing came of this proposal.
Two years later a scheme was formulated for a Singapore
and Ceylon bank, capital ;£200,ooo, to be limited by
charter. This scheme was also abortive. In 1837
Syme and Co. were offering advances in cash to nine-
tenths of the value of the produce conveyed to their
agents in London. John Gemmill did private banking
business in 1839.
The Union Bank of Calcutta opened a branch in
December 1840, and three years later- appointed a
committee of three merchants to assist in managing,
but the Committee was objected to, as it would mean
the disclosure to them of their competitors' business.
Mr. A. G. Paterson came here to open the branch. This
first bank made advances at 9 per cent, up to three-
quarters of the value of the goods, up to 90 per cent,
(at 7 per cent.) on bullion, and discount on bills ranged
from 8 to 10 per cent. This bank was " Registered under
the Indian Act."
The Oriental Bank branch was here in 1846, prior
to having been incorporated by Royal Charter on
the 30th August 1856. It continued to operate in
Singapore till 1884, when it stopped payment.
On the 20th December 1855 the North- West Bank
of India (headquarters, Calcutta) opened a branch at
Singapore, under Mr. David Duff, who in 1859 became
the first agent of the Chartered Bank of India, Australia
and China in Singapore, which opened on the 19th
February. Several of the most influential retired Singa-
pore merchants were connected with the London
Directorate, including Mr. James Fraser, of Maclaine,
Fraser and Co. (died in 1872). The North- West Bank
withdrew. The offices in 1 864 were at the north corner
of the Square, near Prince's Street.
In 1859 there were many banking agencies. Ker,
Rawson and Co. held four ; the Borneo Co. represented
the Government of Labuan and the Rajah of Sarawak.
The branch of the Mercantile Bank of India, London
and China was opened in 1855 by Mr. Walter Ormiston.
176 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
(In 1842 Mr. T. O. Crane lived where the Mercantile
Bank is now.)
The New Oriental Bank, which took up the business
of the old (Bank Lama), carried on till June 1892, when
it failed, with liabilities $5,500,000.
In 1864 there were four banks in the Square, the
Chartered Mercantile, the Chartered, the Asiatic Banking
Corporation, and the Oriental Bank.
Having given this sketch of the early history of
banking in Singapore, the following is a brief account of
the chief banks now established in the Straits :
The Chartered Bank of India, Australia and
China was incorporated by Royal Charter, on the
29th December 1853, with a capital of £644,000. By a
supplemental charter dated the 20th July 1861, the
agency then existing in Singapore was converted into
a branch, with authority from Her Majesty's Treasury
to establish branches at Penang and Malacca, and to
issue notes in the three Settlements. On the 3rd Novem-
ber 1863 the capital was fixed at ;£8oo,ooo. A second
supplemental charter authorised the capital to be
increased to ;^2,ooo,ooo, subject to the approval of
H.M. Treasury. On the 29th December 1884 the
charter was renewed. Some of the well-known managers
in the Straits have been R. I. Harper (1871), T. Neave,
T. H. Whitehead (1882), W. Dougal (who married a
daughter of Dr. J. H. Robertson, of Singapore), 1883,
and Mr. J. C. Budd. In 1884 the present Chartered
Bank House at Cairn Hill was built. Since then, among
the managers have been Mr. W. H. Frizell, Mr. E. M.
Janion (1910), Mr. M. Morrison (191 2), and Mr. J. Greig
(191 5-1 8). The Bank has had its office in three build-
ings within the memory of living man : corner of Prince's
Street and the Square, corner of Flint Street and
Battery Road (first occupied the 5th February 1895), and
now corner of Bonham Street and Battery Road, the
last two buildings being constructed to its order.
The Mercantile Bank of India, London and
China existed prior to 1857 ^^ Bombay, but in that
SIR GEORGE MURRAY 177
year a Royal Charter was obtained, and the Bank took
the name of the Chartered Mercantile Bank of India,
London and China. In October 1892 the Bank was
voluntarily liquidated, and was reconstructed under the
name of the Mercantile Bank of India. The branch
in Malacca, the only bank in the old Settlement for
many years, was closed in 1893. Mr. James Davidson
was Manager in 1864. The best-known name in con-
nection with the Mercantile Bank, however, is Mr.
G. S. Murray (now Sir George Murray), who succeeded
Mr. F. C. Bishop, reigned many years in Singapore
(knighted in 1906), made money at the beginning of
the rubber boom, in connection with W. W. Bailey
and H. Payne Gallwey, and was of invaluable assistance
to the Government in its difficult task of a note issue
and of establishing a gold standard. Sir George Murray
married Miss Dennys, daughter of Dr. N. B. Dennys,
a man of singular ability and zeal in collecting facts
connected with the Far East in 1880-94. (In 1872
the banks were badly let in by the firm of Joshua Bros.,
who caused a loss of $400,000 by the manipulation of
opium import certificates. A run on all the banks
took place in November 1872, in consequence of the
failure of the firm.) Mr. A. R. Linton, who was Acting
Manager in 19 10, returned in 191 8.
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corpora-
tion was incorporated under Ordinance 5 of 1866
(Hongkong), and in 1 871 Boustead & Co. were the agents.
In that year Mr. T. Jackson (afterwards Sir Thomas
Jackson) was agent at Yokohama, and Mr. Herbert
Cope, who was afterwards agent in Singapore, was at
Hankow. The Bank has achieved remarkable success,
its projectors wisely placing the headquarters at Hong-
kong. The circumstances of the foundation were
exceptionally favourable. Although five other banks
had branches in Hongkong, they appealed but slightly
to local sentiment. The success of the new venture
was something undreamt of in Colonial history. The
original shares of $100 rose rapidly within a few months
178 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
to 27 per cent, premium, and within five years, although
large dividends had been declared, the reserve fund
amounted to half a million of dollars. In 1866 the
Bank received a check by the failure of Dent and Co.,
the head of which was a director of the Bank. A year
or two later large advances to the Indo-Chinese Sugar
Co. had worse results, and the Bank for the first time
failed to pay a half-yearly dividend. But the earning
capacity of the Corporation was so enormous that the
former influential position was soon recovered. The
Bank came to Singapore in 1877, and was incorporated
that year in the Straits Settlements. The offices were
in Collyer Quay, where Donaldson and Burkinshaw's
office is now. In September 1890 the Bank purchased
its present fine site, opposite the Singapore Club, from
the Eraser Estate, the premises pulled down including
those occupied by Messrs. A. L. Johnston and Co. and
Robinsonand Co., and the new building being constructed
under the supervision of Messrs. Swan and Maclaren,
who made use of many of the old rails of the first Tram-
way Company in constructing the vaults below. Some
of the Managers have been Mr. J. P. Wade Gardner,
Mr. G. W. Butt, Mr. J. C. Nicholson, Mr. T. S. Baker,
and now Mr. J. C. Peter.
In 1898 two ingenious Germans named Grosse and
Schultze conceived the idea of importing forged Hong-
kong Bank notes. They were arrested on the Preussen
with $221,000, and later were duly convicted.
In the twentieth century there has been a great
development of the banking facihties in Singapore. The
Nederlandsch Indische Bank (N.I. Commercial Bank)
opened on ist June 1901. The Singapore branch of
the Banque de ITndo-Chine was established in 1904 to
give financial support to French enterprise in the Straits
and Malaya. The Bank of Taiwan, created originally
to serve as a State Bank for Taiwan (Formosa), opened
its Singapore branch on the 2nd September 191 2. The
Sze Hai Tong Bank, a Chinese enterprise, was founded
in 1907. In 1908 there were nine banking establish-
FOREIGN BANKS 179
ments. The Chinese Commercial Bank came into
existence in 191 2.
A private enterprise called the Straits Banking Co.
had a very brief life in 191 4. The Kwong Yik Bank
was also formed in 1903, but its liquidation had to be
arranged for with the aid of Government.
Nederlandsch Indische Handelsbank. — ^This is
an offshoot of the Algemeene Maatschappij voor Handel
en Nijverheid, established at Amsterdam in April 1863.
The Directors early established a head agency in Batavia
on the 15 th March 1864, with an agency at Soerabaya
and in Samarang the following year. It had many
difficulties to contend with, among them the liquidation
of the parent Algemeene Maatschappij, and the bad
year 1883, when all produce, and especially sugar,
greatly decreased; but with the formation of the N.I.
Landbouw Maatschappij the Bank entered upon a
new lease of life. An agency was opened in Singapore
in 1 90 1, and at Hongkong in 1906. The Managers of
the Bank in Singapore have been R. A. van Santen
(1901-3), P. Huga (1903-9), J- T. Lohmann (1909-10),
W. E. van Heukelom (1910-12), C. Woldringh (1912-14),
G. H. Theunissen (1914-16), E. J. H. van Delden
(1916-18) and W. J. de Graan (1918).
The International Banking Corporation, which
is closely affiliated with the National City Bank of New
York, one of the largest banks in the world, and holding
a controlling number of shares in the International
Banking Corporation, came to Singapore in 1903, and
opened at No. i Prince's Street, the General Manager
then being Mr. J. B. Lee, a well-known figure in the
Straits, who was in charge till 1908. Mr. H. T. S.
Green, at one time Sub-Manager of the Hongkong and
Shanghai Bank in London, succeeded, and is still General
Manager and President. The first Manager of the Singa-
pore branch was Mr. Alwyn Richards, who was suc-
ceeded by Mr. J. L. Lyon, Mr. J. K. Moir, Mr. W. H.
Rose (all formerly of the Mercantile Bank), Mr. L. R.
Macphail (at present a broker in Singapore), Mr. D. G.
. i8o THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
Maclennan (since dead), and Mr. Walter Greig (now in
the Yokohama branch). Mr. Rose returned as Manager
in 1917.
The Commercial Firms
Abrams Motor Hiring and Transport Co. — One
of the characters of Singapore for a quarter of a century
was Mr. H . Abrams. ' ' Daddy Abrams ' ' was the founder
of Abrams 's Horse Repository on leaving the service
of H.H. the Sultan of Johore. Singapore, from a very
early date, in spite of a limited number of roads, was a
great place for horses and carriages, at first imported.
Madame Pfeiffer, who made a tour round the world,
and called at Singapore in 1852, specially mentions that
" the whole island is intersected with excellent roads,
of which those skirting the sea-shore are most frequented,
where handsome carriages and horses from New Holland,
and even from England, are to be seen." The firm of
Lambert and Co. was established in 1865, and in 1880-90
built very excellent vehicles at their factory in Orchard
Road (near where Kelly and Walsh's printing works
now stand), with imported machinery and European
coach-builders. Mr. Abrams, an exceedingly good judge
of a horse and a shrewd business man, withal a most
genial character, was the leading horse-dealer and
trainer, as well as a fine jockey in his younger days.
Mr. J. E. Elphick and Mr. P. S. Falshaw were veterinary
surgeons to Abrams, and some of the cleverest jockeys
had their early or late training under "Daddy":
E. Calder, W. Dalian (died in 1901), and H. S. Kirwan.
Residents in the 'Eighties and 'Nineties will remember
the inimitable Jinks, a right-hand man when it came
to breaking horses into harness. Daddy used to keep
a famous grey called " Patent Safety" for beginners;
but the animal belied his name when the late Arnot
Reid, Editor of the Straits Times, fell off him while
sauntering round the Esplanade. Perhaps it was the
unaccustomed " high horse " that did it. Mr. C. W.
Abrams came out to his father as veterinary surgeon
ADAMSON, GILFILLAN AND CO. i8i
about 1900. A rival establishment, the Straits Horse
Repository (i 885-1908), under W. Dalian (and later
Peter Dalian) and C. D. H. Currie (an early veterinary
surgeon to come to Singapore), was established. But
it was the advent of the motor-car that caused the
greatest change in Abrams's, and led to the formation
of Abrams's Motor Hiring and Transport Co.
Adamson, Gilfillan and Co.
GiLFiLLAN, Wood and Co. — The early history of this
firm involves men very well known in the Victorian
age of the Straits. Mr. H. W. Wood came to Singapore
in 1 85 1 to join Syme and Co., and remained with that
firm till 1857, when he joined the newly formed Borneo
Co., of which he was in 1859a manager, with Mr. Samuel
Gilfillan and Mr. W. Adamson as assistants. In the
1867 Directory Mr. H. W. Wood, Gaylang House,
Tanah Merah Road, appears in the list of residents,
and as a director of Tanjong Pagar Dock Co., Ltd.,
and Mr. S. Gilfillan as a J. P. living at Siglap; but curiously
no reference is made to them in the Mercantile Directory.
Next year Mr. Wood had gone to live at Woodside,
the [sic] Grange Road ; he appears as a member of the
Library Committee, Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of
Commerce, Attorney for the liquidator of the Asiatic
Banking Corporation, and the Resident Partner of Gil-
fillan, Wood and Co., established 1867, Messrs. Gilfillan
and Adamson being in London, and James Miller being
an assistant, the branch firm being Adamson, Gilfillan
and Co., London. This seems to settle without doubt that
the firm was established in 1867. Mr. W. Adamson
first appears in 1856 as an assistant in McEwen and Co.
(founded in 1842), of which firm Mr. Samuel Gilfillan
had been an assistant from 1854, or a year or two
earlier. In the i860 Directory a pencilled memo, by
the late J. D. Vaughan mentions Mr. Adamson as
*' Siam " — two years previously he was mentioned as
" assistant in Borneo Co., resident at Teluk Blanga."
The history of Mr. Adamson is almost that of Singapore
i82 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
for a long time. In March 1 862 he proposed, at a public
meeting, a bridge across the Singapore River near
Ellenborough Market. He was a promoter of the
Singapore-Tanjong Pagar Railway (1871 — a resuscita-
tion of the 1865-6 plan), and after his retirement in
1 890 was for many years Chairman of the Straits Settle-
ments Association. Mr. Gilfillan retired to London
in 1 88 1. He is credited, with A. T. Carmichael, of the
Chartered Bank, with instituting a weekly half-holiday,
which was taken sometimes on Saturdays, sometimes,
to suit the mail, on Wednesdays. Mr. James Sword
was a partner of the firm in 1881, and Mr. James Miller,
while Mr. G. P. Owen was an assistant a year previously.
In 1895 the Partners were S. Gilfillan, W. Adamson,
H. W. Wood (London), J. Miller, T. E. Earle, G. F.
Adamson, F. W. Barker, John Somerville, Chas. Mc-
Arthur, and M. E. Plumpton (a great " soccer " man at
that time). The growth of the firm may be judged
from the fact that at this time it held the agencies of
the Pacific Mail, Occident and Oriental Steamship Co.,
the agency of the P. and O. Co. at Penang (which branch
was established about 1884), six insurance companies,
the China, Japan and Straits Bank, and the Sungei
Ujong Railway. In 1900 the staff included W. S.
Coutts, A. J. Macdonald, H. W. Noon, F. L. Tomhn,
F. C. Muhlinghaus, and C. F. Minnitt in charge of the
insurance businesses. The Managers in 1905 were John
Somerville and M. E. Plumpton, the latter also being
here with Mr. A. J. Campbell Hart in 19 10, Mr. F. L.
Tomhn, the present Manager, and Mr. H. A. Low, the
present Penang Manager, signing per pro. At the time of
the outbreak of war the Directors in London were still
Samuel Gilfillan, Sir W. Adamson, C.M.G., H. W. Wood,
R. T. Peake ; and in Singapore, M. E. Plumpton;
the Managers : London^, Campbell Hart ; Singapore,
F. L. Tomlin ; Penang, H. A. Low ; twelve European
assistants, and three in charge of insurance work ;
seven steamship agencies, nine insurance, and numerous
general and commercial agencies. The Company was
F. W. BARKER AND CO. 183
registered on the 6th October 1904, and then assumed the
name of Adamson, Gilfillan and Co.
Adelphi Hotel.— This was first estabhshed in 1863
in the building in Coleman Street now known as the
Burlington, and in the 'Seventies the Proprietor was
A. Puhlmann, his widow subsequently carrying on the
business to the late 'Eighties. The big building now
occupied was built on the site of the old Hotel de la
Paix, and at the corner of North Bridge Road there
was a concert and dancing hall — the original Tingel-
tangel — owing its origin to a Mr. Finkelstein. Later
the Tingel-tangel was removed along North Bridge
Road, and lasted for many years under Austrian control,
there being a very decent string band, the lady-performers
being allowed to dance with visitors. Sometimes
rather rowdy scenes occurred, but the Tingel-tangel was,
on the whole, very well conducted, and the band had
outside engagements, as at the Children's Fete of the
Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee in 1897.
Barker, Arthur. — Mr. A. Barker came to the Straits
in 1889, and has carried on business continuously since.
Mr. H. W. Noon (now of Guthrie and Co., Ltd.) was with
the firm in 1905. The firm is now Barker and Keng
Chuan, Mr. Keng Chuan having started as salesman to
Mr. Barker before 1895. At the outbreak of war
Barker and Co. represented in Singapore twenty-five
business concerns.
Becher, Louis and Co. was formed in 1889 by Mr.
H. M. Becher, Henry Louis, and H. Hamilton Gunn, with
W. F. A. Thomae as metallurgist. They were the agents
of Bentong and Kechau. Like most mining engineers,
they all had adventurous lives. H. M. Becher was
drowned in the Pahang River. Mr. Louis is now a
professor in England.
Barker and Co., Ltd. — Mr. F. Wilson Barker came
out to Messrs. Gilfillan, Wood and Co. in the early
'Nineties, but left that firm and started business under
the name of F. W. Barker and Co. as Accountant and
Estate Agent about 1902. In 1904 Mr. Lowther Kemp,
n~i3
i84 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
A.C.A., and in 1905 Mr. Oswald Kimmel, joined him as
assistants. Mr. Lowther Kemp and Mr. Kimmel took
over the business in 1909 when Mr. Barker retired.
The firm then employed four assistants and represented
twenty- two companies. In 19 14 the partners were
Messrs. W. Lowther Kemp, O. A. Kimmel, and John
Mitchell, the last residing in Penang. It had in that
year five chartered accountants among its nine European
assistants, with a branch at Penang, and represented
some thirty-six companies at its Singapore office. Mr.
O. A. Kimmel died in 191 7. At the end of that year
the concern was reorganised as a private limited liability
company, comprising its Singapore and Penang branches
and its London office.
Barlow and Co. — ^The firm arose out of W. R. Scott
and Co., which was estabhshed in 1877, though really it
began much earlier. Mr. W. R. Scott ( 1859) was a clerk
in Shaw, Whitehead and Co., itself a successor to Graham,
Mackenzie and Co. prior to 1834. W. R. Scott married
a daughter of Captain George Julius Dare, a well-known
Singaporean, who was here in the 'Forties and died in
London in 1856. In 1 864 W. R. Scott became a partner
of William MacDonald and Co., of which Mr. Garlics
Allinson was a partner ; and Buckley mentions that in
1 866 he had a fresh-water swimming bath at Abbotsford
(Orchard Road), of which he allowed the use to sub-
scribers ; but it was very little used. Of the firm of
W. R. Scott and Co. the note for 1882 is the following
constitution : W. R. Scott (London) ; T. S. Thomson,
per pro. ; J. M. AlHnson and James Muir. In 1891
W. R. Scott, jun., had been added as an assistant, and
the firm is out of the 1895 Directory. But the name
of Barlow and Co. comes in with Mr. J. M. AlHnson,
E. Bramall, A. Booth, T. Black, and E. F. Salzmann,
E. Bramall and Black being still here in 19 10. When
the War started the staff included E. Bramall (Manager),
G. D. Mackay, L. Hinnekindt, F. Blackwell, and H. I.
Jones. The agencies of the firm are now mostly rubber,
but it has the Compania Trasatlantica line of steamers.
THE BORNEO COMPANY 185
The Borneo Company, Limited. — According to
Buckley (p. 380) the firm of W. R. Paterson and Co.
(1842) led to McEwen and Co., and so to the Borneo Co.
An autograph note by Mr. P. W. Auchincloss gives
the following account of the commencement of the
Company: *' McEwen and Co. were in 1851 the suc-
cessors of Paterson and Co., and in 1854 started the
Borneo Co., with their London agents to work their
interests in Sarawak, which had become too important
for a private firm. The wharves at Teluk Blanga
were initiated by Mr. John Harvey in the days of
McEwen and Co., early in 1856, and were transferred with
their other property to the Borneo Co. In 1 854 McEwen
and Co. had among its clerks the gentlemen with the
familiar names of S. Gilfillan and George Armstrong.
Three years later Mr. William Adamson was in the firm,
and on the 31st July 1851 the Borneo Co., Ltd., was
established in Singapore. Mr. John Harvey was
Managing Director in the East, Mr. John Black Manager
at Batavia, and Mr. Samuel Gilfillan at Bangkok.
McEwen and Co. was dissolved in the previous April."
In 1859 Mr. S. Gilfillan and Mr. H. W. Wood were
Managers and Mr. C. E. Crane a clerk. In i860 Gil-
fillan and Auchincloss were managing, and Mr. W.
Adamson in 1862, among the clerks being Messrs.
Tidman,Mulholland, andCrum. In 1 863 both Mr. Gilfillan
and Mr. Adamson were in Singapore. In 1868 Mr.
John Harvey was Managing Director, Mr. William
Martin Manager, and at the Singapore Branch
Herbert Buchanan and William Mulholland signed
per pro. The branches established were at Man-
chester, Calcutta, Singapore, Batavia, Hongkong,
Shanghai, Bangkok, and Sarawak, and among the
agencies held by the Company were H.M. Govern-
ment of Labuan, Standard Life, North China and
Norwich Union Assurance Companies. Mr. Mulholland
then lived at Ardmore. Three years later we come upon
the name of Andrew Currie as an assistant, while
A. W. Neubronner and J. L. Neubronner were clerks.
i86 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
These three names appeared for many years in the firm —
perhaps of all Companies the Borneo Co. has most had
the knack of keeping its employees. Mr. Currie was a
member of the Legislative Council before 1880, and he
lived then at Neidpath. He remained Manager till
1 89 1, being relieved by an equally well-known and
respected public man, Mr. C. Sugden, who had then
been ten years in the firm, his contemporaries being
Mr. W. A. Cadell, Mr. St. V. B. Down ( 1 884), and Mr. J. D.
Ross, jun. ( 1 888). The firm had developed. Among its
agencies were the National Bank of Scotland, Nobel's
Explosives, the Russian Volunteer Fleet — then regularly
calling in the most princely style on the journey from
Odessa to Vladivostock — and the National Bank of
India. But as long ago as 1871 the biggest ship in the
harbour, the William Cory, was consigned to the Borneo
Co. Curiously, this is the only company in the Directory
of 1857 to which is attached the word " Limited." In
1900 the staff included C. Sugden, W. A. Cadell
(Managers), St. V. B. Down {per pro.) ^ F. Hilton (from
1890), W. Patchitt, C. J. Davies, J. Denniston, F. C.
Wreford, E. G. Hartnell, and W. A. Darke. Mr. Sugden
had retired before 19 10, leaving behind him the memory
of a good business man, a keen sportsman, and a good
friend. Under him the Company here had extended its
business to cover nine insurance companies, three banks,
and four lines of steamers, besides its own considerable
trade. Mr. W. Patchitt succeeded him, and now Mr.
John Denniston. At the outbreak of war there were
seventeen Europeans in the firm, looking after the
business and its sixteen agencies.
Behr and Co. was founded before 1895, its partners
in that year being Meyer Behr (London), and Sigismund
Behr, who was then absent. Mr. F. H. Pearce, Mr. S.
Rosenbaum, and Mr. L. Hoefeld have at times looked
after the affairs of the Company. Mr. Traub was a
partner in 191 4.
D. Brandt and Co. goes back to the early 'Eighties,
the partners then being D. Brandt, H. Muhlinghaus,
A GREAT GERMAN FIRM 187
and H. Brinckman. G. Fertile and van der Pals carried
on the firm, and later R. Engler and H. Windrath.
In 1895 R- van Pustau and the brothers G. and J.
Schudel were in the firm.
Brauss and Co., H. Brauss, G. Wolber, and H.
Renter on the staff, was in full swing in 1895. The
firm ceased to exist by 19 10.
Joseph Bastiani was established here in 1873, and
for many years carried on the business of pineapple
preserving. The firm had ceased to exist in 1905, but
Mr. V. Clumeck, who was in it in 1891, is still in Singa-
pore.
Behn, Meyer and Co. — This great German firm was
established in 1840, in November of that year Mr.
August Behn and Mr. V. Lorenz Meyer commencing
business and remaining partners till 1850, when Mr.
F. A. Schreiber, who had joined as a clerk, became a
partner. In that year also Mr. V. L. Meyer apparently
went out. In 1852 Arnold Otto Meyer was a partner,
and in 1890 that gentleman and his son, Edward Lorenz
Meyer, presented a service of communion plate to
St. Andrew's Cathedral as " a thank-offering of the good-
will and prosperity experienced by the House of Behn,
Meyer & Co. during fifty years." Mr. A. O. Meyer used
to sing in the choir. Mr. T. A. Behn was a Municipal
Commissioner in 1 8 5 1 . He retired from the firm in 1857,
and gave $500 each to the Sailors' Home, Tan Tock Seng
Hospital, Mr. Keasberry's Malay School, and the Seamen's
Hospital, and died in London in 1 9 1 3 . In 1 868 the part-
ners were Arnold Otto Meyer, Ferdinand von der Heyde,
and Oscar Mooyer, the first and last being marked
^' in Europe." The Company then had twelve agencies,
mostly insurance companies. The firm was a member
of the Chamber of Commerce and Exchange, and Mr.
Mooyer was on the Committee for 1871, the firm's staff
then mustering six Europeans, besides O. Mooyer and
Caspar Ghnz. The latter was Vice-President of the
Teutonia Club (established 1856), and lived at Sans-
souci, River Valley Road. J. Lutyens, a junior, had
i88 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
risen to be Manager in 1882, and among his assistants
were Otto Muhry and W. Edelmann, who afterwards
became Managers, for it was a rule of the firm that no
man remained a manager for more than five years —
if he had not made a private fortune in that time, he was
not enterprising enough for the firm. In 1895 the Com-
pany had fourteen agencies, twenty-seven insurance com-
panies, and two agencies for the classification of steam
vessels. In that year A. Laspe became a Partner and
F. H. Witthoeft was Manager. When he retired in 1900
there were twenty-six Europeans in the firm, the depart-
ments of which were : Home Shipping (Hans Becker and
A. G. Faber) and Coast Shipping (C. Eckhardt and
A. Diehn). Hans Becker was Manager in 19 10, but
retired and died in October 191 3. A. G. Faber was then
at Penang, and A. Diehn at Singapore. The fortunes of
these two gentlemen during the War must be told by
others. The Directory account of the constitution of
the firm just before the outbreak of the Great War tells
its own story. There were six Directors, and E. Lehren-
krausz. Secretary. He will be remembered as a fine
vocalist. In the General Office, Bank, and Produce were
five Europeans ; in the Home Shipping (twelve com-
panies, including three British), eight Europeans ; in the
Transport Insurance Department, three ; in the Import
Department, including the Potash Syndicate, three ; in
the N.D.L. Co., four; Nautical and Technical, three;
Hamburg-Amerika Line, one. They were agents for
rice-mills, engineering companies, and estates. They
had control of a large rattan and cane business. Thirty-
six insurance companies were represented by Behn,
Meyer and Co. with the London House, Arnold Otto
Meyer and Co. There were eleven branches in the Far
East alone, the Penang branch being started in 1890.
Buyers and Riach. Buyers and Robb. — The first-
named firm in 1 863 built a vessel called the Singapore for
the Netherlands India mail line of Mr. Cores de Vries,
600 tons, the largest vessel constructed in Singapore
at that time. Buyers and Robb in 1 867 had a shop at
BOUSTEAD AND COMPANY 189
Teluk Ayer (in this year Mr. Chas. Wishart was Super-
intending Shipwright at Cloughton's Dock, estabhshed
1859 at New Harbour), and were the owners of Bon-
Accord Dock at Pulo Brani (built 1866). This dock
existed till filled in by the Straits Trading Co. in the
'Nineties. Buyers and Robb ceased to exist about 1885.
BousTEAD AND Co. was established about 1827, and
became Boustead, Schwabe and Co. on the ist January
1834. The Singapore Chronicle of the 27th March 1828
mentions : " arrived per British ship Hindustan on the
13th March from Liverpool, E. Boustead, Esq.*' The
fine barque Eleanor, Captain Mactaggart, 200 tons, was
advertised on the 5th December 1833, " for freight or
charter, apply to Edward Boustead." He advertised on
the 2nd January next year that Mr. Gustav Christian
Schwabe had been admitted a partner, and thefirm would
be called Boustead, Schwabe and Co. Mr. Edward Bous-
tead came here from China as Manager of the firm of
Robert Wise and Co. (so Buckley writes), and Mr. Adam
Sykes, who succeeded him, joined Boustead, Schwabe
and Co. when Wise's was closed down in 1837 or 1838.
In 1843 Boustead, Schwabe and Co. opened a house in
China, and Mr. Boustead himself took charge of that, Mr.
Schwabe (he left the firm in 1848, and died in Liverpool
in 1896) going to Liverpool and Adam Sykes being in
charge in Singapore. Mr. Edward Boustead was sole
partner in 1 849, and retired to England next year, never
returning to Singapore. Joseph Wise and William
Wardrop Shaw became partners, the former leaving in
1853. In 1856 Archibald Buchanan Brown was added
to the firm, retiring in 1867. Jasper Young came out
in 1855, became a partner in i860, and in 1888, on the
death of the founder of the firm, became senior partner.
He left Singapore in 1873, and died in 1908, leaving two
sons, Arthur and J. B., both of whom afterwards became
partners. The title of the firm in 1867 was Boustead
and Co., the partners being Boustead, Shaw, George
Lipscombe, and Jasper Young, assistants being J. Stow
Young (left in 1873), Charles Frohch, Claude J. Morris,
190 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
and F. W. Mackie. The firm evidently showed its
independence, for in 1864 it was not a member of the
Chamber of Commerce, though it had been in 1856, and
had taken part in the foundation of the institution, and
of course joined forces with the rest of the mercantile
community. Boustead's was against the levying of
duties in 1836, in common with nearly every firm in the
Colony, and Mr. Edward Boustead was one of the Commit-
tee appointed to draw up the petition. They repeated
the protest in 1857. The firm was interested in the land
settlement and in cultivation. It also took a leading
part in the establishment of steamer communication
with Madras in 1858. In 1842 Mr. Adam Sykes was an
original subscriber for a theatre. Mr. M. F. Davidson
left A. L. Johnston's in 1863 to join Boustead 's, and later
Farleigh Armstrong left Armstrong and Co., the latter
becoming a partner in 1874, at the same time as
Mr. Thomas Cuthbertson. The firm prospered after the
Transfer. In 1882 the partners included Thomas
Cuthbertson (still alive in London) and John R. Cuthbert-
son, both very musical, strong supporters of the kirk,
and John taking a keen interest in racing. In that year,
also, John Finlayson, H. W. Gunn, and A. M. Aitken were
in Penang, and Robert Craig, W. Greig, and W. P. Wad-
dell assistants. The Cuthbertsons and John Finlayson
carried on in Singapore well into the 'Nineties. W. A.
Greig was per pro. in 1886, D. T. Boyd and G. Macbain
assistants in 1 888, while John Dill Ross, jun., had a spell
in the firm, as he tells, slightly disguising the names, in his
book Sixty Years' Travel and Adventure in the Far East.
The steady expansion of the firm is shown by the Direc-
tories of thirty years ago ; it held five insurance companies,
the Glen and the Gulf Lines, Netherlands Indies Steam
Navigation Co., Queensland Royal Mail, and the Shire
Line, and three years later the British India, the Canadian
Pacific, the Compagnie Nationale, the West Australian,
and the Indo-China Line had been added, with two
banks. In 1895 in the service of the firm were F. E.
Jago, F. D. Mactaggart, W. Mackay, W. H. Macgregor,
PARTNERS IN BOUSTEAD'S 191
E. D. Hewan, V. Gibbons, J. B. Young, F. H. Darke,
D. Ritchie, F. Y. Blair, and Arthur Darke. The partners
of the firm in the last twenty-eight years have been :
1 89 1. Jasper Young (died 1908), J. Henderson
(retired 1901, since dead), T. Cuthbertson (retired
191 1 ), J. R. Cuthbertson (1898, since dead),
J. Finlayson (retired 1896, died 1908).
1893. R- Craig.
1898. W. P. Waddell, R. Yeats (i9i7)> W. A.
Greig(i9o8), F. E. Jago (1904).
1 90 1 . Arthur Young.
1903. J. B. Young.
1909. — E. D. Hewan, D. T. Boyd (i9i4)» and G.
Macbain (1914).
191 5. — R. J. Addie.
191 7. — ^V. Gibbons.
The present partners are A. Young, J. B. Young,
W. P. Waddell, H. E. Snagge, E. D. Hewan (London) ;
R. J. Addie, V. Gibbons, F. Y. Blair (Singapore) ; J. C.
Benson (Penang).
Brinkmann and Co. were established here in 1876,
Mr. J. G. Brinkmann, late of Linton, Cambridge, opening
the firm on behalf of his co-partners, Mr. Ignazius
Hiltermann and Mr. Theodore Hiltermann, who were
trading in Manchester as Hiltermann Brothers. Mr.
J. G. Brinkmann died at Linton on the 19th December
191 7. The firm of Hiltermann Bros., Manchester, was
opened in 1 8 54, their branch office in Bradford, Yorkshire,
being opened at a later date. The present partners are
Messrs. Charles T. and Ernest T. Hiltermann, of Man-
chester and London, sons of the late Mr. Theodore
Hiltermann. The London firm is Brinkmann and Co.,
of 7 Mincing Lane, E.C. 3. Their present Manager in
Singapore is Mr. P. Cunhffe, who came out in 1897 J
Mr. E. A. Brown joined in 1901, leaving in 191 8. Mr.
S. Dunn joined the firm in 1904.
Bell's Asbestos, Ltd., opened their office in Singa-
pore in 1900, the first representative being Mr. F. A.
Waylen.
192 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
Caldbeck, Macgregor and Co. (London 1864) has
been in Singapore since 1905. Mr. K. A. Stevens was
long the Manager of the firm.
Cameron, John, and Cameron, Dunlop & Co. — John
Cameron was a well-known and popular resident in
Singapore for thirty years. He was a master mariner,
trading with Australia, and, after being so unfortunate
as to lose two vessels, he settled in Singapore in 1861,
with an office in Raffles Place. He became Editor of the
Straits Times, which he and some of his friends bought.
Afterwards, with Captain E. M. Smith, of the Tanjong
Pagar Dock Co., he became Proprietor. He died at
Monk's Hill, in Bukit Timah Road, in 1881, and Mrs.
Cameron carried on the firm (which Mr. Charles Dunlop
had joined) till 1887. One of Mrs. Cameron's daughters
married Mr. James MacRitchie, Municipal Engineer ;
another, Mr. Maclennan, of the Hongkong Bank, and a
third, Mr. C. D. Harvey, of the Borneo Co.
Commercial Union Assurance Company, Limited. —
For many years prior to 1 894 the Company was repre-
sented in Singapore solely by the firm of Gilfillan, Wood
and Co. (now Adamson, Gilfillan and Co., Ltd.), and in
that year it purchased the business of the Straits Fire
Insurance Co., Ltd., and established a branch (known as
the Eastern Branch) in the Straits Fire Building, Finlay-
son Green, under the management of Mr. S. F. Clark,
who had been in the service of that Company. Mr. Clark
died in Singapore in 1899, when his assistant, Mr. E. J.
Robertson, was given charge, and the branch office was
removed to No. 6 Battery Road, next but one to the
building now occupied by Messrs. Guthrie and Co., Ltd.
Mr. Robertson remained in charge until the end of 1902,
when he resigned, and Mr. C. R. S. Walker was transferred
to Singapore from the Company's Madras branch. In
1904 the Company purchased the building at the corner
of Robinson Road and Telegraph Street, which it now
occupies. Mr. Walker suffered in health ; he was trans-
ferred in 1904 to the Company's branch in South Africa,
and the control of the Singapore office was given to
THE BROTHERS CRANE 193
Mr. W. A. Sims, in whose hands it has since remained.
Mr. Sims was formerly at the head office of the Company
for some years, and had been since 1900 an assistant at
the Hongkong branch.
Crane Bros. — About the year 1826 Mr. T. O. Crane,
father of Mr. H. A. and Mr. C. E. Crane, and the founder
of the family, came to Singapore, having left England
with the intention of going to India, but being wrecked
off the coast of Spain swam to shore, where, after sub-
sisting for a month on rats, shell-fish, and shoe leather, he
was rescued by a vessel bound for Singapore. From the
first year of his arrival he founded the firm of Crane Bros.,
auctioneers and land agents, Mr. W. Crane (his partner
and brother) being at that time in Austraha. Mr. Crane
was successful at a time when Raffles Square was almost
a swamp and there was no Esplanade orTanjong Pagar,
and he died in 1867. The goodwill of the firm was in
1855 handed over to his two eldest sons — he had fourteen
children in all, and thirteen of them were alive in 1902.
The third son, Mr. C. E. Crane, worked in the firm of
Hooglandt & Co., and the Borneo Co., and as Manager of
the Grove Estate. He retained his interest in Crane
Bros, till 1899, but also started the Tampenis Clearwater
Dairy Farm in 1890, which he carried on successfully for
five or six years, and then converted it into a limited
liability company. Mr. C. E. Crane retired to England
in 1 90 1. He had seven children, one of them, Mr. C. S.
Crane, having been Secretary of the Straits Trading Co.
His brother, Mr. Arthur Crane, was back in vSingapore
in 191 7. Henry A. Crane carried on the business with
his sons until his death.
Derrick and Co. dates back as a firm of accountants,
secretaries, and auditors to 1887, but Mr. G. A. Derrick
had been in Singapore since the late 'Seventies. In 1900
Mr. F. G. Penny was an assistant, and in 1905 Mr. H. R.
Llewellyn was a partner in the firm, which then had
charge of the interests of nine companies and two
agencies. In 19 10 the assistants were W. P. Plummer,
C. S. Brison, W. E. Rayner, and C. L. Duff (who left in
194 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
191 2). Mr. Plummer became a partner in 191 3, and
Messrs. D. J. Ward, G. S. Farebrother, and S. H. Moss
had joined. The firm then held the interests of nineteen
companies. Mr. Derrick retired from the firm in 191 5
and Mr. Llewellyn in 191 8. The present partners are
W. P. Plummer, D. J. Ward, and W. E. Rayner.
C. DupiRE AND Co. was established before 1900, the
partners being Jules and Louis Dupire. Later the
title of the firm was changed to Dupire Bros., with
Mr. Paul and Mr. Louis as partners.
Edgar and Co. was established in 1862, and in 1882
the senior partners were S. Edgar and John S. Sarkies.
The firm is now Edgar Bros., all five partners having the
family name.
Fraser and Neave, Ltd., goes back in its inception
to the missionary agencies of the Rev. B. P. Keasberry.
That great pioneer came to Singapore in 1837, having
been bornin 1 8 1 1 at Hyderabad, his father being Resident
of Tegal, Java, during the British occupation. The year
he came to Singapore he had married an American lady,
Miss Charlotte Parker, of Boston, and Mr. and Mrs.
Keasberry came to Singapore as missionaries to the
Malays under the American Board of Commissioners for
Foreign Missions. In 1839 Mr. Keasberry joined the
LondonMissionary Society, and taught printing and other
things in a small school at Rochore. In 1847 he became
a self-supporting missionary, and the printing establish-
ment was one of the means by which he supported his
work. Mrs. Keasberry died in 1 875, and John Fraser and
David Chalmers Neave bought the printing works, then
in Battery Road. It was still known as the Mission
Press (established 1843), and then, as now, the Singapore
and Straits Directory was an important publication
of the firm. In 1883 the Singapore and Straits Aerated
Water Co. was formed by Messrs. Fraser and Neave.
The Managers of the two departments in 1 886 were T. G.
Scott and A. Morrison, who each remained with the Com-
pany for nearly thirty years. Fraser and Neave, Ltd.,
was formed in 1898, and has gone on increasing its
GUTHRIE AND COMPANY 195
business and extending its branches to Penang, Kuala
Lumpur, Bangkok, Ipoh, and Malacca, with local direc-
tors at Penang and Bangkok. The printing works and
aerated water manufactory were removed to Tanjong
Pagar in 1903.
Fraser and Gumming was the branch of Mr. John
Eraser's business that constructed materially. Mr. J. B.
Gumming was associated with Mr. Fraser for this purpose.
They leased the Johore Steam Sawmills from Dato
Meldrum ; they established brickworks at Balestier, and
they built a number of fine residential houses in the
neighbourhood of Dalvey Road — ^White House, Gree
Hall, and others. After Mr. J. B. Gumming's death,
while bathing at a seaside residence, Mr. H. P. Bagley
looked after the interests of the firm as a partner.
Greer, H. and W., Ltd., first appear in the Directory
in 1 9 10. Mr. Thomas Sibary was in charge then, and
still is at the date of writing. The firm is closely asso-
ciated with cycles, rubber, and the Dunlop Rubber Go.
(Far East).
Guthrie and Go. was founded in 1821 by Alexander
Guthrie (Singapore) and James Guthrie (London). In
1823 Harrington and Guthrie was commenced, Harring-
ton being the seafaring man, but the partnership lasted
only eight months. In February 1824 Guthrie and
Glark was formed, and Mr. Glark continued with the firm
till 1833. Buckley tells us that his house was on the
present site of the Hotel de I'Europe. Alexander
Guthrie remained here till 1847, and died in London in
1865. He was a man who took a high position for his
character and abilities. The name and the fame of the
firm were carried on by Mr. James Guthrie, a nephew,
who arrived in January 1837 and retired in 1876, dying
at Tunbridge Wells in 1900, in his eighty-seventh year.
He was " Sheriff of the Incorporated Settlement " in
1 85 1 . Both of them signed the famous letter concerning
the Transfer (Buckley, p. 775). Mr. Thomas Scott arrived
in Singapore on the 7th July 1851, was a partner in the
firm for forty-five years, and died in Scotland on the 28th
196 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
June 1 902. He was one of the " fathers " of Tanjong Pagar,
and one of the first members of the Legislative Council, on
its institution in 1867. Mr. Thomas Scott married the
elder daughter of Major McNair, and his son is Mr. R. F.
McNair Scott.
The names of these three great men of the earlier
half-century of the firm appear constantly as on all
public bodies and communities. A Thomas Scott
seconded the resolution (the 8th February 1837) which
led to the formation of the Chamber of Commerce (but
he was not Guthrie's Thomas), and Alexander Guthrie
was on the first Committee of the Chamber. In the
'Forties J.J. Greenshields was in the firm, and in Decem-
ber 1849 " bore the oil " used in the Masonic ceremony
for the laying of the foundation-stone of the Horsburgh
Light. In 1858 he drew up a petition against the
importations of more convicts, and was a general
objector at the Transfer. A notable point about Guthrie's
in the early days was the long period of partnership and
service in the Straits : Alexander and James Guthrie,
James Greenshields (in Singapore in 1847 ^^d still here
in i860), James Watson, Thomas Scott, John Anderson
(1876 to date). Mr. Louis R. Glass and Mr. Alexander
Johnston joined the firm in the 'Seventies, and the list
of agencies increased. In 1876 Mr. Guthrie gave $500
to found a Guthrie scholarship at Tanjong Pagar Malay
School, and in 1882 Mr. Thomas Scott was Deputy
Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, and Mr. Louis
Glass was in London, Mr. John Anderson and Mr. Alex.
Johnston signing the firm per procuration, both of these
becoming partners in 1886, among the assistants being
A. H. Raeburn, A. J. Ross, E. Cameron, and C. J. Davies.
The firm at that time represented only three planting
companies, Trafalgar, Pakan Bahroe, and London
Sumatra ; but this was long before the era of rubber
companies. Mr. (now Sir) John Anderson directed the
firm after the death of Mr. Thomas Scott, and remained
in Singapore till 191 2. In 1900 Mr. A. Hood Begg and
Mr. A. E. Baddeley had joined the firm, which had a
THOMAS SCOTT.
II. 196]
HOTEL DE L'EUROPE 197
West Australia branch (Guthrie and Co.) and a London
branch (Scott and Co.). Mr. W. W. Macmillan was in
the firm for a time, about 1905, and Mr. R. F. McNair
Scott, Mr. Thomas Scott's son, came out to Singapore
for a short time. The present Managers, A. E. Baddeley
and J. Robertson, signed per pro. in 19 10, since when the
Scott interests have withdrawn from the firm. Guthrie
and Co. have grown tremendously in the last thirty years.
In 1888 their agencies included the Eastern and Austra-
lian Steamship Co., the Castle Line, Trafalgar and Pakan
Bahroe Estates, London and Westminster Bank,
Drummonds Bankers, and Coutts and Co. At the out-
break of war the firm had twenty-four Government,
banking, insurance, and shipping agencies, and over
sixty other agencies. The Europeans in their employ
in Singapore were thirty-seven in number.
Geok Teat and Co. have been in business since 1868,
according to one Directory. But that of 1 868 mentions
Locke Hong Ghee and Co. (late Geok Teat and Co.) as
having been established in 1863. Tay Geok Teat ruled
for many years, and died quite recently.
Hartwig and Co. goes back to 1864, and in the early
'Eighties the partners were F. von Hartwig and H. C.
Verloop. O. Muhlenbein came in in 1900.
The Hotel de l'Europe (now the Europe Hotel)
was estabhshed in 1857, on the site it now occupies,
and in that year had the description " Hotel d 'Europe ;
do. de Famille." J. Castelyns seems to have been the
original proprietor, but by the 'Seventies he had been
succeeded by A. Becker, whose name persists into the
'Nineties. The whole range of buildings as far as
Coleman Street was occupied as " bachelors' " quarters,
the blocks being for families. Few of the old-world
residents of Singapore have not occupied them for a
longer or shorter time. W. G. St. Clair was there for
perhaps over a score of years, his triangle being the
Hotel, the Club, and the Office. Mr. John Eraser tried
unsuccessfully in the 'Nineties to form a company to
build a new hotel on the same site. By 19 10 Mr. N. N.
198 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
Adis was in control of the finances, and the new building
passed into the hands of a company.
Hammer and Co. — Mr. W. Hammer and Mr. Hansen,
Danish gentlemen, living in Singapore, considered that
the supplying of water to the shipping of the port
should prove a profitable business, and, with that
object, acquired a site on Blakan Mati and constructed
a reservoir thereon. In 1 863 they formed a partnership,
Hammer and Co., starting business with two wooden
steam-driven water-boats and a sailing boat, all of
thirty tons capacity. The two former were fitted with
steam pumps, the latter with a hand one. The offices
were situated at the mouth of the river. The Tanjong
Pagar Dock Co., Ltd., had no water-mains on the
wharves, and therefore Messrs. Hammer and Co. supplied
all the water required.
In 1872, whilst superintending the supply of water
from the sailing boat, Mr. Hammer fell into the hold,
breaking both legs, from the effects of which he died.
Mr. Tutein then j oined the Company as Manager. About
this time Mr. E. Almeida also entered the water business,
leasing a small reservoir at Teulk Blanga from the
Sultan of Johore. The two concerns arranged to retain
their respective customers, and divide any outside
orders that should be obtained. In 1876 the two
amalgamated. The annual supply of water at this
time amounted to 20,000 tons. In 1880 the Tanjong
Pagar Dock Co., Ltd., laid their water-mains, and Mr.
Almeida, becoming nervous, sold his shares to Messrs.
Hartwig and Verloop, who were fully justified in their
optimism, and so successful that in 1888 the Company
constructed its first steel water-boat. In 1884 Mr.
Gaggino formed an opposition company, having a
reservoir at Pulo Bukom, but, after three years, came
into a working agreement with Messrs. Hammer and Co.
In 1 89 1 Hammer and Co. built a pier near Finlayson
Green, the boats being filled from municipal pipes.
In 1894 one of Mr. Gaggino 's water-boats was wrecked,
and was replaced by one built at Tanjong Rhu. Cap-
HOWARTH, ERSKINE AND CO. 199
tain D. J. Reek became Manager of the Company in
1900, and the supply of water by this time had increased
to 90,000 tons per annum. In 1901 the Company's
reservoirs were enlarged and improved. In 1902
Singapore experienced a severe drought, the Company's
reservoirs ran low, and the Municipality were unable to
give more than a two-hour service per day. Arrange-
ments were, however, made to receive water from ships
coming from Hongkong, and in this way shipping was
supplied, the loss being borne by the Company. In
order to avoid further shortage, a new reservoir was
constructed at Pasir Panjang, the Municipality also
enlarging the Impounding Reservoir. In 1909 the
Government built a pier for the Company near the
mouth of the Singapore River on Fullerton Road, re-
placing that situated at Finlayson Green, the removal
becoming necessary owing to the alterations for the
Teluk Ayer Reclamation. In 19 10 Mr. Verloop retired,
and the Company became a limited one.
The first Directors were Captain D. J. Reek, Messrs.
E. F. H. Edlin, and H. R. Llewellyn. In 191 3 Mr.
Gaggino sold his fleet to the Company in return for
shares.
Howarth,Erskine andCo.,Ltd. — ^Therewasan Hon.
J.J. Erskine, member of the Council at Penang in 1824,
but Samuel Erskine, who was associated with H. Howarth
in establishing this well-known engineering firm, came
to Singapore in the late 'Seventies.^ In 1882 the chief
members besides Mr. Erskine were R. Anderson and
J. J. Macbean, the latter being Managing Director after-
wards (1901). Mr. A. Snodgrass was in the firm in
1888, with Mr. A. E. Benzie. Later came Mr. G. E. V.
Thomas as Electrical Engineer, and Mr. F. Pollock, who
died in December 191 8. Mr. Benzie was Secretary in
1 90 1, and Mr. Lemberger joined the Company in 1904,
thirty-one Europeans being then employed. The Com-
pany was reconstructed in 1905, when the General
1 Howarth, Lyon and Erskine carried on business for some time till,
in 1878, J. M. Lyon left and started in business for himself.
II — 14
200 THE 'MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
Manager was Donald MacDonald. The amalgamation
with Riley, Hargreaves and Co. took place in 191 2, and
the two concerns were merged into the United Engineers
Limited.
HuTTENBACH Bros. AND Co. was formed by the two
brothers Ludwig and August in 1883 — Huttenbach,
Liebert and Co. in Penang. Mr. August Huttenbach,
who fought in the Franco-German War of 1870, became
a naturalised British subject, and was for many years
a member of the Legislative Council. Of great force of
character, Mr. Huttenbach was a sturdy debater, with
strong views on currency, trade, and the rights of Penang.
He died in London in November 191 8. His son is a
major in the British Army. Mr. J. Heim was for long
Manager of the firm in Singapore, and in 1886 Emil
Huttenbach was also in Penang.
Hamilton, Gray and Co. commenced business in 1 832,
and lasted till 1886. Among its partners whose names
appear in the old records were Walter and William
Hamilton, G. G. Nichol, Reginald Padday (1857), and
C. H. H. Wilsone (1863). The latter was on the original
Committee of the Tanjong Pagar Dock Co. In 1882 he
was still a member of the firm, and A. W. Stiven was an
assistant. He afterwards joined the firm of Stiven & Co.
HooGLANDT & Co. was Started in 1859 or i860 by Jan
Daniel Hooglandt and Johann Rudolf Riedtmann. It
rapidly rose as an agency for many Dutch firms. The
senior partner had retired to Amsterdam in 1882, and
" rulers of the firm " since then have been W. H.
Diethelm (who afterwards started in business for him-
self in Singapore), W. Stiefel, Hoynck van Papendricht,
W. Naef, G. A. Kesting, J. van Lohuizen, and W. E. van
Rijnbeck. The firm had charge for a time of the
interests of the Netherlands oil industry and the works
at Puloe Samboe.
Fischer, Huber and Co. lasted for about five years,
1900-5. Mr. A. Cadonau was the leading spirit.
HoGAN AND Co., Ltd., was also a short-lived com-
pany, from 1905 to 1 9 10.
ai.exande;r i^aurie Johnston.
n. 200]
A NOTABLE FIRM 201
A. L. Johnston & Co. (1819-92). — The founder of the
firm came to Singapore in 1819, and the portrait of Mr.
Alexander Lawrie Johnston appears in Buckley's Anec-
dotal History J in which book the notable works of the
chief partners of the firm, A. L. Johnston, C. R. Read,
W. H. Read, M. F. Davidson, and R. B. Read, are told
in detail. Mr. W. H. Read was born in 1819, and died,
in his ninetieth year, in 1908. Barclay Read was his
cousin, and died at Yokohama, on the 27th October,
1884, aged 56. The present notice is to carry on the
history of the firm, so well told by Buckley, since 1867,
where the subsequent careers of some of the partners
are noted. So long ago as 1863 M. F. Davidson left the
firm and joined Boustead's. W. H. Read and A. L.
Johnston were still carrying on the firm in 1880, and
in 1 88 1 Mr. W. E. Hooper came in, and in 1888 Mr.
R. J. Gunn and H. Brett, the latter leaving in 1 891 . The
premises were at the corner of Collyer Quay, where the
Hongkong Bank now stands. The agencies of the firm
at this period included the Russian State Bank, Baring
Bros., British North Borneo Co., Comptoir d'Escompte
de Paris, Banque de ITndo-Chine, Franco-Egyptienne
Bank, Sadong Coal Mines, and the Sarawak Govern-
ment. Read Bridge commemorates the name of Mr.
W. H. Read, for so long Consul for the Netherlands and
District Grand Master of the Eastern Archipelago.
Katz Brothers emerged in 1865 from the firm of
Hieber, Katz and Co. (1864), the first partners being
Mr. H. Katz and his brother ; the latter left the East in
1877, when Mr. August Huttenbach joined Mr. H. Katz.
Other partners were Mr. Max Behr, who died in 1886,
and Mr. Meyer Behr, who withdrew in 1888. In 1897
Katz Brothers became a limited liability company, with
a capital of $1,000,000, the present Resident Directors
of which are Messrs. G. Gansloser, J. A. Webster, and
G. A. Chaney. The fine building on the west side of
the Square, surmounted by a figure of Mercury, was
built for the firm, and completed in 191 2.
The Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij was
202 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
founded in 1890 as a result of combined action of the
" Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland " and " Rotter-
damsche Lloyd," to form a feeding line for the home
steamers. The Company started business with thirteen
steamers, ranging in size from 600 to 1,300 tons. With
these thirteen vessels, thirteen services were opened
throughout the Dutch East Indian Archipelago, with
about eighty ports of call. The Company's fleet consists
now of ninety-two vessels, with a total gross tonnage of
1 56,1 83 tons, running on fifty different services with about
300 ports of call. The well-known fast steamers Melchior
Treub and Rumphius maintain a regular weekly service
with Java and Sumatra, and ten services have Singapore
as starting-point tq the Dutch East Indies, with eighty-
four ports of call. A line from Penang and Singapore to
China ports was opened early in 191 6. The agency in
Singapore was opened in the same year as the foundation
of the Company ( 1 890), under the management of Messrs.
" De Scheeps Agentuur," late J. Daendels. In 1914 the
K.P.M. opened its own office at 2-3 CoUyer Quay. The
regular steamer service to Singapore has developed
enormously, with much good fortune and some bad, for
the Reyniersz was destroyed by fire in Singapore on the
23rd January 1907, while two years later the Djambi
was sunk at Tanjong Pagar as a result of collision with
the Messageries Maritimes steamer Polynesien.
Kelly and Walsh, Ltd., opened their Singapore
branch in 1889 under Mr. George Brinkworth, who now
represents the Company in London. The first store was
in Battery Road. The printing works in Orchard Road
were built in 1902, and Mr. J. E. Tyler, now Government
Printer, was in charge of that department in 1905, Mr.
R. W. Chater in 19 10, when Mr. W. J. Mayson was in
charge of the firm's business here. A good many Eastern
books have been pubhshed and printed by Kelly and
Walsh, probably the most difficult to produce being
Wilkinson's large Malay Dictionary.
John Little and Co., Ltd. — ^There were four Littles
originally. Dr. Robert, John Martin, Matthew, and
JOHN LITTLE AND CO. 203
Robert Little, all closely connected with Singapore.
In 1845 Dr. Robert Little and Dr. Oxley called atten-
tion to the possibilities of gutta-percha. Dr. Little
lived for thirty-five years at Bonnygrass, on Institution
Hill, on land original^ bought by M. J. Martin and
Adam Sykes for a small yearly sum. It was part of
the land granted to Raffles Institution, but the grant
for twenty-eight acres was sold in 1 844. The connection
of the firm with Singapore goes back farther than this,
for Alexander Martin came here with Raffles, and died
at his bungalow in Beach Road in 1831, being succeeded
by his brother, M. J. Martin, who retired in 1836. Dr.
Robert Little succeeded his uncle, this Martin, and lived
till 1888, when he died at Blackheath. He arrived on
the I ith August 1840, and lived (1842) at the Dispensary
in the Square. In 1846 he was one of the founders of
the Presbyterian Church ; two years later was sworn in
as Coroner; in 1855 proposed a sanatorium on Gunong
Pulai in Johore, and explored the place as one of a party
of six. He was one of the original subscribers for a
theatre, and was one of the founders of the Library in
1844, a steward at St. Andrew's Ball in 1845, ^t the
New Public Hall, the Assembly Rooms, foot of Fort
Canning. On the 27th November 1846 a meeting was
held at Little, Cursetjee and Co.'s godown to form the
Presbyterian Church. Dr. Little seconded the motion
for the London Missionary Society to select a clergyman,
and one from any of the Evangelistical denominations
of Scotch Presbyterians would be cordially received
without reference to his particular views in regard to
Church government. Dr. Little was in the Chinese
riots of 1854, and helped to rout a party of " rebels " at
Gaylang ; in the same year he was on the Committee
of the new Town Hall and of the Dalhousie Obelisk,
now on the patch of green near Anderson's Bridge, its
third site. He was a strong advocate of a new iron
bridge at Kallang, which would have been very con-
venient for his plantation at Siglap. The bridge, how-
ever, became Elgin Bridge, widened and strengthened
204 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
when the steam tramways were introduced in the
'Eighties. He was also one of the founders of Tanjong
Pagar in 1866. He wrote many papers in Logan's
Journal, deahng with meteorology ; he was at the
famous meeting on the Transfer, when Harry St. George
Ord, Colonel in the Army, etc., " stalked in without
removing his hat, and sat down on a chair on the dais
without taking notice of anybody " ; and was one of
the first members of the Legislative Council in 1867.
He was the senior member of Little and Robertson, who
established a dispensary under Robert Jamie's manage-
ment.
John Martin Little was a relative of F. S. Martin, a
store-keeper and auctioneer in 1842, which business in
1 845 was made over to him and Mr. Cursetjee Fromerzee.
Cursetjee Fromerzee was the son of Fromurzee Sorabjee,-
a Parsee merchant, who established his firm in 1 840 and
died in 1849. In 1853 the partnership, John Martin
Little and Cursetjee, was dissolved, and the former was
joined by Matthew Little, and thus came into being the
firm of John Little and Co., in premises on the same site
as the present store. The limited company was fgrmed
in 1900. J. M. Little was one of the signatories to the
petition praying for the Transfer in 1867 ; he died at
Blackheath in 1894. Matthew Little left in 1877, ^^^
went to live at Hampstead.
In 1882 the members and assistants included A. M.
Martin, C. J. F. Banister, S. R. Carr, W. Hutton, E.
Scott Russell — the last three had already been here for
some years, as had D. Maw. Banister dropped out before
1886, and S. R. Carr was a partner. W. Hutton became
a partner before 1889, and went home in 1903. Scott
Russell remained till after 1905. Mr. F. C. Wreford was
in the firm in 1895 J in 1889 R. Scoular and H. G. Diss,
with Alex. Martin and W. Martin, C. W. Banks and
W. G. Blunn. In 1905 the firm employed twenty-five
Europeans. Five years later S. R. Carr, W. Hutton, and
Scott Russell were inthe London office, those in Singapore
being R. Little, C. W. Banks, R. Scoular,and W. G. Blunn.
BRIDGE-BUILDERS 205
At the outbreak of war the Directorate in Singapore was
R. Scoular (managing), C. W. Banks and W. G. Blunn
(on leave), E. N. Benjafield; and J. T. Hume was the
Secretary. The later members and the employees of the
firm have played no less a part in the life of Singapore
than the earlier. S. R. Carr was a keen racing man, and
as " Pendek " was a most useful member of the Sporting
Club. Hutton and Scott Russell were busy rowing men,
and kept that club going for years. R. Scoular was one
of ■ the great exponents of Association football, D. Maw
one of the most successful shikaris and rifle-shots, while
junior members have more than held their own in lawn
tennis and other forms of sport. The fine new godown
was opened on the 19th September 19 10.
J. M. Lyon and Co. — George Lyon came to Singapore
in i860, and appears in the 1868 Directory as G. Lyon,
Sandy Point, shipbuilder. When he died, in July 1885,
it was chronicled that with his brother he built the big
iron bridge at Kallang and the Elgin Bridge, which he
pushed bodily across the river, a novel feat in those days.
He began the first work of the Dock Co. at Tanjong
Pagar in 1 864, and at the Borneo Wharf. The brother
mentioned we believe to be J. M. Lyon, who was
estabhshed here in 1895, where he was known as " the
Laird." James Murchie was one of his assistants, and
his sons Albert and Edward were with him, a daughter
marrying A. Mackay, so long in charge of the Dispensary.
Edward Lyon established himself as a cycle manufacturer
in Battery Road, the forerunner of the Straits Cycle
Co., which made the Laju bicycle.
Martin, Dyce and Co. was one of the old-established
firms of Singapore, being formed in 1 842, out of the firm of
Paterson and Co., by George Martin, Charles Carnie, and
Alexander Dyce, with houses at Singapore, Batavia, and
Manila. In 1866, in Singapore David Roger was in
charge — there is a memorial window to him in St.
Andrew's Cathedral, died the i ith October 1867, aged 37.
In 1880 the Managers were G. A. MacLaverty and J. Y.
Kennedy, who migrated to Penang, and there founded
2o6 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
the firm of Kennedy and Co. G. A. Derrick and John
Wilson were assistants in 1881, the Company being then
the Glen agents. The firm ceased in 1885.
W. Mansfield and Co. — Walter Mansfield came to
Singapore in 1 861 , and was in business as a ship chandler
(1864) in Collyer Quay. In 1868 the members of the
firm were Richard Joseph Wright and Walter Mansfield.
In 1872 the partners in the firm were Walter Mansfield
and George J. Mansfield. Previous to this date the
Company had been appointed agents for The Ocean
Steam Ship Co., Ltd. Mr. Walter Mansfield died in 1 873
in London, and Mr. T. C. Bogaardt subsequently joined
Mr. G. J. Mansfield, and the firm opened a branch in
Penang, under the style of Mansfield, Bogaardt and Co.,
and later on in Sandakan under the same name. Mr.
G. J. Mansfield retired in 1886. Later Mr. A. E. Turner
became a partner with Mr. T. C. Bogaardt, and took
charge of the Penang ofiice, Mr. A. P. Adams and Mr.
J. E. Romenij being assistants in Singapore. In 1891
Mr. A. E. Turner went to Sandakan. In 1894 Mr. T. C.
Bogaardt retired from the firm, and the remaining part-
ners were then Mr. A. P. Adams, Mr. J. E. Romenij, and
Mr. J. G. Berkhuysen (the latter stationed at Sandakan),
Mr. Edward Anderson being an assistant. Mr. Anderson
was made a partner in 1899. Amongst the assistants
at this time were Mr. W. G. Hennings, Mr. E. R. Weare,
Mr. P. L. WiUiams, and Mr. A. Jackson. In 1902 Mr.
A. P. Adams retired, the Company being formed into a
limited liability company in 1903, with headquarters in
Liverpool, the first Managers being Mr. J. E. Romenij,
Mr. E. Anderson, and Mr. J. G. Berkhuysen. In 1904
W. Mansfield and Co., Ltd., were appointed agents for the
China Mutual Steam Navigation Co., Ltd., which had been
acquired by Messrs. Alfred Holt and Co. In 1907 Mr.
Romenij retired from the firm, and Mr. W. G. Hennings
became a manager. In 191 3 Mr. J. G. Berkhuysen
retired, and Mr. P. L. Williams was appointed a manager
in 191 5. In addition to acting as agents for the Ocean
Steam Ship Co., Ltd., and the China Mutual Steam
MACLAINE, ERASER AND CO. 207
Navigation Co., Ltd., Mansfield and Co. also act as
agents for the China Navigation Co., Ltd.
Captain F. M. Darke was connected with the firm as
pilot for the steamers of the Ocean Steam Ship Co., Ltd.,
for a period of over thirty years, and retired in 1908.
Maclaine, Eraser and Co. — Mr. E. Maclaine is in
the list of merchants resident in Singapore given in the
report of the Resident in 1824. Mr. D. A. Eraser is
among the original subscribers to Rafiles Institution,
but Mr. James Eraser was the second partner, and in 1 840
he bought and occupied a house in Kampong Glam. The
firm was opened in 1827, James Eraser in London, Lewis
Eraser and Gilbert Angus Bain (left in 1 8 54) in Singapore.
L P. Cummingand J. B. Cumming (whose son, also James
Bannerman Cumming, was a partner of Eraser and
Cumming) were notable members of Maclaine, Eraser
and Co., to which Mr. Charles Dunlop came out in 1857,
becoming a partner in 1864. Mr. Lewis J. Eraser was
a partner in 1880, and the firm dissolved soon after,
having brought to Singapore many notable public men.,
Mitsui Bussan Kaisha, Ltd. — ^The Singapore branch
of this great Japanese firm came to Singapore and com-
menced business on the 7th July 1891, and in 1900 the
Manager was Mr. G. Kawamura. By 1905 the firm had
so extended that there were nine assistants (grown five
years later to twelve), under Mr. T. Hayashi. The four
coal-mines represented by the firm at its inception had
increased to fifteen, with other important agencies, and
at the outbreak of war Mr. Ohmora, the Manager, had
fourteen assistants.
Meyer Bros, established itself in Singapore in 1873,
the three brothers ten years later being Reuben and
Elias (Calcutta) and Manasseh Meyer. The last named
has been continuously here, though EHas was here from
1889 to 1 89 1. Mr. R. Sassoon was with the firm for
many years. In 1900 Mr. J. A. Meyer was an assistant.
James Motion and Co. — Mr. James Motion came out
to W. Huxtable, but commenced business for himself
before 1883, ^^^ in that year Mr. W. Lawson joined the
2o8 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
business. The Jubilee clock at Malacca was erected by
him in 1885. Mr. D. Maw, who was originally with
Messrs. John Little and Co., was in the firm in 1895 as
" compass adjuster." In 19 10 Tie was sole proprietor.
William McKerrow and Co. — Mr. William McKerrow
was an assistant in John Little and Co. in 1868. He
shortly afterwards joined Guthrie and Co., but com-
menced business for himself before 1 880, and remained in
Singapore for many years, among those in the firm being
J. Birrell, D. W. Lovell, G. H. D. Bourne, and, later,
H. Freeman, also J. Love Montgomerie, who lost his
life in the Mutiny. The firm ceased prior to 19 10, and
Mr. McKerrow Was associated with Paterson, Simons and
Co., in business in London, till he died in 191 8. He
was a keen supporter of the Scotch kirk, and a member
of the Municipal Commission in the 'Nineties, from which
he resigned owing to a disagreement over the erection
of a fire-engine station in the Square. His son is in
Paterson, Simons and Co., Ltd., in Singapore.
McAlister and Co., Ltd. — ^This firm was founded as
McAlister and Company in 1857, ^^^ original partners
being Alexander McAlister and James Parker Niven,
whilst Ebenezer McAlister was an assistant of the
firm. It is interesting to note that the Company to-day
have on the walls of their offices in Singapore repro-
ductions of photographs of both Alexander and Ebenezer
McAlister, the original photographs bearing the dates
of 1868 and 1875 respectively. A great fire occurred
in McAlister 's premises, at the corner of Battery Road
and Flint Street, on the 31st December 1864, the loss
being very considerable, as the fire-extinguishing
organisation at the time appears to have been too
small. It is recorded that the fire engines used on
that occasion were two small hand-engines from the
police, one from Guthrie's, one from the convicts at the
old gaol, and one from H.M.S. Perseus. History repeats
itself, and McAlister's was burnt out again twenty-
nine years later, in 1893. In the 'Eighties, when
Ebenezer McAlister was still in Singapore, the partners
McALISTER AND COMPANY 209
of the firm, which had grown considerably since its
inception, were C. C. N. Glass and J. S. Neave, a brother
of D. C. Neave, of Fraser and Neave. John Muir came
into the firm about 1883, and later Frank Warrack left
Messrs. Paterson, Simons and Co. to become a partner
in McAlister and Co. Mr. Warrack had as a co-partner
Mr. Alexander Cumming, and they were later joined
by Mr. A. H. Stephens, these gentlemen continuing
actively to develop the business. Mr. Frank Warrack
retired in 1903, and the Company then became incor-
porated. Shortly after this date the principal interests
of the business were acquired by Messrs. Mcllwraith,
McEacharn and Co., Pty., Ltd., London, and Mr. A. D.
Allan became Managing Director in Singapore, to be
succeeded by Mr. A. Reid in 19 16. Since Messrs.
Mcllwraith, McEacharn and Co. became interested in
the Company the character of the business has largely
changed, the shipping, coal, and export departments of
the business being very greatly developed. The Com-
pany has branch houses throughout the Peninsula,
these being founded as follows : Penang 1898, Ipoh
1904, Kuala Lumpur 1906. At one time McAhster's
did a great business with Western Australia in pearls
and pearl-shell, and their pearl auctions used to be
held regularly after the arrival of the old Western
Australian steamers, such as the Saladin, the Karakatta,
and the Australind ) but this trade is now a thing of the
past. Having an unbroken history of over sixty-one
years, McAhster's is one of the oldest of Singapore
business houses.
Messageries Maritimes. — ^The parent of the Mes-
sageries Maritimes was the Messageries Nationales,
founded about 1835 as a Government line of mail
steamers to the Levant. In 1852 a separate under-
taking was formed, which subsequently (1871) became
the present Company. The first steamer to arrive in
Singapore was the Imperatrice^ on the 1 8th October 1 862,
and from that dates the establishment of the Singapore
agency in De Souza's Buildings and at D 'Almeida's
210 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
Pier. The Batavia branch was inaugurated in 1864.
In 1 871 Paul Brasier was agent and A. C. Byng pilot.
Captain Byng remained for many years the senior pilot
in Singapore, and lived at Bukit Chermin. He was a
most polite and self-contained old gentleman in the
'Nineties. In 1886 and onward M. de Bure was agent
and Brasier de Thuy sub-agent. In 1900 M. A. Dumon-
teil and M. P. Nalin were in Singapore, and in 1905 there
was a main line A to Aden ; main line B to Djiboutil,
branches Singapore to Saigon, Singapore to Batavia,
and a monthly cargo-boat service, the whole amounting
to twelve a month from Singapore, where M. Tournaire
was in charge, to be succeeded in 19 10 by M. L. Bricard.
M. de Courtois was in charge at the time of the out-
break of the Great War. He went home ill in 1 9 1 8, and
died on the voyage. Mr. A. Fombertaux took charge
of the office in 191 8 and M. de Bussierre in 1919.
McAuLiFFE, Davis and Hope. — ^This firm of accoun-
tants came East as the result of a visit in 1908 of Mr.
H. S. Hope, A.C.A., who came out to carry through
certain professional work on behalf of London clients
in the development of rubber in Malaya. In the
following year Mr. A. Sydney Evens came out from
the London office and founded the Eastern practice in
Penang, under the name of McAuliffe, Davis, Evens and
Co., of which he was the Eastern partner. He was inti-
mately connected with Penang Sugar and Straits Sugar
Estates, now under rubber. Mr. Evens afterwards
joined this group as their Chief Accountant, and Mr.
F. H. Grummit took over the management in Penang.
Mr. J. S. Brittain, F.S.A.A., who had come out to join
the Eastern firm on Mr. Evens 's retirement, came to
Singapore in 191 2 and founded the Singapore branch.
The present partners are the London firm, Mr. Grummit
(Penang) and Mr. Brittain (Singapore).
Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij (Nether-
lands Trading Society). — As its name implies, the Neder-
landsche Handel-Maatschappij was founded primarily
as a trading company, and it has done much to promote
DUTCH TRADERS 2ii
commerce and industry in the Netherlands overseas
possessions. It was estabhshed by Royal Charter in
1824, and is thus within a few years of its centenary.
In its early days, when the compulsory cultivation
system was in force in the Dutch East Indies, the Society
was the State agent for the disposal of the resulting
produce, and with the abandonment of the system
banking business in all its modern ramifications was
undertaken. How successful this departure has proved
is shown by the large increase in profits and the growth
in the number of branches. The authorised capital of
the Society at its foundation was fl. 3 7,000,000, and it
now stands at fl. 100,000,000 (about ;^8,333,333). The
Netherlands Trading Society is at present by far the
largest Dutch banking concern in the world. Since
December 191 3 fl. 2 5, 000,000 has been issued. These
measures were rendered necessary in order to cope with
the steadily growing business of the Society, especially
abroad, the number of its branches having risen from
seventeen in 1900 to thirty in 19 14. Of these twenty-
four are established in the Dutch Dominions and six
outside Netherlands India, viz. Singapore, Penang,
Rangoon, Surinam, Shanghai, and Hongkong.
The local branch was opened on the ist May 1858, in
premises at Boat Quay, afterwards removing to No. 2
CoUyer Quay (now the office of the Koninklyke Paket-
vaart Maatschappij), in February 1893 again removing
to larger premises at No. 14 Collyer Quay (now occupied
by Messrs. Meyer Bros., Syme and Co., and others), where
the banking business was practically started. Although
this business was then gradually being extended, it
increased greatly under the management of Mr. C. J. K.
vanAalst(the ist October 1898 to the ist August, 1902),
who is now President of the Board of Directors at the
Amsterdam head office. The present premises. No. 1-2
Cecil Street, corner of D 'Almeida Street, were bought in
1 90 1, and occupied by the Bank since February 1902.
The Managers after Mr. van Aalst were : J . W. van de Stadt ,
L. Engel, G. J. Houtsma, and C. W. A. M. Groskamp.
212 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
Nippon Yussen Kaisha (Japan Mail Steamship Co.).
— Founded in 1885 by the amalgamation of the Mitsui
Bussan Kaisha Ltd. and the Union Transportation Co.
The Nippon Yusen Kaisha was subsidised by the
Japanese Government, and since 1899 has run most of
its voyages under mail contract. Until 191 8 the agency
in Singapore was held by Messrs. Paterson, Simons
and Co., Ltd.
The North China Insurance Co. has had its office
here more than thirty years. Mr. B. C. T. Gray for
many years (i 889-1 900) was in charge, followed by
L. K. Davies and A. H. Turner, with a local committee.
Paterson, Simons and Co. — ^The founders of this
business traded under the name of Holdsworth, Smithson
and Co., which firm started business in Singapore some
time prior to 1828, in which year Mr. William Wemyss
Ker joined them. He was admitted a partner on the
22nd January 1830. According to the old newspapers,
Richard Holdsworth and William Smithson retired on
the 31st March 1835, and the name was changed to
Ker, Rawson and Co. Mr. William Paterson and Mr.
Henry Minchin Simons w^ere assistants in the middle
'Forties, and both appear as partners in 1853. On the
30th April 1859 the firm of Ker, Rawson and Co. was
dissolved, and Messrs. Ker, Paterson, and Simons started
business as Paterson, Simons and Co. as from the ist May
1859, so that the firm this year (1919) celebrated its
Diamond Jubilee under the present name. Partners in
the firm since the original partners have been Thomas
Shelford, C.M.G., W. G. Gulland, Charles Stringer,
Cosmo Gordon Paterson, Henry Melvill Simons, George
Muir, William Heard Shelford, Graham Paterson, and
D. P. MacDougall. In 1907 the limited liability com-
pany of the same name was formed, and in the same
year the firm of William McKerrow and Co. was absorbed,
Mr. McKerrow becoming a director of Paterson, Simons
and Co. He died in London in 191 8, after a connection
of fifty years with the Colony. In England Messrs. H.
Melvill Simons, William Heard Shelford, and Graham
H. M. SIMONS.
11.212]
PATERSON, SIMONS AND CO. 213
Paterson still maintain their interest as Directors of the
firm, and the Honourable Mr. C. W. Darbishire and
W. P. W. Ker, a grandson of the original Ker, are
Directors resident in Singapore.
Several other well-known Singaporeans have been at
one time or another in Paterson, Simons and Co., among
them E. M. Alexander (1886-9), later in the Straits
Trading Co. ; H. P. Bagley (later Eraser and Cumming,
1887) ; A. C. Somerville (1900) ; and E. Warrack (later
McAlister and Co.).
The firm used to do all sorts of business, for in 1856
they advertised for sale the late Dr. Montgomerie's
nutmeg plantation at the junction of New Harbour
Road and Tanjong Pagar Road, 32 J acres, with the
dwelling-houses Craig Hill and Duxton. In 1888
their agencies included the Johore Government, New
Harbour Dock, Ben Line, Gibb Line, Union Line,
four insurance companies, and the Pahang Corporation.
By 1895 there had been added the Mogul Line, the
Nippon Yusen Kaisha, the Tata Line, and the Pahang
Kabang. By 19 10, when Mr. Darbishire was in charge
in Singapore, the firm employed eleven Europeans,
and had the Warrack, Apcar, Barber, North Pacific,
Boston Steamship, Great Northern, Atlantic Transport,
and White Star Lines, and the Eastern Mortgage
Agency ( 1 902 ) . At the outbreak of war sixteen planting
and rubber companies had their interests in the hands
of the firm, and the European staff had increased to
twenty-one, the branches opened including Penang,
Kuala Liimpur, Klang, and Port Swettenham.
P. S. and Co., or their partners, were instrumental in
the formation of the New Harbour Dock Co., which pur-
chased the property and goodwill of Tivendale and Co.
(1863) at Sandy Point, "alongside the heaving down
hulk." In a case reported in 1 874 against George Orton (a
brother of the Tichborne claimant) as captain of the
Chow Phya, the plaintiffs named were H. M. Simons,
W. W. Ker, W. Paterson, W. Cloughton, Joseph
Burleigh, Jose d'Almeida, and Ho Ah Kay (Whampoa).
214 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
Joseph Burleigh's name is the only one in this list that
does not stand prominently forward in Singapore history.
Powell and Co. — ^The firm was estabhshed in 1863 by
Mr. H. T. Powell, who in 1867 was also Secretary of the
Singapore Club (then five years old) ; Secretary of the
Singapore Exchange (aged eighteen) ; an auditor, with
Mr. W. W. Willans, of the Tanjong Pagar Dock Co. ;
and the Proprietor of the '* Exchange Prices Current "
(printed by the Straits Times Press). Mr. J. T. Lloyd
and Mr. C. Dunlop took over the business in 1871, and
the former did not retire from it till 19 16, when he retired
to England. In 1883 there were associated with Mr.
Lloyd : Mr. C. Dunlop, Mr. W. H. Derrick (afterwards
of the Pahang Corporation), and Mr. C. P. Derrick. Mr.
H. L. Coghlan was in the firm in 1900, and two of Mr.
Lloyd's sons. Powell and Co., Ltd., was formed to take
over the business, the first Directors being Mr. C. M.
van Cuylenberg and Mr. Harold Latham.
Raffles Hotel. — ^This hotel was estabhshed by the
brothers Sarkies in 1 888, in a large bungalow at the corner
of Bras Basah Road and Beach Road. The original
Proprietors were Martin Sarkies, Tigran Sarkies, and
Aviet Sarkies, Tigran being very well known in Singa-
pore for many years, with his chief man, " Joe Con-
stantine," who has passed thousands of passengers
through his hands with unfailing urbanity. Continual
enlargements have been made, the last, in 191 8, raising
the accommodation to close on 200 rooms. The present
Proprietors are Aviet Sarkies, Arshak Sarkies, and M. S.
Arathoon.
Riley, Hargreaves and Co. — Richard Riley was in
business in Singapore (High Street) in 1868 as a civil
engineer, and he and William Hargreaves were ship-
wrights at Boat Quay. Four years later the venue of
the firm is given as North River Bank ; Samuel
Erskine was moulder and J. Howarth engineer. Thus
were the originators of the two firms one, again to
become one by their amalgamation into the United
Engineers, in the course of forty years. Erskine and
Jl. 2r4]
DEACON CONVENIJR JACKSON MII,I,AR.
ROBINSON AND COMPANY 215
Howarth were both here in 1880, in River Valley Road,
while Riley, Hargreaves & Co. were at Kampong Malacca.
E. J. Wells, engineer of the Gas Co., and J. R. Allan were
then partners. About this time Jackson Millar joined
the firm from Tanjong Pagar, and Robert Allan was
outdoor foreman. Jackson Millar had gone to Europe
by 1900, when the Company was formed. Many well-
known engineers in Singapore have " passed through the
shops " of Riley, Hargreaves and Co. : C. E. F. Sander-
son, A. Richardson, R. M. Goldie, R. Risk, J. L. Hope,
Graham Hutchison, and W. M. Robertson. In 1900
the Board of Directors included H. Muhlinghaus, W. M,
Robertson (also Manager and in 190 1 Managing Director).
G. A. Resting, G. M. Preston, and Jackson Millar. Five
years later there were twenty-nine Europeans in the
firm. Mr. T. C. B. Miller was Accountant. In igcS
C. E. F. Sanderson was Managing Director, Mr. R. M.
Goldie Manager, thirty-six Europeans, and branches
at Ipoh and Penang. Riley, Hargreaves were the
original ice-makers in Singapore.
Robinson and Co. — Mr. Phihp Robinson, the founder
of the firm, came to Singapore from Melbourne about
1857, from the firm of Passmore, Watson and Co. He
was one of the West of England Robinsons, a family well
known for its abihty to put into the cricket field " Robin-
son teams." One of his brothers was Mayor of Bristol.
In i8s8, with James Gaboriau Spicer, Mr. Robinson
opened business, and the partners continued together
for a year, when Spicer left. Mr. George Rappa, jun.,
and Mr. T. C. Loveridge were partners for a time, and
in 1886, when Mr. Philip Robinson died, his son, Mr.
S. R. Robinson, took charge of the business and has been
in control, here and in London, ever since. Mr. A. W.
Bean joined the firm in 1886, and Mr. H. T. White and
Mr. F. Apps more than a decade ago.
Straits Steamship Company, Ltd. — ^This prosperous
Company was formed in January 1 890, with an authorised
capital of $500,000, paid up $362,800. The head ofiice
was at No. i Robinson Quay, Mr. T. C. Bogaardt, the
II— 15
2i6 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
leading spirit of the Company, being first Chairman of
Directors. Its fleet consisted of the Sappho, Captain
Wahl ; Malacca, Captain Daly ; Willo' the Wisp, Captain
Angus; and Billiton, Captain Chopard. Captain F. M.
Darke was Marine Superintendent and Mr. D. J. Matthews
was General Manager. Apart from a small service to
Dutch ports, the steamers then traded between the ports
of the Colony and the Malay Peninsula. In 1 892 Messrs.
W. Mansfield and Co. took over the management of the
Company, whose head office had been removed to No. 5
Prince's Street. Mr. Bogaardt continued to take an
active interest in the Company until 1 897, when Mr. C. W.
Laird was appointed General Manager. The fleet in
1900 included the Malacca, Captain J. M. Daly ; Sappho,
Captain F. A. Turner ; Hye Leong, Captain W. S. Quine ;
Neera, Captain J. H. Coyshe ; Ban Whatt Hin, Captain
R. T. Olsen ; Lady Weld, Captain L. Treweeke ; Lady
Mitchell, Captain S. Mugford. Just prior to 1900 the
Tan Kim Tian Steamship Co., Ltd., was formed, and run
under the directorship of the Straits Steamship Co., with
Mr. R. Schmidt as its General Manager. Its fleet in-
cluded the Giang Ann, Penang, Giang Seng, Zweena, and
Flevo. Mr. D. K. Somerville joined the Company in
1900, and was appointed General Manager in 1902, which
office he held till 19 14, when he left for Europe. It was
Mr. D. K. Somerville who was responsible for the pro-
gressive building scheme which materialised with the
arrival of the s.s. Selangor. By 1905 the Tan Kim
Tian Steamship Co., Ltd., and the Straits Steamship
Co., Ltd., were again separated, and the fleet of the latter
Company at that date included the s.s. Bentong, which
was lost in a collision in the Straits of Malacca in 1906.
In 1 9 10 the fleet included the well-known passenger
steamers Perak, Ipoh, and Kinta. The Directorate was
strengthened in 19 10 by Mr. C. McArthur, of the Straits
Trading Co., joining the Board, other directors being
the Honourable Tan Jiak Kim, Mr. Lee Choon Guan,
and Mr. Yow Ngan Pan, Mr. H. E. Somerville being
then Manager ; Mr. J. H. Sunner, Marine Superin-
ELECTRIC TRAMWAY 217
tendent ; its captains including such well-known skippers
(in addition to those named) as R. H. D. Sanderson,
R. Upton, W. G. H. Morell, W. Stafford Fawcus, and
H. Cobb. The Company at present owns twenty-two
steamers, and the service has been extended to Bangkok,
British North Borneo, and South Philippines.
The Singapore Electric Tramway Co. is the
successor of the steam tramways that formerly ran from
Tanjong Pagar to Johnston's Pier and from Tanjong
Pagar to Rochore. It lasted for three years, from May
1886, and in 1889 the undertaking was offered for sale
at auction at Crane Brothers, being purchased by the
Tanjong Pagar Dock Co., who used it to convey goods
to town for a few years only, when the rails were taken
up and some of them were employed in constructing
the vault of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank. Mr.
A. A. Swan drove the first steam tramcar himself. The
present Company was registered in 1902, in London,
but it was not till 1905 that the cars started running.
The contractors for the power station, track, and rolling
stock were Dick, Kerr and Co.
Sarkies and Moses goes back to 1840, and the three
Moses, Catchick, Aristarchus, and Narses, were all here
in 1 87 1 . They were pillars of the Armenian community,
and Catchick did much for the old Armenian Church.
Aristarchus Sarkies had come to Singapore in 1820, and
Catchick joined his uncle in 1840 to open the business
of Sarkies and Moses. He lived till 1892, and as he had
come to Singapore in 1 828 — he served Boustead, Schwabe
and Co. as an apprentice for five years — had an extraordi-
nary experience of the place, as Mr. Buckley tells in his
Anecdotal History. No firm in Singapore has had so
long a life, with unchanged name and unchanged partners.
RiBEiRO AND Co. — Mr. M. Ribeiro was a mercantile
assistant and Consul for Portugal in 1879. His son,
Mr. C. A. Ribeiro, opened the printing business now estab-
lished here in 1895.
PUTTFARCKEN & Co. PuTTFARCKEN, RhEINER «& Co. —
Otto Puttfarcken and Otto Rheiner were clerks in
2i8 • THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
Rautenberg Schmidt's before 1858. Old Otto was one
of the founders of the Teutonic Club in 1856, then in
a house in North Bridge Road, behind where Raffles
Hotel is now. Puttfarcken, Rheiner and Co. was founded
on the I St January 1857. Mr. Theodor Heinrich Sohst
was an assistant in 1871, and Mr. P. J. Seth was a clerk
in the firm when the " Rheiner " was dropped out in
1888. Mr. Sohst was the head, and continued so till
the liquidation of the firm before 19 10. Max Puttfarcken,
a fine, handsome man, son of Otto, was out here in the
'Eighties and 'Nineties, when the firm had eleven assist-
ants, among them Mr. H. Schaefer.
Rautenberg, Schmidt & Co. was opened in Singapore
in 1848, the associated firms being Schmidt, Kustermann
and Co., Penang, and Schmidt and Kustermann, Ham-
burg. Henry Charles Rautenberg and Frederick George
Schmidt were the founders, the. former having been in
the German firm of F. E. Walte and Co. Mr. Schmidt
was the sole partner 1852-8, but G. Cramer, Otto Putt-
farcken, and Otto Rheiner were assistants, and in 1 863
and in 1865 Franz Kustermann and Carl Sturzenegger
became partners. In 1851 Rautenberg had gone with
a party of three others in a sailing boat to Rhio, and she
sank in a squall, and Rautenberg and another man were
drowned. In the 'Seventies M. Suhl was the head of
the firm, and in 1883 C. A. Ranch followed him. In
1895 Mr. Ranch, P. Haffter, and A. Seumenicht were
in the firm, which had then eleven European assistants.
Ranch and Seumenicht were good musicians, and about
this time chamber music flourished, a weekly meeting
being held at Ranch's house, Mr. W. G. St. Clair being
one of the party. Haffter was in Singapore in 1900-5,
and R. Sturzenegger. The firm held the Austrian Lloyd
agency, and had a large shipping and insurance con-
nection. M. Suhl, jun., had charge in 1910, and con-
tinued so to the outbreak of war.
Vade and Co. was estabhshed prior to 1905, the name-
founder being a brother of the wife of Mr. C. W. Coning-
ton, who was in charge of Syme and Co. in the 'Eighties.
THE STRAITS TRADING CO. 219
Mr. Worsley Taylor, son of the well-known English King's
Counsel, is the present senior.
The Straits Trading Co., Ltd., which carries on the
business of tin smelting, was started by the late Mr.
Herman Muhlinghaus and Mr. James Sword in the year
1886, under the style at first of Sword and Muhlinghaus.
It was afterwards, on the 8th November 1 887, turned into
a limited concern, under the title of " The Straits Trading
Company, Limited." The original telegraphic address
** Sword — Singapore " is retained to this day. Muhling-
haus, who was the originator of the idea, was at one time
in the firm of Volkart Brothers, of Ceylon and Western
India, and he came to Singapore to the firm of D.
Brandt and Co., leaving them afterwards of his own free
will. It was at this time that, while having a look round,
he visited the Native States (now the F.M.S.), and saw
something of the tin mining there. Among other things
he noticed the methods of smelting the tin-ore, and he
formed the opinion that they were very wasteful, and
that a good and profitable business could be started
by introducing European methods of smelting and pur-
chasing the ore from the miners. He appears to have
acted promptly on his idea. Tin mining in the Malay
Peninsula would appear to have been carried on for
centuries. The industry was, and is, largely in the
hands of the Chinese, but Malays and Siamese were also
engaged in it (and latterly, of course, Europeans), and
most of the old mining and smelting terms were in the
Malay language, e.g. Lombong — mine (ordinary open-
cast) ; Lombong Siam — shaft mining, said to be of
Siamese origin ; Lampan or Leris — ground sluicing ;
Pooboot Timah — tin smelting ; Relau — furnace ; Tek-
kang — slag, etc. etc.
Two styles of smelting furnaces were used, the Relau
Semut and the Relau Tongkah. The Semut was of
cylindrical form, of clay, about 8 ft. to 10 ft., and 5 ft.
diameter in the centre. It had a natural draught, but
it required the best hard-wood charcoal to keep it going.
The Tongkah furnace (named from its place of origin)
220 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
was also of clay, in crucible iprm, built into a framework
of iron bars, and raised on an iron tripod stand. The
draught is produced by a rough bellows made from a
hoUowed-out tree trunk, and worked on the piston and
cylinder principle. It can be used with inferior charcoal
or even charred wood. It is still in use, but the Semut
has pretty well gone out. These furnaces were worked
either by the miners themselves or by Chinese smelters,
who made a business of buying the ore from the miners,
as the Straits Trading Co. did later on. Attempts to
find out what results were got from this kind of smelting
never revealed any satisfactory information. The Chinese
professional smelter got pretty fair returns from the
higher grades of ore, but had difficulty in dealing with
the lower qualities. The Straits Trading Co. was
supposed for many years to have a monopoly of smelting
in the Straits Settlements. This is untrue, as they had
the very keenest competition from Chinese smelters,
especially in Perak. It was only by continually im-
proving and cheapening their methods that they were
able to hold on their way.
Sword was a partner in the firm of Gilfillan, Wood and
Co. (now Adamson, Gilfillan and Co., Ltd.). His health
gave way, and he had made up his mind to cut adrift
from the Straits and clear out for good. It was at this
time that he was approached by Muhlinghaus and asked
to join with him in the new smelting venture. Sword
knew nothing of tin refining, and Muhlinghaus was aware
of this. It was the custom in those days for the miners
to send out the tin in a rough state ; some of it was refined
at Malacca on the way down, and the remainder mostly
by Singapore merchants themselves, after purchase from
the Chinese. After taking time to think the matter over,
Sword made a trip to Australia and home, and finally
agreed to fall in with Muhlinghaus 's proposal. The
combination turned out a very happy one.
To start the business the first thing to do was to get
permission from the Native States Governments to
export the tin-ore. This was obtained without much
FINANCING THE NEW CONCERN 221
difficulty apparently in the case of Selangor and Sungei
Ujong (now part of Negri Sembilan) ; but Perak would
have none of them at first, as they feared the business
would lead to smuggling, but the permit was obtained
about two years later. They were welcomed by some
of the Residents of States, because they were going to
pay cash for the ore on delivery in place of the truck
system then largely in use by the miners ; and also
because the Native States Governments were getting
alarmed at the rapid destruction of the forests by the
charcoal burners for the local smelting. As the opening
up of the new business entailed the outlay of considerable
capital and considerable risk, the promoters asked for a
monopoly of the export of tin-ore for a period of years.
This concession was granted by the Selangor Government,
and also, for a short term, by Sungei Ujong, but never
by Perak. The percentage of metal in the ore on which
export duty was calculated was supposed by outsiders
to be very advantageous, but it was not so, as the ore was
not then cleaned up as it was later on, when the percent-
age was raised.
The question of finance was arranged at first through
the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, but the Directors
in Hongkong of this Institution would not agree to it,
much to the disgust of the then local Manager, the late
Mr. W. G. Greig. The account was then taken over for
the Chartered Bank of India, AustraUa and China by
their Manager, at that time the late Mr. William Dougal,
to whom the new concern was frequently indebted for
his sympathy and financial support. In order to collect
the tin-ore from the miners, it was necessary to open
branches in the Native States for this purpose.
Sungei Ujong was opened by Muhlinghaus at Serem-
ban. The Resident of the State was then Mr. W. F. B.
Paul, and among his subordinates were the late W. R. H.
Carew, W. W. Douglas, E. P. Gueritz, and, later, Arthur
Keyser, etc. Among the non-officials were the late
T. H. Hill, the late A. B. Rathbone, the late Abraham
Hale (then engaged in mining pursuits), the late Sheikh
222 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
Abdulrahman, etc. The Company's godown was erected
in Paul Street, Seremban, and it stood until 1918, when
the new building was put up. Some of those who joined
the Company about that time were Gustav Guntzel,
O. Oertlopp, the late W. R. M. Wragge, the late J. W.
Gunn, the late G. J. Penny. An interesting phase of
the Sungei Ujong branch was the opening up of the little
State of Jelebu, where Muhlinghaus was interested in
mining concessions, which were afterwards worked as
the Jelebu Mining Co. under the management of the late
James W. Gunn, a clever and interesting man. The
Johore Mining and Tin Co. was another concern, with
which were associated William Dunman, Horace Brett,
L. W. Money, John Gardner, etc. Both these concerns
did well at one time, but their lands are now mostly
worked out, and have passed into other hands. Mr.
Evan Cameron worked for the Company in Seremban
for about sixteen years in all. In the old days the port
was Penkalen Kampas, on the Linggi River. Since then
the railway has been built, and Port Dickson has come
into existence as the port in place of Penkalen Kampas.
The mining in this State dwindled down, but with the
development of rubber the town of Seremban has
extended greatly.
The Selangor branch was started by Sword in a small
shop in Ampang Road, Kuala Lumpur, afterwards
moving to the present site near the railway premises and
the Padang. The Resident of Selangor was then Mr.
(now Sir Frank) Swettenham. Among his officials were
A. R. Venning, the late Sir John Rodger, Conway
Belfield, H. C. Syers, Hon. Martin Lister, H. F. Bellamy,
etc. Among the non-officials were the late W. W.
Bailey, the late Fred. Toynbee, R. C. Rendle, and H. O.
Maynard. Selangor soon developed into an important
branch, and it was for a long time the mainstay of the
Company's business. Mr. Cameron paid a visit to Kuala
Lumpur in the year 1887, and met Mr. Sword there for
the first time. In later years he worked there for the
Straits Trading Co. Among those who followed Mr.
THE PERAK BRANCH 223
Sword were the late F. O. West, a very well-known man
in his day, and very hospitably inclined. In his time
the " Tinneries " (as the godown and living quarters
were then called) was a great social centre. Others were
the late George Gumming, the late E. M. Alexander
(Sandy), both well-known and popular men ; G. H. D.
Bourne, W. W. Cook, and W. F. Nutt. The branch is at
present under the management of Mr. J. M. Sime.
Perak. — Mr. Muhhnghaus opened this branch about
1888 or 1889. He began work at Gopeng in Kinta,
his first leading customer being the late Towkay Eu Kong,
father of Towkay Eu Tong Seng. The headquarters were
later on transferred to Ipoh, and sub-agencies as in
Selangor were opened afterwards at Lahat, Kampar,
and other places. The Perak seat of Government was,
of course, at Taiping, as it is now. Mr. F. Swettenham
had then become Resident in the place of the late Sir
Hugh Low, retired. There was no inducement to start
business at Taiping in those days, but there is a sub-
agency there now. The Kinta District Government was
in charge of the late Mr. J. B. M. Leach and other
officials, including Hubert Berkeley, W. G. Maxwell,
F. J. Weld, W. P. Hume, etc. Muhhnghaus was very
successful in Perak, and worked up a fine business there.
He had a wonderful way of attracting the Chinese miners
to him. Work was difficult owing to the undeveloped
state of the country, no roads nor railways, and the
Kinta River the only means of transport . Pilfering of ore
in transit was at one time a serious source of loss. Later
on, the Kinta Valley Railway came through, and things
were easier, and Perak is now considered the Company's
most important branch. Among the earher men in
Perak for the Company were Oertlopp (Manager), the
late D. J. Berwick, the late W. R. M. Wragge, and
Henry Tatlock (Manager for many years, and a very
popular man). The last-named was in Germany when
the War broke out, and cannot for the present be traced.
Mr. F. E. de Paula is now Manager. The non-officials
included Grant-Mackie, Douglas Osborne (then starting
224 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
his hydraulic mining schemes, which were afterwards to
prove so successful), J. J. and the late C. Tait, Walter
Tait, and the late G. M. Donald.
The Tongkah branch was started quite recently
(in the year 1902) by Mr. Frank Adam, who joined the
Company about that time.
Smelting. — ^The first reducing of the ore was done in an
old smelting shed at Teluk Anson, formerly the property
of the Shanghai Tin Mining Company, a concern which
had mines inKinta, but which had closed down. To this
place came the first smelting staff, and among them two
men, John McKillop and John Carroll, as Manager and
head smelter respectively. They were in the Company's
service for many years, afterwards occupying prominent
positions. Carroll, on the retirement of McKillop,
succeeded to the managership of the smelting works.
He, in turn, was succeeded by Mr. S. B. Archdeacon,
the present Manager. The starting of the business ap-
pears to have been difficult.; the leading miners were
very suspicious, and there were many wheels within
wheels : for instance, the mines were largely financed
from Singapore and Penang, and the advancers wanted
tin in exchange for what they sent up in the shape of
stores, etc. Weights were another problem. The
Native States pikul was different from the Straits (the
kati was based on the weight of so many silver dollars,
something hke twenty-four dollars in one place and
twenty in another). Pikuls 100 in the Native States
weighed pikuls 107 in Singapore. In buying ore this was
allowed for in the price to the seller, but on the mines it
was not considered at all in deahng with the coohes
selHng the tin to the miner, who consequently scored an
extra profit on it. In some cases, the difference was
much greater — there was no really good system of
control of weights and measures, and swindHng went
on right and left. This state of things has long since
passed away, and one system of weights prevails every-
where ; but it was difficult to overcome these troubles
at first. The fact of the Company paying in cash instead
SMELTING EXPERIMENTS 225
of partly in kind, as was the old custom, was a great
help.
The first experiments of smelting were apparently
very disappointing at Teluk Anson. They could not
get the tin out of the ore, and it looked at one time as if
the whole thing would close up. A curious incident
is related of what took place at that time. It was
discovered that a lot of tin, as molten metal often
does, had percolated into the ground below the furnace.
Quite a large mass was dug out, and was pointed to with
pride by the smelting manager as the missing tin 1
There was a shrewd suspicion in some quarters that this
tin was an unintentional gift from the old Shanghai
Company, but anyway it saved the situation for the
time, and it was from about this date that things began
to mend, and the smelting plant was transferred to
Singapore.
The new smelting works were erected at Pulo Brani
Island, New Harbour, Singapore, on lease from the
Tanjong Pagar Dock Company, Limited. The site
was at one time the property of the old Bon-Accord
Graving Dock (Buyers and Robb), and some of the old
buildings were made use of. The smelting works are
there to this day. Other sites were looked at — among
them Button Island, New Harbour, and later on the late
Captain Bing's property at Bukit Chermin. The works
were established in 1890, the personnel of the Company
in that year being : General Manager, J. Sword ;
Manager of Branches, H. Muhhnghaus ; Sungei Ujong,
O. Oertlopp ; Selangor, F. G. West ; Batu Gajah,
Archibald Kennedy ; Ipoh, W. M. R. Wragge ; Gopeng,
C. G. Mackie ; JPulo Brani, Manager, John McKillop,
Foreman Smelter, John Carroll. It was at this time that
the Limited Company (Straits Trading Company) was
formed, and the Singapore office opened. (Gilfillan,
Wood and Co. did the Singapore work at first. Adamson,
Gilfillan and Co., Ltd., are the London agents.) Sword
and Muhlinghaus took charge alternately in Singapore
from year to year, until about the year 1899, when they
226 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
both practically retired from active participation in the
Company's affairs. Successive Managing Directors have
been: Charles MacArthur, W. W. Cook, T. E. Earle,
Frank Adam, E. F. Mauldon, and to-day W. F. Nutt.
Among the first shareholders were the late James Miller,
T. E. Earle, and other partners of Gilfillan, Wood and
Co. ; Huber and Cadonau, of Fischer, Huber and Co. ;
W. Hutton, of John Little and Co., Ltd., etc. Many of
the leading men in Singapore, however, for many years
declined any participation in the Company's affairs.
Mr. George Derrick was for many years the Company's
Accountant, and Charles Crane, the late Secretary, was
a very old servant.
The Straits Trading Company at times had in view
other business besides tin smelting, but the schemes did
not mature. They had individual interests in tobacco
planting and coffee estates in Selangor and Perak, but
they were not a success. The late Mr. T. C. Bogaardt, the
founder of the Straits Steamship Company (a man of
great ability), was the man with whom the first arrange-
ments for carrying the ore by sea were made, and his two
captains, the late O. Wahl, of the Sappho, and J. M. Daly,
of the Malacca (now of the Ipoh), carried the ore in their
ships very successfully for many years.
Penang Smelting Works were opened in the year 1902
to take over the increasing business, and have now
assumed large dimensions.
From small beginnings the Company has spread to
great things, and is now probably the largest smelter
of tin in the world, and has had many years of great
prosperity. They were not without their periods of
trouble, and there were times when it needed all the
ability of the management to surmount them. The
more recent history of the Straits Trading Company is
well known. Since they started, over thirty years ago,
vast changes have taken place in the Native States.
The railways, which were then only the lines from Kuala
Lumpur to Klang and Taiping to Port Weld, have now
extended from Penang to Singapore on the west side
ARCHITECTS AND ENGINEERS 227
and as far as Siam. The country has been further
opened up by a magnificent road system. New towns
have sprung up, and the older ones have extended
greatly. Port Swettenham has come into existence,
and the country has been covered with vast areas
under rubber cultivation.
With regard to the tin-mining industry, an enormous
amount of work has been done, and the amount of ore
produced would, if reckoned up, reach astounding
figures. The quantity dealt with by the Straits Trading
Co. is almost past belief. Unfortunately, an alluvial
mine is not a thing that lasts very long as a rule, and
large areas of mining land, especially in the southern
parts of the Peninsula, have become worked out. Many
valleys that in comparatively recent years had thousands
of coolies at work in them are now silent and deserted.
New and unexpected finds are taking place, but it is
difficult to foretell what will happen (for one thing the
country, being covered with jungle, is difficult to pros-
pect),and it is generally believed that the F.M.S., at least,
have reached the top as regards tin production. The
tendency now is to look in the States further to the north
for fresh fields.
Swan and Maclaren. — ^The founders of this firm of
architects and engineers were Mr. A. A. Swan and Mr.
J. W. B. Maclaren in 1885, and in 1895 their assistants
were Mr. Alan Wilson (who died in Penang in 191 8),
Mr. J. Meikle, and Mr. R. W. Crichton, architects. By
1900 Mr. Swan had retired; Mr. R. A. J. Bidwell had
become a partner (1899), and continued so for many
years ; Mr. T. Swales, architect (went to Rangoon and
established himself there, with Mr. E J. Pullar, also of
Swan and Maclaren, 190 1-6); Mr. S. af. Klinteberg, a
civil engineer, a Swede, who died in Penang in 191 8;
and Mr. Jas. Stark, established in Penang. Mr. A. J.
W. Watkins, originally in the F.M.S. railways, had
become a partner by 1905, and Mr. V. A. Flower was in
the firm. Mr. Flower retired before the War, but joined
up, rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in charge of
228 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
a London battalion, and was killed in action. Mr. T.
Bramell was in the firm in 1910, for a time in charge of
the Bangkok branch. Mr. H. Robinson became a
partner a year or so later, Mr. D. McLeod Craik and
V. Steadman were the architects, Mr. H. L. Penfold an
engineer, and the staff of surveyors included Messrs.
R. D. Jackson and A. A. Lermit. Mr. Maclaren was
trained as a civil engineer in Edinburgh, was formerly
engaged on an extension of the Caledonian Railway and
on the Calansas and Marsis Railway, and was one of a
commission to report on Naples Waterworks. Mr.
Watkins was in the same firm in Edinburgh, and up to
1902 was engaged in railway work in the Federated
Malay States. Mr. Bidwell came into the firm in 1895,
having been assistant to the Superintending Architect
of the London County Council. He originally came out
to Selangor, and under Mr. C. E. Spooner designed
the Kuala Lumpur public buildings. He married a
daughter of Mr. C. M. Allen, of Perseverance Estate, who
was A. R. Wallace's assistant in Borneo. Swan and
Maclaren came easily first among those in control of
the metamorphosis of building in Singapore, among
their achievements being the Victoria Memorial Hall ;
the Chartered Bank (both buildings) ; the Hongkong
Bank ; John Little and Co. and Katz Bros., new stores ;
innumerable stores in town and houses in the country ;
the P. and 0. steel wharves ; Raffles Hotel ; additions to
the Adelphi and Europe Hotels ; Commercial Union
premises ; Eastern Extension Telegraph Co.'s office ;
and buildings at Finlayson Green.
Syme and Co. — ^The firm of Syme and Co., merchants,
was founded by Mr. Hugh Syme in the year 1823, and
continues to this day in Singapore under the same
name. Mr. Syme was one of the first Commissioners
of the Peace, appointed in 1 826, and remained connected
with the Settlement until 1830. On the 29th March
of that year he sailed from Singapore in the British
ship Flora for Anjer, to join a home-going ship there,
but was not destined to reach the Old Country. Falling
HUGH SYME.
R. KEK.
W. KER.
II. 228]
J. GRAHAM, vSEN.
SYME AND COMPANY 229
ill on the voyage, he died at sea off the Cape. News
of this, which did not reach Singapore till November,
came in a letter from Mr. C. R. Read, of A. L. Johnston
and Co;, written from St. Helena. He left for Europe
about three months after Mr. Syme did, and probably
learned of his death on arrival at St. Helena, which was
a regular port of call in those days. A house known
as Duxton, standing in sixteen acres of ground off
New Harbour Road, as it was then called, was the resi-
dence and property of Mr. Syme. Later members of
the firm, Mr. Robert Diggles and Mr. Thomas McMicking,
also lived there. The house no longer exists. It stood
on the land forming the triangle made by Tanjong
Pagar Road, Craig Road, and Neil Road, now covered
with houses and intersected by the two roads known as
Duxton Road and Duxton Hill, by which the name
survives. The property, which was planted with spice
and fruit trees, was eventually acquired by Dr. Mont-
gomerie. Another link with the time of Mr. Syme is
a tombstone, still existing, in the old cemetery on Fort
Canning Hill, to Mr. Samuel Sweeting, one of the firm's
earliest employees, who died on the 30th September 1 830.
Mr. Syme goes back to the very earliest days of Singa-
pore. He is one of the ninety-four European inhabitants
of the year 1827, and these included " punch-house
keepers." Of the Hst of firms of 1823, Syme and Co. is
the only one surviving, although Guthrie and Clark have
their representatives in Guthrie and Co., Ltd. A. L.
Johnston and Co. closed down in 1890, and J. Purvis six
years previously. Syme and Co. were appointed Lloyd's
agents in 1829, and the original document of appoint-
ment is still in existence, though dilapidated, and is
probably the oldest commercial document referring to
Singapore. Mr. F. J. Bernard, Notary PubHc, had
represented Lloyd's in Singapore up to the time Syme
and Co. were appointed agents.
Throughout its long existence the partners and
assistants of Syme and Co. have played an important
part in the history of Singapore. Mr. Robert Ker, one
230 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
of the earliest, came east in the Twenties. One of his
voyages was made in the brig Matilda y 260 tons register,
which sailed from Liverpool on the 13th June 1827,
and reached Batavia in no days. He did not retire
from Ker, Bolton and Co. till 1870. His nephew, Mr.
William Ker, jun., who followed his father Mr. William
Ker in the firm, started as a clerk in Syme and Co. in
1 846, became a partner six years later, and retired from
Ker, Bolton and Co. in 1884, living to 191 2, when he was
over ninety years of age. His son, J. Paton Ker, was
also in the firm in Singapore in the 'Eighties, a fine
amateur jockey; he died in 191 7. Another partner
who had a long connection with the firm was Mr. Joseph
Cheney Bolton. He retired from Ker, Bolton and Co.
in 1884. Mr. Thomas McMicking, who was a trustee of
the Raffles Institution, became a partner in 1835. He
was one of those that made the celebrated and nearly
fatal voyage to Malacca in 1836 in the newly arrived
paddle-steamer Jardine. The engines could only be
got to go by fits and starts ; finally the vessel went on
fire in the Straits, all on board having a very narrow
escape. Mr. McMicking in 1835 was nearly killed by
gang robbers in his house, Duxton, an affair that
created a great sensation at the time. Mr. Gilbert
McMicking became a partner in Syme and Co. in 1852,
at which time Mr. William Mactaggart, whose sons were
well known in Singapore in later years, was an assistant
in the firm, becoming a partner in 1857. Mr. Robert
Jardine, who later joined Ker, Bolton and Co., came out to
Syme and Co. in 1852. In 1857 Mr. G. M. Dare was an
assistant in the firm of Syme and Co. Mr. George Arm-
strong was an assistant from 1856 to 1862, and Buckley
tells us that he was a member of the first Volunteer
Corps, a tall and remarkably athletic man. Mr. James
Lyall was a partner in 1866, and subsequently estab-
lished himself first as a broker, and later in association
with Mr. P. T. Evatt as an accountant. Mr. James
Graham, although but a comparatively short time in
Singapore, was one of the leading men after the Transfer,
MR. JAMES GRAHAM 231
and had a remarkable career. Of Border and Ulster
stock, he was born in County Tyrone in 1838. As a
boy he got his early business training in a well-known
South American firm, and was married at Lima to
Jane Buckley, niece of a partner of the firm. In 1869
he returned to England and started business, and in
1875 accepted an offer from Ker, Bolton and Co. to
manage their Singapore house, S3^me and Co. He re-
mained in the Colony till 1886, when he was recalled
to Glasgow, and became a partner in the home firm,
dying on New Year's Day 1905, just as he was on the
eve of retirement from the firm, of which he was then
the senior partner. His son, Mr. James Graham, jun.,
was in Syme and Co. from 1892 to 1906, and is now a
partner in Ker, Bolton and Co. Mrs. James Graham, sen.,
is still living and well (January 1919), and resides with
her daughter at Limpsfield, Surrey. Mr. Graham the
elder, while he lived here, entered into the affairs of the
Colony with Ulster energy and wholeheartedness. He
was for five years a Member of the Legislative Council,
and brought to its debates much abihty and indepen-
dence of thought, besides a good deal of the saving
grace of humour.
The Singapore Free Press of the ist February 1905,
in its obituary notice, wrote of him as follows, and
those who knew him will agree that the words quoted
give an excellent sketch of his personality :
" Owing nothing to local influence or connection, he
rapidly came to the front in business and social circles,
purely through force of character, level-headedness,
and unswerving uprightness. In manner blunt and
outspoken, he sometimes gave offence to those who
did not understand him by his impatience of humbug ;
and he never failed to speak his mind, whether in the
Chamber of Commerce in his early days, at the Club,
where he was generally the centre of a group of seniors,
or in the Legislative Council, where he soon made his
mark, sharing the honours of opposition with Thomas
Shelf ord and WilHam Gulland. His best speech in
II — 16
232 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
Council was perhaps that opposing Lord Kimberley's
scheme for disendowing the Colonial Chaplaincies (in
1882). . . .
" Mr. Graham was a great reader. Like John Bright,
he brought to all the subjects he handled a mind stored
with the English classics, and this gave tone and style
to all his public speaking. He was a keen politician,
and, as became an Ulster Protestant, he detested Home
Rule. A genial companion and a warm and trusty
friend, his sympathies were always with those in
trouble or misfortune ; and a worthy cause, whether in
fashion or not, was sure of his help and advocacy. In
society he was as much sought after as in grave affairs,
and when early in 1886 he joined his firm at home, he
left a blank in Singapore."
Coming on down the list of Syme and Co.'s representa-
tives, Mr. C. W. Conington (1890) was a Member of
Council for a short time, and was a very keen racing
man. Mr. John F. Craig (1901) was greatly interested
in music, and took a large part in the organisation of
the Singapore Philharmonic Society.
Syme and Co. have, since the Thirties and 'Forties,
been in close association with several strong home and
Eastern firms — Murray, Syme and Co. (later Sholfield,
Doering and Co. and then Sholfield, Bolton and Co.),
Liverpool ; and Ker, Murray and Co. (later Ker,
Doering and Co.), Glasgow ; and now Ker, Bolton
and Co., London apd Glasgow ; also with Ker and Co.,
Philippines (established at Manila in 1827 as Strachan,
Murray and Co., later as Ker, McMicking and Co., and
from 1846 as Ker and Co.), and with Pitcairn, Syme
and Co., Java (estabhshed at Batavia in 1825).
The following is a list of the resident partners of
Syme and Co., with the year of their leaving Singapore,
an asterisk indicating the gentlemen that joined Ker,
Bolton and Co. : Hugh Syme, 1830 ; *Robert Ker, 1834 ;
Edward Diggles, 1834; Thomas McMicking, 1846;
Nath. P. Rees, 1849; *Gilbert McMicking, 1853;
William Mactaggart, 1864; James Murray, 1868;
James Lyall, 1866; William Webster, 1872; * James
TOMLINSON AND LERMIT 233
Graham, 1886 (member of Legislative Council from
1881 to 1886); C- W. Conington, 1890; *John F.
Craig, 1901 ; H. M. March, 1894; *James Graham,
jun., 1906 ; Alex. M. McNeil (at present, 1919, in Singa-
pore), and Robert S. Menzies, 19 12. Non-resident part-
ners in Syme and Co. in 19 19, in addition to members
of Ker, Bolton and Co., are R. S. Menzies (Sourabaya)
and Thos. J. Tayler (Batavia). Present (1919) partners
in Ker, Bolton and Co. are : Messrs. Robert J. Paterson
(London), James W. Murray (Glasgow), C. S. Weir
(Glasgow) James Graham (London), and James M.
Beattie (Glasgow). Three former partners, Messrs.
Robert Jardine, John Ross, and John F. Craig (latter
with Syme and Co. at intervals from the 'Eighties to
1 901), are still alive.
Among the interests with which the firm has been
identified in Singapore is that of the trade in mineral
oil in bulk. Their connection with this lasted from its
start in 1891 till 1908, during which time they repre-
sented, as agents, Messrs. M. Samuel and Co., London,
later the Shell Transport and Trading Co., Ltd., and
then the Asiatic Petroleum Co., Ltd. The agency ter-
minated in 1908, on the last-named company opening
an office of its own in Singapore.
ToMLiNSON AND Lermit. — Mr. Sam Tomlinson came
to the East in 1886 (from the Bradford Corporation),
to be waterworks engineer at Bombay. He was ap-
pointed Municipal Engineer, Singapore, in 1 896. Pearl's
Hill Reservoir is one of his chief works while in the
Municipahty, and he negotiated the purchase of the Gas
Works and the present Municipal Offices, and took part
in the great Tanjong Pagar Arbitration case. He was
associated with Messrs. Swan and Maclaren in the new
Europe Hotel and Whiteaway's buildings. Mr. A. W.
Lermit joined Crane Bros, from home in 1883, and in
addition to furnishing plans for the Adelphi and Katz
Bros, buildings, carried out important surveys in Pro-
vince Wellesley, Johore, and Singapore. He is the
Nestor of Singapore architects.
234 THE MACHINERY OF COMMERCE
White AWAY, Laidlaw & Co. was founded in Calcutta
in 1882, and came to Singapore in 1900, quickly opening
branches at Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Taiping,
Seremban, Klang, Malacca, and Teluk Anson. It
became a limited company in 1908. The fine block of
buildings opposite the Post Office was erected for the
firm in 19 10. It replaced an historic but somewhat
squalid mass of houses belonging to the Flint family.
Whampoa & Co. is a fine example of a family firm, and
is entirely associated with the name of Mr. Hoo Ah Kay
Whampoa, who was one of the first members of the
newly constituted Legislative Council. In 1889 Mrs.
Hoo Ah Kay had the chief interest in the firm. Mrs.
Cheah Hee Lin and Chun Chun Fook signed per pro,
in 1895 and Hoo Hong Kee in 1905.
CHAPTER XVI
RELIGIOUS SINGAPORE
By the Rev. W. Murray, M.A.
CHURCHES AND MISSIONS
When the British flag was planted in 1819, and the
Settlement of Singapore began to develop as an em-
porium for trade, Christian missionaries came to it from
the older Settlement of Malacca, first as visitors at
intervals, and then as residents. Roman Catholics,
who had been in Malacca since the days of Francis
Xavier in the sixteenth century, had a numerous follow-
ing, and were able at once to supply workers for the new
Colony. Protestant missions began in Malacca in 181 5,
and Drs. Morrison, Milne, and Legge,who were the pioneer
missionaries there, had a share in the beginning of
Protestant mission work here. It is on record that the
Rev. W. Milne, of the Anglo-Chinese College, Malacca,
applied for ground to build upon as early as May 18 19,
and received from Sir Stamford Raffles the sum of $150
in consideration of his performing services as Chaplain
(Logan 's Journal IX, p . 442 ) . Under these leaders, along
with John and Alexander Stronach, the L.M.S. (London
Mission Society) estabhshed itself. In 1834 Singapore
became a station of the A. B.C. P.M. (American Board of
Commissioners of Foreign Missions), and its agents were
Tracy, Dickinson, Hope, Trevelli, and North, the three
former working in the Chinese language and the two
latter in Malay. North was a practical printer, and had
a well-furnished printing-press. About the same time
the C.M.S. (Church Missionary Society) sent the Rev.
235
236 RELIGIOUS SINGAPORE
Mr. Squier here to work among the Chinese. The
American Baptists also contemplated beginning work,
but there is no evidence that they actually commenced it.
The chief efforts of these early Protestant missionaries
lay in the direction of establishing schools, in which work
they were assisted by the Government and residents.
Their great difficulty was in inducing parents (Chinese
and Malay) to send their children to school ; and when
they did send them, to induce them to let the children
stay at school for more than a few months. They were
also energetic in translating portions of the Scriptures
and tracts, and formed the Singapore Christian Union
in 1 830, under the auspices of which tens of thousands of
Scriptures and tracts were distributed. Very little was
done in the way of direct preaching, because for a long
time there was no one competent enough in the native
languages to undertake it. So far as conversions were
concerned, the result of the work of these early days was
practically nil ; and this is not surprising in a time when
almost none could read and no direct appeal by preaching
was made.
The L.M.S. Chapel stood at the corner of Bras Basah
Road (then called Church Street) and North Bridge
Road, and was used for services by European residents.
The work of the above-mentioned missionary societies
came to an end both in Malacca and Singapore when
China was opened to foreign residents. The chief aim
of these Societies was to reach the Chinese, and it was
only because China was at the time closed to them that
missionaries settled in the Straits at all. First the
A.B.C.F.M. removed its men to China in 1839 ; and by
1847 ^11 th^ L.M.S. men had left, except the Rev. B. P.
Keasberry, who severed his connection with the Society
and continued here as an independent and self-sup-
porting worker.
Before proceeding to record the history of the various
denominations which have established themselves in
the Colony during the century, it is well to give a descrip-
tion of Mr. Keasberry and his work, because he and it
REV. B. P. KEASBERRY 237
had no official connection with any of the denominations
to be described. He was for many years the only
missionary here, and his labours were of a strikingly
varied and lasting character.
Benjamin Peach Keasberry (181 1-75) was the son
of a colonel in the Indian Army who had been appointed
Resident of Tegal, Java, by Sir Stamford Raffles in
1 8 14. Educated in Mauritius and Madras, he came to
Singapore and opened a general store. But, finding
after a time that the prospects were not bright, he closed
it, and took service as a clerk in a British firm in Batavia.
The sudden death of a bosom friend solemnised his mind,
and led him to devote himself to religious work. He
attached himself to Dr. Medhurst, of the L.M.S. in
Batavia, under whom he learnt the art of printing and
bookbinding. In 1834, having received some money
from his father's estate, he went to America to college,
and returned to work among Malays in Singapore under
the A. B.C. P.M. He remained here until his death,
without ever leaving the Colony. When the A.B.C.F.M.
removed their men to China, he joined the L.M.S., and
continued here, and when the L.M.S. men were removed,
he remained as an independent worker. He had gathered
round him a congregation of Malays and Chinese ; had
Malay boys as boarders in his school, among whom were
some princes ; had established a printing-press ; and
was a master of the Malay language. Moreover, he had
the sympathy of Colonel Butterworth, the Honourable
Thomas Church, and the principal merchants. We can
well understand that these many ties made him choose
to sever his connection with the L.M.S. rather than leave
Singapore. Prince's Street Church (then known to
everyone as the Malay Chapel) was built for this work
in 1843, the money being subscribed by residents. The
opening services were conducted by the Rev. Samuel
Dyer, of Penang, and Dr. Legge, of Malacca, both being
missionaries of the L.M.S. From 1847 to i860, with the
exception of Miss Grant and Miss Cooke, he was the only
Protestant missionary in the Colony. For thirty-eight
238 RELIGIOUS SINGAPORE
years he carried on manifold operations — preached on
Sundays, translated the Scriptures, tracts, and hymns,
managed a printing-press, conducted a day and boarding
school. He helped the poor, sometimes beyond the
limit of his means, and his name became a household
word with all sections of the community. He died
suddenly while speaking in his chapel on the 6th Septem-
ber 1873, and was buried in the Bukit Timah Cemetery,
his grave being marked by a stone placed on it by
H. H. Abubakar, Maharajah of Johore, G.C.M.G., one
of Mr. Keasberry's old scholars.
The Church of England in Singapore
The Church of England in Singapore has the advantage
and disadvantage of being an established church. It
has had the advantage of a salary of a chaplain being paid
by the Government for many years, after the example of
the Indian Establishment, and of a very fine church being
erected and kept by the Government. This, which
apphes equally to Malacca and Penang, has been a help,
especially when the communities were small. On the
other hand, the fact of establishment has not produced
a vigorous church life out here. Instead of its members
feeling a personal responsibility and saying '* we ought
to do so and so," the theory has more often been " they
ought to do so and so," the " they " generally meaning
the Government. Thus initiative has not been fostered.
Further, members of the Church of England have devoted
themselves to definite and purely secular work, such
as the Raffles School (which had a voluntary governing
body before it became a Government school), and have
not reahsed the special call of the Church to claim the
nations for Christ. This is partly the reason why the
Church of England has lagged so far behind in educa-
tional and other works.
When Singapore came under the East India Company,
the territories managed by that Company formed part
of the Diocese of Calcutta, the Bishop of Calcutta then
being the only Bishop of the Chui-ch of England in the
THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND 239
East. vSingapore remained as part of the Diocese of
Calcutta till after the Straits Settlements were cut off
from the Indian Empire. It then, in 1868, was trans-
ferred to the existing Diocese of Labuan and Sarawak,
and the whole diocese was termed the Diocese of Singa-
pore, Labuan, and Sarawak. This could, of course, be
only a temporary measure. This unwieldy diocese was
too vast to allow one bishop to supervise adequately
countries so scattered and so diverse as the Straits
Settlements, the Federated Malay States, Sarawak, and
British North Borneo. The United Diocese of Singa-
pore, Labuan, and Sarawak survived two Bishops —
Bishop W. Chambers (1868-80) and Bishop Hose
( 1 881-1908). It fell to Bishop Hose to arrange and
provide for the separation of the Malay Peninsula from
Labuan and Sarawak, and he postponed his resignation
•until this was accomplished, not wishing that another
Bishop should be appointed to this unwieldy diocese to
which he had been appointed. Consequently, on the
resignation of Bishop Hose, two separate dioceses were
newly constituted, and in 1909 the Rev. W. R. Mounsey
was consecrated as Bishop of Labuan and Sarawak and
the Rev. C. J. Ferguson-Davie as Bishop of Singapore.
The so-called Diocese of Singapore includes the
Straits Settlements and the Malay States, together with
the British communities in Siam, Java, Sumatra, and
the adjacent islands.
The first residency chaplain of the Church of England
who was posted in Singapore was the Rev. Robert Burn,
B.A. He had arrived in Bencoolen in 1825 to be Resident
Chaplain there, in succession to the Rev. C. Winter, who
had recently died. As the headquarters of the Govern-
ment was being transferred to Singapore, he was sent
to the new Settlement soon after reaching Bencoolen.
On the 2 5th August 1825 he had reached Penang, and was
detained there during the absence of the Chaplain of that
Settlement. He, however, wrote expecting to reach
Singapore early in 1826. During the latter year he was
at work in Singapore, and a letter written to a brother
240 RELIGIOUS SINGAPORE
in that year shows that he did not find his people as
responsive as he had hoped. The Rev. R. Burn died
in Singapore in 1832, and is buried in the old cemetery
on Fort Canning Hill.
The chaplaincy continued as a chaplaincy of the East
India Company till the British Government took over
the rule of India. Since that time it has been a Govern-
ment chaplaincy. The Bishop of Calcutta from time
to time paid visits to Singapore. The famous Bishop
Daniel Wilson (1832-58) visited Singapore in 1834,
when he took part in arranging for the erection of the
first St. Andrew's Church. In 1838 he came back to
consecrate the church, and subsequently visited it in
1842, 1850, and 1856. This first Church of St. Andrew,
consecrated in 1838 by Bishop Wilson, stood on the site
of the present Cathedral. In 1845, and again in 1849,
the steeple was struck by lightning, and in 1 8 5 2 the church'
was disused, as the building was considered dangerous.
In 1854 the foundation-stone of the present Cathedral
was laid by Bishop Wilson, then seventy-eight years of
age, and on the 25th January 1862 his successor in the
see of Calcutta, Bishop Cotton, consecrated it. The
building is 181 feet long, internal measurement from the
west door. Including the tower it is 226 feet between
the exterior points of the building. The nave and side
aisles are 55 feet wide and the spire 207 feet from the
base to the centre of the iron cross. It was designed by
Colonel Macpherson, who was Executive Engineer at
the time, and was built largely by convict labour. The
site is very suitable for a fine building and the effect of
the architecture of the church standing in such an excel-
lent open space makes it one of the most noticeable
features of Singapore. When the Straits Settlements
were transferred from the jurisdiction of the Bishop of
Calcutta to that of the Bishop of Labuan and Sarawak,
Bishop Chambers in 1870 made St. Andrew's Church
the Cathedral Church of the United Diocese.
While the church was being erected, an attempt was
made in the building up of the body of the spiritual
BISHOP WIT,SOX OF CAI^CUTTA.
n. 240]
BISHOP HOSE 241
Church, and in 1856 a mission was established connected
with the congregation of St. Andrew's Church. It was
termed St. Andrew's Church Mission. This was
strengthened a few years later by the sending out of a
missionary by the S.P.G., the Rev. E. S. Venn, who
arrived in 1861. After his death there was no superin-
tendent missionary till the arrival in 1872 of the Rev.
W. H. Gomes. Mr. Gomes was a man of marked ability,
and during his tenure of office the school, which has now
developed into St. Andrew's Boys' School, was started,
the school chapel (now St. Peter's Church) was opened
in 1875, while the S.P.G. Mission House was built in
1877, and the Church of St. John, Jurong, was built
for a Christian agricultural colony.
In 1874 the Church of England commenced work
amongst the seamen of the port, and the work was
continued under three Chaplains to Seamen, but was
subsequently dropped.
In 1 88 1 Archdeacon Hose, the first Archdeacon of
Singapore, who was then Colonial Chaplain of Singapore,
was consecrated as Bishop of Singapore, Labuan, and
Sarawak. During his occupancy of the see, St.
Matthew's Church, Sepoy Lines, was built, and institutions
for European boys and girls were opened, so that those
who lived far away from Singapore might have a home
while they attended the Government school. The former
of these, built in European style (principally through
the energy and liberality of Mr. C. B. Buckley), St.
Andrew's House, Armenian Street, now has about fifty
boarders, while the latter, St. Mary's Home, Tank Road,
(originally St. Nicholas's Home) is excellently housed in
a spacious mansion of a Chinese towkay, which has been
adapted to its present use by the addition of dormitories
capable of accommodating about sixty girls. St. Mary's
Home owes much to the work of Archdeacon Izard.
It was during Bishop Hose's time also that the Chinese
Girls' School ^ on Government Hill, which now has over
1 The Chinese Girls' School was begun under the L.M.S. by Mrs. Dyer,
who, on leaving the island, handed on the work in 1843 to Miss Grant
242 RELIGIOUS SINGAPORE
sixty inmates, became part of the organisation of the
Church of England.
During the last few years there has been a strength-
ening of mission work, principally through an organisa-
tion known as the Singapore Diocesan Association,
which aims at strengthening the various departments
of work throughout the diocese. This has been the
means of bringing to Singapore the Rev. J. Romanis
Lee, M.A., Principal of St. Andrew's School, who has
raised the school between 191 1 and 191 6 from a second-
grade to a first-grade school, with over 500 scholars,
and teaching to the Cambridge Senior Local Examination.
In mission work the staff has been increased in late years
by the addition of one Tamil and two Chinese priests,
in addition to the Rev. R. Richards, the Europeanmission-
ary in charge. It may here be noted that the staff of St.
Andrew's Cathedral had, prior to the Great War, been
increased to three. There were two on the staff twenty
or thirty years ago. A Medical Mission for Women and
Children, in charge of lady doctors, was founded by
Mrs. Ferguson-Davie, M.D., in 191 3. There are about
eight thousand attendances annually at the dispensaries,
and a small number of in-patients are taken. At the
present time an appeal is being made for funds to build a
well-appointed hospital for this important work, which
up to now has been carried on in hired houses.
Another recent branch of church work (opened in
1 910 by Miss Fitzgerald) is that of the Girls' Friendly
Society, which has a club for girls and rooms for women
who are working in the town. Miss E. M. Stephenson
is now in charge of this.
There doubtless is room for far greater extension
of the work of the Church of England in Singapore.
With a communicants' roll of 500 at the Cathedral and
250 at the Mission Church, where services are held in
of the Female Education Society. Miss Cooke took charge in 1853, and
kept up the work till her death in 1895. In 1900, when Miss Gage Brown
was Principal, it was put under the Church of England Zenana Missionary
Society.
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 243
six languages, with one boarding-house for Chinese boys
and one for Chinese girls, with hostels for European and
Eurasian boys and girls, and with a staff of seven
European and three Asiatic clergy, there is at any rate
a good nucleus for a strong and progressive branch of
Christ's Church. Amongst those who have done faithful
work in Singapore, special reference must be made to
six who worked for over thirty-five years in Singapore :
Bishop Hose as Chaplain, Archdeacon, and Bishop ( 1 868-
1908) ; Miss Cooke and Miss Ryan in the Chinese Girls'
School; the Rev. W. H. Gomes, B.D., in the Mission ;
Mr. Edward Salzmann, for forty-four years organist at
the Cathedral ; and Mr. C. B. Buckley, who spent nearly
fifty years in the East, and who, starting with a small
class in Sunday school as a young man, became the
friend of generations of people in the town.
The Catholic Church
the french mission
I . The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd
The first missionary to visit the Catholics of Singapore
appears to have been Father Imbert, who was on his
way to China in December 1821, and, at the request of
the Vicar Apostohc of Siam, called at the new Colony,
founded two years previously, remaining there a week.
He afterwards wrote to Monseigneur Florens that he
had found there about a dozen Catholics.
In 1824 the Catholics of Singapore applied to Mgr.
Florens for a priest. But the Bishop, being in doubt as
to whether the island of Singapore was comprised in his
diocese, referred to the Propaganda for directions, and
jurisdiction was conferred on him by a decree of His
Holiness Pope Leo XII, dated the 22nd September
1 827, confirmed by another decree of Pope Gregory XVI,
on the 3rd January 1840.
Matters, however, remained in statu quo until the
arrival of Mgr. Bruguiere, Bishop of Capsa, Coadjutor
for Siam. He had called at Singapore in 1831, on his
244 RELIGIOUS SINGAPORE
way from Bangkok to Penang. Before leaving Singa-
pore on the return journey, in 1 832, he entrusted the new
flock to the care of Father Clemenceau, who had then
recently arrived from France. He likewise wrote to
Father J. B. Boucho to come down from Penang and
settle certain difficulties.
On the 1 8th October 1832 Father Boucho succeeded
in obtaining from the Resident, Mr. Bonham, a site for
a church at Bras Basah Road, where St. Joseph's Insti-
tution now stands. The good Father lost no time in
inviting public subscriptions, and returned shortly after
to Penang. The church was begun by Father J. P.
Courvezy, and completed, on the 9th June 1833, by
Father E. R. Albrand, who also built a small vicarage.
Prior to tha t missionaries saidMass in the house of one
Mr. MacSwiney.
In the course of a few years the new church was found
inadequate for the rapidly increasing congregation, and
it was therefore decided to convert it into a school, and
to build a church elsewhere. A site at the corner of
Bras Basah Road and Victoria Street was granted by
Government on the 20th July 1842, and the foundation-
stone of the present Cathedral of the Good Shepherd was
laid there on the i8th June 1843. The vicarage, which
later became the Bishop's house, was completed in 1859
by Father J. M. Beurel.
Mgr. Courvezy, on being appointed Vicar Apostolic
of Siam, resided at Singapore from 1838 to 1843. It
was during this period, viz. on the 20th October 1839,
that Father Beurel, the real founder of the parish of the
Good Shepherd, arrived. On the loth September 1841
the missionary province of Siam was divided into two
dioceses. Mgr. Courvezy became the first Vicar Apos-
tolic of Malaya, which was then ecclesiastically known
as Western Siam, but subsequently as the Malayan
Peninsula.
On the 2 1 St December 1843 Bishop Courvezy left
the mission field for France, and did not return. Father
Boucho, who had for the past twenty years ministered
FOUR BISHOPS 245
to the Catholics of the Peninsula, then took charge of
the diocese as Pro-Vicar Apostolic. Subsequently, in
August 1845, he was appointed Bishop, and was con-
secrated at Calcutta as Bishop of Athalia and Vicar
Apostolic of the Malayan Peninsula. On his return he
continued to reside at Penang until his death.
Bishop Boucho was succeeded by Bishop Michael
Esther Le Turdu, who at first also resided in Penang,
but later, on the 3rd July 1 87 1 , took up residence in Singa-
pore, which Settlement has ever since been the head-
quarters of his successors. He returned to Europe,
owing to ill-health, early in 1877, and died at the Semi-
nary in Paris shortly after his arrival, in the fifty-first year
of his age, and after having laboured twenty-seven years
in the East.
His successor, Mgr. fidouard Gasnier, came to the
Straits as Vicar Apostolic in 1878. It was during his
tenure of office that the old title " Bishop of Malacca "
was re-established by His Holiness Pope Leo XIII, and
as a consequence the Vicarate Apostolic of the Malayan
Peninsula became the Diocese of Malacca. Permission
was granted by the Holy See to the new Bishop to make
Singapore his residence, and the Church of the Good
Shepherd his Cathedral. About the same time, by an
Ordinance No. XI of 1888, passed by the Legislative
Council of the Straits Settlements on the 1 5 th November,
" The Titular Roman Catholic Bishop of Malacca,
resident in the Straits Settlements " was made a corpor-
ate body. This Ordinance was repealed and replaced,
with extended privileges, by another Ordinance passed
on the 31st May 1910 (No. XV of 1910), which gave a
proper status to the Mission. Bishop Gasnier died in
Singapore after several years' illness, on the 8th April
1896, and was buried in his Cathedral. His funeral was
very largely attended, H.E. the Governor, Sir Charles
B. Mitchell, the Consuls, and other officials being
present.
The Right Rev. R. Fee, who succeeded Bishop Gasnier,
was the first Bishop consecrated in the Cathedral of the
246 RELIGIOUS SINGAPORE
Good Shepherd. This unique ceremony was held on
the 22nd November 1895. Two other important events
also took place shortly after. The first was the visit
of the Papal Delegate, Monseigneur Zaleski, who arrived
in Singapore on the ist January 1897. The visit of
this distinguished prelate was much appreciated by all
the Catholics of the place. The other event was the
consecration of the Cathedral, which had been enlarged
to its present dimensions in 1888. Bishop Gasnier had
often expressed a wish to perform this ceremony himself,
but was unable to carry out his intentions, owing at
first to a debt remaining on the church, and, later, owing
to his continuous ill-health. It was therefore left to
his successor. Bishop Fee, to perform the ceremony on
the 14th February 1897. Bishop Fee had charge of the
See of Malacca till his death, which took place in France
in January 1904.
His Holiness Pope Pius X was then pleased to appoint
the Right Rev. E. Barillon to the vacant See of Malacca.
His Lordship was consecrated in Paris, and arrived in
Singapore on the 2 1 st November 1 904. The new Bishop
was no stranger to the Mission, having already for eight
years laboured in the diocese, both at Penang and Singa-
pore. He was now returning to the Straits after an
absence of twelve years, spent in Paris in the formation
of aspirants to missionary work.
In April 1905 an exchange of land was effected
between the Mission and the Government, the Mission
giving up all their land lying on the line of extension of
Queen Street, and receiving in its place a portion of the
land situated behind the Maternity Hospital.
Bishop Barillon celebrated his Sacerdotal Silver Jubilee
in September 1909 ; it was attended by thirty-five
French priests and about two thousand people.
This short history of the French Catholic Cathedral
would be incomplete without mention of Bishop C.
Bourdon. Born in 1834, Bishop Bourdon was ordained
in i860 and appointed Bishop of Upper Burma in 1872.
After fifteen years' arduous work in that mission, he
MISSIONARY TO THE CHINESE 247
retired owing to ill-health. He recuperated for some
time in Hongkong, but finally, on the invitation of
Bishop Gasnier, made Singapore his permanent home.
As Chaplain to the troops and to the General Hospital,
he rendered good service for many years, and endeared
himself to all those with whom he came in contact.
His Lordship celebrated his Sacerdotal Jubilee on the
1 8th September 1910, being then seventy-six years of
age.
2. The Chinese Church of SS. Peter and Paul, Queen
Street
The first Catholic missionary to labour among the
Chinese of Singapore was Father E. Albrand. This
zealous priest gave himself unreservedly to the good
work during the years 1833-5. He was subsequently
appointed Vicar Apostolic of Kwei-Chow. Father
Albrand 's work was ably carried on by Father John
Chu, a Chinese priest ordained in Bangkok by Bishop
Courvezy and brought by him to Singapore in 1839.
Other pioneer missionaries of those days were Father
A. Maudit and Father F. Issaly ; the former arrived
in 1844 and the latter in 1847.
The Church of SS. Peter and Paul, with its tower, was
erected by Father P. Paris in 1869-70. Heretofore
the Chinese and Indian Catholics had attended the
" Good Shepherd," but this arrangement ceased on the
completion of the new church, as both these communities
repaired thither. It is said that the cost of the com-
pound wall of the church was defra3^ed by the Emperor
Napoleon III.
In 1883 Father Paris purchased the three beautiful
bells which are still in use, but the state of his health
prevented him from being present when the bells were
blessed. He died shortly afterwards, on the 23rd May
1883, and was buried in his church. Four years pre-
viously the remains of Father Issaly, who had died in
Hongkong in 1874, had been translated here and in-
terred in the same church. These two missionaries
II — 17
248 RELIGIOUS SINGAPORE
are regarded as the founders of this fine parish, and their
memory is still held in high veneration by the elderly
Chinese Catholics of Singapore. The spire of the belfry
and the present vicarage are the work of Father L.
Galmel.
Father F. Vignol in 1891 built an extension, and this
notwithstanding the fact that the Indian community
had a few years previously withdrawn to their own
beautiful Church of Our Lady of Lourdes. He like-
wise erected three marble altars, the High Altar being
consecrated by Bishop Gasnier.
Joseph Chan Tek Yi in 1897 purchased the grounds
adjoining the church, and erected thereon, at his own
expense, the eleven houses known as St. Joseph's
Houses for the accommodation of catechists, widows,
and the aged. In 1910 he, in conjunction with Low
Gek Seng, defrayed also the cost of enlarging the church
gallery, erecting a porch, and extending the facade.
Altogether about forty young missionaries have
passed through the Church of SS. Peter and Paul,
the majority, however, remaining just long enough to
acquire a knowledge of the Chinese language.
3. The Chinese Church of the Sacred Hearty Tank Road
Prior to 1910 the Church of SS. Peter and Paul
was the parish church of all the Chinese Catholics of
the town of Singapore. But notwithstanding its great
size, it had nevertheless become too small for the con-
gregation, ever on the increase. It had, moreover,
enjoyed the privilege of having, so to speak, two vicars :
the holder of the office looking after the Teh-Chews
and the Hok-kiens, and Father V. Gazeau, who minis-
tered to the Khehs and the Cantonese. Another
church for the two last-named sections of the Chinese
CathoUc population was sorely needed. After many
efforts a suitable site was acquired close to Tank Road
Railway Station, but it was far from spacious. Father
Gazeau had great difficulty in obtaining the funds
requisite for building, and it was some years before he
INDIAN CATHOLICS 249
could utilise the site. He erected first the vicarage,
also used as an orphanage, and then the church.
The foundation-stone of this new church was laid on
the 14th June 1908, and the blessing of the entire
edifice took place on the nth September 19 10. Since
that date the Church of the Sacred Heart has
become the parish church of the Khehs and the Can-
tonese.
4. The Tamil Church of Our Lady of LourdeSj Ophir
Road
The Indian Catholics of Singapore were for a long
time without a church of their own. They attended
the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, and later on the
Church of SS. Peter and Paul, where Father Paris
attended to them as well as to the Chinese.
When Father J. Meneuvrier, who was the first mis-
sionary to have exclusive charge of the Tamil congre-
gation, arrived in 1883, a small house situated in Water-
loo Street served him both as a dwelling-place and a
school. This house was later on occupied by Father
Gazeau, and subsequently demolished by the Christian
Brothers to make room for the extension of their
school.
In 1885, the Government granted a site in Ophir
Road. The foundation-stone of the new church,
dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes, was laid on the
I St August 1886, and the church, together with the
vicarage and school, erected beside it, was opened in
1888.
SINGAPORE ISLAND
I. The Chinese Parish of Bukit Timah, St. Joseph's
Church
In 1846 Father A. Maudit, assisted by Father Beurel,
built a church and took up permanent residence here.
The Church of St. Joseph, which exists to this day,
was erected in 1852-3. Father Maudit may be
regarded as the founder of this parish, which he ad-
250 RELIGIOUS SINGAPORE
ministered till his death in 1858. He was buried in
the church, which later was to receive the mortal
remains of several other missionaries. The present
vicarage was built by Father Perie in 1852.
2. The Chinese Parish of Seranggong, Church of the
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Seranggong parish was founded by Father
Maistre about the year 1853, for the earhest baptisms
recorded in the registers go back to the Christmas of
that year. The parish church was some seven miles
from Singapore town. Father Maistre first erected a
small attap building, to which he added a room for the
purpose of his catechism classes. The congregation
becoming more numerous, he next determined to build
a church. The project happily matured, and within
a short time the good Father had the satisfaction of
seeing a brick church erected. Father Issaly later
added to this church a ceihng and verandah. In 1880
Father Page replaced the old attap construction by a
parochial house of wood, raised on brick pillars.
Father C. Saleilles, who succeeded Father L. Page,
erected a new catechism hall, to which were attached
quarters suitable for a boys' and girls' school. Finally,
he set about the erection of the present fine Gothic
church with its triple nave and belfry, the latter being
visible from a considerable distance, towering above
the surrounding country. The foundation-stone was
laid on the 2nd August 1898, and three years later
the church was solemnly consecrated. In 1908 a second
storey was added to the old church, which was now
superseded and converted into the present vicarage.
The parish of Seranggong has a branch church at
Ponggol, situated three miles away, on the shore of
the Johore Straits, where, in 1904, Father Saleilles
built a chapel and house for the benefit of about twenty
Catholic famihes scattered in the neighbourhood.
The Catholic population of Singapore Island under
the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Malacca is about
ST. JOSEPH'S INSTITUTION «5i
8,900 : Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, 3,000 ; Church
of SS. Peter and Paul, 2,200 ; Church of the Sacred
Heart, 1,150; Our Lady of Lourdes, 1,000; Serang-
gong Church, 1,200 ; Bukit Timah, 350.
All the missionaries are members of the Societe des
Missions Etrangeres, which was founded in Paris in
1659 ; according to the annual report for 19 16 it now
numbers in all 46 Bishops and 1,258 missionaries in the
Far East.
In 1857 a Procure house was estabhshed in Singapore
at the corner of River Valley Road, to take charge of
the temporal affairs and general administrative work
of the Society.
ST. Joseph's institution
This Catholic educational estabhshment was founded
in the year 1852 by the Rev. Father J. M. Beurel,
who was very anxious to ensure to the boys entrusted
to his care the advantages of a sound religious and
secular education. As far back as 1841 we find him
working with a view of securing the services of the
Christian Brothers for educational purposes in Singa-
pore. The Superior-General of the Congregation, who
was then residing in Paris, appeared to have been
more or less opposed to the project ; but the Rev.
Father did not desist from his purpose, and finally
proceeded in person to Paris to plead his cause. His
journey was not fruitless, for towards the close of March
1852 he returned to the scene of his labours with six
Brothers, three of whom were destined for Singapore,
and the others for St. Xavier's, Penang, an analogous
establishment.
The Brothers lost no time in getting to work, and the
first classes were held in the disused old church at
No. 8 Bras Basah Road. Though intended primarily
for Catholic children, the school was nevertheless open
to all, irrespective of religion, and in a short time
became very popular with the Singapore community.
In 1 863 the school received official recognition from the
352 RELIGIOUS SINGAPORE
Government, as also an annual grant. In the same year,
too, school fees began to be charged. The old church
building proving inadequate for the ever-growing
needs of the school, it was determined to provide a
building more in keeping with the requirements of the
times. This project was happily brought to a successful
issue by the Rev. Brother Lothaire, Director, in 1867.
The school grew and prospered, notwithstanding pe-
cuniary and other difficulties, until 1881, when, owing
to local differences and misunderstandings, the Brothers
withdrew, and for the space of about four years the
establishment was run by lay masters. The Brothers
returned in 1885. In 1898 it was deemed advisable
to extend the building, but for various reasons the
project was postponed until the Rev. Brother Michael
took charge two years later. This enterprising Director
at once set to work, with the result that very soon
the two semi-circular wings were added to the central
portion. The work was carried on in co-operation
with the late Rev. Father Nain, who drew the plans
and supervised the construction.
The school now entered on a period of prosperity
and activity. New pupils flocked in numbers, the
results of the public examinations were very encouraging,
especially those for the Queen's Scholarships, the
number of Brothers increased, the class-rooms were
congested, and the need of the hour was for more space.
Government was approached in 1906, and showed itself
very sympathetic. The new school fronting Waterloo
Street was erected in 1907, at a cost of $37,000. Towards
this sum the Government generously gave $20,000,
the balance being contributed by friends and bene-
factors, conspicuous amongst whom were the Chinese.
The last effort of Brother Michael to bring the school
up to date was the erection of the beautiful hall and
chapel at the rear of the main building. The school
celebrated its Diamond Jubilee in 191 2, and the occasion
was availed of by its old pupils to found a Diamond
Jubilee Scholarship for the Cambridge classes. Besides
SINGAPORE CONVENT 253
this scholarship, there are four others available for the
boys attending the higher classes.
There are at present over 1,200 boys distributed
among thirty-two classes attending the school. A
pleasing feature of recent years is the large number of
pupils attending the secondary classes. This is par-
ticularly the case with the commercial class, where,
besides learning the usual business subjects, the pupils
qualify for the L.C.C. certificates. The recent changes
in the Cambridge Local syllabus have made a second
language compulsory, and French is taken by all the
boys in the higher division. One effect of the War has
been that the number of Brothers has considerably
decreased. There is a flourishing boarding establish-
ment attached to the Institution ; the boys are under
the direct supervision of the Brothers, who pay par-
ticular attention to their moral and intellectual well-
being.
The physical side of education finds its scope and
action on the football and tennis grounds attached to
the Institution. The boys compete yearly, in a series
of inter-class football matches, for the school cup, and
thus the old maxim mens sana in corpore sano is never
lost sight of. Quite recently a school cadet corps has
been established. Altogether the prospects at present
are bright, and the authorities look to the future with
hope and confidence.
CONVENT OF THE HOLY INFANT JESUS
The Fathers of the Society of the Foreign Missions
finding it absolutely necessary to get help for missionary
work amongst the girls of Singapore, the Rev. Father
Beurel went to France, and approached the Rev. Mother-
General of the Sisters of the Holy Infant Jesus for
assistance. His request was granted, and four Sisters
left France for the East ; but only three of these reached
their destination, as the Superior of the little band died
on the way, and was buried at sea. The three that
arrived at Singapore in March 1852 were, to the great
254 RELIGIOUS SINGAPORE
disappointment of the Rev. Father Beurel, sent to
Penang, where their first house was founded. Soon
after another Httle band of Sisters set out from South-
ampton, and, after a weary journey across the desert
in caravans, arrived eventually in Penang ; one of
these, Sister St. Mathilde, was appointed Superior of
the Convent there.
In February 1854 Rev. Mother St. Mathilde, with
three Sisters, arrived in Singapore to start the Convent
here. They received many orphans, did needlework
for the ladies of the town in a hastily organised work-
room, and lived very poorly ; but the need of financial
help making itself felt, a paying boarding school was
opened. This was a great success, and the number of
children increased rapidly. Help was sent from the
parent house in France, and new batches of Sisters
arrived at various dates, all anxious to help in the great
work of redemption of souls.
On the 7th January 1876 Rev. Mother St. Mathilde
was appointed Superior of the Yokohama Convent,
which she had founded two years previously. She was
succeeded in Singapore by the Rev. Mother Gaetan, who
ably filled the office of Superior from 1876 to 1892.
Under her care the different good works established
went on developing, and, when the existing house became
too small, she had a new wing erected to accommodate
the paying boarders and pupils of the new important
school, to which the children of Singapore flocked in
large numbers. In 1892 this good Reverend Mother
left for England to procure help for her good work in
Singapore ; but, to the great regret of all who -knew
her, she died in London on the 22nd August of the same
year.
Rev. Mother St. Hombeline, who was already
Mistress of Novices from 1887, was then elected Superior
of the Singapore Convent. Her zeal and devotedness
were quite equal to that of her regretted predecessor,
and the Convent went on growing. The orphanage and
day school developed even more rapidly. Accommo-
THE PORTUGUESE MISSION 255
dation not being sufficient, another wing was added to
the already extensive establishment, and toward this
the Government contributed $20,000. A beautiful
chapel was erected, thanks to the generosity of many
kind friends and benefactors.
At present the orphanage contains about 200 children,
not to speak of many Chinese babies who are received
in the creche. The number of children attending the
school has increased apace with recent years, and at
present there are about 700 children on the registers.
The school is under Government control, and pupils are
prepared for the Cambridge Locals.
On the 8th November 191 6 Rev. St. Hombeline died
suddenly of apoplexy. Her unexpected end was a
great shock to all, and her loss is deeply mourned by
the children and people of Singapore, in whose interest
she worked for so many years.
THE PORTUGUESE MISSION
The rise and growth of the Catholic Church in Singa-
pore under the Portuguese Fathers date back to the
earlier days of Malacca, the oldest of the seaports of
the Straits ; after the conquest by the explorer Afonso
d 'Albuquerque, a wide field was opened for missionary
enterprise in the East.
In 1557 was created the Diocese of Malacca (subject
to the Arch-diocese of Goa), the Church of Our Lady
of the Assumption there being made a Cathedral and
a body of Canons appointed for it by a Bull of His
Holiness Pope Paul IV, dated the 4th February of
that year, which at the same time placed the Diocese
under the patronage of the Crown of Portugal.
With the capture of Malacca by the Dutch in 1641 the
Diocese of Malacca disappeared, and every other trace
of Catholicism was extirpated with the utmost vigour
by the adherents of Calvinism ; and it was not till
i795> when Malacca passed from Dutch to British rule,
that the Catholic religion breathed again the air of
256 RELIGIOUS SINGAPORE
freedom of which it had been deprived for a century
and a half.
Upon the occupation of Singapore by Sir Stamford
Raffles in 1819a great incentive was given to immigra-
tion, and missionary activity developed apace. Thus,
in 1822, we hear of the first Portuguese Catholic priest,
Padre Jacob, coming from Malacca and obtaining from
Sir Stamford Raffles a site for a church in Singapore,
and, although it appears that he did not succeed in
erecting the church, we may justly infer that from that
year he took the Catholic residents under his care.
The Rev. Francisco da Silva Pinto e Maxia, of Oporto,
Portugal, was, however, the first to settle as Catholic
Pastor in Singapore, where he arrived from Macao on the
7th April 1825, and he is commonly held to have been
the founder of the Portuguese Mission here. Having
obtained the necessary powers from the Archbishop of
Goa, he built and opened for worship a small church on
the spot where, up to 191 2, stood the Parochial House,
but which is to-day incorporated in the St. Anthony's
Convent. Father Maxia worked zealously at the
development of his mission for twenty-five years in
Singapore, and died on the 17th February 1850, being
buried in the Old Cemetery, Fort Canning, whence his
remains were afterwards transferred to the Church of
San Jose when it was built. A few weeks before his
death he had been made a Knight of the Portuguese
Order of Christ. He bequeathed all his money, and
part of the land forming the present church compound
at Victoria Street, w^hich he had bought with his own
moneys, to the Mission for the erection of the Church of
St. Jose, the other part having been granted to him
for the same purpose by the East India Company.
He was succeeded by Father Vicente de Santa
Catharina, who lost no time in taking in hand the
building of the church, which he saw completed in 1853,
at a cost of about $15,000, being principally moneys
left by Father Maxia, supplemented by $2,000 from
the King of Portugal and local subscriptions.
ST. ANTHONY'S SCHOOL 257
In 1868, with the help of subscriptions from the com-
munity, along with the munificent gift of $9,000 received
from the Portuguese Government, the Parochial House
underwent extensive repairs, and two transepts were
added to the Church.
A long-felt want in this mission was supplied in 1879,
when Father Jose Pedro Sta Anna da Cunha estab-
lished, in a small house in Middle Road, a school for
children of both sexes called St. Anna's School,
which later, in 1886, was moved into a new building
erected in the precincts of the church compound and
named St. Anthony's Boys' and Girls' School, the
local Government contributing a grant of $4,000 towards
its expenses.
In November 1893 the boys' school was separated
from the girls' school, which had a staff of lady teachers
of its own, and was under the control of the Fathers of
the Portuguese Mission up to 1 894, when the Canossian
Nuns arrived from Macao and took over, and have
since remained in sole charge of it. The present com-
bined average enrolment of the two mission schools is
640 pupils in the lower and higher elementary classes.
In 1886 His Holiness Pope Leo XIII, by his con-
stitution '^HumanaeSalutis Auctor," and by a Concordata
with the King of Portugal (subsequently confirmed by
a decree dated the 20th August 1887), severed the
Portuguese Mission in the Straits from the Archbishopric
of Goa and incorporated it in the Diocese of Macao ;
the Bishop of Macao thenceforward holds personal, and
not territorial, jurisdiction over his subjects in Singapore
and Malacca ; the churches and other edifices con-
nected with them are at the same time classed in the
category of " exempted," i.e. completely independent
of the jurisdiction of the territorial Bishop.
The increase in the numbers of the Portuguese Mission
followed pari passu with the progress and development
of the new Settlement, and thus in 1890 the modest
Httle church built by Father V. de Santa Catharina being
found no longer to suffice for such a large and ever-
258 RELIGIOUS SINGAPORE
increasing congregation, it was decided to build a more
spacious one, but the subscriptions did not warrant
taking the work in hand soon. When, however, the
Bishop of Macao, Dom Joao PauHno d'Azevedo e
Castro, made his first pastoral visit to Singapore in 1904,
the subject was again revived and discussed, and His
Lordship, in full sympathy with the cause, laid the
foundation-stone of a new church on the 21st August
of that same year.
In 1906 the old church was pulled down and the con-
struction of the new taken in hand. Notwithstanding the
great and many difficulties arising especially from the
lack of funds for a work of such magnitude, the new and
imposing Church of St. Joseph, measuring 212 feet in
length and 60 feet across the nave, capable of seating
with ease 1,500 persons, with a central octagonal tower
surmounted by a dome and flanked by two smaller
towers, was at last blessed and opened on the 30th June
191 2. The congregations, thankful for the invaluable
assistance received from Bishop Castro, who died in
Macao on the 17th February 191 8, and to whose untiring
efforts is due the successful completion of the new
church, have decided to erect in his honour a brass
memorial tablet, which will soon be fixed in a prominent
part of the church.
Connected with the Portuguese Mission, and known
as " St. Anthony's Bread," is a charitable association
also founded by the late Bishop in 1904, which has
during the last fourteen years saved many an indigent
family from distress. About sixty poor families receive
regular monthly supplies of rice and money (some also
house-rent and medical treatment) from the funds of
the Association.
The Cathohc population of the parish of St. Joseph
in Singapore numbers at present nearly 3,000, under the
care and charge of three priests, one of whom is the
Superior and Vicar-General. An interesting feature of
this parish is the language spoken, which is a dialect
called " Malacca Portuguese," brought by the early
BISHOP CASTRO OF MACAO.
n. 258]
THE ARMENIAN CHURCH 259
immigrants from Malacca, and used by all, without dis-
tinction, in their homes. The preaching in church is
also in Portuguese at the Low, and in EngHsh at the
High Mass on Sundays.
The Armenian Church
The first services of the Armenian Church in Singapore
were held in 1 821, in a room behind where John Little
and Co. now is, and later on in a room where Powell
and Co. now stands. The first priest was the Rev.
Eleazar Ingorgohe.
In 1835, a site at the corner of Coleman Street and
Hill Street having been granted by the Government,
the present building was erected to the design of Mr.
G. D. Coleman. It cost a httle over $5,000, the money
being subscribed by Armenians in Calcutta, Java, and
Singapore, as well as by some of the European residents
in the Colony. The building was consecrated on the
26th March 1836, being the anniversary of St. Gregory,
the first monk of the Armenian Church, and was dedi-
cated to that saint. This church has thus the distinc-
tion of being the oldest ecclesiastical building in the city.
Until about twenty-five years ago the church was
maintained entirely by monthly voluntary subscrip-
tions from the congregation. As, however, the Ar-
menians were a fluctuating section of the community,
there was the fear that a time might come when these
monthly subscriptions would prove insufficient to defray
the expenses of the church. It was therefore proposed
by the late Mr. Galistan Edgar, a rich and prominent
Armenian resident, that an endowment fund be estab-
lished ; and he suggested that Armenians contribute
a certain percentage (say 2 per cent.) of their incomes
to it. The suggested system was not carried out, but
voluntary donations came in liberally, and now the en-
dowment produces a monthly income almost sufficient
to meet the priest's salary and other expenses. It is
hoped that in a few years time the church will be
entirely self-supporting from this method. Mr. Thadeus
26o RELIGIOUS SINGAPORE
Paul and the late Mr. T. Sarkies (of Raffles Hotel) worked
hard to make this fund a success.
The affairs of the church are managed by a committee,
consisting of the warden and two trustees, elected by the
congregation once every two years, and all the church
property is vested in them. The church maintains a
priest and a verger, and bears all the expenses for the
upkeep of the church and the priest's house. The priest
is sent out by the Armenian Archbishop of Persia and
India, who has his ecclesiastical see in Julfa, Ispahan,
Persia, and has jurisdiction over all the Armenian
churches in India and the regions beyond. The juris-
diction was granted to him by the Catholics when the
Armenians began to emigrate to India and the Far
East, and estabUshed churches in Calcutta, Decca,
Madras, Bombay, and other places. The priest in Singa-
pore is usually sent out for a term of three years, but
at the request of the congregation this term is very
often extended.
The priest's house is in the church compound, and
part of it is devoted to the occupation of poor Armenians
passing through Singapore. The building formerly
occupied as priest's quarters had become too old and
too small for its purpose ; and in 1905 Mrs. Sarkies,
the widow of the late Mr. John Sarkies, a rich merchant
of Singapore and Java, very generously offered to erect
a new building at her own expense. The old quarters
were consequently demolished and replaced by the
present fine new building, which has added greatly
to the comfort of the priest. It was opened on the 1 5th
September 1905, and consecrated to the memory of
the late Mr. John S. Sarkies. A marble commemora-
tion tablet in the Armenian language is on the wall of
the hall of the building.
Early in 1909 the church and priest's quarters were
fitted with electric light and fans, the whole cost being
borne by Mr. Seth Paul, a partner in the firm of Messrs.
Stephen Paul and Co. This was the first church in
Singapore to have an electric installation.
THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 261
Presbyterianism in Singapore
i the church
In the early years of the Colony, Presbyterians,
who have always formed an important section of the
European community, worshipped with Episcopalians
in the mission chapel of the London Missionary Society
at the corner of Bras Basah Road (then called Church
Street) and North Bridge Road, opposite the present
Raffles Girls' School. The services were conducted
by the resident missionaries, by visiting clergymen,
and later, by the Government Chaplain. In 1834,
when it was proposed to erect an Episcopal church
worthy of the Colony, and for which the Government
had provided a site, Presbyterians gave substantial
support to the scheme.
In November 1846 the Scotsmen of the Colony,
among whom were representatives of the three leading
denominations of the homeland — Established Church,
Free Church, and United Presbyterian Church — at a
numerous and harmonious meeting resolved to get a
minister for European work from any of the Scottish
churches. The meeting also passed a resolution assur-
ing the Chaplain (Rev. Mr. Moule) that the step they
were taking was not to be interpreted as dissatisfaction
with him, but as preference for their own denomi-
nation. The inference is that Presbyterians were
accustomed at that time to attend the worship in St.
Andrew's Church. The newspapers gave friendly sup-
port to the scheme, assuring Presbyterians that members
of the Church of England would show towards them
the same liberality as they had shown when St. Andrew's
Church was being built.
It was ten years before this resolution bore fruit,
the reason probably being that the strain on the home
churches consequent on the disruption of 1 843 precluded
them from responding to the appeal from this distant
colony. Local Presbyterians were not numerous
enough to undertake the adequate support of a minister
262 RELIGIOUS SINGAPORE
themselves ; and, unlike Episcopalians, they have
never had Government assistance in the payment of
their clergy. As compensation, however, for the loss
of Government aid, the Presbyterian Church has liberty
to select its ministers from the Free Churches as well as
the Established Church of the homeland.
The subject was revived in 1854, when a committee
was appointed to raise the necessary funds and secure
a pastor. The Rev. Dr. Guthrie, whose praise was in
all the churches of that day, and whose name has been
long a household word in Scotland, by special request
selected the first minister, and since his arrival in 1856
there has been a regular succession of services until the
present day.
The following are the successive ministers of the
church and their term of tenure of the pastorate :
Rev. T. Mackenzie Eraser, M.A. (1856-60) ; Rev. John
Mathison (1861-6) ; Rev. W. Jeffrey (1866-9)
Rev. Matthew J. Copland (1870-71) ; Rev. WilHam
Dale (1871-5) ; Rev. William Aitken, M.A. (1876-83)
Rev. A. S. McPhee, B.D. (1883-9) ; Rev. G. M. Reith
M.A. (1889-96) ; Rev. S. S. Walker, M.A. (i 896-1 906)
Rev. J. A. Gray, M.A. (1906-9) ; Rev. W. Runciman
M.A. (1909-13); Rev. John Vance, M.A. (1914)
Rev. William Cross, M.A. (191 5-19).
When Presbyterian services commenced, the use of
the temporary Residency Chapel was kindly conceded
to the congregation by the local Government. Later,
they were held in the L.M.S. Chapel, in Bras Basah
Road. In 1866 the Presbyterian Church bought the
property from the L.M.S., and continued to use it till
1876, when it was sold. For a while services were
held in the Town Hall, and in 1878 the present church
in Stamford Road was erected on a site donated by the
Government.
In the course of its career the Presbyterian Church
has been the recipient of some benefactions, (i) In
1879 Mr. Thomas Dunman, the Commissioner of
Pohce, made a gift of land known as D unman 's Corner,
GENEROUS DONATIONS 263
at the junction of Bras Basah Road and North Bridge
Road, on a part of which stands Bethesda and the Chinese
Gospel House. The lease is for a term of 999 years
from 1827, and it is sub-leased to various tenants for
ninety-nine years from 1859. (2) In 1887 a fine organ
was presented by Mr. Thomas Cuthbertson in memory
of his wife. (3) In 1892 Mr. John Baxter, Lloyd's
Marine Surveyor, a native of Port Glasgow, and a well-
known character in the Colony, bequeathed money for
the purchase of the Manse in Cavenagh Road. (4) In
1905 a legacy of $3,200 was received from Dato Meldrum,
of Johore. (5) In 19 10 a generous friend, who does
not wish his name disclosed, made a gift of $2,000 in
4 J per cent. Municipal Debenture Stock.
The property of the church was held by trustees
under the Presbyterian Church Ordinance of 1876
until 1899, when it was incorporated by law in the
person of the Treasurer for the time being.
Until 1872 the church had only a nominal connection
with the home churches, but from that date it has been
affiliated with the Presbyterian Church of England, and
is enrolled as a congregation of the Presbytery of London
(North). The Presbyterian Church of England is in
close federal relation with the Scottish Churches, and
inasmuch as Singapore merchants on being transferred
home invariably settle in London, it was considered
advisable to be attached to the London Presbytery,
so that the congregation here might still be in touch
with them, and have them to represent its interests in
the Church Courts.
During the course of its history, Congregationalists,
Baptists, and Methodists have formed no inconsiderable
part of the congregation ; and some have been pro-
minent office-bearers. Thus, the Presbyterian Church
has in a measure occupied in Singapore a place analogous
to that of the Union Church in Hongkong or Shanghai.
At the present time the church has entered upon an
actively aggressive career. It has purchased a site
for extension work in the rising suburb of Keppel
II— 18
264 RELIGIOUS SINGAPORE
Harbour, and initiated services in Malacca and the
State of Johore, besides rendering aid in the planting
of a new church in Kuala Lumpur.
Among many who have rendered in their lifetime
conspicuous service to the church as office-bearers,
but have now passed away from us, mention should
be made of Colonel Dunlop, J. Guthrie Davidson,
Alex. Johnston, W. Grigor Taylor, W. McKerrow,
Andrew Currie, Charles PhilHps, and Arthur Knight.
The last-named died in 1916, having a record of fifty-
six years' membership of the church and thirty-six
years in the office of Secretary to the Board of Managers.
II THE MISSION
The Presbyterian congregation from the first year
of its existence has taken a practical share in missionary
efforts. In 1856 it maintained Tan See Boo, one of
the first converts in China by the Rev. W. C. Burn,
as a catechist. It is interesting to note that the house
for this catechist was provided by the Episcopal con-
gregation. This was because an attempt was made at
that time to have a united Chinese Church, and the
converts were baptised alternately by the ministers
of the Episcopal and Presbyterian Churches ; but the
plan did not succeed, and two Chinese congregations
were eventually formed. Besides working in the city
itself, the catechist associated himself with the Rev.
B. P. Keasberry in opening a preaching station at
Bukit Timah.
In 1 861 the Rev. Alex. Grant, M.A., a Presbyterian
missionary from Amoy, came here for work. But in
1 866 he and Tan See Boo both resigned their connection
with the Presbyterian Church, and founded the Brethren's
Mission. The congregation also interested itself in the
Rev. B. P. Keasberry 's work among Chinese immigrants.
Straits Chinese, Tamils, and Malays, and on his death in
1875 the Rev. Wilham Young, a former Presbyterian
missionary in Amoy, took over his work, and continued
it for ten years, supporting himself by teaching. Mr.
PRESBYTERIAN MISSION 265
Young during these years was a member and office-
bearer in the Presbyterian Church.
In 1872, when the congregation joined the Presby-
terian Church of England, it petitioned the Foreign
Mission Committee of that church for a European
missionary for Chinese work, and the petition was strongl}^
supported by the missionaries of the E.P. Church in
Amoy and Swatow, the districts from which most of
the Chinese immigrants came. Also, in 1879, the con-
gregation formally took over work at Bukit Timah.
At length, in 1881, the Foreign Missions Committee
appointed the Rev. J. A. B. Cook to work here among
the Chinese, and he has been so engaged ever since.
When Mr. and Mrs. Cook arrived, the small Chinese
congregation at Bukit Timah of thirty-nine members
was the only missionary work directly connected with
the Presbyterian Church. But the work began to spread .
Churches were opened in the districts of Tek-kha, Tan-
jong Pagar, and Serangoon in 1883 J in Johore in 1885 \
in Muar in 1893 ; i^i Paya Lebar in 1904 ; and in Seletar
in 1908. Moreover, in 1885 the Rev. W. Young left
Singapore, and handed over to Mr. Cook the work in
Prinsep Street Church, which was mostly among Malay-
speaking and Enghsh-speaking Chinese. The mission
has now a membership of 500 communicants, or 900
including baptised children. One-half of its ten con-
gregations are self-supporting. In 1904 H.E. Sir John
Anderson laid the foundation-stone of the church in
Tanjong Pagar Road, which has become under the Rev.
Tay Sek Tin a centre of important social service for
the Hokkien community.
Other workers have been associated with Mr. and
Mrs. Cook for longer or shorter periods from time to
time. In 1890 the Rev. A. Lamont, M.A., B.D., was
appointed to work among the Hokkien community,
Mr. Cook's work being among the Teo-Chews. He
opened the Eastern school in 1 894, which promised to be
the commencement of important educational work.
When Mr. Lamont left the Colony in 1897, Mr. H. F.
266 RELIGIOUS SINGAPORE
Rankin, M.A., was placed in charge ; but three years
later Mr. Rankin became Principal of the Anglo-Chinese
College in Amoy, and the work of the Eastern school
was given up. The Rev. W. Murray was ajppointed in
1902 for work among the Straits Chinese community,
and still continues it. Others who have assisted in the
Mission from time to time are Revs. H. L. Mackenzie,
D. Sutherland, J. Steele, and C. V. Moody, and the
Misses Macmahon and Lecky.
More than passing reference should be made to the
Straits Chinese congregation which worships in Prinsep
Street Church. The building, which dates from 1842,
was the scene of the labours of the Rev. B. P. Keasberry,
for many long years the only Protestant missionary in
the Colony. There is a catholic atmosphere about the
place, for its walls contain memorial tablets to Congre-
gationalists. Episcopalians, and Presbyterians who wor-
shipped and worked together there. The founder of the
Straits Chinese congregation here may be said to have
been Song Hoot Kiam, who was one of the first six con-
verts of modern Protestant missions from among the
Chinese. He was a pupil of Dr. Legge in Malacca, and was
taken home by his teacher to school in Huntly, Aberdeen-
shire, where he was baptised. Returning to the East, he
settled in Singapore in 1847, ^^^ was an earnest Chris-
tian worker till his death in 1900, at the age of seventy.
His children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren are
still pillars of the church. Other conspicuous leaders in
this congregation have been Mr. Tan Kong Wee and
Mr. Foo Teng Quee, the latter being head of the Hylam
community for many years. The congregation has
always had, and still has, among its members gifted
preachers. The Malay hymn-book used in the services
is the joint work of the Rev. B. P. Keasberry and Mr.
Charles Phillips. Mr. PhilHps was an accomplished
Malay speaker, and for many years, until his death in
1904, helped in the services. In 1 881 the Presbyterian
Mission acquired the property, and took over the super-
vision of this historic congregation. A Chinese preacher's
THE METHODIST CHURCH 267
house has been erected in the compound, and regular
services in Chinese added to those in Malay and English
each Sunday. In 1904 the Straits Chinese erected a
Widows' and Orphans' Home adjoining the church, and
also a hall for meetings of the Chinese Christian Associa-
tion, which has been carrying on useful work in the
community since 1896.
The Methodist Episcopal Church and Mission
In 1884 the Methodist Episcopal Church, which had
large missionary operations in India and China, resolved
to open work in Singapore, with a view to extension
later to the Malay Peninsula. Although no mission
funds were available for the enterprise, Dr. Thoburn, the
foremost missionary of the Church in India, did not feel
thereby deferred from entering so promising a field,
but believed such work as they contemplated would
not fail for want of local support. With the Rev. W. F.
Oldham, he arrived in Singapore, and held a series of
meetings in the Town Hall in February 1885. Not only
did the two pioneers meet with a considerable measure of
sympathy from members of the Christian community and
the active support of such of them as were Methodists,
but also people of various nationalities gathered to the
meetings, and being stirred by the Gospel message
became enquirers and candidates for church membership.
After a stay of three weeks. Dr. Thoburn returned to
India, leaving his colleague in sole charge of the work.
Mr. Oldham was a keen educationist, and won the
sympathy quickly of Chinesemerchants who were anxious
for education for their children. He and Mrs. Oldham
opened a school, which became rapidly self-supporting.
Chinese, Tamils, Malays, Eurasians, and Europeans
came as the pupils, and out of this educational work there
arose opportunities for evangelistic work, which were
eagerly used.
The work which then began has developed to enor-
mous proportions. It has spread to Penang, Malacca,
the Federated Malay States, the Dutch East Indies, and
268 RELIGIOUS SINGAPORE
Borneo. But for the purpose of this history we confine
attention to its activities in Singapore.
(i) Education. — ^The Anglo-Chinese School began with
thirty-six boys, and under a series of energetic principals,
Oldham, Kelso, Banks, Lyons, Buchanan, Pease, Mansel,
and Nagle, has gone from strength to strength, until now
it has an enrolment of i,8oo scholars, including branch
schools which have been opened in recent years in
Serangoon, Gaylang, and Paya Lebar districts. A new
and large development is now taking place in the creation
of a college f(3r higher education, for which a site at
Keppel Harbour has been secured, and of which the plans
are already advanced. Besides the schools for boys, two
for girls have been established. Short Street and Fair-
field.
(2) Evangelism. — Soon after his arrival in Singapore
the Christian Institute in Middle Road was handed over
to Mr. Oldham, and has become the centre of work among
the Straits Chinese. Services in Tamil and Chinese have
been estabhshed in other parts of the city. Several
institutions have also been, opened, and have become
effective evangelistic agencies : Oldham Hall, a boarding
establishment for boys ; the Nind Home, a boarding
establishment for girls, and a centre for woman's work
of many kinds ; and the Bible- Women's Training School.
(3) The Publishing House. — It was early seen that there
would be a great demand for religious literature in
many languages for use in the cosmopolitan community
of the Colony and Malaysia, and, therefore, a printing-
press was reckoned a necessity. The pioneer worker
in this department has been the Rev. W. G. Shellabear,
D.D. He came to Singapore as an officer in the Royal
Engineers to work at the harbour defences, and, being
deeply religious, was much distressed by the ignorance
of Christianity among the native communities. He
resigned his commission, in spite of the remonstrances
of friends, and threw himself into the work which the
Methodists were beginning. On the advice of Mr.
Oldham he went to England, and studied the art of
REV. DR. she;i,i.abear.
n. 268]
BISHOP OLDHAM 269
printing. Returning in 1890, he began the work of the
Methodist Press, which has since grown to large pro-
portions. Nearly a hundred men are now employed
by it, and literature in about twelve languages issued
from it. Mr. Shellabear made a special study of
languages, and produced much of the literature which the
press printed. His vocabularies, dictionaries, text-
books, translations of hymns and other religious works
are widely used. Quite recently, by arrangement with
the British and Foreign Bible Society, he has issued a
version of the New Testament in Baba Malay, and he is
now engaged on a similar translation of the Old Testa-
ment. By this press the Rev. W. G. Shellabear, and his
successor in the office of Superintendent (Rev. W. T.
Cherry), have done a memorable service to all the
churches and missions of the Colony.
' (4) Wesley Church. — From the beginning of the Mission
regular services in English have been held. In 1886
a church and manse were built on land granted by the
Government in Coleman Street. The church was opened
in January 1887, and continued in use till 1909, when the
building was taken for the increasing work of the school,
and a new church and manse were built in Fort Canning
Road, the land being a grant from Government.
The name of the Rev. W. F. Oldham, D.D., will ever
be associated with the ' history of the Colony. Of
European parentage, he was born and brought up in
India, and in his youth was on the staff of the survey
service of the Indian Government. After his conversion
he and his wife resolved to devote themselves to mission-
ary work, and went to America to complete their
education. On their return to India the Methodist
Church selected them to begin the work in Singapore.
Arriving here, he speedily won influence with all sections
of the community by his pubhc spirit, broad-mindedness,
unceasing activity, and his fluency in thought and speech .
The Chinese were eager to have him as tutor for them-
selves and their children, and freely supported him with
money for his educational and even religious enter-
270 RELIGIOUS SINGAPORE
prises. Among these Mr. Tan Keong Saik and Mr.
Tan Jiak Kim were conspicuous. After laying the
foundations in Singapore of Methodist missions,
which have spread now over the adjoining mainland
and islands, he was chosen a Bishop of the church, with
the oversight of work in India, Malaya, the Archipelago,
and the Philippines. Lately he has been appointed to
the oversight of Methodist missions in South America.
The name of Miss Blackmore will also never be for-
gotten in connection with the work. An Australian
by birth, she gave herself to a missionary career under
the influence of an American lady evangelist, and arrived
in India in that lady's company at the time when the
new field in Singapore was being opened. An appeal
for women workers for Singapore had been sent to
America, and roused the enthusiasm of Mrs. Mary Nind,
of Minnesota, who pledged the ladies of her State for the
planting of a mission to Singapore women. Thus the
worker and her work were simultaneously provided.
She arrived in 1887, and one of the local newspapers
welcomed her in these words : " The Methodist
Mission has done already during its brief existence among
us such a large amount of good work among hitherto
neglected classes of the community that any increase
in its well-being will be hailed with satisfaction by the
friends of enlightenment-" {Straits Times , 27th July
1887). Ill organising house-to-house visitation and
opening schools for girls she found a big field for work.
She also established a boarding-school for girls (known
as the Nind Home), which crowns the summit of Mt.
Sophia. Some ninety girls are boarded there, while in
the two large day schools several hundreds are being
educated. She has completed a long term of thirty
years' work in the city, and her name is a household word
in the Colony.
The following dates indicate the steady and rapid
development of Methodist missions here :
1885. Malaysia Mission founded.
1889. Malaysia Mission organised.
BETHESDA 271
1893. Malaysia Mission Conference organised.
1902. Malaysia Annual Conference organised.
1905. Philippine Islands District divided from
Malaysia Annual Conference.
191 8. Dutch East Indies District divided from Malay-
sia Annual Conference.
The present administrator of the Malaysia Mission is
Bishop J. E. Robinson, D.D., who was associated with
it as a visiting official in its earlier days. The Mission
has, through its entire area, nearly 5,000 members,
exclusive of adherents, and enrols almost 10,000 pupils
in its day schools. For a more detailed history of the
Methodist Mission reference should be made to Bishop
Thoburn's India and Malaysia and Bishop Oldham's
Malaysia, Nature^s Wonderland.
Bethesda
On the 3rd July 1 864, in the Mission Rooms, Bencoolen
Street, the inception of the Gospel work now carried on in
Bethesda took place. The interesting record of that
inception is written in the Church Register, from which
we quote : "A few believers who had been led to see
the duty as well as privilege of assembling together on
the first day of the week after the manner of the earliest
churches planted by the Apostles, viz. for the breaking
of bread, and Christian worship, were meeting privately
for these exercises. Seeing, however, that such a
gathering, profitable though it might be for their own
souls, could not be a sufficient witness for Christ in
showing forth His death to others, or give an opportunity
of preaching the Gospel to those who have not already
embraced it, and which is the bounden duty of every
Christian church, they were led to seek the opening of a
place of worship where these desiderata could be enjoyed.
Believing that ,the revealed and inspired Word of God is
a sufficient rule not only for faith but practice, they
formed no written creed, trusting by the Spirit of God
to be led into all truth, and desiring to be known among
272 RELIGIOUS SINGAPORE
men by no other name than Christians ; meeting thus
simply as beUevers in Christ, they have maintained
that the spiritual ordinances are only to be received by
spiritual persons, and that the number of these spiritual
ones may be increased by God's divinely appointed way
of preaching the Gospel." During the first year nearly
two hundred meetings were held, they being variously
attended, sometimes crowded to the doors, while at other
times it had literally been but the *' two or three
gathered together."
A Sunday School was established with success. In
1866 it became apparent that the Mission Rooms in
Bencoolen Street were inadequate for the assembly's
purpose, and so it was decided to build a meeting-place.
And on Lord's day, the 30th September 1866, the new
hall, Bethesda, was opened in Bras Basah Road at
6.30 a.m. by a special season of. prayer. The church
record says that Bethesda was lit with gas on the 20th
February 1867.
Within a few months of the opening of Bethesda,
namely about May 1867, the building was found to be
inconveniently small for the congregation, and it was
proposed to enlarge it forthwith, increasing the seating
capacity from about sixty to about a hundred and fifty.
This enlargement was speedily accomplished, much to
the satisfaction of the congregation. In June 1867
much interest was shown in the baptism of a Malay.
In the course of a few years Bethesda, which had
been built of wood, fell a prey to white ants, and was
before long quite unusable for services. The believers,
forced by these circumstances from their meeting- place,
found a home in the Hok Im Koan, i.e. the Chinese
Gospel House, North Bridge Road. It is a matter of
interest to note some of the names of those who were
amongst the first members of Bethesda, and also of
those who were associated in the ministry of the Gospel :
Mr. and Mrs. Phihp Robinson (Mr. Robinson was the
founder of the firm of Robinson and Co., Raffles Place) ;
Mr. J. L. Wheatley, Assistant to the Colonial Medical
OI,D BETHESDA.
PRINSEP STREET CHURCH.
n. 272]
CHRISTIAN WORKERS 273
Department, and later in the Johore Medical Depart-
ment (in later years he became surgeon in s.s. Hong Moh,
and died at sea on the 20th July 1909) ; Mr. and Mrs.
WilKam MacDonald, of Johore Bahru, who subsequently
Hved and laboured for years in Penang ; Mr. Alexander
Grant, M.A. (of Amoy) ; Mr. John Haffenden, who
in 1882 became agent for the British and Foreign Bible
Society ; Captain E. Buckley Tarn ; Lieutenant Key, of
H.M.S. Coquette, who often preached the Gospel in those
early days with Mr. Charles Phillips, who was then in
the Army ; Staff-Commander Bowen, R.N., and Major C.
Hailes, who both rendered valuable aid. In 1867 Major
Malan was a great help in the ministry of the Scriptures.
And in 1 882 we find Major Carew helping in the preaching.
For a few years nothing but a broken gate and a few
courses of bricks marked the spot of Bethesda
Meeting Hall. In the fall of 1 889 a party of missionaries
specially commended for the work in Singapore set sail
from England ; this new party consisted of Mr. and Mrs.
Honywill, Mr. Alfred R. Thorburn, and Miss Hosegood.
It was decided by the church, soon after the arrival of
these new missionaries, that Mr. Honywill should give
himself to the English-speaking work, whilst Mr. Thorburn
should take up Chinese. Within a short while Mr.
Thorburn sailed for Amoy to study Chinese, whilst Mr.
Honywill strenuously set himself to work amongst the
English-speaking people. The plans for a new Bethesda
were prepared ; this time the building was to be sub-
stantially built of brick with iron beams. Mr. Honywill
was fortunate in having the valued help of Mr. Andrew
Light Koenitz (chief book-keeper to McAhster and Co.),
who had been a most faithful and diligent helper to the
church for many years ; and Mr. J. Clement Cuff, of the
Telegraph Company, also proved a valuable helper.
On the 17th January 1892 Bethesda new building
was opened by a week of special prayer, and from that
date to the present time the services and missionary work
have gone on most successfully. A year or so later the
Bethesda Mission House was erected at the back
274 RELIGIOUS SINGAPORE
of Bethesda. This house is an addition to the Mission
House in Neil Road, which was built and opened in
1882.
The Jewish Synagogue
The first Jewish synagogue was a small building in
Synagogue Street, erected in the 'Forties, and having
only thirty or forty seats. It soon became too small.
Some time in the 'Sixties the Trustees of Raffles School
approached Mr. J. R. Joshua, the uncle of Mr. Manasseh
Meyer, and asked him to contribute towards the exten-
sion of Raffles School. They required $4,000, and Mr.
Joshua offered to pay the whole amount if they could
give him a piece of land sufficiently large for the building
of a synagogue. This was agreed upon, the money was
paid, and the title was given with the proviso that the
proposed synagogue had to be built within three years.
Unfortunately circumstances changed, and Mr. Joshua
left the Colony : and there being no energetic man to
ask for subscriptions or collect money from the Jewish
community, the stipulated period elapsed without the
building being erected. So the land reverted to the
school.
When Mr. Manasseh Meyer, after a stay of eight
years in India, returned to Singapore in 1873 to estab-
lish his business here, he found the synagogue unfit for
divine service, not only because of its dilapidated
condition, but also because the vicinity was over-
crowded and filthy. He therefore approached Mr.
Braddell, grandfather of the present Mr. Roland
Braddell, and who was Attorney-General at the time,
with a request that the Government allow the Jews to
sell the synagogue in Synagogue Street, and erect
another on a more suitable site. The request was
granted. A site was obtained in Waterloo Street, and
a new synagogue erected. It was opened for service
on the 4th April 1878. Later on galleries for ladies
and other improvements were added by Mr. Meyer.
By the year 1902 this synagogue had become too small
CHINESE CHRISTIANS ^75
for the increasing community, and Mr. Meyer, having
hired a house in Short Street for temporary use, pro-
ceeded to build a new synagogue in Oxley Rise at his
own cost. It was completed in 1905. Both synagogues
are now in use, and are practically full on holy days.
The Chinese Gospel House (Hok Im Koan)
In the year 1866 a number of earnest Chinese Chris-
tians were greatly exercised in heart, like their English-
speaking brethren in the Mission Rooms, Bencoolen
Street. And so a piece of land adjoining Bethesda
was purchased, and very soon they began to build a
meeting-house. The Christians in Bethesda resolved
that the collections on the 20th January 1867
be devoted to assist in this building. This was done,
many other special oiTerings were made by the church
in Bethesda in assisting their Chinese brethren, and
it was suggested that Bethesda Hall should be used
by the Christian believers till their own meeting-place
was ready for occupation. This offer they gladly
accepted, and it is worth noting that for many years
the English-speaking assembly in Bethesda and the
Chinese assembly in the Gospel House met together
on alternate weeks, and then, after a time, monthly,
for the breaking of bread on the first day of the week.
On Wednesday, the 8th May 1867, Mr. Tan See Boo.
an earnest Christian, who had been engaged for a
number of years as a catechist, but about eight months
before had resigned his connection with the Mission, and
has since been successfully engaged in building up a
church of Chinese Christians and preaching the Gospel,
was, with five others of his own countrymen, baptised
by Mr. Chapman, the missionary colleague of Mr.
William MacDonald, of Penang. This meeting was
conducted in the English, Chinese, and Malay languages.
So far as is known, these were the first converts ever
baptised by immersion in these Settlements.
On the nth August 1867 Mr. Alexander Grant,
M.A., with Mrs. Grant, came to reside in Singapore,
276 RELIGIOUS SINGAPORE
and his coming proved to be a great stimulus to the
Chinese assembly. It was in this year that the Chinese
Gospel House (which is a hall or chapel) was erected
and occupied by the Chinese Christians. Messrs. Tan
See Boo, Soo Hoo Ah Tak, Gan Kui, Chong Ghee
Loong, Png Puah, and others were men of spiritual
power.
About thirty-three years of successful mission work
were accomplished in this Chinese hall. Somewhere
about the year 1895 the old Gospel House was found
to be in a very dilapidated and dangerous condition.
The Chinese met together on the 3rd October 1899 to
consider the urgent need of repairs, and the suggested
alterations. At this meeting it was unanimously agreed
to leave the repairs and alterations entirely in the hands
of Mr. Alfred R. Thorburn. It was found exceedingly
difficult to alter a building quaintly built in Chinese
style into a useful hall. Mr. Claud La Brooy (who was
then a young man just starting in life as an architect
and surveyor, now a contractor of Ipoh) proved himself
equal to the task, and produced suitable plans. The
Chinese Gospel House (which had been practically
rebuilt) was opened on Tuesday, the 20th February
1900, with a conversational fellowship tea, and about 1 50
friends were present.
From the opening of this new building, on the 20th Feb-
ruary 1900, to this present date services have been held
regularly, and the Hok Im Koan is still a distinctive
landmark along the main thoroughfare of Singapore.
The Chinese Gospel Hall, Upper Serangoon Road
This hall was opened on the 2nd October 1909. It is
situated about half a mile from the main road. Ser-
vices are held regularly, with a good average attendance.
Note
The following publications have been of special use
in compiling this chapter, in addition to newspaper
files and church reports :
SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS 277
Malcolm's (Rev. H.) Travels in South-Eastern Asia,
Buckley's Anecdotal History.
Cook's (Rev. J. A. B.) Sunny Singapore,
Thoburn's (Bishop) India and Malaysia.
Oldham's (Bishop) Malaysia, Nature's Wonderland.
The following sections of the chapter have been
specially contributed : The Church of England, by the
Bishop of Singapore ; The Roman Catholic Church, by
arrangement with the Rev. N. J. Couvreur ; The
Bethesda Chapel and Mission, by Pastor A. R. Thorburn.
The section on the Methodist Church and Mission has
been revised by the Rev. W. T. Cherry, Presiding Elder
for the Singapore District. Information about the
Armenian Church has been supplied by Mr. Mack S.
Arathoon, and that about the Jewish Synagogue by
Mr. Manasseh Meyer.
Of recent years the Seventh-Day Adventists have
built a chapel in Penang Lane, where services are held
in Malay, Chinese, and English. They also have opened
an English school. But this work is of too recent
formation to merit detail in a history of the century.
CHAPTER XVII
INSTITUTIONS AND CLUBS
By Walter Makepeace
The Press
The Singapore Chronicle was the first newspaper pub-
lished in Singapore, estabhshed in 1824 by Mr. Frederick
James Bernard, five years after the founding of the
Settlement. In order to get permission to publish the
Chronicle, the first number had to be sent to Bengal.
The principal contributor to the paper for the first
two years was Mr. Crawfurd, the Resident, and in
January 1831 the Chronicle was enlarged to a four-page
paper, 20 by 12 J inches, published fortnightly. Mr.
Buckley could find no copy of the paper in Singapore
in 1885, and was of opinion that none was in existence,
as the editor in 1833 had been unable to make up his
file for the first three years. After Mr. Buckley's History
was pubhshed, it was discovered that Mr. Logan's
library (now belonging to Government) had early copies
of the Singapore Chronicle or Commercial Register,
vol. i, Nos. I to 4, I St January 1824 to ist April 1824,
being in MSS, also Nos. 8, 9, 11, and 12. They are in
a volume in the Penang Library, inscribed " A. Logan
1843, bought at Mr. Moor's sale."
The older Settlements had, of course, had their
newspapers. The Prince of Wales's Island Gazette began
in 1805, and lasted twenty-two years, its successors
being many and their lives short. The Malacca Observer
commenced in September 1826, and lasted for three
years, being also a fortnightl3^ The Malacca Weekly
Register was in existence in 1839 and 1840, and again
278
STRAITS NEWSPAPERS 179
the old Settlement boasted the Malacca Weekly News in
August 1872. At this time Malacca had its garrison,
including white troops, its own Lieutenant-Governor,
E. M. Shaw, R.N., and Mr. W. E. Maxwell was the
presiding magistrate. The paper did not last very
long, and had been extinct for some years in 1884, when
Mr. Buckley resumed publication of the Singapore Free
Press, with a special Malacca correspondent. About
1889 the late Mr. H. B. Collinge, who became Inspector
of Schools in Perak, made an attempt to resuscitate the
Malacca newspaper, and had a moderate amount of
success for a year. It is outside the scope of this article
to deal with the Press of Penang or the F.M.S., but
the following list of newspapers will show the progres-
sive development of journalism in Malaya, where all the
papers are dependent upon Renter's Telegram Service
for their daily cables :
Prince of Wales's Island Gazette, 1805-27, and
again in 1833.
Singapore Chronicle, 1824-37.
Pinang Register and Miscellany, 1827-8.
Malacca Observer, 1826-9, 1889-90.
Malacca Weekly Register, 1839-40.
Malacca Weekly News, 1872.
Government Gazette of Prince of Wales's Island,
Singapore and Malacca, 1828-30.
Singapore Free Press, October 1835.
Straits Times and Singapore Journal of Commerce,
1845.
Pinang Gazette, 1838 (weekly) ; 1890 (tri-weekly) ;
1 89 1 (daily).
Straits Chronicle, 1838 (weekly).
Straits Echo, 1903.
Perak Pioneer (Taiping), 1894.
Malay Mail (Kuala Lumpur), 1896.
Times of Malaya (Ipoh), 1904.
Malaya Tribune, 191 5.
In the early days of the Colony there was a Press
II— 19
28o INSTITUTIONS AND CLUBS
censorship, but it is not easy to determine what its
exact scope was. Each issue had to be submitted to
Government before pubhcation under what was called
the " Gagging Act/' which was abolished in 1835, when
the new paper was called the Free Press to mark the
new era. But, quite apart from the war censorship of
1 9 14-18, there seems to have been some doubt as to
the discretion of the Press on the part of the Govern-
ment, for the earlier reports of the meetings of the
Legislative Council, 1867-72, were only permitted to
be published as provided by the Clerk of Councils. The
minutes took about a fortnight to get into type, and
the extended report a month. Council met on the
24th February 1869, " and a smart discussion is reported
to have taken place regarding the financial statements
of the Auditor-General. The absurd and, we {Singapore
Times) believe, illegal standing rule of the Council which
excluded representatives of the Press prevents our
giving any particulars." None but official reports
were allowed to be published. As long as Mr. Crawfurd,
the first Resident, edited the Chronicle, the Gagging
Acts caused no inconvenience, but later blank spaces
showed where the censor had been at work. The
Singapore Chronicle of 1828 mentions that the censor
had struck out some items from the Pinang Register of
the 1 7th September, which the Editor then had printed
on a separate slip and circulated with the paper, which
the Singapore Editor thought " a very bold step " —
which indeed it was, if the slip had no imprint. In
March 1833 Mr. Bonham, the Resident Councillor,
wrote to the Editor of the Chronicle that, on his recom-
mendation, the Supreme Government had sanctioned
the discontinuance of the Press censorship, and that the
proof-sheet need not be sent to him any more. The
Editor's article on the subject quoted an old remark of
Blackstone that to subject the Press to the restrictive
powers of a licenser was to make all freedom of sentiment
liable to the prejudice of one man, and make him the
arbitrary judge of controverted points. During the
THE "STRAITS TIMES" 281
Indian Mutiny the newspapers of the Straits were
subject to the rigid restriction imposed by the Govern-
ment of India to prevent seditious pubhcations. A
pubhc meeting was held in Singapore in 1857 ^o protest
against this. The Act ceased in June 1858. Probably
it was not more oppressive in actual operation than
was the war censor of the past five years, but freedom
of speech and freedom of the Press are taken so generally
as a matter of right by British citizens that the slightest
attempt to curb them is resented, especially when the
censorate's idea of the news food of the grown-up man
is a ragout in which the foundation is so carefully dis-
guised that it is not recognisable as fish, flesh, fowl, nor
good red herring. The most unfortunate instance of
the exercise of the censorate was the action taken in
February 1 9 1 5 , when the mutiny took place in Singapore,
and no news was permitted to leave the Colony for a
week, on the principle, perhaps, that suppressing the
news meant suppressing the mutiny.
Returning to the Singapore newspapers, the Free Press
was started in 1835, and soon proved too much for the
respectable old Chronicle, which ceased in 1837, ^^^ the
plant and type were shipped to Penang, where they
helped to print the Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle.
The Straits Times and Singapore Journal of Commerce
appeared on the 15th July 1845, the printing material
having been ordered from England by Mr. M. T. Apcar,
of Apcar and Stephens ; but he had died in the mean-
while, and Mr. Gilbert McMicking (of Syme and Co.) was
the assignee of his estate. Mr. Catchick Moses took over
the material, and Mr. R. C. Woods, who had come from
Bombay, was the first Editor, Mr. Moses dropping out
after a year or two. In the first year it appeared as a
weekly, then twice a week, folio four pages, went back
to weekly, in 1 847 again became a bi-weekly, and became
a daily in 1858, thus having a continuous publication of
sixty-one years. It has had, at one time and another,
many publications connected with it. The first Directory
was issued by Mr. R. C. Woods, the Singapore Monthly
282 INSTITUTIONS AND CLUBS
Circular and Price Current was issued from the office,
many special and Christmas numbers, and its own weekly
Straits Budget. Mr. Buckley, under date 1854, after
giving an account of the " Persecution of Sir James
Brooke," as Admiral Keppel calls it, condemns the first
Editor, Mr. R. C. Woods, for being the instigator of the
calumny " founded on falsehood and strutted up with
newspaper lies " as " the one big blot on the history of
Singapore," for which the community were in part to
blame. However, Mr. Woods was a very prominent
man, a Municipal Commissioner, and a leading lawyer.
Mr. John Cameron became Editor of the Straits Times in
1 861 , at the same time being part proprietor with Captain
E. M. Smith, one of the early managers of Tanjong
Pagar Dock Co. Mr. Cameron continued to edit the
paper till 1867, and lived in Singapore till 1881, dying
at Monk's Hill. In 1883 the Proprietrix is given as Mrs.
John Cameron; Editors, " Committee of Subscribers " ;
Sub-Editor, C. H. Westlake. Mr. John Marshall became
Editor a year or so later, and Mr. T. C. Cargill, a former
Municipal Engineer, acted for a short time. There were
many changes till 1889, when the late Mr. Arnot Reid
became Editor; he was a well-known personality till
the I St May 1900, when the concern was turned into a
limited company and Mr. Reid retired, dying soon after
in England. Succeeding editors have been Mr. P. M.
Skinner, Mr. E. A. Morphy, Mr. T. H. Reid (now in the
Malay States Information Agency in London), and Mr.
A. W. Still, since 1908. Mr. A. P. Ager, the present
Manager, was with the Straits Times as long ago as
1898, first as reporter, then as Assistant Editor and
Manager. The present Chief Clerk, Mr. Lim Tek Wee,
has seen thirty years' continuous service with the paper.
A serious misfortune for the paper was the great fire
on the 1 7th February 1 869, which totally destroyed the
records and plant, so that the ** remains " fetched only
$40 at auction. The office was in the Square, next to
the Oriental Bank Building — the Free Press is actually
on the same site now — ^when the Chinese store of Locke,
THE "SINGAPORE FREE PRESS" 283
Hung Kee and Co. and the newspaper office were entirely
destroyed. The Straits Times offices were at the corner
of Robinson Road and Cecil Street, until they acquired
the site and built their own property at 78 Cecil Street.
The Singapore Free Press was originally founded in
1835 by Mr. Wilham Napier, the lawyer ; Mr. Lorrain,
a merchant who afterwards became a partner in Brown
and Co., Penang, and the head of Lorrain, Sandilands and
Co. ; Mr. Edward Boustead ; and Mr. Coleman, the first
Superintendent of Public Works, who died in Singapore
in 1 841 , and was buried in Fort Canning Cemetery. Mr.
Boustead, in addition to his mercantile work, had been
helping to edit the Singapore Chronicle for some time,
and when Mr. Carnegy came down from Penang and
purchased the Chronicle, it was determined to start the
Free Press, a weekly of four pages, with a commercial
and shipping page. Mr. William Napier edited the paper
till 1 846, when he left for home, and Mr. Abraham Logan
took charge, and was Editor and Proprietor for over
twenty years, finally settling down in Penang, where
he died. Mr. Logan was a law agent and notary public,
and one of the leading lawyers of the place, having Mr.
Thomas Braddell for his partner in 1862. He was the
brother of the founder and Editor of the Journal of the
Indian Archipelago, James Richardson Logan. The
Singapore Free Press continued as a weekly till 1869,
when it ceased publication. In 1884, moved by the
same spirit as the original founders of the Free Press,
namely that a second newspaper was for the good of the
place, and that it should not owe its inception to the
need for profit, Mr. C. B. Buckley got together thirty-
two subscribers to buy the plant and material of the old
Free Press, and recommenced publication as a weekly,
himself doing the editing and contributing papers on the
history of Singapore, which eventually became the Anec-
dotal History of Singapore, Mr. Jonas Daniel Vaughan,
the last Editor of the first series of the Singapore
Free Press, became a contributor to the new series, and
continued regularly till his death. Among other promi-
284 INSTITUTIONS AND CLUBS
nent contributors who helped to maintain the personal
continuity was the venerable W. H. Read, C.M.G., who
contributed leading articles and letters over his well-
known signature of ^^ Delta. '' This series of the Free Press
was a most useful reference work for the history of the
Settlement, as in it appeared all Mr. Buckley's knowledge
of the place for twenty years. The weekly was so
successful that at the beginning of 1887 those most
interested in it, Mr. C. B. Buckley, Mr. John Fraser, Mr.
John Cuthbertson, Mr. David Neave, and Mr. T. Shelford,
put up the money to convert it into a daily. Mr. W. G.
St. Clair was chosen at home to come out as Editor, and
arrived about March 1887. Mr. Walter Makepeace was
engaged as a reporter and assistant, and came down from
Malacca, where he was then, and the first issue of the
Singapore Free Press as a daily was on the 1 6th July 1887.
In 1895 Mr. St. Clair and Mr. Makepeace became the
proprietors of the paper, and in 19 16, when Mr. St. Clair
retired, the paper was converted into a private limited
liability company (of two). Mr. William Craig came
out to join the staff of the Free Press in 1893, leaving in
1899 to join the Government service in the Post Office.
Mr. R. D. Davies came out from Bristol to join the paper
in I 90 I.
The third daily paper in Singapore is the Malaya
Tribune, which was started in 1915.
There have been other newspapers in Singapore : the
Eastern Daily Mail (1905-6) ; the Straits Advocate in
the 'Eighties; the Straits Guardian, 1856, published on
Saturdays " at the Reporters' Press," also th^ Reporters'
Advertiser, tri-weekly, gratis ; the Shipping Gazette,
1858, at the Commercial Press ; the Straits Intelligence,
1883-6 ; and the Singapore Herald, about the same
time.
Many vernacular papers have at one time or another
been printed in Singapore. In 1 888 there was the Tamil
paper, the Singai Nesan, and the Malay Jawi Peranakan.
The Chinese papers, the Lat Pan and the Seng Poh, had
a wide circulation, and the Utusan Malayu, a Malay
MALAY PANTUNS 285
daily in Arabic and romanised Malay, is one of the
longest lived, having been established in 191 1.
The Singapore Review and Monthly Magazine com-
menced in January 1861, and was conducted by E. A.
Edgerton. Vols. I and II were available for reference
from the late Mr. Arthur Knight's books. It is a curiously
varied work, ranging from a review of the trade of the
Colony and the municipal year 1 860 to a reprint of the
then popular songs such as " Partant pour la Syrie."
Much hght is thrown upon the life of these early times.
Buckley does not mention it, and Dr. Dennys gives it
the briefest note. It was pubhshed under the super-
vision of a committee of gentlemen. The first volume
contains a long paper on " The Trade and Commerce of
the Eastern Archipelago " by Peter Lund Simmons. He
mentions three possible sources of coal for Singapore,
namely Labuan, Sarawak, and Indragiri, the last about
to be worked by Almeida and Sons — quite prosaic ; but
in another part there is an article on Malay " Se-
remba " and " Serapa," varieties of Malay pantuns, from
which we select one plain and one" highly coloured."
I
Derimana datang-nia liniah
Deri sawah ka-batang padi
Derimana datang-nia chinta
Deri mata turun di hati.
Whence comes the horse-leech ?
From the wet field to the rice stalk;
Whence comes love ?
From the eyes descending to the heart.
II
Sulasih alang gomilang
Kayu hidop di-makan apt
Kalau kasih, alang kapalang
Deri hidup batk ka-mati.
How radiant is the sweet basil.
Living wood is consumed by fire ;
If this be love, how intolerable its pains,
Than life death is to me more desirable.
Mention has already been made of the Government
Gazette of Prince of IVales's Island, Singapore and Malacca,
286 INSTITUTIONS AND CLUBS
published weekly from the 25th October 1828 to July
1830. The Straits Settletnents Government Gazette was
started in January 1858, but in the previous year a
start had been made with the annual report on the
administration of Singapore. The Government Print-
ing Press was under the orders of the Secretary to
Government, was in the Public Works Department, and
the foreman in 1867 was L. F. de Souza. Some of the
presses still in use in the prison, where much rough
printing is done, must date long prior to that. They
may be original " Caxtons " ! On the ist April 1871
Mr. John Paton arrived to be Superintendent of the
Government Printing Office. Mr. T. J. Keaughran was
Government Printer for a few years, and remained in
Singapore till he died, issuing for several years a directory.
Mr. H. L. Noronha was for many years in charge of the
Government Printing Office. There have been several
short-term holders of the office, and Mr. J. E. Tyler, the
present Government Printer, has been so ever since 1905.
The work of the department has increased enormously
of late years, what with reports, blue-books. Council
proceedings, evidence and reports of commissions, not
to mention the steadily increasing demand for forms of
many kinds.
Literature
If writers and presses innumerable make literature,
then Singapore has been a flourishing literary centre ; but
it is useless to attempt to disguise the fact that the many
pamphlets, small books, and magazine articles which have
been written and published are mostly personal ex-
periences and the record of facts and local controversy,
hardly making history, and but faintly representing
that. As Mr. A. M. Skinner points out in his Memoir of
Captain Light, that officer belongs to the active period
of the Straits to which, as in other places, the " literary
period " succeeded. The latter began with Marsden
and Leyden of the many-languaged lore ( 1 805). During
the next fifty years there was no lack of scholars and
LITERARY CONTRIBUTORS 287
writers in these countries. But before their time almost
the only English literature of the Far East consisted of
accounts by ship captains like Dampier and Forrest, of
their own and others' voyages . . . but we miss the
literary side.
The Press, naturally, has had to confine its work to
the plain recording of the doings of the day, although
from time to time contributions approximating to litera-
ture have been published, though not always with a local
habitat. The Free Press in 1890 published a number of
Rudyard Kipling's then new stories, " Without Benefit
of Clergy," " The Mark of the Beast," " The Return of
Imray," and " On Greenhow Hill." The columns of the
same journal had many scholarly articles and essays from
the pen of the Rev. G. M. Reith, and in its turnovers aims
at keeping alive the torch of literature. But for the
most part the impressions of writers and accounts of
travels are interesting rather because they record the
ordinary occurrences of life as seen from many points of
view than from any literary value. Still, many have
stood the test of time, and their merits as reprints in
book form are still acknowledged. Mr. J. T. Thomson
was a traveller who put on paper his experiences, for the
benefit of those who came after him, in the Journal
of the Indian Archipelago. Mr. J. R. Logan's obituary
notice (the 20th October 1869) pays this tribute to his
powers of clear and forcible expression :
" Mr. Logan was undoubtedly the foremost literary
man in the Far East. His ethnological and other
contributions to the Journal of the Indian Archipelago
have been quoted and referred to by nearly every
writer on the East. He was a fellow of and contributor
to many of the learned societies of Europe, and his loss
will be sensibly felt in the world of letters." '* Unselfish
to a degree he spared neither time nor money to promote
Penang's welfare."
Dr. Lim Boon Keng's articles on the " Chinese Crisis
from Within " (Wen Chang was the name he wrote
under, at a time when secrecy was essential in the
288 INSTITUTIONS AND CLUBS
interests of the writer) were reviewed in book form
among the notable books of the month, in the Review
of Reviews (1902), in the terms: " He writes Enghsh
with marvellous facility and accuracy, and possesses
the gift of making his narrative interesting as well as
informing." This is but one of the many books written
in Singapore, but not entirely about Singapore, and
therefore outside the pale of this history. There are
many such books, as, for instance, John Dill Ross's Sixty
Years' Travel and Adventure in the Far East] Captain
Sherard Osborn's Quedah, or Stray Leaves from a Journal
in Malayan Waters (London, 1857); Frank Swettenham
and Hugh Chfford's books on Malaya ; W. G. Maxwell's
In Malayan Forests ; Sir J. F. Dickson's article on
the Straits Settlements and British Malaya {English
Illustrated Magazine, January 1890) ; John Fairlie's
'* Life in the Malay Peninsula " {Century Magazine,
February 1893). No complete bibhography of works
relating to Singapore exists, but long lists are published
in various articles in the Journal of the Straits Branch
of the Royal Asiatic Society,
Turning to pen-work not purely literary, there is
a large collection, some in book form, many in local
magazines and pubhcations. Sir W. E. Maxwell's
Manual of the Malay Language (1888) ran easily to
a second edition. He wrote voluminously on Malay
literature and customs — Malay characteristics, fair}^
tales, the Law relating to Slavery among the Malays (1883),
" Raja Haji, a Malay poem of the eighteenth century,"
etc. Mr. D. F. A. Hervey, a Resident Councillor of
Malacca, wrote much on the aborigines of Malacca
and folk-lore. Hugh Clifford's Collection of Malay
Proverbs is still probably the most valuable. Mr.
A. M. Skinner (Colonial Secretary 1890) is best known
for his Geography of the Malay Peninsula.
The valuable work known as Logan's Journal of the
Indian Archipelago (12 vols., printed at the Mission
Press, Singapore, 1847-62) was edited by Mr. J. R.
Logan, and contains contributions from his pen and from
JOURNALISTIC AMENITIES 289
many other well-known Singapore men of the middle
of the nineteenth century. Mr. Logan is generally
held to be the highest authority on all subjects on which
he personally wrote, and he enlisted such writers as
Dr. Little, Mr. Windsor Earle, Mr. T. Braddell, Mr. J. T.
Thomson, and Colonel Low. Mr. Buckley describes
it as the first attempt to promote a literary or scientific
periodical in the British Settlements, and states that it
did not pay its author. The valuable work has not been
indexed, but Dr. Dennys, in the Journal of the Royal
Asiatic Society, No. 18, gives an alphabetical list of
the contents. This is reproduced in his Descriptive
Dictionary of British Malaya (London, 1894).
The Essays relating to Indo-China (Trubner, 1885)
are in four volumes, edited by Dr. Rost. The principal
matters belonging to Singapore referred to in them
are: Vol. I, . Climate of Singapore, tables, 1820-24;
and three articles on the " Inscription of the Jetty
at Singapore," telling all that is known of the famous
stone the fragment of which was sent to the Calcutta
Museum; Vol. II has a long article by J. R. Logan on
the Local and Relative Geology of Singapore ; Vol. I
(second series), an extremely detailed account of the
Rocks at Pulo Ubin.
Journalism
Journalism has not been without incidents in Singa-
pore. On one occasion a man giving a false military
name, and being afterwards charged with cheating
the Robinson Piano Co., had a few remarks made in
the newspaper as to his previous career. He had
been given the chance to go to South Africa, where
there was a war on, and had refused, and the Free Press
mildly remarked that he might " have a chance to
serve the Queen in a less honourable capacity than
in South Africa." The man took this amiss, and called
on the Editor, who of course had only seen the paragraph,
and took it on the faith of his sub. The end of the inter-
view was a week in hospital, as the man turned nasty
290 INSTITUTIONS AND CLUBS
and was flung down a flight of steps. The worst part
was that when he recovered he summoned the Editor
for causing a breach of the peace, and the magistrate
on the Bench, not a European, bound the Editor over
to keep the peace !
Another incident during the tenure of Mr. Arnot
Reid's editorship of the Straits Times suggests journal-
istic vicissitudes in places like the wilds of Texas rather
than an ultra-respectable place like Singapore, where
the Editor always wears a stiff collar. The relief of
Mafeking sent a thrill through the Empire, which
found a responsive echo in the breasts of Singapore's
staid brokers. The place rejoiced, and the brokers
found themselves not too busy to join Harry Abrams in
a demonstration which began at the Singapore Club
and ended in a couple of four-in-hands driving up to
Government House to express their gladsomeness
to Sir Alexander Swettenham, who was not very much
cheered by the visit. In the plain forcible language
that characterised Mr. Reid, he penned a scathing leading
article, full of personalities, which so roused the ire
of some of the leading young brokers that they deter-
mined to wait on the outspoken Editor and express
their annoyance with a horsewhip. Mr. Reid heard
of the intention, and the deputation found a sturdy
Sikh policeman outside the editorial sanctum, and
a very business-like-looking revolver by the side of
the Editor, who expressed his determination to make
use of it on the very first man who raised a hand against
him. The deputation was rather taken aback by
this resolute attitude of the little man, and after some
hard words they withdrew ; but for some days after-
wards the Editor had his policeman on guard and
following him about, and the revolver remained a paper-
weight while he was in office. The matter blew over
in time, but many people thought that the Editor and
his plain language on '' mafficking " came out of it better
than the threatening brokers.
The writers of this History have had to depend largely
THE
STRAITS TIMES
THE MOST POWERFUL
ADVERTISING MEDIUM
IN THE EAST
WITH TO-DAYS ISSUE WE PUBLISH
A SUPPLEMENT
CONTftlNlNUHE SHIPE
^.
ARXOT REID.
Caricature by R. W. Braddell.
lU 290]
MAJOR W. G. ST. CLAIR 291
upon the Press of the past for facts and contemporary
views. Many of the references are most interesting,
and have been used. Generally contemporary history
has faithfully appraised the merits of a policy and of the
makers of history in the Colony, and these have been
freely used. There is a vast deal of interesting and
curious information in the back numbers of the news-
papers that has been only partly dealt with. Some
readers may be of opinion that more might have been
prudently abandoned to ** the all-recording, all-effacing
Files ; the obliterating automatic Files ; our news-
paPere-la-Chaise, the office Files."
Mr. W. G. St. Clair's connection with the Press of
Malaya dates back to 1 887, when he was selected to come
out as Editor of the revived daily Singapore Free Press.
He was born on the 27th March, 1849, educated at the
Royal High School, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Institution,
Ewart Institute, and Edinburgh University. In 1874
he was appointed Head Master of Moulmein Town School,
Burma, where he showed the abilities as a rifle-shot
and a musician that afterwards became so markedly
useful to the community in Singapore. His great
ability in English and classical knowledge and his
wordcraft were a great asset, and to the end of his
long career as a journalist he never suffered himself,
nor allowed anyone else if he could help it, to fall short
of a high standard of English writing, his particular
knowledge of etymology infallibly leading to the use
of right words in the right places. In the twenty-nine
years during which he edited the Free Press he was never
found to make a mistake in spelling, and few people
could have written so much and never been wanting
in that respect. He was essentially an Imperialist,
and made a profound study of Imperial and constitu-
tional politics, and never failed to discuss Imperialmatters
in the broadest mind and with the most far-seeing know-
ledge. How great a power he was in building up the social
and artistic life of Singapore is told in other articles
in this work. A skilful musician, he founded, and by
292 INSTITUTIONS AND CLUBS
his efforts kept going, the Philharmonic Society. Able
to sketch well, many of his after-tiffin effects on the
menu card were worth a second look. The Singapore
Volunteer Artillery was to a large extent his sturdy
youngster, and in 1 90 1 , at the request of the Government,
he carried out the organisation and equipment of the
Singapore Volunteer Rifles. He probably shot in
more interport rifle matches than any other represen-
tative of Singapore. And he had his real taste of real
jungle fighting in the disturbances in Pahang in 1892,
as Assistant Commissioner in the ist Perak Sikhs
under Lieutenant-Colonel Frowde Walker. In the
course of the expedition. Captain St. Clair led a force
from Raub into an unexplored, almost unknown, and
difficult piece of country, and captured a party of rebels.
At various times he had the opportunity of meeting
important persons who passed through Singapore, and
discussing matters with them, later receiving letters
as to the value of the views he had put before them. It
was through Mr. St. Clair that Aguinaldo, the famous
Filipino leader, was introduced in the Free Press office
to Mr. Spencer Pratt, then American Consul-General
in Singapore, and was invited to go up to Hongkong
and meet Admiral Dewey on the outbreak of hostilities
between Spain and the United States in 1898. He was
a member of the Imperial Press Conference in London
in 1909. In his long career as doyen of the Press of the
Far East, Major St. Clair made hundreds of friends,
and when he vacated the editorial chair in March 191 6
on retirement, his friends subscribed for a portrait
of him by the late Mr. John Adamson, son of the late
Sir William Adamson, which is the presentment of
the Major in this book. He is now living in Barbados,
having found that the climate of England was too
severe for him after so long a residence in the tropics.
" Straits Produce "
This, the only (consciously) comic paper of Singapore,
deserves a note to itself. The first number was issued
WII,I,IAM GRAEME ST. CIvAIR.
Editor, Singapore Free Press, 1887-1916.
ir. 292]
"STRAITS PRODUCE" 293
in 1868, and subsequent issues are dated 1870, 1893,
July 1894, ^^^ April 1895. The last series of three
was due to the collaboration of James Miller (Gilfillan,
Wood and Co.) and David Chalmers Neave (Eraser and
Neave). The former was a clever artist, and is respon-
sible for most of the line drawing. It was Mr. Neave,
however, who made the production possible by himself
etching the zinco-plates. He was an excellent amateur
photographer, but the resources of the Colony in " block-
making " were scanty in those days, and the whole
of the processes had to be carried out by himself. A
cartoon by '' Kyd " (R. W. Braddell) in No. 3 gives
Mr. Miller, the aim of the paper being stated in the same
number" to msike Straits Produce humorous and amus-
ing without admitting anything ill-natured or personally
spiteful." The profits were given to the St. Nicholas
Home, the predecessor of St. Mary's.
The 1870 number no doubt reflected public opinion
on Sir Harry Ord's unpopular Government, a full-
page cartoon dealing with St. George with the Drag-on,
said drag being the five Unofficial Members of Council
hanging on to the tail of the Governor's horse, riding
full-pelt to the chasm of Debt and Despotism. Later
numbers depict well-known incidents and men of the
years in which they were pubhshed. Mr. Buckley
comes in a song (1895), and these two verses are character-
istic of him and of the spirit of the paper :
When he goes to the Club for his cup of tea,
On drainage hell lecture the gallant R.E.,
Hydraulics he'll teach the unlettered C.E.,
And expose the ignorance of McR — chie.
When the limelight he works upon the stage.
He refresheth the hearts of youth and age
With sweet fairies and scenes our minds engage.
With troubles of lovers and of love and rage.
And the Children love him so.
His kindness is felt by all,
Meanness of self he does not know,
He helpeth those who fall.
Much history in prose, verse, and picture is contained
in Straits Produce. Reproductions of its line-work
294 INSTITUTIONS AND CLUBS
show Mr. T. Shelford when the Singapore Free Press, of
which he found part of the capital to re-estabhsh it
as a daily paper, called on all members of the Legislative
Council to resign ; Sir Frank Swettenham, then in Perak ;
Mr. John Fraser, " our jolly old Octopus " ; and Mr.
Song Ong Siang and Dr. Lim Boon Keng, two Queen's
Scholars, who took their degrees in 1893.
The Press of the Domiciled Community
(For the following particulars the author of this article
is indebted to Mr. A. H. Carlos)
The absence of newspapers principally devoted to
the interest of the Eurasian community is explained
by the fact that prior to the 'Seventies there was no
separation of the inhabitants of the Settlement into
classes. Half a century ago the Eurasian did not
realise that his powers and usefulness would extend
beyond that of his ancestors. Nor had he any reason to
foresee the growth and development on Western lines
of the fast-increasing Chinese population here domiciled.
There came a day, however, when the Eurasian saw
himself being gradually isolated, and John Hansen in
the early 'Seventies started the Straits Intelligence^ to
forward the interests of his people. Hansen was a
piano-tuner by profession, and it reflects credit on him
that he was able to show sufficient energy and literary
ability to start a newspaper. It was printed by the
Commercial Press, of which John F. Hansen (his father)
and A. Zuzarte were the proprietors. The paper was
short-lived, and this discouraged any further attempt
for some years. In the latter part of 1887 John Nichol-
son, encouraged by friends, made a second attempt to
found a paper to voice the sentiments of his people,
the Singapore Eurasian Advocate, and the idea was
supported by the Singapore Free Press, in an article of
the nth January 1888, which reads :
" We have to record the first appearance of yet
another candidate for public favour in the field of local
SAMPLES OF GENUINE STRAITS PRODUCE-
SONG ONG SIANG. DR. lylM BOON KEJNG.
•I WON'T RESIGN!!!'
THOMAS SHEIyFORD, M.I,.C.
t^,.
- ^-\J
.,...,..,, ^ OUB ^OL
K. 294]
JOHN frase;r.
THE EURASIAN PRESS 295
journalism. It is not long ago since we perused the pro-
spectus of the new paper The Singapore Eurasian Advocate,
and a copy of the first issue has reached us to-day. The
Editor, in the introductory article, describes the general
policy which is to guide him in the conduct of his paper.
As its title implies, the appeal for support is made to the
particular class of Singapore residents whose interests
are to be the special care of the new venture. It is a
numerous and an important class of the community, and
we gather that with some few exceptions the Eurasian
residents of this Settlement have accorded their new
representative organ a satisfactory amount of support.
Regret is expressed, however, that the exceptions in some
instances are members of their class whose success in
life is a credit to themselves and to the whole Eurasian
community. It is to be trusted, for the sake of the
continued welfare of the Singapore Eurasian Advocate y
that that just ground of complaint will be removed at an
early date, and that it will receive the support and secure
that success which, whether it command it or not, it is
evidently determined to deserve. The main difficulties
to be encountered will possibly arise from the compara-
tively limited field within which the newspaper will
prosecute its special labours and the tendency of the
Eurasian and European sections of the community to
blend easily and naturally into one owing to the absence
of any distinct line of demarcation. But still our
contemporary has made a fairly good case for the
establishment of the Singapore Eurasian Advocate, It
will pursue its special mission in a spirit of independent
impartiality, and while promising its sympathetic aid
in all cases of genuine class-grievance, it honestly declines
to listen to the complaint arising from self-sought evils
or those evils which are the deserved result of ill-
regulated conduct. With this honourable mission before
it our new contemporary begins, we trust, a long and
prosperous career."
The most striking points in the paper were the use
of the term " Eurasian " and the public announcement
of its pohcy. Ben d'Aranjo was the Editor. It lasted
three years. Although the Editor in his first issue
proclaimed that the paper would pursue its mission in a
n — 30
296 INSTITUTIONS AND CLUBS
spirit of independent impartiality, the feeling of many
of the community was that by neglecting the interests
of the less favoured section the Advocate did not voice
the Eurasians of Singapore as a whole. Nicholson's
paper, however, if it did nothing else, gave the com-
munity a stimulus, and with serene confidence and praise-
worthy ideals, John Murray Frois (who was foreman
compositor in the Straits Times) started his own printing
business, and published the longest lived Eurasian paper
so far. Frois was a self-educated man, having acquired
his knowledge of English letters in the monotonous
and dreary years of composing and proof-reading. He
started a paper in 1 892, and called it the Daily Advertiser.
The first editor was John Webb, a European. He was
an erratic worker, and it was not long before Henry
Barnaby Leicester was engaged to write the editorials,
with D. C. Perreau as a regular contributor. With
regard to matters foreign the paper was necessarily
conservative, but it could not be anything else but
democratic in local topics. It ran for four years. It
changed its name to the Phoenix Press. The promoters
did not obtain public support, and the paper died in 1900.
It was not until 1905 that an Indian gentleman
started the Eastern Daily Mail, which paper ceased
publication abruptly after a libel case. Years rolled on,
and with grave issues to discuss the Eurasians remained
without a paper. Late in 191 3 Mr. D. C. Perreau
conceived the idea of a paper run by wealthy Chinese
so that there would be no need to dread financial results.
He passed the idea on to Dr. Lim Boon Keng and Mr.
Alexander W. Westerhout. These gentlemen took the
matter up, and the result was the Malaya Tribune.
With a view to make his journal popular Frois had
invited the Rev. A. Lamont and Tan Teck Soon to
contribute articles. These gentlemen were strong sup-
porters of the Anti-Opium League, and, instead of
contributing to the columns of the paper, came over to
have a look round the printing works. The result was
that they made an offer for the works and the paper for
STRAITS ASSOCIATION 297
propaganda work, and eventually bought the business.
John Murray Frois then started what was known for
some time as the Midday Herald, but he suffered from
the want of a strong editorial staff. It is said that the
paper received a copy of a speech which the Governor
intended to deliver at the Council. Instead of keeping
this speech till it was delivered, Frois inserted it in his
paper the day previous, and was consequently the laugh
of the town. Next year, 1 898, he sold his paper and busi-
ness to Joseph Castel Pestana and Samuel William
Augustine, both retired Government servants. Augus-
tine took charge of the job-printing department while
Pestana ran the paper with W. H. Whitaker as Editor
and Benjamin d'Aranjo as Sub-Editor. The new paper
was called the Straits Telegraph.
Early in 191 7 Mr. T. C. Archer mooted the question
of a monthly magazine, and at first was not able to bring
it out, owing to the War ; but the first number of Our
Magazine duly appeared a few days before the Centenary
Day, the 6th February 19 19.
In the late 'Eighties appeared numbers of the
Rafflesian, chronicling the doings of the Raffles School,
and giving the boys an impetus in literary advancement
and sport. It was conducted by J. A. dos Remedios,
and during his absence by D. C. Perreau and Song Ong
Siang.
The Straits Settlements Association
The Straits Settlements Association was formed in
London on the 31st January 1868, and the Singapore
Branch on the 20th March 1868. In the 1872 Directory
the office of the former is stated to be 21 St. Swithin's
Lane, Cannon Street, and the list of officers is :
President, Rt. Honourable Ed. Horsman, M.P. ; Vice-
Presidents : Colonel Gray, S. Waterhouse, Sir James
Elphinstone, J. H. Burke, Jacob Bright, G. G. Nicol,
R. N. Fowler, T. A. Mitchell, E. ,Haveland, all of them
Members of Parliament except G. G. Nicol ; Chairman,
William Napier ; Deputy Chairman, James Guthrie ;
298 INSTITUTIONS AND CLUBS
Hon. Secretary, P. F. Tidman ; Committee : Edward
Boustead, John Harvey, James Fraser, H. M. Simons,
Jonathan Padday, W. Mactaggart, E. J. Leveson,
J. J. Greenshields (Singapore), W. W. Shaw, WiUiam
Paterson.
The Singapore Branch was thus constituted :
Chairman, W. H. Read ; Deputy Chairman, Hon. W.
Adamson ; Committee, R. Padday, J. Cameron, O.
Mooyer, J. D. Vaughan, J. Young, J. S. Atchison,
G. H. Reme ; Hon. Secretary, J. S. Atchison.
There was also a Penang Branch (formed the 28th April
1868): Chairman, L. Navine ; Committee, J. Allan,
A. Gentle, H. J. D. Padday, S. Heriot ; Hon. Secretary,
Stuart Heriot.
A reference in the Singapore Daily Times of 1869
mentions also as London " stalwarts " Gilman and
Little, and that they roused the local Association which
had A. T. Carmichael (Manager, Chartered Bank) for
Chairman and W. Adamson as Vice-Chairman. In 1872
the Association lodged a protest against the Treaty just
concluded with the Dutch Government concerning the
trade of Sumatra.
Neither Keaughran's Directories nor those issued at
the Mission Press up to 1882 mention the Association,
and we have to come to 1887 for the next mention,
in the Singapore Free Press.
In 1888, the moving spirit being Mr. W. G. St. Clair,
then here a little over a year, the Straits Branch was
reconstituted and reorganised, the usefulness of the
Institution having been insisted on at a home-going dinner
to Mr. T. Shelford. A circular was issued signed by Thos.
Scott, WiUiam Adamson, A. L. Donaldson, A. Currie,
J. R. Cuthbertson, C. Stringer, Wm. McKerrow, John
Fraser, W. G. St. Clair, and Alex Gentle, Honorary
Secretary. The annual subscription was fixed at a dollar,
the qualification being " British subjects, natural-born
or naturahsed," Members of the Legislative Council and
salaried officials of Government to be ineligible for
election to the Committee.
PUBLIC PETITIONS 299
The first general meeting of the reconstituted Branch
was held in September 1888. Among those present,
still in the Colony, were M. A. Cornelius, T. C. Loveridge,
W. E. Hooper, W. Makepeace (Vice-President in 191 8),
and Seah Liang Seah.
Since then the Branch has been quietly and watchfully
carrying on the work of guarding the interests of un-
official Singapore. In some years only the annual general
meeting was held, but when a subject of importance
arose, on which it was desirable for the public to have an
opportunity of expressing an opinion, the Association
has done its work in pubUc ; such, for instance, as in the
Military Contribution Question, when Mr. W. J. Napier
framed a valuable statement of the case of the Colony
(1891). Much committee and sub-committee work was
done, one notable instance being an enquiry into the
working of the Contagious Diseases Ordinances, when
they were about to be repealed (1899), by W. G. St.
Clair, S. R. Robinson, and Dr. D. J. Galloway.
In 1890 a largely attended general meeting endorsed
the action taken by the Unofficial in opposing the in-
creased military contribution. On 14th March 1891
a great public meeting backed up the Association and
later caused a petition to be presented to Parliament,
signed by 1,000 British subjects in Singapore. At the
next annual general meeting the Government was urged
to allow an appeal from the tribunals of the " Protected
Malay States " to the Supreme Court of the Colony. In
1893 continued action was taken in the Mihtary Con-
tribution, and in conjunction with the parent association,
a deputation waiting on the Marquis of Ripon on the
1 5th May. The Committee refused to commit themselves
to bi-metalUsm, as asked by the China Association in
Shanghai in 1 894.
In July 1894 a deputation waited on Sir Charles
Mitchell, and urged that their claim for reconsideration
of the amount to be paid as military contribution be
wired home. Through all this strenuous time Mr. W. J.
Napier acted as Honorary Secretary and Treasurer.
300 INSTITUTIONS AND CLUBS
Another great public meeting in January 1895 endorsed
the action of Messrs. Shelford, Donaldson, and Seah
Liang Seah, of all the Justices of the Peace, and of the
Chinese Advisory Board in resigning their offices. In
March the Committee put up $1,100 in the room to
fight the exaction, and the sum expended in all totalled
$4,500. So vigorously was the fight continued that
eventually 17J per cent, of the revenue was offered and
accepted on the understanding that the charge was
inclusive. Mr. Huttenbach had not resigned, and was
in favour of 20 per cent, being offered. On the con-
clusion of this memorable fight the Singapore Branch
placed on record " their high appreciation of the energy
with which the Association in London has worked on
behalf of the Colony . . . and they desire especially to
thank Mr. William Adamson for his arduous personal
efforts in the matter."
Being now in fighting trim, the Association in 1896
tackled the Government over the Municipal Bill, the
Chairman, Mr. Thos. Scott, having been a Municipal
President and therefore particularly qualified to express
an opinion. This year Mr. W. J. Napier was appointed
to the Legislative Council.
A question arising as to the scope of the Association
on the 29th October 1896, it was affirmed : " That this
Association records that its scope includes everything
relating to the Straits Settlements and the Malayan
Archipelago and the adjoining countries." This was
carried by seven votes to one. Although Mr. St. Clair
signed these minutes at the next meeting, and no
record is made of the dissentient, one can guess who it
was.
In 1897 the Association here and at home took up
the effect of the repeal of the Contagious Diseases
Ordinance, also the action of the opium farmer in
altering the size of the packets. In September 1898, in
conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce, a meeting
was organised to hear Lord Charles Beresford on China.
Matters went quietly for some years. The Association
PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY 301
refused to be drawn into the question of the Teluk Ayer
Reclamation Works, but pressed for a river improve-
ment scheme. It also called a public meeting, which
almost unanimously disapproved of the expropriation
of Tanjong Pagar and the construction of the inner
harbour, in view of the altered financial position of the
Colony. There was a strong opinion in favour of can-
celling Sir John Jackson's contract.
Next the Association was found, 191 1, opposing an
income-tax and proposed municipal legislation, public
meetings endorsing their action in each case.
In 191 5, 1916, 191 7, the Association organised and
carried out the war " inflexible determination " meetings.
Finally, on the 13th December 191 8, an enthusiastic
pubhc meeting to vote for the exclusion of German
subjects for ten years was held.
The Straits Philosophical Society
The Straits Philosophical Society was founded in the
year 1893 (the 5th March) under the presidency of
Major-General Sir Charles Warren, G.C.M.G., K.C.B.,
having for its object the critical discussion of questions in
philosophy, history, theology, literature, science, and
art. The first members were the Rev. G. M. Reith,
M.A. (Secretary and Treasurer), the Hon. (later Sir)
John Winfield Bonser, Mr. (now Sir) Walter Napier,
Mr. H. N. Ridley, C.M.G., Mr. R. W. Hullett, Mr. (now
Sir) J. Bromhead Matthews, Mr. J. McKillop, Dr. D. J.
Galloway, Mr. A. Knight, Mr. Tan Teck Soon, the Hon.
T. Shelford, C.M.G., Dr. G. D. Haviland, the Hon. R. N.
Bland, C.M.G., and the Hon. C. W. Kynnersley.
The active membership was limited to fifteen in
number, and preference was given to graduates of
universities, fellows of a British or European learned
society, and persons of distinguished merit. The active
members had to be residents in Singapore ; but residents
in the other Settlements and in the Malay Peninsula
might be enrolled as corresponding members at a
reduced subscription.
302 INSTITUTIONS AND CLUBS
It was the rule of the Society to meet monthly, the
members dining together before the paper was read
and discussed. The entrance fee was $5, and the annual
subscription $25. Fines were imposed on members
who were absent without approved cause.
Among the many who have rendered service to this
Society in its long and honourable career, three are
worthy of special mention : the Hon. W. R. Collyer,
I.S.O., who was President for ten years (i 894-1901,
1902-6) ; Mr. H. N. Ridley, C.M.G., who was Presi-
dent for five years (1907-12) ; and Mr. Arthur Knight,
who was Secretary for twenty years.
In 191 3 a selection of essays read before the Society
between 1893 ^^^ 19 10 was published in a volume,
entitled Nodes Orientales, under the editorship of Mr.
Ridley. The essays selected are such as have special
local interest, or such as throw light on the Oriental
aspect of various subjects ; and in this permanent
form are a testimony to the valuable work the Society
has done.
In recent years the Society has carried on its work
amid difficulties ; and to meet the situation the sub-
scription has been reduced. When war broke out
many of the members left the Colony for national service,
while such as remained were overtaxed by business and
military service, and found themselves unable to devote
to the Society the attention necessary for its efficient
working. However, in spite of these difficulties, and
owing to the zeal of successive Presidents — Mr. A. W.
Still and Dr. Lim Boon Keng — the meetings have con-
tinued to be held at regular intervals.
A complete record of the Society's proceedings is pre-
served in the pubUc libraries of Singapore and Penang.
Note
At the farewell banquet to the Hon. W. R. Collyer,
in the Singapore Club on the 19th January 1906, a
photo was taken. The following members may be seen
in it :
ST. ANDREW'S SOCIETY 303
Back row {left to right) : Mr. Tan Teck Soon ; Lieu-
tenant-Colonel Sankey, R.E. ; Rev. W. Murray, M.A.
Hon. W. R. Collyer, I.S.O. ; Mr. H. N. Ridley, M.A.
F.R.S. ; Mr. A. Knight ; Lieutenant-Colonel Penne-
father ; Dr. G. E. Brooke ; Mr. H. F. Rankin, F.E.LS.
Dr. D. J. Galloway.
Front row {left to right) : Mr. R. W. Hullett, M.A
Dr. Lim Boon Keng ; R. Hanitsch, Ph.D. ; Lieutenant
J. N. Biggs, R.G.A. ; Mr. G. E. V. Thomas ; Mr. C
Emerson; Mr. P. J. Burgess, M.A. ; Major Ritchie, M.B
St. Andrew's Society
Scotsmen have played no insignificant part in the
history of the Colony from its very beginning. In
every side of its life — civil, mercantile, social, rehgious,
and educational — they have had a share. We are sure
the national sentiment would not be without some
forms of expression during the first two decades, although
our incomplete annals have no record of it ; but it showed
itself later in the institution of the Scots' Church, a
movement which began in the early 'Forties and took
shape in a permanent institution ten years later. In
1 879 (the 2nd December) a St. Andrew's Ball was held in
the Singapore Club, and it has been ever since a fairly
regular annual event, though now and again a banquet
has been substituted. In recent years, until the out-
break of war, a Scottish Universities' Dinner has been
instituted and held on Hallow-e'en (the 31st October).
On the 27th November 1908 St. Andrew's Society
was formed that *' there might be in Singapore a regu-
larly constituted body of Scotsmen under whose
auspices and control the anniversary of St. Andrew
may be observed, and who may take cognizance of,
discuss, and take steps in regard to any matters which
possess a national and local interest by donations from
the Society's funds or otherwise." The Society was also
to be '' a charitable institution to relieve distressed and
deserving countrymen in so far as considered desirable
and the funds will permit."
304 INSTITUTIONS AND CLUBS
In that year (1908) both the Governor and the Colonial
Secretary were Scotsmen ; the former (Sir John Ander-
son, G.C.M.G.) became Patron, and the latter (Sir
Arthur Henderson Young, K.C.M.G.) President. The
other members of this the first committee of the Society
were the Hon. Dr. D. J. Galloway (Vice-President), Mr.
James Henry (Secretary), and Mr. J. J. Macbean
(Treasurer). The membership in the first year was
133.
Succeeding Presidents have been Dr. Galloway, W. W.
Cook, Frank Adam, and Captain Chancellor. Special
mention should be made of Mr. Frank Adam, who held
the office for five years, and whose enthusiasm in all
things Scottish was unique. Besides being a recognised
authority on the Scottish clans and tartans, he was a
piper, and organised a company of " Pipers of Malaya."
He also had a scheme for the formation of a local corps
of Scottish Volunteers ; but the outbreak of war and
his own retirement from the Colony in 191 8 interrupted,
but, let us hope, only delayed, its completion and realisa-
tion.
Under the auspices of the Society the observance of
St. Andrew's Day became a permanent institution.
Burns 's Anniversary (25th January) was also frequently
kept by holding a Scottish concert for charitable pur-
poses, and for the success of these concerts during a
number of years the Society owed a great deal to the
capable leadership of Mr. Alex. Proctor.
When war broke out in 19 14, the Society resolved to
suspend for the time the usual national celebrations, and
to ask Scotsmen to contribute to war funds what was
usually given to these functions, and as much more as
they could afford. The result of this appeal has been
that about $25,000 has been raised to date; and out
of this sum help has been given to the Prince of Wales's
Fund, the Belgian Rehef Fund, and the fund for pro-
viding comforts for Scottish soldiers, the last-named
getting the largest share of the assistance.
BIBLE SOCIETY 305
The British and Foreign Bible Society
As early as 1825 Raffles wrote to the headquarters of
the Society in London, urging the appointment of a
lay-agent for Singapore at a salary of ;^ 100 a year with
travelling expenses. He had experience of the Society's
work in Batavia, where an auxiliary had been estab-
lished in 1 814 under his patronage ; and also in Ben-
coolen, where its good work had much impressed him.
The Society's practical interest in this part of the
world at that early period was proved by its issue of a
Malay version of the Bible from its Calcutta auxiliary
in 1 814, and by the encouragement it gave to mission-
aries in the work of translation and distribution in
Malacca, Penang, and Java.
Although more than half a century was to elapse
before the desired agency was to be estabhshed, the
work for which the Society stood was not neglected.
In 1837 a local Auxiliary Society was formed, in which
the Resident Councillor, Dr. Oxley, and other leading
residents, together with Protestant clergymen, took a
share. It had for its depot a two-storied building on
the site now occupied by the Raffles Girls* School.
The removal of nearly all missionaries to China in 1 847,
when that closed land opened its doors to foreigners,
must have been a blow to the work of this auxiliary,
and probably accounts for the fact that its existence is
lost sight of in succeeding records.
In 1857 a Ladies' Bible and Tract Society was formed,
and had the influential support of Mrs. Cavenagh and
Lady Ord as its successive Presidents. It employed a
Malay colporteur, issued a religious magazine called
The Christian in Singapore, and instituted a monthly
prayer-meeting in which members from all the churches
united. In 1870 this Ladies' Society co-operated in the
formation of, and became absorbed in, a new auxiliary
of the Bible Society, of which the Rev. B. P. Keasberry
was President, Rev. W. Dale Secretary, and Mr. Isaac
Henderson Treasurer.
3o6 INSTITUTIONS AND CLUBS
The death of Mr. Keasberry in 1876 was a great blow.
He had issued in the name of the Society his Malay
version of the New Testament in 1853 in Roman char-
acter, and in 1856 in Arabic character. In 1859 his
version of the Old Testament began to appear with the
publication of Proverbs ; and was followed in 1873 by
the Psalms, in 1874 by Isaiah, and in 1875 by 2 Kings.
" Now that he is gone," writes the Secretary, ''there is
not one in the Peninsula to labour for the Malays, nor
is there a Protestant missionary for the multitude of
Chinese in the town." For six years the local auxiliary
struggled with the difficulties of the situation, and
reports show that about 1,200 copies of the Scriptures a
year were distributed or sold by voluntary workers.
In 1880 Miss Cooke, of the Chinese Girls' School, who
had been working in the Colony for thirty years, pressed
upon the Committee in London the need for organised
work, and the local auxiliary sent an urgent request
for the appointment of a qualified agent. The claims
of Singapore were, moreover, zealously supported by Sir
Arthur Cotton. At this juncture Mr. John Haifenden
offered his services to the Society. Age, character,,
linguistic knowledge, and familiarity with the East
marked him out as in many ways qualified for the work,
and in 1882 he received the appointment as the first
agent for Malaysia. He held the office for the long term
of twenty-three years, during which the work spread
and developed in every direction. In 1905 the Rev.
P. G. Graham succeeded him ; and he later was followed
by Mr. C. E. G. Tisdall, the present holder of the office.
The first depot was at 591 Victoria Street, and after
occupying several hired quarters in different parts of
the town, it entered its present permanent premises in
Armenian Street in 1909.
The Singapore depot is now the centre for the distribu-
tion of the Scriptures in the Malay Peninsula and Archi-
pelago, including the Dutch East Indies, and the agent
has several sub-agents co-operating with him. From 1 882
to 191 7 the sales amounted to 2,571,000 copies in forty
BOUSTEAD INSTITUTE 307
languages, and during the last ten years as many copies
have been sold as in the previous twenty-six years. A
version of the New Testament in Baba Malay, translated ,
by Dr. Shellabear, was issued in 191 3.
The Boustead Institute
The origin of this useful Institution may be traced
to Miss Cooke, one of the most indefatigable religious
and social workers which Singapore ever had. In 1882
she started a Sailors' Rest in Tanjong Pagar Road, near
the Kreta Ayer Police Station, in association with Mr.
Hocquard, another missionary worker. She collected
subscriptions towards it from all the leading merchants,
and the Institution so prospered that the premises were
soon found to be too small. Among those who took an
interest in it was Mr. Edward Boustead, of Messrs.
Boustead and Co. On his death, in 1891, Mr. Boustead
bequeathed ;^9,ooo for the purpose of an Institute for
Seamen. At the rate of exchange then prevalent (3s. s^d,)
this amounted to $55,207.67.
The company which was formed and registered for
the execution of this bequest consisted of the Honourable
J. Finlayson (Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce),
John Blair (Manager of Tanjong Pagar Dock Co.), the
Honourable T. Shelford, James Miller, John Anderson,
C. Sugden, and T. C. Bogaardt. In the Memorandum
of Association the purpose of the Institute is thus defined :
" to found and maintain in Singapore an Institute for
the use of seamen or seafaring men and dock employees
frequenting or residing in Singapore, where such persons
may be provided with means of shelter, rest, recreation,
amusement, or intellectual cultivation " ; and " to
permit the buildings of the Institute and the means of
recreation, etc., to be used and enjoyed by persons other
than those mentioned above, as the Institute may from
time to time think fit." It is provided also that the
Committee of Management consist of the following
persons, being British subjects : the Chairman or Deputy
Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce ; the Manager
3o8 INSTITUTIONS AND CLUBS
or Chairman of the Tanjong Pagar Dock Co., and a
partner (or manager) of the following firms — Boustead
and Co. ; Paterson, Simons and Co. ; Gilfillan, Wood
and Co. ; Guthrie and Co. ; the Borneo Co. ; and W.
Mansfield and Co.
The Tanjong Pagar Dock Co., Ltd., presented the
building site, and the Institute was opened on Saturday,
the 2nd July 1892, by H.E. the Governor, Sir C.
Clementi Smith. H.E. the Governor and the then
reigning Sultan of Johore were elected patrons and
honorary life members.
Two adjoining shop-houses were purchased in 1892,
and four more in 1893, with a view of extending the
premises if found desirable. The balance of funds
remaining after the erection of the Institute and the
purchase of the adjacent houses has been invested in
various local banks as fixed deposits, and in Straits
Settlements War Loan. The interest from these invest-
ments, with the rents of the shop-houses, has enabled the
Institute charges for board and lodging to be kept low.
In the Institute building, which occupies a conspicuous
site at the main entrance to the docks, there may be
found a well-supplied reading-room and library, pro-
vision for billiards and other games, a refreshment-bar,
where beer and light wines are sold but no spirits, and
a large hall. There is also accommodation for fourteen
boarders, and the average daily number of beds occupied
before the outbreak of war was 75 per cent., and since
then 63 per cent. Temporary accommodation for sailors
of H.M. ships visiting the port is frequently provided
in the large hall, some thirty camp cots and rugs being
kept for the purpose. Divine service is held in the large
hall every Sunday night.
Young Men's Christian Association
In 1887 there was a Young Men's Christian Associa-
tion, having headquarters in the Christian Institute in
Middle Road, and providing a reading-room, debates, and
recreations for members. But its career was short-
CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS 309
lived, and it had no connection with the world-wide
organisation known as the Y.M.C.A.
In 1892, at a missionary conference representing
chiefly Presbyterian and Methodist Missions, a strong
desire was expressed for the establishing of Y.M.C.A.
work in the city. But a committee appointed to con-
sider the scheme having reported that the difficulties
of obtaining a suitable building and worker were in-
superable, nothing further was done.
On the 17th August 1900 an appeal was sent to the
Y.M.C.A. headquarters in London, signed by the Hon.
W. R. Collyer, Hon. E. C. Hill, Archdeacon Perham,
Revs. S. S. Walker, W. G. Shellabear, W. T. Cherry,
A. R. Thoburn, and others, with the result that Mr. R. D.
Pringle, who had had previous experience in Bombay
and Colombo, was appointed Organising Secretary for
Singapore and Malaya. He began his work in 1903, and
the first rooms of the Association were at 1-2 Armenian
Street, opened on the 30th June, 1903.- The following
formed the first local committee : Hon. W. R. Collyer
(President), Hon. E. C. Hill (Vice-President), Mr. J. M.
Hart (Treasurer) ; Archdeacon Dunkerley, Revs. S. S.
Walker, W. P. Rutledge, C. S. Buchanan, and Messrs.
A. Barker, S. Tomlinson, A. Reid, J. Polglase, E. V.
Mitchelmore, A. L. Koenitz, and J. Haffenden. The
Bishop of Singapore (Dr. Hose) became a Patron, and
the Hon. Dato Meldrum, of Johore, an Hon. Vice-Presi-
dent.
In the following year Zetland House, Armenian
Street, was taken for residential purposes, and some
months later the headquarters were moved into the
same building. These premises soon proved very in-
adequate for the work of the Association, which com-
prised reading and recreation rooms, educational and
religious meetings, as well as boarding accommodation.
By the kindness of Government an excellent site for a
permanent building was obtained in Stamford Road, at
the corner of Fort Canning Road. On the 28th August
1909 the corner-stone was laid, and on the i6th February
310 INSTITUTIONS AND CLUBS
191 1 the building was officially opened, both functions
being performed by H.E. the Governor, Sir John
Anderson, K.C.M.G., who held the office of a Patron of
the Association during his administration of the Colony.
The total cost of the building with furnishings was
$81,000. Mr. Pringle, who for sixteen years has given
his undivided attention to the work in Singapore and
Malaya, was instrumental in raising this large sum from
donors in the Straits, Great Britain, and Australia. Sir
Robert Laidlaw was a specially generous benefactor.
The new building enabled the Association to provide
for more educational work, and classes have been opened
for shorthand, typewriting, book-keeping, singing,
mathematics, architecture, sanitary science, electrical
engineering, etc., for some of which Government grants-in-
aid were made. It also provided more accommodation
for boarders. Besides the usual Y.M.C.A. activities,
many other useful institutions have found a home in the
building — Boy Scouts, Ministering Children's League,
Band of Hope, Good Templars, and Chess Club.
Mr. L. Gordon Cranna succeeded Mr. Pringle as General
Secretary in 191 7, and has made many useful improve-
ments in the building by rearrangement and extension.
Under him the Association turned its attention to work
for the Army and Navy, and during the last years of
the War the building was a popular resort of members
of the forces.
Although the Association has no mean record in cricket
and football matches, it has always been handicapped by
the want of a field of its own for outdoor sport.
Young Women's Christian Association
The beginning of the Y.W.C.A. dates from 1875, when
Miss Sophia Cooke gathered together about twelve
Chinese girls and a few Europeans for a monthly meeting
at her school on Government Hill. At these meetings
records kept by the older Chinese girls of their visits to
heathen houses were read, magazines and other literature
were distributed, and Bible readings or addresses were
WOMEN'S WORK 311:
given by Miss Cooke, Colonel Johnston Tuck, or some
other Christian worker. Garments were made for the
poor in Whitechapel, and flowers with Scripture texts
were prepared for distribution to the sick in the General
Hospital or houses visited weekly.
After the death of Miss Cooke, in 1 895, Miss Eyre came
from Hongkong to reorganise the work, and during her
stay of five months here about twenty new members
joined. In 1 896 Miss Brown became Honorary Secretary
and Treasurer, beginning a period of service for the
Society which has continued unbroken to the present
day. Mrs. W. H. Frizell became President, and inaugu-
rated the library of the Association. Other members of
this first committee were Miss Blackmore, Mrs. Shella-
bear, Miss Ryan, Miss Gage-Brown, and Mrs. Hose.
In the year 1898 the membership had risen to 102, of
whom thirty-nine were Chinese.
In 1907 Miss Ellis was sent out from England to
become local Organising Secretary in Singapore, being
supported by North of England branches for three years.
Waterloo, River Valley Road, was rented. From this
date the membership began rapidly to increase, and
new agencies, such as lectures on ambulance and nursing
and outdoor recreations, were added.
In 191 3 Miss Radford became General Secretary, and
during her stay a permanent home was secured for the
Association by the purchase of a house on Fort Canning
Road ; and also a branch was begun in Kuala Lumpur.
In 191 7 Miss Hughes succeeded Miss Radford as
Secretary, and under her the progress of the Association
was still further developed.
The latest report (191 8) records a membership of
418, namely 301 Europeans and Eurasians, 115 Chinese,
and two Japanese. Classes have been held for short-
hand, typewriting, French, Malay, singing, cookery,
first-aid, and dressmaking. In connection with the
commercial classes are the " Mary FowUe " Scholarships,
which commemorate the long and disinterested service
of Mrs. Fowlie to the Association. There is also a hostel
II — 21
312 INSTITUTIONS AND CLUBS
for permanent boarders as well as visitors, and travellers
are met and helped in numerous ways. In connection
with the Y.W.C.A. is a company of Girl Guides.
The Singapore Club
The Singapore Club was first established in 1862, and
was then situated in Beach Road. The first officials of
the Club were: Chairman, W. H. Read (A. L. Johnston
and Co.) ; Secretary, R. B. Read (A. L. Johnston and Co.) ;
Treasurer, A. Bauer (Zapp, Ritterhaus and Co.) ; Com-
mittee : T. Braddell (Logan and Braddell), C. H. Harrison
(Middleton, Harrison and Co.), Captain Protheroe (40th
Madras Infantry, A.D.C. to the Governor), Captain
Tireman (Madras Staff Corps, Deputy Assistant Com-
missary General), A. Schrieder (Behn, Meyer and Co.).
The Club removed in 1869 to premises in De Souza
Street, and later to Raffles Square, at the back of premises
on the site now occupied by John Little and Co. In 1 876
larger premises were required, and the Chamber of
Commerce and Singapore Exchange obtained a lease of
the present site from Government for the purpose of
erecting a building suitable for a Chamber of Commerce,
Singapore Exchange, and a Club. The present building
was officially opened in 1879, and the first function given
in the Club was a St. Andrew's Ball.
Association of Engineers
Founded on the 7th December 1881, the Association
of Engineers is one of the oldest institutions in the
Colony with a continuous history.
Previous to this the engineers had no meeting-place
other than the various hotels, and no association or
society to guard their interests. The need for such
a society had been felt for some time, and this feeling
was brought to a head by an incident which occurred
on board a Spanish steamer somewhere about October
1 88 1. The account which follows is given by an old
member (Mr. J. H. Drysdale) from memory, and the
ENGINEERS' ASSOCIATION 313
incident has not been mentioned in the local Press,
so it has not been possible to verify all the details :
" Like many other good institutions, the Engineers'
Association was called into being by necessity.
" Up to the end of 1881 the engineers of the port
associated in an informal way at the various hotels :
the old Adelphi, then the Hotel de la Paix and the
Europe, also Emmerson's where the Whiteaway Laidlaw
buildings now are. And they always wound up the
evening at Finkelstein's Tingle-Tangle, and often it
was a boisterous wind-up.
" In October there arrived from Europe a new steamer,
the Leo XIII, a Spanish ship and crew, with three
English engineers put on board by the builders to see
the vessel safely delivered at Manila.
" In those days all sea-going ships used salt water
in the boilers, and required blowing occasionally to
prevent the water getting too dense, salting up. The
Spanish engineers objected to this on account of the
extra fuel consumed. On the English engineers insisting
on the blowing down, a row ensued, and the Spanish
captain promptly locked them up in their cabins. The
ship burnt less fuel, but started burning tube-ends, etc.
She limped into Singapore somehow, and coaled.
The prisoners were kept in the hold, but one managed
to throw on to the wharf a scrap of paper, wrapped
round a coin, begging the finder to take the message
to any English engineers. The finder, luckily, did
so. He took it on board the ship next astern, a Blue
Funnel — I think the old Priam. The engineers read the
paper, and tried to board the Leo XIII, but were thrown
out. They then went to Mr. Jackson Millar, Superin-
tendent Engineer of Tanjong Pagar, who took them to
the then Harbour Master, Captain Ellis, good old Barney
Ellis. He and they went to the Supreme Court, where
the Chief Justice was sitting, who issued a writ of
Habeas Corpus calling on the captain of the ship to
produce these men. A police officer — I think Inspector
Jennings — took this down to the ship, also a document,
which he posted on the mast, forbidding her to leave
port. He was also thrown down the gangway, and
the notice torn off the mast was thrown after him.
314 INSTITUTIONS AND CLUBS
Directly after this the captain came up to town to see
the Spanish Consul, but passed him on his way down
to the ship. On reaching the ship the Consul told the
chief officer to clear out at once, captain or no captain,
which he did. As the ship cast off and steamed away,
the Consul watched from the wharf, where he was
joined by the captain, who had followed him down.
They started a row between themselves, when Inspector
Jennings, with fifty armed Sikh police, arrived and joined
in. The captain was put into the gharry and escorted
to the Central Police Station by the Sikh guard. The
Consul, of course, was immune from arrest.
" There was wild excitement in the town that night.
Engineers went to the different lawyers' offices, and
finding them closed, cruised around all night long,
knocking up peaceable people in Tanglin and elsewhere
enquiring where the lawyers lived. There were several
gharry loads of these searchers after legal assistance,
and they engaged all the lawyers they could find —
in their sarongs and pyjamas — to come to the Supreme
Court next day. On the new^s being telegraphed to
Penang the engineers there gathered up the only three
lawyers they could find, and carried them down and
saw them safely shipped off to Singapore in the old
Phya Pekhet.
" The next day the captain was tried for contempt
of court, and sentenced to ' twelve months imprisonment,
or until he should purge his contempt by producing
the bodies of these men.'
" There was no man-of-war in harbour, but the Gov-
ernor cabled to Hongkong, where the Admiral sent the
cruiser Pegasus across to Manila. The}^ sent a boat's
crew on board, and duly got the prisoners. The local
engineers saw the need of some bond of union, and so
was formed the Engineers' Association. The first
office-bearers were Mr. Jackson Millar, President ; Mr.
J.J. Macbean, Vice-President ; Mr. R. Allan, Treasurer ;
Mr. Robert Park, Secretary; with 147 members on the
first roll-call. The club-rooms were in the rooms over
No. I High Street."
The object of the Association as per Rule i was :
** That the Association be established to watch over
MARINE CLUB 315
and guard the interests, promote and further the welfare,
elevate and improve the condition of all connected there-
with by the diffusion of sound practical knowledge,
the fostering and promoting of a fraternal sympathy,
and the discussion of reliable principles affecting
our mutual good ; to use our best influence to get the
Marine Board Laws carried out in their integrity for
the public safety. Also to give steamship owners
greater facilities for obtaining sea-going engineers
of undoubted practical experience and ability."
The first meetings of the Association "were held at
the quarters of the engineers of the Ice Works, No. i
River Valley Road; then rooms were rented at No. i
High Street, a reading-room, billiard-room, and bar
being provided, the first President of the Association
being Mr. Jackson Millar (of Messrs. Rile^^, Hargreaves,
Ltd.), now Dean of Guild of Glasgow Corporation; Mr.
John Macbean (Howarth, Erskine) was Vice-President
and Mr. Robert Park (Lloyd's Surveyor) Hon. Secretary;
Robert Allan (Riley, Hargreaves, Ltd.), Treasurer.
The rooms in High Street were opened on the 2nd
March 1882, and were in continuous use until the forma-
tion of the Marine Club, when the engineers joined with
the deck officers in forming a social club, but each
body still retaining its professional association as
a separate body. The Marine Club secured the top
floor of the Dispensary Building, then newly erected
on the site of the present Chartered Bank. The new
premises were comfortable and convenient, and were
occupied by the Marine Club until 1901, when they
moved to the top floor of No. 3 Malacca Street. Through
various causes the Marine Club went into voluntary
liquidation in April 1905.
The Engineers' Association then secured the rooms
in the Dispensary Building at Raffles Place, and occupied
them until forced to leave owing to the demolition of
the building to make way for the new Chartered Bank
buildings. They then went to the rooms at present
occupied on the top floor of the French Bank. On
3i6 INSTITUTIONS AND CLUBS
taking these rooms the Association became incorporated
on the 27th July 1914.
During its existence the Association has always worked
for the maintenance and improvement of the status
of its members. Unfortunately at times it has been
in conflict with the shipowners over the questions of
remuneration, this largely through the decline in the
sterling value of the dollar and the increased cost
of living. At times, too, they have been forced to
approach the Government re manning of ships and ships'
measurement, the s.y. Sea Belle being one case, the
Government reducing the measurement of this ship
from 500 tons to 50 tons, allowing her to sail with a
native master and gunner, instead of a European master
and mate, and also allowing her to sail with a chief en-
gineer and driver instead of chief and second engineers
as before.
The Merchant Service Guild
The first Association of Mercantile Officers was formed
in 1 880, and had its club-room in Queen Street. Among
the members were Captain Ross, Captain Daly, Captain
Fripp, and Captain Moss. This lasted about three
years. In October 1889 the Masters and Mates'
Association was formed, and Captain J. Craig was one
of its first presidents. This Association had a room in
the Marine Club (founded in 1891), where the Chartered
Bank now is, and did much good work. It considered
the new Merchant Shipping Bill (1897), ^nd sent into
Government a useful Memorandum, one of the chief
points being that local ships should be properly officered
in order to lessen the danger to all shipping. It formed
one of the negotiating parties in a strike for higher
wages in 1902, and, at all events, gave the shipowners
a responsible body to negotiate with.
Some years later, when the Association died out,
the balance of funds was handed over to the South
African War Funds. There followed a period of partial
organisation, a branch of the Imperial Merchant Service
Guild being established here. The present Merchant
DEBATING SOCIETY 317
Service Guild, which has still the support of many
of the members of the former associations, was formed
in 191 2, having its first rooms in Coleman Street. It is
now a strong association, with 150 members. Mr.
Walter Makepeace was Hon. Treasurer of the 1 890 Guild,
and still is of the existing Guild.
In 1892 the Society became the Masters and Mates'
Association of the Straits Settlements, the office-bearers
being: President, J. Craig; Vice-President, J. Gray;
Committee : Messrs. Daly, Dunlop, Sutherland, Fawcus,
Cornwell, Kunath, Kempton, and Dunmall ; Hon. Sec-
retary and Treasurer, W. Makepeace. In 1894 the
name became the Mercantile Marine Officers' Association
of the Straits Settlements.
Miscellaneous Associations
Among the clubs which have permanently passed
over, the Singapore Debating Society was an important
one, and existed from about 1876 to 1896, when it was
wound up on the nth August. The Society numbered
among its members many well-known names ; Members
of the Legislative Council and bishops-to-be attended
its meetings. Messrs. J. D. Vaughan, Buckley, Knight,
Shelf ord, Newton, and Galloway all took a keen interest
in the debates, which sometimes took the form of a
parliamentary debate. The Society met for many years
in the Masonic Hall.
The Singapore Cycling Club also died in 1896, ex-
pending the balance of its funds in providing prizes
for a twenty-mile road race. It had been formed in
1890 with twenty-three members, of whom only two,
W. Makepeace and D. J. Galloway, are now in Singapore.
R. Scoular and E. Wallace were secretaries. It pro-
moted a good many road races, and secured a place
for a bicycle race in the S.C.C. Athletic Sports of 1891.
In 1874 the Young Men's Cricket Club played on
the Esplanade, J. C. Mitchell being the Secretary. This
appears to have been associated with the Young Neptune
Boat Club, which was established in 1870.
3i8 INSTITUTIONS AND CLUBS
The Strangers' Friend Society in 1 873 had for treasurer
and almoner Major S. Dunlop, acting for him Mr. R. W.
Maxwell.
The Swimming Club
The Swimming Club dates back to 1893, being formed
on the 14th November. The first bungalow was rented on
the sea-shore near Sandy Point, but the encroachment
of the sea caused that to be abandoned. In February
1894 the Club raised debentures and bought its present
property, building the present Club House, and later
the protecting walls, the concrete pier, and the diving
stage. The Club rapidly grew in popularity and sports-
manship. P. H. Upton, who left in 1901 for Adelaide,
was a valued captain for some years. Many old
members have given cups and trophies for races, and
the old S.V.A. swimming shield used to be raced for
under the Club management. G. Wald, who lost his
life in the Mutiny, was another strong supporter of
racing, and Mr. W. A. Sims for years had charge of the
onerous duties of Honorary Treasurer, and was for several
years President. The Swimming Club has always
been attractive to the young men of all nationalities,
as well as to the seniors, who like to spend a quiet Sunday
by the sea-side. Their regattas include one in the
Empire Dock just as it was being completed, and since
the War a couple have been held for charitable purposes.
Singapore Yacht Clubs
A Singapore Yacht Club was established at the time
the first New Year Sports were held, 1834. Mr. W. H.
Read was Commodore in 1867. It was revived in 1881,
and the writer has a recollection that, some ten years
later, Mr. J. P. Joaquim, who was a surviving member,
said something like $4,000 was to the credit of the Club
in one of the banks. The unearned increment ! In
this (Centenary) year a third yacht club has just been
started that looks as if it may achieve permanent
success.
PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY 319
Photographic Society
The Straits Photographic Society was founded in
1889, Mr. D. C. Neave being instrumental in its forma-
tion. Dr. Murray Robertson was the second President.
The Society carried on successfully for some years, among
those closely associated with it being the late Mr. E. J.
Robertson and Mr. George Brinkworth. It provided a
dark-room for members, one being in Hill Street, and
held many successful exhibitions. The exhibition in
July 1894 reached a high level of work, there being
twenty-two exhibitors, including Messrs. F. M. Elhot, J.
B. Elcum, H. A. Crane, W. N. Dow, G. M. Dare, G. Brink-
worth, E. J. Robertson, and A. W. Bean, this last-named
being Singapore's amateur photographer par excellence.
CHAPTER XVIII
A CENTURY OF SPORT
Introduction
The first " Sport " Club in Singapore was the Billiard
Club, formed at the instance of Mr. E. Boustead on the
1st October 1829, the admission fee being $50 and the
subscription $4. No smoking was allowed in the
billiard- room, which was to be open from 6 a.m. to
10 p.m. Members not attending a meeting were to be
fined $2. At the end of 1829 the subscription was
raised to $6, and Mr. W. R. George was elected Secretary.
Nothing is known of what happened to the Club after
1830.
Fives appears to have been the next game, 1836, the
court being where the Government Buildings now stand,
and at that time play began at 6 a.m., taking the place
of the early morning walk. As late as 1 866 there used
to be a dozen players or more in the court in the after-
noon, apparently feeling still the obligation they owed
to Dr. Montgomerie, to whom the fives players gave a
dinner in 1836, "in testimony of the obligation they
owed him for the introduction of such a wholesome and
exciting sport." The second fives court was built in
Armenian Street, and was not pulled down till 1886, to
make way for St. Andrew's House. The Club survived
in 1874, L. J. R. Glass being Secretary and Treasurer.
Racing was started in 1843 by the establishment of
the Sporting Club on the 4th October 1842, and a two
days' meeting was held on the 23rd and 25th February.
The first race was at 1 1 a.m., being the Singapore Cup,
valued $1 50, and Mr. W. H. Read rode the winner. The
320
ATHLETIC CLUBS 321
races were held on the same course as now, but the stand
was on the Serangoon Road side. A race ball followed
on the succeeding Monday, at the residence of the;
Recorder, and the advertisement in the Free Press
especially mentions " Full Dress."
In the same year, March 1843, there was a regatta,
with an entry of ten yachts, an account of it being given
in Admiral Keppel's book.
Cricket was apparently played before this, for there
is mention in 1837 of objection to some Europeans who
played the game on the Esplanade on Sunday. It fell
then into abeyance, for in 1843 it is recorded : " We
have lately been much gratified by seeing the manly
game of cricket resumed in this Settlement," a match
being played between Singaporeans and the Dido.
Towards the end of 1852 a meeting was held to establish
the Singapore Cricket Club. A Young Men's Cricket
Club on the Esplanade in 1 87 1 was no doubt the precursor
of the Singapore Recreation Club.
The New Year's Regatta, the precursor of our New Year
Sports, was first held in 1834. The paper for 1837 con-
tained a long account of that year's events. In 1839
there were both shore and water sports, which Buckley
says did not differ much from those of the present day —
'' except that it was then a day set apart by the mercan-
tile community to amuse the natives only " — which is
surely their purpose to this day.
Lawn tennis is so modern a game that it is not even
mentioned in Buckley, the same silence befalling foot-
ball.
Swimming is first mentioned in 1866, when Mr. W. R.
Scott allowed the use of his fresh-water bath at Abbots-
ford to certain subscribers. A staked bathing-place
lasted for a year or two in the 'Sixties on a sand bank on
the beach at Tanjong Katong, Mr. Charles Crane being
the working member to carry out the wishes of subscribers
at a meeting held to further the object in that year.
There was a gynmastic club in Scott's Road in the
'Sixties, Mr. T. S. Thomson being Secretary and
322 A CENTURY OF SPORT
Treasurer, and as the Tanglin Club was established in
1865, in Stevens Road, no doubt there was a bowling
alley attached to it then.
Here is a review taken from a newspaper in 1885,
which gives an idea of the attitude of the clubs then as
compared with the past :
" In social matters a perfect revolution has been
effected. Where formerly a miniature tent and a small
boy stood on the Esplanade ready to accommodate any
adventurous cricketer, there is now a neat pavilion,
already far too small, and practically the whole European
community present, eager each evening to indulge in
whatever may be the favourite sport. The Eurasian
community have followed suit on the east side of the
Esplanade ; and so have the Chinese on Hong Lim's
Green, where they may be seen playing cricket and lawn
tennis in the evening ; and a pavilion is just rising from
the ground for their club. Last, but certainly not least,
the fair sex make the old Dhoby Green, in Orchard
Road, into an arena for a scientific display of lawn tennis,
which attracts not only many players but sympathetic
admirers as well. On the other hand, the fives court,
which used to be the evening haunt of many choice
spirits, is never opened. In its place we find the Rowing
Club, whilst a polo club has just been started with every
prospect of success. The Racing Club is still to the fore,
but its calibre has not improved since the days of
' Sydney,' ' Toxophilite ' and ' Cavanagh.' The
Town Club, however, has greatly changed for the better.
Formerly commenced in one of the old houses on the
beach, it was moved from one small upstairs room in the
Square to another, and has now a large handsome build-
ing close to Johnston's Pier ; its members, which were
few and almost exclusively commercial, are now large,
and its constitution quite cosmopolitan.
" On the other hand, the happy family of the past
has followed the tendency of the age and broken up
into cliques, who have few social pursuits in common
outside the limits of their club grounds and premises.
Not many years ago everybody was acquainted with
all the other residents, and what concerned one con-
cerned all, whether for weal or woe. Things now move
THS SECOND S.C.C. PAVII^IOX.
THE THIRD S.C.C. PAVILION.
H. 322
THE CRICKET CLUB 323
a great deal too fast, and the race for livelihood is too
keen for busy men to find time to acquire an intimate
knowledge of their many neighbours and take an interest
in their affairs. A few formal dinners during the year
for civility's sake disposes of all that is considered due
to Society, the rest of the time being devoted to a small
knot of intimates, who alone are known and cared for,
and who form one of the little worlds revolving round
the sun of Government House.
" Increase of Europeans and daily dependence on the
telegraph lines have, therefore, in this respect, brought
about the reverse of improvement. Kindly actions,
friendly deeds, and charitable thoughts become gradually
less year by year, whilst the little worlds in their ill-
governed circuits of revolution collide and give out
showers of mud and squibs, instead of friendly streams
of light."
Towards the end of 1 852 a meeting was called to estab-
lish a Cricket Club. Tradition — well-founded — has it
that the cricketers used to keep their gear in a part of
the Masonic Hall, then at the corner of Coleman Street,
and there was no bar. Later a tent used to be pitched
for the players and a tamby dispensed refreshments
obtained from the hotel. A pavilion was next built
under the big trees at the western corner of the Esplanade,
and remained there till towards the end of the 'Seventies.
The next was built in the middle of the end of the ground,
and was in existence from 1877 to 1884. The third was
built on the present site, but occupied very much less
space. Finally the present pavilion was built, using the
centre block of the old building and being opened in
1907. The cost was $48,415, and many members con-
tributed to the furnishing of the building. What was
the early membership of the S.C.C. is not to be found,
but by 1 89 1 there were 378 members, increased to 518
by 1 90 1, 762 in 191 1, and reaching the highest point in
the year war broke out, 878.
According to the 1861 Directory, the Singapore Cricket
Club was established in 1859, and the membership given
in the Directory comprised twenty-eight names, given
3^4 A CENTURY OF SPORT
in full, with George Armstrong as Secretary. This is the
George Armstrong mentioned in Buckley, who died in
Manila in 1901. Among the well-remembered members
in 1 861 were C. E. Crane, James Lyall, J. M. Purvis, and
Sam Gilfillan. In 1864 W. Allen was Secretary and
Treasurer; in 1866 Thos. O. Wright, who, according
to the early Colonial records, applied to Government for
permission to relay a portion of the cricket ground.
In 1868 E. B. Souper, an accountant in the Chartered
Bank, was Secretary and Treasurer, and he applied to
Government for permission to build a pavilion, but it was
not erected till 1877. No list of Committee is given.
In 1875 R. G. Stiven was Secretary, and enthusiastic
members carried on the honorary duties of the office
throughout the early history of the Club. The Govern-
ment letter stating the terms on which the Club is allowed
to use Raffles Plain is dated the 9th March 1891.
In the past forty years the Club has held a high
position among the young men, and among its officers
are to be found the names of those who became in other
ways famous such as, John Anderson, E. W. Birch,
C. Stringer, and E. M. Merewether, but the record for
service is surely held by Mr. G. P. Owen, who joined the
Committee in 1880, when. Mr. John Anderson was
President, and has held the post of Honorary Secretary
or Secretary ever since 1886, save for brief intervals of
leave, when Mr. C. J. Davies, J. M. Fabris, and F. Deason
acted for him.
The Club has been first of all for cricket ; but other
branches of sport were brought in, such as Association
football in the late 'Eighties, hockey in 1893, l^wn bowls,
and, first of all, lawn tennis. Athletic sports were
vigorously encouraged, though not held regularly. In
1 89 1 C. H. Lightfoot was the champion athlete with
forty points, in 1893 Allen Dennys with twenty-six,
his brother Freddy running him close with twenty-four
points. F. O. B. Dennys came on in later years, being
champion in 1895 with thirty-seven points, H. A. E.
Thomson second with twenty-nine points ; but Freddy's
CRICKET ON THE ESPLANADE 325
best year was 1 896, when he won the hundred yards, the
hurdles, the 1 50 yards, 220 yards, and the broad jump —
fifty-one points. Interest fell off in athletics from then,
and though good paper entries were secured, the starter
found few under his pistol on the day. Athletic
gymkhanas were held in 1908 (R. L. Cuscaden winning
the Championship Cup) and in 191 3, when the best
men were L. G. Byatt and R. G. Pash.
Having taken a general view of the establishment of
sports and games in Singapore, we now turn to the
individual games and the clubs associated with them.
Cricket
The Esplanade and cricket have always been associ-
ated, the ground being shared by the S.C.C. and S.R.C.
It must be remembered, however, that the old Esplanade
was but half as wide as the present. According to
Coleman's map of 1835, the widest part between the
roads was less than 80 yards, and in the 'Eighties Sir
Stamford Raffles 's Statue stood nearly on the edge of
the sea — it was placed there on the 27th June 1887, and
the new ground took a lot of preparation before it was
fit to be played on. In 1 890 it is recorded that the S.C.C.
decided to have two lawn tennis tournaments a year
'* now that the Esplanade has been enlarged."
The first recorded cricket match was played on the
14th October 1852, under the title of " A Picked Eleven
against the Club." There were six on one side and nine
on the other. The picked lot made 1 1 in the first
innings and i in the second ; and the Club, making 14
and 12, won easily. The second match was played a
week later, under the title of '* A Scratch Match between
Sixteen Gentlemen." There were eight on each side,
and the totals were more respectable. One side made
52 and 18, and the other 49 and 53. Lieutenant J. W.
Rideout (Staff Officer of the 43rd M.N.I.) made 37 not
out and 1 1 , and was the hero of the match ; Robert
Harvey (McEwen and Co.) 24 not out, did the best on
the other side.
326 A CENTURY OF SPORT
In March 1853 the first eleven-a-side match was
played. The sides comprised three Armstrongs, three
Cranes, John Little, Thomas Scott (Guthrie and Co.),
Archie J. Spottiswoode (Wm. Spottiswoode and Co.),
F. A. Brett (Ensign 43rd M.N. I.), Robert Harvey
(McEwen and Co.), Robert Jardine (Syme and Co.),
James Watson (Guthrie and Co.), R. B. Read, H. W.
Wood (Syme and Co.), F. W. Dobree (Ensign 43rd
M.N. I.), C. H. Wilsone, J. Sparkes (P. and O. Company),
Lieutenant Rideout, and J. M. Purvis (John Purvis
and Son).
No further matches are recorded in the score book
till June i860, when the Club played a match against
the Garrison, consisting of the 40th Madras Native
Infantry and the nth Punjaub Infantry. The Club
won by 76 runs, their top scorers being : D. Paterson
(Middleton, Harrison and Co.) 26, J. Murray (Syme and
Co.) 25, J. S. G. Jellicoe (P. and O. Company) 15, and
J. W. Armstrong (George Armstrong and Co.) 15 runs.
In September 1863 the Club played a team from
H.M.S. Severn, a frigate, and beat them by 78 runs :
J. Murray 24, T. S. Thomson (John Purvis and Son) 17,
C. Crane (Stelling, Hooglandt and Co.) 17, and Sherwood
(Chartered Bank) 15.
In April 1865 a hundred runs were made for the first
time as the total of one innings The occasion was a
match between the Royal Artillery and the Singapore
Cricket Club. The former scored 88 and 72 and the
latter 1 10 and 47, an exciting match ending in favour
of the Artillery by three runs. The top scorers for
the S.C.C. were L. J. R. Glass 29 and 10, and James
Greig 2 1 and 2 .
In April 1867 the Club played a match against the
Army and Navy, the ships in harbour being H.M.S.
Wasp, a sloop, and H.M.S. Satellite, a corvette. The
S.C.C. scored 238 in their first innings, L. R. Glass
going in first and carrying his bat for the magnificent
score of 118 not out, A. D. Forbes 36, E. J. Smith 10,
and C. B. Buckley (A. L. Johnston and Co.) 12. The
■i?2r
f
LORD HARRIS IN SINGAPORE 327
match was not finished owing to the two ships leaving
the port. Glass's 118 was the first time the 50 mark
was passed, and the century was not again reached till
1 87 1, when E. H. Watts, Civil Service, made 1 1 1 against
the loth Regiment, and 1885, E. W. Birch 131 against
the R.A.
Cricket was in its hey-day in the 'Nineties. Big
matches were arranged against the Native States
and the neighbouring colonies of Hongkong, Ceylon,
and Shanghai. In January 1890 the S.C.C. sent a team
up to Hongkong, which suffered defeat at the hands
of both Hongkong and Shanghai. The following year,
at Singapore, the Straits had their revenge against
Hongkong, beating that team as well as Colombo,
and Colombo beating Hongkong, while the Straits
drew against a combined team of Hongkong and Colombo,
a similar result following in the match Ceylon v. Native
States. The cricket lasted a fortnight in this year.
Mr. G. P. Owen, who had been Secretary of the Club
and had arranged these matches, was given a complimen-
tary dinner when going on leave in 1893.
Among the records of the Club is a list of averages
from 1868, in the handwriting of Sir Ernest Birch.
It shows that L. R. Glass headed the averages in 1868,
1 869, and 1 870, R. W. Maxwell (Police) and A. M. Skinner
(Colonial Secretary) coming next. F. A. Swettenham
was second in 1871 and first in 1872. E. W. Birch
appears in the first three in 1880 and 1881, and among
others are the names of Dr. T. C. Mugliston (Colonial
Surgeon), P. T. Evatt .(later of Lyall and Evatt), and
E. M. Merewether. Between 1878 and 1887 Birch
played 133 innings, ten times not out, made 2,741 runs,
a;nd bowling i, 020*3 overs secured 288 wickets at the
cost of 8*2 runs per wicket.
It was perhaps due to an exhibition given on the
Esplanade on the 25th February 1882 by Lord Harris,
Lord Zouche, and Mr.Tufnell that the revival was due.
In that year a purse was presented to Mr. C. Stringer in
appreciation of his services as Hon. Secretary to the
II — 22
328 A CENTURY OF SPORT
S.C.C., and on the occasion of his wedding to Miss
McNair. The Perak cricket team came down at
Christmas 1889, and early in the next year the Straits
team left on a visit to Hongkong. At the end of the
year the inter-Colonial cricket matches were started,
Hongkong and Colombo both coming here, and the game
reigned supreme for a fortnight. In October 1892 the
P. and O. Bokhara was lost on its way back to Hongkong
with the Hongkong cricket team that had gone up to
Shanghai to play that Settlement. In the following
October (1893) the Straits visited Ceylon, and the match
at Christmas was versus Penang. August 1895 saw the
S.C.C. visiting Batavia, and in October 1897 ^ Straits
team went to Hongkong, and had the satisfaction of
beating both Hongkong and Shanghai, and also a com-
bined team of the two by an innings and 231 runs. The
S.C.C. cricket tournaments were instituted in 1898,
and did much to improve the game. The shield given
by a member was first won by the S.V.A., skippered by
Captain W. G. St. Clair. It was in one of these matches,
in 1907, that R. T. Reid (Paterson, Simons) put up
the record score of 234 not out for the Merchants against
the Garrison. Perak and Penang came down to Singa-
pore in 1900, the home team suffering defeat by two
wickets and one respectively. Selangor came in
1 90 1, and we won by a wicket and two runs. It was
in this match, we believe, that J. D. Saunders smacked
Lawrie Dougal for eleven in two hits, off consecutive
balls, much to the astonishment of the fast bowler,
this hard hitting being only approached by " Slogger "
Parsons (now a Brigadier-General, A.O.D.), who used
to make a practice of breaking the tiles on the Municipal
Offices. 1 90 1 saw Singapore beat Perak handsomely
by an innings and 123 runs. Two years Selangor was
defeated, both at cricket and football, the latter game
being associated with visiting teams since 1900.
A point worthy of note about this time was the fine
cricket played by H. L. Talbot, who skippered the
Straits teams for the Hongkong and Shanghai matches.
INTERPORT CRICKET 329
The players included G. P. Stevens (a lawyer in partner-
ship with S. R. Groom), A. B. Hubback (made a Brigadier-
General during the War, to which he went from, the
F.M.S.), M. H. Whitley, A. J. Woodroffe, R.E., T. R.
Hubback, and J. G. Mactaggart, then in Latham and
Mactaggart, brokers. Talbot had a fine record. He
won both batting average prizes in 1892. The report
for 1893 says: " A new bowler is wanted if the Club
is to return to its old form " ; but that may have been the
reflection of the announcement that three centuries had
been scored in the season, H. L. Talbot being responsible
for 134 and 1 17. Perhaps as a further result J. G. Mac-
taggart was encouraged as a bowler, for he won the
prize in 1895 for getting wickets at the cost of 6*79, Eric
Maxwell coming next to him with an average of 9*2.
It is recorded in 1896 that the Club did not lose a
match during the year, and in 1898 seventy first team
and thirty-nine second team games were played.
1902 was another good year, Singapore playing Shanghai,
Perak, Penang, and Selangor, E. Bradbery having the
fine figure of sixty wickets at an average of 5*2 runs.
The very next year, too, we beat the Negri Sembilan
by an innings and 353, H. W. Noon making 117 and
L. B. Hannaford 91. R. T. Reid had the fine batting
average of 57*3, as well as taking forty wickets at an
average cost of 8*7 runs.
In 1903 the Swettenham Trophy was given by Sir
Frank Swettenham, to be open to competition by repre-
sentatives of the clubs at Singapore, Penang, Malacca,
Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, and Pahang, playing
in all inter-State, inter-Settlement, or inter-Colony or
State cricket. It is awarded annually in December or
January for " all-round excellence of the cricket played
and the knowledge of the game displayed by each
eleven." Singapore scored the first win, but Perak
got it in 1906. The S.C.C. have won it seven times,
Penang four times, Perak, Selangor, and Negri Sembilan
once each.
In 1904 the Straits repeated the trick at Hongkong
330 A CENTURY OF SPORT
of beating both Shanghai and Hongkong, whilst at
Easter in the same year Penang and Perak visited
Singapore for the last time, and were very severely
defeated. The tables were reversed when at Christmas
Singapore went to Penang, also for the last time. In
the game against Perak at Taiping a very fine innings
was played by Capt. E. I. M. Barrett, at that time
stationed there ; he put up 155.
The only visit to Burma by the Straits was in Decem-
ber 1906, the home team winning both cricket matches
and the tennis doubles, Singapore having to be content
with the tennis singles. The only outstanding feature
of the cricket in so far as the Straits were concerned
was a useful 75 by W. Dunman, who was first in and
last out, also his last appearance in a representative
match for Singapore.
The days of long excursions were now over, and the
chief matches were between the parts of the Peninsula
the Colony v. the F.M.S. series being inaugurated.
The States won the first match by five wickets. The
matches were played annually up to 19 14, and the records
show that the States won in 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908,
1909 (twice), 1 9 10, and 191 1. The Straits won in 1907.
1908, 1911, 1912, and 1914; draws in 1910 and 1913.
Two matches were played in some years. The game
played at Easter 191 2 in Singapore was remarkable
for the 109 of Dr. Scharenguival. In one over from
M. K. Foster he put up 25.
The series Singapore v. Selangor commenced in
1900. The results are that Selangor w^on in 1900, 1902,
1914 ; Singapore secured victories in 1901, 1903, 1904,
1905* i907> 1908 (by an innings and 47), 191 1, and 191 2 ;
not played in 1906 and 1909; draws in 1910 and 191 3.
In November 1909 Messrs. Noble, Laver, Cotter,
Armstrong, and Hopkins returned to Australia via
Singapore, after the conclusion of the Australian tour
in England that year, and played two games on the
Esplanade, much to the interest of the cricketing
community.
LAWN TENNIS CHAMPIONS 331
Next year the Colony could only make a draw with
the F.M.S., in favour of the latter. Although the Colony
versus F.M.S. matches were looked upon as of more
importance, Singapore continued to play odd games
with Selangor, Negri Sembilan, and Malacca, that in
August 191 2, at Kuala Lumpur, being notable for an
innings of 98 by A. Jenkins, while the game in Singapore
in August 191 3 was remarkable for an innings of 126
not out by R. L. L. Braddell. His innings materially
affected the game, as overnight Singapore had lost
six wickets for 70 runs, while the innings eventually
closed next day for 295.
In the later years A. Jenkins, 191 1 -12, stands out
as a sound bat. He won the average prize in both
years, sixteen innings with an average of 45*3, and
next season average 48, his highest score being 150.
In 1 91 4 four centuries were made, R. E. H. Oliver
being responsible for two of them, R. L. L. Braddell
and J. A. Scharenguival for the other two.
Another trophy, known as the Paget Cup, was pre-
sented in 1909 by Sir Ralph Paget, British Minister
in Bangkok, for competition between the Straits and
Siam. Owing to the difficulty of travel only two games
have been played. That in January 1909, in Singapore,
was won by Siam by 39, while the return at Bangkok,
in December 191 3, resulted in an easy win for the Straits.
Lawn Tennis
The S.C.C. Lawn Tennis Championship was established
in 1875, and in 1880 E. W. Birch wrested it from J. R.
d 'Almeida, the holder. The two tournaments a year
date from the widening of the Esplanade (1890), and
a list of the winners from 1884 shows that G. P. Owen
won it at the Spring Tournament that year, and eight
times subsequently up to as late as 1893. R- W.
Braddell won it three times in 1884-5, and then again
five times between 1894 and 1898. A. H. Capper (Civil
Service), a wearisome but accurate lobber, won it four
times. Captain Ainslie has four wins to his credit,
332 A CENTURY OF SPORT
1895-7, sharing honours in those years with R. W.
Braddell. F. Salzmann and Gaunt came in with 1902,
the former with eight wins and the latter with five.
Is abihty at the game hereditary? At all events Mrs.
Salzmann had won the Ladies' Championship in 1891.
The Spring Tournament of 1909 was killed by the
weather, and then A. D. Cox won three times in suc-
cession. The tournaments have grown so enormously
since then that any record of the winners of the chief
events would be prodigious. But it must be noted
there have been some very excellent pairs : G. S. Brown
and J. G. Mactaggart, who beat Ingall and Stewart
(Perak) in 1890 ; Owen and Hooper, who won the
Profession Pairs in 1892, and beat John Anderson
and G. Muir ; R. W. Braddell and F. M. EUiot, who
carried off the Profession Pairs '' with ease " in 1893,
and again in 1894, beating E. M. Merewether and
Egerton.
The Law has been remarkably successful in the Pro-
fession Pairs. R. W. Braddell and H. W. H. Gumming
(Donaldson and Burkinshaw) wrested it from the Mer-
chants, G. Muir (Paterson, Simons) and W. E. Hooper,
in 1 89 1, though John Anderson and Muir recovered the
honour in 1893, beating -R. W. Braddell and Elliot.
The Braddell and Elliot combination then started their
career of victory. They won the doubles handicap
and the Profession Pairs, both tournaments of 1 894, the
doubles championship in spring 1895, ^^^ the doubles
handicap and the Profession Pairs at both tournaments,
again winning the Profession Pairs in 1896, 1901, and
1904. In 1905 Cleaver and Perkins (both Drew and
Napier) kept the event in their hands, till Salzmann and
L. E. Gaunt came in again to win in 1906. Upcott and
Terrell (also Drew and Napier) won in spring 191 1,
Gaunt and Perkins in autumn. The two Terrells beat
another law team. Gaunt and R. L. L. Braddell in 191 3,
Salzmann and Braddell (R.L.L.) won in i9i4> Gaunt and
C. V. Miles (Rodyk and Davidson) in 191 5, a remarkable
series of wins in a scratch event.
FOOTBALL RECORDS 333
The championships (spring and autumn) since 1910
have been won as follows : 19 10, A. D. Cox, A. D. Cox ;
191 1, A. D. Cox, L. E. Gaunt ; 1912, A. D. Cox, C. M.
Howe; 191 3, F. Moding, F. Salzmann ; 1914, F.
Salzmann ; 191 5, L. E. Gaunt ; 1916, J. A. Dean ; 1917,
J. A. Dean ; only one contest a year taking place in
these latter times.
Rugby Football
A great institution was the rugger match between
Scotland and the rest of the world, on St. Andrew's Day.
For the rest, the matches have been dependent on the
rare presence of a naval team, or special visiting teams.
Singapore v. Selangor has been played most regularly,
the wins being Singapore in 1902, 1904, 1906, 1908, 1916,
and 1 9 1 7 ; Selangor won in 1910, 1911, 1912, and 1 9 1 3 ;
draws in 1905 and 1907 ; and the match iiot played in
1914 and 1915.
Association Football
Association football commenced to be played by
the engineers on a piece of ground at Tank Road about
1889, and R. Scoular and James McKenzie used to go
down and play with them, prominent among the first
players of the game being J. Lawson, C. Lightfoot, of
the O.B.C., and Raymond, of the Telegraph Company.
The S.C.C. team was soon after formed by Scoular and
McKenzie, and the Association Challenge Cup was estab-
lished in 1892. An excellent team in the early days
was put up by the S.V.A., and included such stalwarts as
Scoular, McKenzie, Allen Dennys, Plumpton, and later
took in some excellent bank men. The team in one
season scored 87 goals, only 5 being registered against
it. The winners of the Association Challenge' Cup since
the beginning have been : 1892, Royal Engineers ; 1894,
Lincolns ; 1895, Royal Artillery ; 1896, Fusiliers ; 1897,
Rifle Brigade ; 1898, R.A. ; 1899, K.O. Regiment ; 1900,
1 2th Company R.G.A. ; 1901, S.C.C. ; 1902, R.A. ;
1903, S.C.C; 1904, Harlequins; 1905, Sherwoods ;
334 A CENTURY OF SPORT
1906, Sherwoods ; 1907, B Team West Kents ;
1908, West Kents ; 1909, Middlesex ; 1910, Middlesex;
1911, Buffs; 1912, Buffs; 1913, K.O.Y.L.I. ; 1916,
Shropshires. The first Singapore v. Johore match was
played in 1 894.
The military teams have always made a good fight
for the cup. On one occasion the two teams, the West
Kents, we think, played about eight matches before
spoiling the record of repeated draws. About the fifth
time the reason for the extraordinary record began to
dawn on the authorities. The Tommies got off to town
for the day with expenses paid down, they were well
entertained, and had a chance to make a bit on the book.
Why, then, spoil a good thing ? A decision was finally
arrived at on the second time of playing on the Tanglin
ground.
The Football League was started in 1904, and also had
a good effect in stimulating interest in the game. Gener-
ally the military teams have pulled off the event.
The native population took to the game very kindly,
and established their own league games, Malay and
Chinese, and the matches are generally pretty hard-
fought games.
In the classic matches, Singapore z;. Selangor, the results
of games have been : no results for 1900, 1902, and 1905 ;
Singapore won in 1 90 1 , 1 904, 1 907, 1 908, 1 9 1 1 , and 1 9 1 3 ;
Selangor won in 191 2 ; draws in 1903, 1906, and 1910 ;
not played in 1909.
Hockey
The game was introduced in 1 892, the first game being
played on the 28th November. It has had man}^ fluctu-
ations, a good player like Mr. H. A. Mason, or an enthu-
siast like Percy Gold (Evatt & Co., killed at the front
in 191 7), or a good hockey regiment, helping to keep
up the interest. In 1906, for instance, over fifty games
were played, and evoked considerable enthusiasm. The
matches against Selangor have resulted as follows :
Selangor won in 1904, 1909, and 191 3 ; Singapore won
POLO PLAYERS 335
in 1906 and 191 1 ; draws in 1907, 1908, 1910, and
1912.
Lawn Bowls
This game was first played in the 'Seventies, prominent
among the players being M. S. Taylor, G. P. Owen, C.
Paterson, and C. H. Lightfoot. It was revived in 1898,
and tournaments have since been pretty regular^
held, when, if not large in number, the entries prove the
presence of a number of keen players.
Polo
This game presupposes a sufficient number of trained
ponies, plenty of good riders and keen sportsmen, and
some amount of money to keep up the stables. All
three have not been uniformly found in Singapore, and
the cult of polo has therefore flourished and decayed
from time to time, depending upon the energy of a few
players and often the presence of a sporting regiment.
The game was introduced in 1886, E. W. Birch (now Sir
Ernest Birch) being Secretary pro tern. W. C. Symes, of
the P. & O. Company, was a great supporter of the game
then. But apparently the game was dropped, for we
find the Club in 1904 claiming t9 have been formed only
in 1899. The game was flourishing in 1904, it being
stated that there were twenty-four players, each with
two ponies. They asked for a third day a week, on
the Racecourse, the Raffles Reclamation ground being too
narrow. Captain C. R. Molyneux therefore asked the
Sporting Club for more facihties. The Golf Club pointed
out that their players averaged forty-six a day, and that
they could not see their way to giving up the other day.
Eventually a new ground was found in Balestier Road,
and several successful gymkhanas and games were played
there. The King's Own Regiment were great sports,
and the Club flourished during their stay, and when they
left a cup, keen contests followed. Then Sir Frank
Swettenham was a great supporter of the game, and the
contests with Selangor were generally full of interest.
336 A CENTURY OF SPORT
In 1900 Prince Henry of Prussia, who was out here in
the Deutschlandy joined in a game, and presented a
cup to the Club. In 1 90 1 , the CiviUans beat Civil Service ;
1902, Civil Service beat Garrison ; 1903, Civilians beat
Military ; 1904, Manchesters beat Club ; 1905, Singapore
beat Selangor ; in the following 3^ears the winners were
Club, Club, Civilians, Middlesex, Middlesex, Selangor, and
in 191 2 Singapore beat Selangor. H.H. the Sultan of
Johore formed a ground at Tyersall, and several
gymkhanas were held there, the first occasion being
given as the i8th February 1898.
Mr. C. Sugden, of the Borneo Co., was one of the
hardest workers of the Sporting Club, and highly
esteemed, though rather shy and reserved. An instance
of this is called to mind that when the Duke and
Duchess of York came to Singapore, a polo match was
arranged with those accompanying the Royal party, the
Club members finding the ponies, and Prince Adolphus
of Teck being one of the visiting team. Mr. Sugden, as
President of the Club, should have met the royal party,
but he could not be induced to undergo the ordeal, and
delegated Mr. G. P. Owen to do the honours. In 1898,
when Mr. Sugden went on leave, the members subscribed
a sum of money with which to purchase a souvenir of
his services as Chairman of Committee and Clerk of the
Course.
In the time of the Sultan Abubakar of Johore, when
Tyersall was kept up in state, there was a drag hunt.
The Sultan imported a pack of hounds, and A. Holley had
the training of them, but the climate proved too much
for well-bred dogs. Later a pack of beagles was
imported, but they did not stand the climate any better.
In the early 'Eighties a " Hunt Club Race" was included
in the race meeting, and the members took part in it
in their hunt uniform, dark green coat, brass buttons,
black velvet peaked caps, white breeches, and top boots.
Paper-chasing was the next form of horsemanship, and
at times this has been keenly enjoyed; but the advent of
the motor-car and the disuse of other than racing horses
LADIES' LAWN TENNIS CLUB 337
have caused even this mild form of exercise to fall into
abeyance.
Ladies' Lawn Tennis Club
The Ladies' Lawn Tennis Club, according to the papers,
was started by Mr. A. L. Donaldson (Donaldson and
Burkinshaw), and by the 4th October 1884 the Club had
seven courts going on Dhoby Ghaut — the same place
as now, but infinitely more in the country, as the Museum
was not in existence, the stream ran between earthen
banks, and hardly one of the houses round Dhoby
Ghaut was built. Mrs. G. P. Owen (then Mrs. Dare)
lived at Carrington House, on the hill, and took great
interest in the new Club. The minute-book shows the
first meeting to have been held on the 30th July 1884,
at Mrs. Rowell's house, there being present Mrs. Rowell,
Mrs. Merewether (now Lady Merewether), Miss Donald-
son (who became Mrs. P. T. Evatt), Mr. G. T. Addis
(Mercantile Bank), and Mr. E. W. Birch (Sir Ernest
Birch now). Mrs. Clementi Smith was invited to become
Lady Patroness and Mr. Cecil Clementi Smith, Acting
Governor, to become an honorary member. The minutes
are confirmed as by M. G. Rowell, Chairman — this was
before the claim to a full equality of the sexes was
established. The first tournament was decided on at
Mrs. Guthrie Davidson's house, and Mrs. Dare was one
of the handicappers. Tournaments succeeded in regular
succession, many handsome prizes being given. Mr. T.
Cuthbertson gave a championship tray of the value of
$1 50, to replace one won outright by Miss Dennys (now
Lady Murray). Mr. Cuthbertson 's prize was won by
Mrs. Howard Bentley, and H.H. the Sultana of Johore
gave a cup valued $200. Miss Dennys won the cham-
pionship three times, and once after she was married
(1896) ; Mrs. Lovell (wife of D. W. Lovell, of McKerrow
and Co.) nine times ; Mrs. W. P. Waddell (a daughter of
Colonel S. Dunlop) ten times ; Mrs. Saunders won it
in 1 90 1, again in 1907, 1908, and 191 2. The other winners
since 1906 are Mrs. Gansloser, Mrs Holden (twice),
338 A CENTURY OF SPORT
Mrs. Ransford, Miss Feindel (twice), Mrs. Vowler
(three times, 1915,1917,1918), and Mrs. Ferguson, 1 9 1 6.
The Government permission to occupy the ground is
dated the, 29th May 1884. The paviHon was estimated
to cost, painted and furnished, $632.
The Singapore Golf Club
The first definite proposal with regard to the formation
of a Golf Club was made at the annual general meeting of
the Sporting Club held in the Exchange Rooms on the
30th January 1 891 . Mr. Justice Goldney and Mr. R. N.
Bland were prime movers in the matter, and proposed
and seconded respectively the following resolution :
** That this meeting approves of the Committee of the
Singapore Sporting Club allowing golf to be played by
members of the Singapore Sporting Club upon the Race-
course, subject to such play being under the control of
the Singapore Sporting Club Committee.*'
The resolution met with general approval, and after
a long discussion was agreed to ; but it was definitely
laid down that golf must not in any way interfere with
racing or training at the course at any hour of the day,
and that the game must be played by members of the
Sporting Club only. Mr. Justice Goldney, Mr. Bland,
and Mr. G. P. Owen met at the Racecourse on the ist
February 1891, went over the ground, and selected sites
for nine greens and nine teeing-grounds, and on the follow-
ing day one coolie was engaged at a salary of $7 per
month to prepare the links.
. The above three gentlemen met at the Land Office,
Government Buildings, on the 24th February, and it
was agreed that Mr. Owen would act as Honorary
Secretary and Mr. Bland as Honorary Treasurer. It was
also agreed to write to the following gentlemen, inviting
them to join a provisional committee : Hon. Major
McCallum, R.E., C.M.G., Major Rich, R.A., Colonel Ellis,
Hon. Mr. J. Finlayson, Hon. Mr. G. S. Murray, Mr. Justice
Goldney, Messrs. R. N. Bland, J. R. Cuthbertson, Jas.
n. 338]
THK FOUNDER OF GOI,F IN SINGAPORE
(Sir John Goldney).
Caricature by R. W. Braddell.
SINGAPORE GOLF CLUB 339
Miller, W. E. Hooper, C. G. Paterson, A. W. Stiven, C.
Stringer, A. P. Talbot, and G. Bruce Webster, with Mr. G.
P. Owen as Honorary Secretary.
A meeting of this provisional committee was held on
the ist April, when it was decided to support the forma-
tion of the Golf Club. Mr. Justice Goldney was elected
Chairman of the provisional committee, and it was agreed
to charge an entrance fee of $2, and that the subscription
be $6 per annum.
A general meeting of members of the Club was held
in May, when the following officers were elected : Presi-
dent, Mr. Justice Goldney ; Hon. Secretary, Mr. G. P.
Owen ; Hon. Treasurer, Mr. R. N. Bland ; Committee :
Major Rich, R.A., Hon. Mr. J. Finlayson, Hon. Mr.
J. W. Bonser, Messrs. James Meikle, C. G. Paterson, and
C. Sugden.
The formal opening of the Club took place on the 1 7th
June 1 89 1, when a match was arranged. Mr. G. P.
Owen resigned the hon. secretaryship in August, and Mr.
J. B. Robertson was elected as his successor. Mr. J.
B. Robertson was the first Captain of the Club, but
was not elected to that office until the annual general
meeting of 1 893. Mr. Robertson is still a keen golfer, and
is to-day Captain of the Golf Club at Medan. The total
membership of the Golf Club on the 31st December 1891
was sixty. During the year the following competitions
and matches were played : Handicap, won by Mr. A.
Mackay ; Scotland v. the World, won by Scotland by six
holes ; Married v. Single, won by Married by twenty
holes ; President's Prize, won by Mr. J. W. Bonser ; the
Club Championship (commenced September 1891), won
by Mr. J. B. Robertson.
At the suggestion of the Penang Golf Club the Straits
Golf Challenge Cup, which eventually developed into
the Interport Challenge Shield, was instituted, and
the match was played at Christmas. The conditions
agreed on were that the competition should be played
between four representatives of each Club over one
round (nine holes) of the course ; the Club gaining the
340 A CENTURY OF SPORT
aggregate majority of holes to be the winner, and to
hold the cup for the ensuing year. The first match
was played at Singapore at Christmas 1891, and resulted
as follows :
Singapore
Penang
Mr. J. B. Robertson
. 2 holes
Mr. D. A. M. Brown
. 0 holes
„ P. A. GHlespie .
. I „
„ A. L. M. Scott .
. 0 „
Major Rich
. 2 „
„ A. G. Wright .
. 0 .,
Mr. A. W. Stiven .
I »
„ E. W. Presgrave
• 0 „
The Penang Club was also instrumental in starting
the Straits Golf Championship, a competition open to
members of both clubs, to be decided by the best score
by strokes over two rounds of the course (eighteen holes),
the winner to be entitled to hold the championship
of the Straits Settlements for the ensuing year. The
first championship was played at Singapore, and was
won by Mr. A. L. M. Scott, of Penang, who returned
a net score of 91, which in those days was considered
a very fine performance. Mr. J. B. Robertson, Singa-
pore Golf Club, was second, with a score of 94. The
Club did not in those days possess a pavilion, so the
members had to make use of the Sporting Club stands
as dressing-rooms. Liquid refreshments were unobtain-
able, so it was decided to make Wednesdays and Satur-
days club days, and on these days refreshments were
obtainable by members on their signing chits. Wed-
nesdays and Saturdays soon proved to be the favourite
golfing days. There are two gentlemen still in the
Colony who, if not original members of the Club, joined
soon after its formation, Mr. W. E. Hooper and Mr.
James Drysdale. Mr. Hooper still takes an active
interest in the Club, and is a member of the present
Committee.
Mr. Justice Goldney was re-elected President for
the year 1892, and the Committee were : J. MacRitchie,
P. A. Gillespie, C. G. Paterson, A. W. Stiven, J. Miller,
and J. Meikle, with J. B. Robertson Hon. Secretary
and R. 'N. Bland Hon. Treasurer. Mr. Justice Goldney
INTERPORT GOLF MATCHES 341
left the Colony in May i'892, and Mr. MacRitchie was
elected President.
The Straits Championship was won by Dr. T. S. Kerr,
with a score of 93.
At the annual general meeting held on the 30th January
1893 the following officers were elected : President,
Sir Elliot C. Bovill ; Captain, J. B. Robertson ; Hon.
Secretary, Mr. J. W. B. Maclaren ; Hon. Treasurer,
Mr. P. A. Gillespie ; Committee : Messrs. C. Stringer,
J. M. Allinson, R. Dunman, Surgeon-Captain Hindle,
and Hon. Mr. J. W. Bonser.
Mr. MacRitchie was again President of the Club in
May 1893. The subscription was raised to $1 per
month. The Monthly Medal Competitions commenced
in March 1893, but no prize was given to the winner.
The membership of the Club had by this time increased
considerably, and the want of a club house caused great
inconvenience to the members. Many schemes were
submitted, but all fell through, and it was not until
a joint meeting of delegates of the Sporting Club and
the Golf Club met that any really feasible scheme was
brought forward. Messrs. Adams, Cadell, and Carr
represented the Sporting Club, and Messrs. MacRitchie
and Maclaren the Golf Club. The Committee of the
Sporting Club agreed to erect a building at a cost not
to exceed $3,000, and to maintain the same, the
Golf Club to pay a rental of $20 per month, the rent to
be increased if it was found that $20 per month was not
sufficient to pay 6 per cent, on the capital and the
maintenance. The offer of the Sporting Club was
accepted, and the Club House was erected and formally
opened on the 2 7th January 1 894. In 1 893 it was decided
to limit the membership of the Club to 150, and that
the Interport Match, Penang v. Singapore, should be an
eighteen hole instead of a nine hole match. Penang won
by 5 holes. Mr. A. W. Stiven, representing the Singapore
Golf Club, won the Straits Championship with a score
of 88. The Club Championship was won by Captain
Barter. Dr. Mugliston won the March Medal and
342 A CENTURY OF SPORT
Mr. W. E. Hooper the Bonser Cup. In 1894 Penang
won the Interport by 2 holes, and Mr. David Brown,
representing Penang, won the Straits Championship,
with a score of 92. The record of the hnks to date
was 9 holes, 39 ; 18 holes, 84, these scores being
returned by both Mr. J. B. Robertson and Mr. A. W.
Stiven.
The officers of the Club for the year 1 894 were :
President, Mr. J. MacRitchie ; Captain, Mr. A. W.
Stiven; Hon. Secretary, Mr. J. W. B. Maclaren, and
Hon. Treasurer, Mr. J. D. Taylor. Among the medal
winners in 1894 were Mr. H. V. M. Vade, March and
April, and Mr. F. M. Elliot, December. In 1895 Dr.
Fowlie was Hon. Secretary and Mr. C. Stringer was
elected President, that post becoming vacant owing
to the death of Mr. MacRitchie. It was in this year
that the polo agitation recommenced. An application
was made to the Sporting Club to allow polo to be
played on the Racecourse. The Committees of the two
clubs. Sporting Club and Golf Club, discussed the
matter at a meeting, and various correspondence passed
between the two clubs. The Golf Club stated that they
could not agree to the proposal. The main contentions
of the Golf Club were that polo had already been
unsuccessfully started twice, and they did not think
that such an established and popular club as the Golf
Club should be interfered with, as both games could
not be played at the same time, and polo would so
damage a large portion of the ground as to render
it unsuitable for golf. A special general meeting of
members of the Golf Club was held in June, and fifty-two
members attended. The members agreed with the
action taken by the Committee, and passed resolutions
to that effect by an overwhelming majority. The
members of the Golf Club who took a prominent part
in the discussion were Messrs. Stringer, T. Earle, A.
Gentle, and J. M. Allinson. The result was that on
the facts and correspondence being placed before the
officers of the garrison interested in polo, they volun-
GOLF TOURNAMENTS 343
tarily withdrew their appKcation for permission to
play polo on the Racecourse.
During Christmas week 1895 a golf tournament
was held, visitors from Penang, Batavia, and F.M.S.
taking part. The championship of the tournament
was won by Mr. D. A. M. Brown, who also won the
Straits and F.M.S. Championship.
In 1896 Mr. Grigor Taylor was President, and Mr.
H. V. M. Vade Captain. The Straits Championship
played at Penang was again won by Mr. D. A. M. Brown,
with a score of 81, up to date the lowest score on record.
At the annual general meeting in 1897 Mr. Grigor
Taylor was again elected President and Mr. Stiven
Captain. Considerable discussion took place on a
proposition to raise the subscription from $1 to $2, and
also on an amendment that the subscription be only
increased from $1 to $1.50. Both motions were re-
jected, and Mr. Stiven resigned the captaincy, as there
were not sufficient incoming funds to keep the course in
order. Dr. Fowlie was then elected Captain. A special
general meeting was held on the 9th April, to consider
the financial position of the Club. It was proposed by
the President that the entrance^fee be $2 and the sub-
scription $2 per month. The motion was again defeated,
whereon the officials of the Club all resigned. Members
who took a prominent part in the discussion were Messrs.
Grigor Taylor, W. H. Shelford, Dr. Fowlie, Mr. Justice
Leach, E. C. Ellis, Berdoe-Wilkinson, Egerton, and
Makepeace. Mr. C. Stringer was elected President and
Mr. T. E. Earle Captain, with Mr. W. H. Shelford as
Hon. Secretary. At this period of the Club's history
" bolshevism " appeared to be very rife. Mr. D. A. M.
Brown won the Straits Championship with a score of 81.
This was his third win in succession. In 1897 Mr. Vade
held the record of the links : 9 holes, 36 ; 18 holes, tj.
In 1898 Dr. Fowhe won the Club Championship for
the third consecutive time, and therefore was entitled
to keep the special gold medal presented by Sir John
Goldney. The Straits Championship was played at
11—23
344 A CENTURY OF SPORT
Penang, and won by Dr. Fowlie. The ladies' monthly
medal competition commenced in April 1898, and was
won by Mrs. J. D. Saunders.
In December 1898 the Committee of the Sporting
Club gave permission for polo to be played on the links
on two days a week. Mondays and Thursdays were
the days selected. Colonel Pennefather, Captain Duff,
A.D.C., and Mr. Symes, of the P. & O. Company, applied
to the Sporting Club for permission to play polo on the
Racecourse. Copies of the correspondence and reso-
lutions of 1895 (previously referred to) were forwarded
to them by the Golf Club, and it was thought this would
settle the matter ; but the then Committee of the Sport-
ing Club, without consulting the members in general
meeting, and against the weight of the opinion of a large
number of members, gave permission for polo to be
played. It is highly probable that had members been
consulted in general meeting, permission to play polo on
the Racecourse would never have been given. This
action of the Sporting Club Committee was much re-
sented by the golfing members of the Sporting Club,
who now numbered 175, and from this date on there
was always a certain amount of friction between the
Sporting and Polo Clubs and the Golf Club. This was
less prevalent when the Sporting Club was under the
chairmanship of the late Sir Hugh Fort, and later under
the chairmanship of Sir Evelyn Ellis all differences were
amicably arranged. Mr. Gentle was President of the
Club in 1899, Mr. Justice Leach in 1900 and 1901, and
Colonel Gates in 1902. The Straits Championships were
won by: 1899, C. J. Glassford, 84; 1900, G. Macbain,
85 ; 1901, C. J. Glassford, 84; 1902, A. B. Stevens, 85.
In 1903 Mr. F. Ferguson was elected Captain, and
filled this position on many other occasions. Mr.
Ferguson was one of the best captains the Club ever
had, and took the keenest interest in the welfare of
the Club. The members of the Club owe him a debt
of gratitude for all he did for golf in the Straits Settle-
ments. He won the Straits Championship in this
STRAITS CHAMPIONSHIPS 345
year with a score of 79, which constituted a championship
record. In 1904 Hon. Mr. J. M. AUinson was President,
Mr. Oliver Marks Captain, and Mr. C. W. Spriggs Hon.
Secretary and Treasurer. Mr. Spriggs served for two
years, and was a most efficient and popular officer.
On his leaving for home the members presented him
with a gold watch as a mark of their appreciation.
The winner of the Straits Championship was Mr. T.
F. Longmuir, of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank,
with a score of 85. Mr. T. de M. Braddell was elected
President in 1905. The Straits Championship in 1905
and 1906 was won by Dr. R. A. Campbell, who each
year returned scores of 81. The golf championship
for all Singapore was inaugurated in 1905, and was
won by Mr. C. V. Miles, representing Sepoy Lines Golf
Club. In 1906 Mr. Oliver Marks was President, Mr.
Miles Captain, and Mr. T. J. M. Greenfield Hon. Sec-
retary and Treasurer.
At the general meeting held in 1907, Captain Young,
C.M.G. (now H.E. Sir Arthur Young, G.C.M.G., K.B.E.),
was elected President, Mr. Ferguson Captain, Mr. J.
Waddell Hon. Secretary, and Mr. Odell Hon. Treasurer.
In electing Captain Young to the presidency of the Club,
the members were fortunate in electing a president who
has always taken the greatest interest in the Club, and
has been one of the keenest golfers. H.E. Sir Arthur
Young occupied the position as President of the Club
continuously from April 1907 until 1919, except for
short periods when he has been absent from the Colony,
and there is no doubt he has been the most popular
official the Club ever had, and has done as much as
any other golfer to further the interests of the game of
golf in Malaya. His Excellency won many club prizes,
in 1906 the gold medal, and in 1909 both the Spring and
Autumn Cups.
In 1907 the Club House was altered and extended.
Owing to the Racecourse being under water, the Straits
Championship was played over the Garrison Course, and
was won by Captain Kirkwood.
346 A CENTURY OF SPORT
In 1908 Sir Arthur Young was re-elected President,
Mr. Ferguson Captain, Mr. W. J. Mayson Hon. Secretary,
and Mr. J. Henry Hon. Treasurer. The Straits Cham-
pionship was played at Penang, and the conditions were
altered from eighteen to thirty-six holes. Mr. D. A. M.
Brown, of Penang, for the fourth time won the cham-
pionship, with the excellent score of 154. Up to date
(1919) this score has not been beaten.
The Straits Championship in 1909 was played at Kuala
Lumpur, and was won by Mr. Miles, representing Singa-
pore Golf Club, with a score of 164. In 19 10 the Captain,
Hon. Secretary, and Hon. Treasurer retired, and Mr.
Crabb Watt was elected Captain, Mr. Mundell Hon.
Secretary, and Mr. Cruttwell Hon. Treasurer. The
Straits Championship was won this year by Mr. G.
R. K. Mugliston, representing Singapore Golf Club,
with a score of 158.
In 191 1 Mr. E. F. H. Edlin was elected President, Dr.
Finlayson Captain, Mr. Mundell Hon. Secretary, and Mr.
Proctor Hon. Treasurer. Dr. Finlayson, one of the stal-
warts of the Club, put in a lot of useful work as Captain
on two occasions, and successfully carried out various
improvements on the links. The Straits Championship,
played in Penang, was won by Mr. J. C. Durward,
representing the Penang Golf Club, with a score of 162.
In 191 2 H.E. Sir Arthur Young, K.C.M.G., K.B.E.,
returned to the Colony as Governor, and graciously
accepted the invitation of the members of the Club to
be again President of the Club, and remained in office
until he retired in 191 9. Dr. Finlayson was elected
Captain, Mr. W. J. Mayson Hon. Secretary, and Mr.
Proctor Hon. Treasurer. In June of this year the Club
celebrated the twenty-first year of its existence. The
Straits Championship was played for the first time at
Ipoh, and was won by Mr. J. L. Humphreys, representing
the Penang Golf Club, with a score of 177.
In 191 3 Mr. Mugliston was elected Captain, and with
the exception of a few months in 19 14, when he was away
from the Colony, held this position until 191 9, a record of
PROMINENT GOLFERS 347
service. During Mr. Mugliston's captaincy the Polo
Club was induced to leave the Racecourse and open a
ground of its own, the Golf Club giving a Hberal subscrip-
tion to further that object. Mr. Mugliston took full
advantage of this, and improved the links wonderfully ;
bunkers were erected and excellent fairways made, and
under the Captain's supervision the course has been well
kept since the improvements were carried out. Mr.
Mugliston was undoubtedly a very successful captain,
and did a great deal of good work for the Club. The
Straits Championship was won by Mr. J. Crabb Watt,
representing Penang, after a tie with Mr. J. M. Bell, of
Selangor.
In 1 914 Mr. Raper was elected Hon. Secretary and Mr.
W. P. W. Ker Hon. Treasurer. Mr. Raper served as Hon.
Secretary four years, and members are much indebted
to him for the excellent way he carried out his duties
and looked after their interests. On his retirement
the members presented him with a suit-case and cigar-
box. The Straits Championship was played at Kuala
Lumpur, and won by Mr. C. J. Foot, after a tie with Mr.
C. E. Winter, Singapore.
In 191 5 Mr. Percy Gold was elected Hon. Treasurer,
and on his leaving Singapore Mr. Ward accepted
office. The Straits and F.M.S. Championship, played
at Penang, was won by Mr. R. T. Reid, representing
Penang. In 191 6 and 191 7 the officers were all re-elected.
The Straits and F.M.S. Championship, 191 6, played at
Ipoh, was won by Mr. J. Crabb Watt, representing
Penang. In 191 7 and 191 8 the Straits and F.M.S.
Championship and club competitions were not played.
In 191 7 Mr. W. R. Forde was elected Hon. Secretary
and Mr. W. P. Plummer Hon. Treasurer, and these
gentlemen still hold office. Mr. W. Peel is the President
of the Club and Mr. J. M. Sime Captain. The Straits
and F.M.S. Championship was revived at Easter 1919,
and was played over the links of the Club. Mr. J. L.
Humphreys, representing Singapore Golf Club, was the
winner, with a score of 155 ; Mr. W. R. Forde finished
348 A CENTURY OF SPORT
two points behind. The competition records of the
course are held by Mr. Forde, with a score of 72 for the
eighteen holes, and 33 for nine holes. Mr. Humphreys,
in practice, did nine holes in 32 — 4, 2, 4, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 4.
The best score for eighteen holes was returned by the
Club professional Omar : 64 for eighteen holes — first
nine, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 4, 3, 3, 5 =32 ; second nine, 3, 2, 5, 4,
3, 3, 3, 4, 5 = 32.
The winners of the Club Championship are : 1 891-2,
J. B. Robertson; 1893, Captain Barter; 1894, Surgeon-
Captain Hinde ; 1895, J- B. Robertson; 1896-7-8, Dr.
Fowlie ; 1899, A. W. Stiven ; 1 900-1, Dr. Fowlie ; 1902,
F. Ferguson; 1903, Dr. Fowlie; 1904, F. Ferguson;
1905, Dr. Fowlie; 1906, Dr. R. A. Campbell; 1907-8,
F. Ferguson; 1909, J. Crabb Watt ; 19 10, F. Ferguson;
191 1, J. Crabb Watt; 191 2, Dr. Finlayson ; 191 3-14,
C. E. Winter.
Racing
In a preface to the Singapore Sporting Club Rules of
1 896 the following account is given of the origin of the
Club:
" The Singapore Sporting Club was founded in 1842,
with the object of encouraging the importation and
improvement of horses in the Colony by giving away
prizes.
" The Government of the day gave to the Club, on its
foundation, possession of the ground on which the
existing course now stands. The course was made by
the Club out of a swamp. On the 31st March 1867 the
Government made a lease for 999 years, at a pepper-corn
rent, of the land — fifty acres in extent — to Messrs. J.
Cameron, W. H. Read, and C. H. H. Wilsone, as Stewards
of the Sporting Club, on condition that the ground should
be always kept clear of brushwood and be maintained
in good order, to the satisfaction of the local Government,
as a public race ground and rifle practice ground for the
troops stationed in the Colony and the Singapore Rifle
Volunteers. The present Trustees are Messrs. J. R.
Cuthbertson, Theo. Sohst, and S. R. Carr."
SINGAPORE SPORTING CLUB 349
All subscriptions and donations are vested in the Club,
which is accountable for the proper application thereof.
Mr. W. H. Read, one of the original promoters of the
Club, was then an honorary member, the others being
the Governor, Sultan Ibrahim of Johore, and the Rajah
of Sarawak, Sir Charles Brooke. The same book says :
" The Singapore Sporting Club is from the 7th day of
January 1896 associated with the Penang Turf Club,
the Perak Turf Club, the Selangor Turf Club, and the
Sungei Ujong and Jelebu Gymkhana Club, under the
name of the Straits Racing Association." Three days'
races were held in 1844, in the mornings, and on the
preceding evening of each day a dinner was held in the
Grand Stand, open to all members. At the March races
of 1845 ^ four-in-hand club (ponies) turned out with a
drag, as a novelty, but one can hardly suppose that
Daddy Abrams's custom of a drag to the Derby when at
home (for which he gathered all the Straits racing
people) was based on this primitive turnout, or the drag
which he used on Mafficking Day to go to the Singapore
Club and Government House.
In 1867 the stewards included W. H. Read, A. T
Carmichael, T. Scott, C. H. H. Wilsone, and the Honorary
Secretary was John Cameron, who afterwards became
proprietor of the Straits Times. The personnel changed
but little for many years. There were three honourables
in 1874 — J. W. W. Birch, the father of Sir Ernest, T.
Scott, and W. R. Scott, John Cameron being still Hon.
Secretary. The cheerful R. I. Harper, who was then
acting manager of the Chartered Bank, and afterwards
became a broker, was also a Steward.
In the 'Seventies interest in horse-racing lagged a little,
and there was a lament that professional riders were
replacing gentlemen. Abrams, Jinks, and Marshall were
in their prime. In 1878 five China ponies were brought
down, but proved troublesome animals.
In 1880 there were two days' racing, and six events on
each day. W. H. Read was the judge, S. Gilfillan a
starter, John Eraser and Charles Dunlop clerks of scales.
350 A CENTURY OF SPORT
C. Stringer and J. Miller among the Committee. The
Singapore Derby was valued at $150, for all ponies, and
was won by Mr. A. Huttenbach's Moracia, a Penang
horse being second, the riders in this race being Clarke,
Abrams, and Marshall. The Maharaja of Johore had
entries in four races.
In 1884 the Derby was worth $200, and China
ponies were raced. There was also an event for hack
gharry ponies ; the race-book was issued by Fraser and
Neave. Jockeys at the autumn meeting were Dalian,
A. Holley, Abrams, Mr. E. L. Rae(T. E. Earle, Adamson,
Gilfillan), Marshall, Mr. Howden (Mr. C. Sugden), and Mr.
Paterson (Cosmo). Next year the butts on the Race-
course, which had not been used because of danger since
1870, were removed. A batch of Burma subscription
griffins was obtained for the spring meeting of 1886,
and there was one hurdle-race on each day.
By 1884 W. A. Cadell had come in as Honorary Secre-
tary and Clerk of the Course, and at this time the paper
records :
^* At the November race meeting amateur jockeys were
greatly to the fore. Mr. C. Sugden won the Derby and
two other races, with five seconds out of ten mounts ;
Mr. * Rae * (T. E. Earle) had six firsts and a second ;
Mr. Allinson could only get seconds ; * Daddy ' Abrams
won four races and Dalian two. Mr. Hullett owned a
horse, Tewfik Bay, which won the Ladies' Purse."
A change came later, for at the 1887 spring meeting
Mr. E. L. Rae (T. E. Earle) won five races, against Abrams
six, Mr. Sugden one. In the autumn races Mr. Curpejee
(J. Paton Ker) won two, Mr. Rae and Abrams three
each.
In 1882 A. P. Adams was Honorary Secretary — his
close interest in racing was maintained up to the time
he left the Colony. ** J. Fraser and D. C. Neave con-
ducted the Club lotteries," and the race-book was printed
at their establishment, the Mission Press. S. R. Carr,
" Pendek," of John Little and Co., came into the field as a
n. 350]
"MR. curpeje;e:"
(J. Paton Ker).
Caricature by R. W. Braddeh
VANITAS AND THE VICEROY'S CUP 35i
racing man of the best. In 1896 he presented a Derby
Shield to the Club . The first number of the Straits Racing
Calendar was printed in April 1897, ^^^ was evidently
needed, as in January of the previous year the griffins
arrived by the Fazilka. Vanitas won the Viceroy's Cup
in 1898, and $100,000 is said to have come to Singapore.
Matters went fairly smoothly for some years, and the
Club grew in wealth and popularity. The stands were
rebuilt and the course vastly improved. There were
some throwbacks to the sport, as when in the 'Eighties a
member appealed against the decision of the Committee
removing his name, and the case went into Court. Then,
in 1 90 1, the Sultan of Johore resigned the Sporting Club
over the importation of a horse from Australia. The
Place Tote was introduced at the November meeting
in 1903.
The success with Tan Boo Liat's Vanitas led at
diiferent times to other raids being made on Calcutta,
but on the whole they cannot be characterised as
very successful. Amongst horses which have been sent
there from the Straits were Essington and The Idler
about 1904, and Seddon, Severity, and Phonograph
some seven years later. Calcutta in its turn has contri-
buted some horses to the permanent racing records
of the Straits, of which the most noted, probably, of
recent years was Acetine, brought down by Mr. Payne
Gallwey, which won the Governor's Cup at the 1906
autumn meeting, a powerful grey that had not had the
best of luck in the big Calcutta events. Others that
have come at various times have been Too Late and
Pretty Boy. Of the former, who raced in Calcutta
as Bridge Knight, the most notable characteristic
was his rooted aversion to starting. Time after time
he was left stuck at the post, and although he won
many races, no one ever knew whether he was going
to get off. It is related that after a series of such
displays of obstinacy Duval once got up on him when the
stable had their money on wearing big spurs and carrying
a heavy whip. When the gate went up, in went the
352 A CENTURY OF SPORT
spurs and down came the whip with such a will that
Too Late was so startled that he galloped to the front,
and was never headed.
In the period about 1900 to 1904 the leading men
were C. Sugden, T. Earle, H. Payne Gallwey, Hugh
Fort, and others. Kirwan and HoUey headed the
jockey lists, and Peerbux was riding well. Peerbux,
b}^ the way, more than once brought off a
remarkable surprise in the griffin races, of which
he seemed to make a speciality, and he was also
the rider of Halopin, which, with one exception,
paid the highest dividend on record. Halopin in 1908,
after a long series of failures, came in first over R.C.
and a distance, and paid the handsome sum of $497
per ticket. It is worth recording that he won only
one other race. A story current at the meeting was
that the wife of an important personage in Singapore
then had as her cavalier that day a young man newly
out to the East, and she asked him to take a ticket
for her on Halopin. Neglecting to do so, he did not
dare to confess the omission, and, being assured by
all the experts that the horse had not a ghostly chance,
felt safe. When Halopin rolled home he had sorrow-
fully to admit to himself that more than his first month's
salary would be required to pay the lady's winnings I
The biggest dividend on record is that of Daffodil,
ridden by Mr. Paton Ker in 1888 in a steeplechase,
which paid $700. In 1903 Bugler, ridden by Stony
Wall — the last ride he had — got in front on a muddy
course and won, paying $427, but curiously enough
only $8 for a place, which showed lack of the gamblers'
risk on the part of his supporters. Postman, Noel
Trotter's griffin, paid over $400 if memory serves.
Maninga in 1908 paid $221. Bargee in 1904 paid
$157 and $70 for place. The Monk in 1912 paid $321,
and Diddle, in 1916, justified his name by returning
$291. Generally these heavy dividends do not come
often, and seem to be less frequent now than they were.
Back in the 1904 period the old stables and buildings
HANDICAPPERS 353
were rebuilt, the present new tote and stand being
put up in 1910. A Calcutta visitor in 1901 recorded
that Singapore had a better starting machine than
Calcutta, " a most excellent one, the invention of a
local engineer." This inventor was D. D. Mackie.
The first place tote was a small attap - roofed shed,
near where the Secretary's office is now, and in those
days sometimes under $5 was paid out to a winner,
a habit which has since been corrected ; but it is notable
that dividends then included the half-dollar, which
they do not now. About this period the Secretary
w^as put on a fixed salary, and other organisation changes
were made. There was a curious outbreak of sickness
in Abrams's stables, which caused the deaths of several
good racers, and materially affected the success of the
meeting at the time.
There was a pretty good lot of horses running about
this period : Essington, The Idler, Pawnbroker, Sir
Launcelot, Sweet Erina, Cadenas, and others, and
Mr. Bratt, who was handicapper, had an interesting
time. There will always be differing opinions about
handicapping, but on the whole probably E. H. Bratt
was the best handicapper in the last twenty years. He
combined the two qualities of an appreciation of book
form and an ability to mix with the boys and to separate
the grain from the chaff in their conversation. In
other times the handicapping was done by the late
C. E. Velge, a very successful handicapper ; but possibly
putting a little too much trust in the book instead
of allowing a margin for the human element. Then
there was later a committee of three which did fairly
well. The Club, however, never rose to the ingenious
suggestion of a racing man that the owners should
handicap themselves, that is, that each owner should
send in his ideas of the handicap, and the average should
be struck for each horse. It was in this period that
there was the famous Cadenas — Sweet Erina episode.
There were four horses in the mile and a half race. Sir
Launcelot, Pawnbroker, Sweet Erina, and Cadenas.
354 A CENTURY OF SPORT
Two of these, Sir Launcelot and Pawnbroker, went
off by themselves ; the other two never started, their
riders claiming that they never heard the starter's
"go." Sir Launcelot, ridden by Peerbux, won.
Kirwan is the only rider in that race still here ; he had
the mount on the favourite, Sweet Erina. Mr. T.
Sarkies, the proprietor of Raffles Hotel, was the owner
of the two left. At different times he owned many
good horses, not with the best of luck : Sweet Erina,
Cadenas, Gillo, Bluejacket, Portfire, and Blunderer,
and for many years was a strong supporter of the game ;
so that Raffles Hotel on Saturday night of race week
always saw a merry and sometimes slightly riotous
crowd at dinner.
The period about 1905 was Essington's great time,
and Bryans, who rode him invariably, and who was
one of the straightest and best riders we have ever
had, once pulled him up at the wrong post, with the
result that Chestermere shot past him and won, much
to the general indignation. This followed on several
previous mistakes due to the system of having different
finishing - posts for different distances, and although
a movable judge's box on rails was later adopted, the
disadvantages were so patent that eventually the
winning post was fixed, and the race distances altered
where necessary.
In 1905 perhaps the most notable event in its way
was that the Tanjong Pagar Dock Court of Arbitration,
which was sitting during the race meeting, refused to
suspend work for the afternoon, a shock to the holiday-
making susceptibilities of Singapore, which caused
many sarcastic comments. As showing the over-
powering excellence of that great horse Essington, he
won in a field of five and only paid $8. Essington was
raced by the Bridge Kongsee, which with the Name-
less Kongsee and the Scots Kongsee were probably, in
recent times, the most noted of racing confederations.
The next year saw the win of Acetine in the Governor's
Cup, carrying the well-known colours of that very
EQUINE NOMENCLATURE 355
popular owner, Mr. Payne Gallwey ; whilst the May
meeting saw Excise win one of many races to the credit
of W. W. Bailey, one of the most genial of racing men
here, who subsequently won great races on the English
and Irish turf. Petgrave was a griffin in this year,
raced by D. P. MacDougall. This was one of the best
griffins Singapore has had, and in his first race he
beat the much-fancied Sextant, owned by J. Graham
and H. Fort. Sir Hugh Fort, one of the strongest
supporters of racing in the Straits, and one with a very
keen knowledge of form, had several good griffins in
his time. He had the habit of being concerned in
two, and naming them somewhat similarly. Thus
Sextant was partnered by Sexton, and at another
time Hexagon by Hexameter. It was Sir Hugh
also who played the trick on pronunciators — if one
may call them such — by naming another griffin he
had Poluphloisboio. The poor thing could do nothing
under such a name ; but it is noticeable that, on the
whole, horses have been considerately named in the
Straits. There was the famous Trypanosomiasis (which
the bookies later turned into Tripe and Onions), and
there was one many years before called Soepgroentoen,
and there were names like Motor Car and Motor Cycle,
and Income and Tax, the latter not so bad, and all
the more appropriate in that an honourable member
of Council, who had fiercely opposed the income-tax,
took one of the few tickets he ever took at race meetings
on Income and won the place, but lost on Tax 1
On the whole Singapore has not had many good
griffins, a great contrast to Penang, which has turned
out some very fine ones. It is necessary only to mention
in recent times such as Lossie, Chanticleer, Lodestar —
probably with Storey, the best machine galloper the
Straits has seen, Wellington, The Gay Gordon, St.
Albans, Seronok — nothing much to look at, but one
of the best horses George Redfern has had under him
in this country, Sador, and at the present time Black
Watch, a great performer. Amongst pony griffins,
356 A CENTURY OF SPORT
probably the best that has been here was Brown Comet,
who won over all distances under the heaviest imposts,
and was one of the few ponies or galloways that ever
raced well with horses, although in later times Prince
Mimer (not a pony griffin) did so.
1907 saw the unhappy Lady Brockleigh — Jim Gosper
incident, in which the public very seriously differed
from the judge's decision. Rosemead (Castro) and Rapid
Pilgrim were at this time disputing for premier honours.
Rosemead, like Lady Brockleigh, Chanteuse, Pawn-
broker, and others, was Java-owned, and in those years
Java used to send up a useful contingent to Singapore.
Lady Brockleigh went to stud in Java, and her progeny
has won races there. In this year there was also the
incident of Madame Meg, when the horse and rider's
name wxre hoisted in the frame ; the horse was heavily
backed, but did not turn up at the starting-post, the
sais being reported to " have forgotten to bring her."
There was great indignation, but, of course, no remedy.
The year 1908 was notable for the reappearance
of His Highness the Sultan of Johore as a race-horse
owner. The reappearance was to some purpose, for
he purchased that fine horse Durbar, brought up by
Mr. Nicholas, which, arriving in beautiful condition,
easily annexed the Derby, run then over a mile and a
half at 9 St., with 87 for mares, and put up what has ever
since been the Singapore record of 2 min. 41 f sees.
Ross had the mount, and it was only one of many famous
victories of this fine rider, who could win more cleverly
at his best than any other jockey we have had here.
It will interest those who were concerned in the recent
I.C.U. case to note that an I.C.U. ran at this meeting,
and was recorded to have " caused trouble." Mr.
Payne Gallwey was Chairman of the Club at this period.
He was followed later by Hugh Fort, E. C. Ellis, A. D.
Allan, down to Ellis again, and A. Agnew and G. U.
Farrant at the present time. This period saw Bryans
at the hey-day of his riding, with Vic. Southall a close
second, and Duval well up, Mr. Noel Walker, who died
NOTABLE RACEHORSES 357
recently as the result of an accident when riding, heading
the amateur jockeys' Hst. Two years previously
Vic. Southall had ridden seven winners out of nine
in one day at Kuala Lumpur, a record not since beaten.
In 1 910, amongst new horses imported came Phono-
graph, who on the whole was probably the quickest
horse out of a gate ever seen here. He won a good
many useful races.
The period from 1 9 1 1 saw a number of good horses
imported and raced. The Sultan of Johore had Storey
and Silver Hampton, " Mr. Amber " had Crown Derby
and Royal Blue (Glorify came up later). The Colonel
and The Friar were so useful a racing pair that it used
to be deemed money from home to buy them in the
lotteries at any meeting. The Friar was very fast
over the short distance, and a powerful, upstanding
racer with plenty of spirit, but no liking for heavy going.
The increased interest which was thus evoked was
stimulated by the invasion of the bookmakers. Arriving
first in spies about 1 9 1 1 , they rapidly increased to bat-
talions, and, thanks to the airing of personal quarrels
in the Courts, made such a noise that the attention of
the Government was directed to their doings. The
Racing Club refused to take the responsibility of con-
trolling them or of asking for powers to control them,
so that eventually a Betting Bill was brought in, coming
into effect in 191 3, and closing the career of the book-
makers. A curious fact about the Bill was that the
first draft, or reported draft, was pubUshed in the
Perak Pioneer y a small paper then just dying out in
Taiping.
Next year, 191 2, saw a grey EngHsh mare, Skirmish,
a very nice type of racer, spread-eagle her field over
R.C. in most extraordinary fashion, winning in the then
record of i min. 50I sees., a time equalled later by
Azurite, and subsequently just beaten in 191 8 by Golden
Rock. Skirmish was one of a batch of three Enghsh
horses imported by C. W. Abrams, the other two being
Master Thorpe and Thora, two Irish racers. Neither
358 A CENTURY OF SPORT
of the latter ever did anything. C. W. Abrams has made
several attempts to popularise English horses, and later
got out Flighterand Surge ; but generally bad luck seemed
to attend these efforts, though English horses now are
steadily disputing popularity with Australian in Eastern
racing. Belbeck, who came to Malaya from Australia
and ran one or two smart races, came from England,
being of the Troutbeck line ; but generally success has
not followed English importations. This year also saw
one of the biggest griffin upsets, when Ross on The Nun
got clear away from the field on the favourite and was
beaten at the post by The Monk, ridden by Benfield,
which paid a dividend of $321.
Since the War there has not been much movement in
racing matters. Difficulties of importation and reluc-
tance to spend money have prevented many new-comers,
though there have been some good ones, of whom Highgate
and Golden Mead are now attracting attention, whilst
the Scots Kongsee has Black Watch running, probably
as good a horse as the Straits has seen. The Club, in
fact, went on the principle of carrying on racing simply
in order to give what it could to war funds and to keep
the sport together for better times. It is only necessary
to say that in 191 8 the Chairman was able to report the
Club had directly given $78,060 to such funds, and had
indirectly, by promoting lotteries, etc., assisted in giving
$198,000, to realise the success of the pohcy. Nor were
the boys backward in doing their duty, for Woodgate
and Benfield are only two of many who used to ride here
who joined up in Australia, and in some cases made the
supreme sacrifice or returned sadly mangled from the
front.
Any notice of racing in Singapore would be incomplete
without reference to one of the oldest followers of the
game who is still here, G. P. Owen. He has been
Secretary of the Club so long that, save to the older
generation, his first connection with it is not remembered.
As in the case of the Cricket Club, he has been an un-
3urpassed official, carrying out the difficult duties of his
DADDY ABRAMS'S LAST RACE 359
post with a success which has won from all, whether
members, trainers, owners, or jockeys, sincere respect
and admiration.
In the early 'Nineties, when. the tin-mining industry
was bringing money in to the F.M.S. — by the way, $30
a pikul was considered high in those days — the Sungei
Ujong community, at all times a sporting lot, headed by
Dr. Braddon, founded their Race Club. The Doctor,
assisted by W. Dunman, laid out the course ; being
mathematically correct, no race track in the Straits up
to then had the bends done in such a manner, and we
were proud of our course. During this work a contro-
versy arose between the two Braddons, Abang and Adek,
as they were known, the former contesting that a man
with a knowledge of axe- work could compete with the
Malay with his parang and bliong. We, of course,scorned
such an idea, and the result was a match between Abang
and a Malay to cut a small area of bluker in the inside
of the course. The following morning proceedings
started; Abang, at the word ''go," went at it with an
axe for all he was worth. The Malay, on the other hand,
squatted on his haunches and smoked a couple of cigar-
ettes, quietly looking on at the other competitor. He
then used his parang, laying each branch methodically
in line in the customary way. After a bit Braddon got
into a nest of keringas (red ants), which caused him some
trouble and delay, and the air was thick with horrible
language. I do not think he took advice from us
leaning over the rails as kindly as it was meant. He
pluckily fought the keringas, only a little later to disap-
pear down a disused well, from which we had to ex-
tricate him, and then Abang decided that the conditions
of the contest were not good enough.
It was, I think, in 1894 when Abrams was asked to
come up as starter,and incidentally to make things cheery
generally. It was a great meeting. George Gum-
ming had a particularly fine black horse, which simply
II — 24
36o A CENTURY OF SPORT
ran away with all his races. As the meeting was held
under the Racing Association rules, the top weight was
limited to 1 1 st. 7 lbs. To make a race, however, Gum-
ming was asked to waive this point and allow the handi-
cappers to break the rule. Like the good sportsman he
was, he at once agreed, and turning round asked Abrams
to ride, which, after some demur, the old jockey accepted.
No colours were found large enough till they were split
up the back, and he weighed out at something like 1 3 st.
7 lbs. The other riders were all professionals, and during
the race each had a cut at the old man, who, however,
shook them off one by one. Fiddes was leading well
down the straight, and there was a good race, ending in
Abrams winning by a length — a great performance,
seeing it was many years since he had ridden in a race.
Daddy was utterly exhausted, and had to be lifted off
the horse. He weighed in all right, and was very proud
of his popular win, and more than once have I heard him
relating the details of his last race.
The first course in Seremban was of a horseshoe
shape, round the hill on which the church and cemetery
now are, and in consequence nothing could be seen of
the race beyond the last 200 yards. In spite of this the
gymkhanas held there were distinctly sporting. The
Jelebu men would bring down their contingent of ponies,
and were keen on taking back the prizes of the meetings,
of which, as a rule, they had a full share. W. W. Douglas
was Clerk of the Course. In later years he was official
handicapper for the Straits Racing Association. W.
Dunman was then ( 1 890-93) up in Jelebu, and did a good
deal of riding. In 1891 he got over from Sydney a
mare, Guelph, which he managed to train on the Jelebu
roads, the only possible way of getting it into condition,
together with a lot of hacking. This mare, under the
name of Nasib, ran in Kuala Lumpur unsuccessfully in
1 892. She was then put into work for the autumn meet-
ing in Singapore, and was sent to Captain Collinson, of
the good old 58th Northamptons, for a wind-up. A trial
was arranged over a i J-mile course, with Allen " Jahat "
H. ABRAMS.
H. 360]
A SURPRISE PACKET 361
up. Sugden's Surprise, the previous year's Derby
winner, was in the trial, which was witnessed by Abrams
and ColHnson. Allen, who was scarcely a race rider, was
left at the post — by some eight lengths — and Collinson
seemed to be the only one to notice that he, if anything,
picked up slightly at the finish. Knowing the mare to
be a good stayer, Dunman entered her for the Derby,
and was much amused at the remarks in " Doncaster's "
sporting articles, when the writer suggested it was a
pity owners new to the game did not get advice as to
entering their horses. Nasib was termed a lady's hack,
and in place of the Derby should have been entered in
the third-class races. Dunman's capabilities as a rider
were unknown locally, but some Bank men en route for
Hongkong, knowing his successes with the China ponies,
backed his mounts throughout the meeting, and did well.
In the Derby Nasib got a 7 lb. allowance for having
run without a win, Dunman getting also the 7 lb. allow-
ance as a gentleman rider, and he was just able to weigh
out at 9 St. 7 lb. ; all the others were professionals.
Coming down the straight Surprise and another were
leading neck and neck, thinking they had the race to
themselves, when Dunman brought Nasib along outside,
winning comfortably. Abrams 's look of astonishment
was a picture, he having been present at the trial ; but
then poor old Daddy never was any good at picking out
winners, an extraordinary fact seeing he was a clever
rider, and as a trainer always brought his horses to the
post in perfect condition. Only on two occasions in
the annals of Straits racing has the Derby been won with
the " owner up," the year previously the winner being
Surprise, with Sugden, as owner, riding. On the Mon-
day after the races Nasib was driven down to Little's in
a dog-cart, which certainly was a unique experience for
a Derby winner, and will as certainly never be repeated,
AUTOMOBILISM
Motor-cars have very little to do with " a hundred
years ago/' and the history of them in Singapore is
362 A CENTURY OF SPORT
comparatively modern. It would appear that in the
year 1896 the first " auto-car " was imported by Katz
Bros., representing Benz et Cie., who dealt in what were
then described as * ' motor velocipedes. ' ' This car became
the property of Mr. C. B. Buckley, and was used by him
for many years, being familiarly known as the " coffee
machine." The number of cars gradually increased
each year, but it was not until 1907 that steps were taken
to deal with the question of organisation. There was
no definite law in force, and cars were to be seen bearing
all sorts and conditions of numbers and lettering which
had been in use by owners in other parts of the world.
In March 1908 was started a monthly paper called the
Motor Car and Athletic Journal^ but it came to a sudden
end with its twelfth number. From it we gather that
at the time of its first issue there were 214 people licensed
to drive motor-cars, motor-bicycles and steam-rollers in
Singapore. About March 1907 saw the formation of
the Singapore Automobile Club, with H.E. Sir John
Anderson, K.C.M.G., as President, Sir William Taylor,
K.C.M.G., Vice-President, and a committee consisting
of Hon. Mr. W. J. Napier, E. G. Broadrick, W. A.
Cuscaden, Hon. Dr. Galloway, K. A. Stevens, and J. H.
Garrett. Mr. K. A. Stevens was the first Hon. Secretary,
but the first annual report is signed by J. H. Garrett as
Hon. Secretary and Treasurer, when the membership was
fifty-six. It is interesting to read in the report : " This
is a suitable opportunity to carefully consider the future
of the Club, as it must be admitted that so far the Club
has not been as active as members would naturally wish."
A report was issued for 1909, signed by Evelyn C. Ellis
and C. I. Carver as members of the Committee ; but the
affairs of the Club were in abeyance until 191 1, when
Mr. W. A. Sims examined the records and revived the
Club. He has remained the Hon. Secretary and Treas-
urer since then, with one interval, when Mr. W. Lowther
Kemp took over the duties.
The purposes for which the Club was started were not
at first correctly understood, and attempts at social
AUTOMOBILE CLUB 363
" runs " and " outings " were not likely to be success-
ful in a place like Singapore. A more correct name for
it would probably have been " association " or " union "
rather than club, as it takes an active interest in all
matters affecting the interests of motor-car owners, but
has discontinued any attempts to form club life. The
report for 191 8 showed a membership of 116. A year
book issued by the Club is a useful record of work done,
and from it are taken the following particulars of motor
vehicles in Singapore :
1913 . . 535 cars 92 cycles 35 commercial
1918 . . 1,317 „ 440 „ 46 „
Legislation was passed in 191 1 "to regulate the use
on public thoroughfares of traction engines and carriages
attached thereto, and motor-cars," and the Ordinance,
known as No. XIX of 191 1, with various amendments,
remains in force. The conditions of traffic in the island
have so materially altered with the coming of the motor-
car that it has been found necessary to establish a
special department of police to deal with them, and the
Traffic Inspector (Mr. Hills) has done much good work.
Life generally in the island has been improved by
the facilities afforded by motor-cars, and country and
distant sea-side bungalows have sprung up at various
points. Until a road is built linking up Johore with the
Federated Malay States it will not be possible to take
long-distance runs, and cars are unable to leave the
island without the aid of steamer or railway.
Mr. Buckley bought his car, a second- or third-hand
old-fashioned Benz, in London for sixteen pounds !
It had some curious peculiarities : absolutely refused
to go up any hill without being pushed up by the un-
fortunate driver, and could be started only by turning
the large flywheel at the back of the car by hand !
So Mr. Buckley used to keep an old pair of gloves under
the seat for the purpose ; it was also necessary to put
about a teaspoonful of petrol into the carburettor and
light it with a match to warm it up ! The steering was
by a lever turned right and left, and was raised or
364 A CENTURY OF SPORT
lowered for high or low speed. Mr. Buckley used to
say : '' Of course it's only a toy, no use, no use at all."
As he had no man to look after it, it was hardly ever
cleaned, and the only wonder was that it ever went
at all and that he was not blown up ! As a matter
of fact, he burnt his hand badly one day when trying
to start it. There were then only two other cars in
Singapore, an Albion and a De Dion Bouton, both
fearfully noisy ; so much so that horns were quite
unnecessary, as you could hear them a good quarter
of a mile off !
Mrs. G. M. Dare (now Mrs. G. P. Owen) was the first
lady motorist in Singapore, and her first car was a 12-h.p.
two-cylinder Star. As there were no motor garages
in those days, it was necessary to know all about the
machinery and do your own repairs, oiling, and ad-
justing, and put on your own t5n*es (in case of a puncture
on the road, probably in your best clothes ! ) — no
easy detachable rims or Stepney wheel, but really
hard work, and, of course, there were no trained drivers.
The first Malay chauffeur to obtain his driving licence
(Hassan bin Mohamed) was taught by Mrs. Dare. She
sold the Star on going to Europe the following year,
and brought out two Adams cars, a lo-h.p. single-
cylinder brougham and a lo-h.p. single-cylinder two-
seater " runabout." Cars had no registration numbers
till 1906, and this small car obtained the distinction
of the first registration number, S. i., and was named
" Ichiban " (Japanese for " Number One ") with all due
honours ! This car is now quite a veteran, and is still
" going strong " (like Johnny Walker), after having been
driven by the owner over 69,400 miles in Singapore, the
Malay Peninsula, Java, England, and Scotland. The
natives in the F.M.S. used to call it the " Devil wind
carriage," and were amazed at seeing a lady at the
wheel. Mrs. Dare took it home with her in 1908, and
had a detachable back fitted by the makers at Bedford,
so that it can be used as either a two- or four-seater.
The first meet of the Singapore Automobile Club
MR. C. B. BUCKI^EY IN HIS BENZ, THE FIRST CAR IMPORTED INTO SINGAPORE.
MRS. DARE (MRS. G. P. OWEN) WITH MR. DARE IN S.l.
n. 364]
SINGAPORE RECREATION CLUB 365
took place at Tyersall in June 1907, and cars of all
descriptions congregated there, from H.H. the Sultan
of Johore's 70-h.p. " Mercedes " to Mr. Buckley's 5-h.p.
" coffee machine," as it was nicknamed. The second
lady to take up motoring was Mrs. (afterwards Lady)
Napier ; and now, of course, there are numbers of
" chaff curettes." The present-day cars are so easy
to drive and so reliable that people feel quite aggrieved
if any little trifle goes wrong in hundreds of miles,
whereas in the old days you thought yourself lucky
to get to your destination without several stoppages
en route ! But that was always an element of uncertainty
and adventure, which was exciting.
The Singapore Recreation Club
This institution was founded on the 23rd June 1 883, at
a meeting held for the purpose of starting a Cricket
Club, at which the following gentlemen were present,
viz. : Messrs. J. R. McFarlane (Chairman), W. Clarke,
A. W. Clarke, J. Ganno, C. V. Norris, G. F. de Silva,
B. E. d'Aranjo, J. Ashness, and A. B. Bodestyne.
The first officers and members of committee were :
President, J. R. McFarlane ; Secretary, B. E.
d'Aranjo ; Treasurer, C. V. Norris ; Captain, A. W.
Clarke ; Members of Committee : F. Clarke, J. Ganno,
and J. D. Stuart. The subscription was fixed at $1
per mensem and the entrance fee $2, and the Club was
to be called the " Singapore Recreation Club."
Mr. (now Sir Ernest) Birch took a keen interest in
the formation of the Club, and gave valuable advice
when rules were being framed. The original number
of members is not on record, but the first patrons were
Major (afterwards Sir Henry) McCallum, the Hon. W. H.
Read, and Mr. (now Sir John) Anderson, of Guthrie
and Co.
Cricket was started on the lower end of the old
Esplanade, the use of which by the Club was sanctioned
by Government in July 1883, and lawn tennis was
introduced in January 1884. Quoits was a feature
366 A CENTURY OF SPORT
in the early days of the Club, but gradually died off.
Association football was not played until the early
'Nineties, while hockey was started only in recent years.
In March 1884 it was decided to approach the Govern-
ment for permission to erect a pavilion, and a deputation,
consisting of Messrs. McFarlane, Leicester, and d'Aranjo,
was appointed to wait on the Colonial Secretary for
this purpose. Government sanction was granted on the
25th March 1884, in a letter from the Honourable the
late Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, the Colonial Secretary
at the time, who stated, in the concluding paragraph
of his letter, that His Excellency the Governor was
glad to encourage the Recreation Club in the interests
of the Eurasian community. The Government very
kindly gave a sum of $200 for the returfing of the ground,
at the instance of Mr. W. H. Read, who wrote to the
Governor asking that some assistance be given to
the Club. The pavilion was completed in November
1885, the number of members on the roll being then
thirty-seven.
With increasing membership it was found necessary
to have a larger pavilion, and the present one was
begun, with the sanction of Government, on the 25 th
August 1904, when the foundation-stone was laid by the
President, Mr. E. Tessensohn. The new building was
completed on the 8th August 1905, and formally opened
on the 2nd September in the same year by his Excellency
the Governor, the late Sir John Anderson, in the presence
of a large gathering of subscribers and friends. The
membership had by then increased to 141. Nearly
all the local firms and a large number of friends, non-
members, subscribed generously towards the cost of the
present pavilion, and a complete list of the subscribers
is kept on record in the books of the Club.
The first athletic sports were held in July 1886, and
the first cricket match played outside Singapore was
against the Malacca Cricket Club in 1887. Later on,
in 1 890, the Club sent a team to play against the Selangor
Cricket Club, in the days of the old ** Spotted Dog."
SHIKAR AND SHIKARIS 367
The Club, although purely an athletic one, is recog-
nised as the premier Eurasian Club in Singapore, and
during the Coronation festivities in 191 1 the management
of the ball for the Eurasian community at the S. V. C. Drill
Hall was entrusted by the Government to the Club.
The present membership is 121, the subscription
S2 per mensem, with an entrance fee of $5, and the
Club colours are navy blue and red.
SHIKAR
By G. P. Owen, Secretary of the Singapore Cricket Club
and the Singapore Sporting Club, etc.
On the island of Singapore at the present time game
consists of a few wild pig and half-a-dozen or so of deer.
The extinction of these is only the question of a few
years, for Malays and Chinese are fast reducing their
scanty numbers. How very different from the days
gone by, when the island was teeming with tiger, deer
(sambur, Cervus equinus), and pig {Sus cristatus) in
abundance, with the kijang (barking deer, Cervulus
niuntjac), of which but few now remain. The crocodile
{Crocodilus porosus) is still to be found in some of the
rivers, but I have never looked upon these as game.
There are still a few mouse deer (Trangulus javanicus)
and porcupine {Hystrix longicauda), and they are dis-
appearing in consequence of trapping by natives.
With the exception of a few migratory species, a similar
change has taken place in the bird-life. From time to
time, according to the monsoon or the fruit season,
snipe (Gallinago gallinago), green pigeon or punai
(Osmotreron vernans), and pergam (Carpophaga CBnea)
are to be found, but in very reduced numbers. The
change in the fauna has resulted from the introduction
of Hevea brasiliensis , the rubber tree. Before the
introduction of this cultivation there were many miles
of virgin forest, providing shelter, food, and quiet places
for bird and beast to breed. All the forest, original
and secondary, has given place to rubber plantations,
368 A CENTURY OF SPORT
mostly clean weeded, alike destitute of edible seeds
and fruit, and of insects. A similar change has taken
place on the adjoining islands and Peninsula ; so if
game and birds survived there, in reaching Singapore
they would have to run the gauntlet of acres of bare
or cultivated land, would find the fruit trees mostly
disappeared and the swamps drained, leaving a desert
land for pigeons or snipe. Singapore is no longer
the place for the sportsman.
It has not always been so, as the records and my own
recollection bear witness. One of the difficulties in
old days was to beat the jungle, so thick and expansive
was it, and such a perfect stronghold for bird and beast.
Of course, big game such as elephant and seladang were
never established in the island itself, but they were
close to it, on the mainland. The present writer and
a friend, then stationed in Singapore, a brother of a
well-known Admiral of the Fleet, left the town on one
occasion at 4.30 a.m., accomplished the fifteen miles
journey to Kranji, crossed the Strait, about two miles
wide, and by the afternoon of the following day had
bagged three elephants.
Though the island is but twenty-six miles by fifteen —
about the size of the Isle of Wight — there have always
been tigers in it, the most formidable of game to hunt,
as done here, on foot, and with only men and dogs for
beaters. The Malay word for tiger, harimau, is usually
abbreviated to rimau, and I have often thought that
if the place had been called Rimaupore there would
have been more reason in it than the Singapore (city
of the lion). This would also have disposed of the
more probable derivation of Singapore : Singgah, a
calling-place, and pura, a city. Certainly no lion is
ever known to have existed in Singapore outside the
bars of a menagerie cage. " Rimaupore " would have
at least some local colouring, for from the earliest days
of the Settlement, and probably for centuries before,
tigers have abounded in the densely covered jungles
of the island, separated from the mainland by only
11. 368]
G, P. OWEN WITH HIS FIRST TIGER.
TIGERS IN SINGAPORE 369
two miles of water, in which are many small islands
as resting-places, and abounding in pig, deer, etc. That
tigers do thus cross the Straits, and have done so quite
recently, is amply authenticated. Cameron mentions
the case of a tiger swimming across the Strait and being
caught in fishing-stakes. Footprints on the sandy
shore at Changhie were quite common not many years
ago, and the following incident is well established. A
party of Malays saw a tiger crossing from Pulo Obin
in the direction of Changhie, and followed him in their
boat, being thus at a considerable advantage in getting
this formidable animal out of his element. They
attacked the swimming brute with their formidable
parangs (native knives), also using their oars, and
eventually split his skull open and towed him ashore
to the beach. Frequent reference is made to " the
deplorable ravages committed by tigers on the island,"
to the large increase in their numbers, and to the means
to be adopted for their destruction. Cameron is re-
sponsible for the statement that on an average one man
per day fell a victim to the tiger. The newspapers of the
'Fifties and 'Sixties tell of Chinese being carried off within
a few miles of the town. Mr. Buckley, in his interesting
Anecdotal History of Singapore, says that the first
mention of tigers is in the Singapore Chronicle of the
8th September 1831 — a Chinaman was killed by a tiger
near the road leading to New Harbour, and another
native was killed shortly afterwards in another direc-
tion, probably by the same tiger. A few months later
a tiger was seen by a European and his wife crossing
the road in the direction of New Harbour. Buckley
writes :
'' It must be remembered that in 1831 the island
was a dense jungle except near the town, and there
were so many pig and deer that the tigers were not
likely to venture near human habitations. There is
no reason whatever to think that they were attracted
by human beings ; and as httle reason to think that
they had not always been on the island, swimming across
370 A CENTURY OF SPORT
the narrow straits from Johore in search of pig and deer,
as they do to this day " (1902).
There was a theory that only tigers had been found
on the island, never tigresses, and this theory was firmly
held for many years. There was no record of the female
ever having been trapped or shot; but within quite recent
years one was caught in a pit at Bukit Timah, and I
myself shot one, later securing one of the cubs, a second
cub falling to a spring-gun set by a Chinese gambier
planter. These incidents clearly upset the theor}'', and
doubtless females have often swum to the island, where
there was abundance of cover and food to induce them
to remain. With the disappearance of jungle and swamp
this was bound to change. When we remember that
only a few years, ago many square miles in the north
of the island were dense jungle, bounded by two roads
running parallel at a considerable distance from each
other, that there were large tracts of lovely primitive
jungle in the Changhie district, with only a few native
dwellings here and there and occasional plantations,
where the owner kept pigs, and that these conditions
applied to three-fourths of the island, one can only come
to the conclusion that it was an ideal home for a tiger.
How one got to love that beautiful jungle ! — a perfect
venue for the sportsman and lover of nature, with the
magnificent trees draped with their own foliage and that
of the many climbing or aerial plants. But so much
has been written by Swettenham, Clifford, and George
Maxwell on the beauties of the jungle — of which Singa-
pore had its fair share — that I have only to express my
deep regret that it has all gone, never to be replaced.
The secrets of the jungle were not obtained without
toil and sometimes by taking risks. Buckley, when
referring to shikaris, says " only bold spirited men have
been successful in shooting tigers in Singapore, and there
have not been many of them." He refers to Mr. Carnie
(1831), who found shooting tigers more remunerative
than being in the police force ! — and says he was a man
of great pluck. " It is well to remark that tiger shooting
TIGER HUNTING 37^
in Singapore is a very different thing from the sport in
India, where the sportsman is upon the back of an ele-
phant or high up in a tree. Here it is much more
dangerous and adventurous a matter ; on foot and in
a jungle, face to face at a moment's notice with a tiger."
An officer, who had been stationed in India, and had had
considerable experience in tiger shooting according to
Indian methods, remarked to me, after a day or two in
the jungle : " Fortunately there are not too many fools
in Singapore, or there might be more tiger shooters."
I thought the remark rather unkind at the moment, but,
on thinking it over, began to see the truth that lay
behind the remark.
In addition to the names of sportsmen mentioned in
Buckley, there have been others, one in particular,
whose name must always remain as one of the keenest
of sportsmen and best of rifle-shots, T. S. Thomson. His
stay in Singapore extended to fifty years, he arriving here
at the age of twenty and not leaving it till he was nearly
seventy (arrived in 1859). During most of his time
he never missed an opportunity of going out, and his
record of wild boar and deer must far exceed all others,
as well as his elephant and seladang experience in the
Peninsula. Curiously enough, Thomson never bagged a
tiger, not from any want of endeavour or for want of
opportunity, but from sheer bad luck, and it was a
great disappointment to him. On one occasion he
and I went out together, when our trackers brought
news of a tiger having carried off a Chinaman's pig
during the night and dragged it into quite a small
patch of jungle about a quarter of a mile away, where
he was lying up and making a feast of the carcase.
The patch was so small that I was able to make a
ccniplete examination of it all round. On one side
the undergrowth and lallang grass had been burnt off,
leaving the ground with not enough cover for a rat.
I arranged the beat so that unless the brute broke back
through the beaters he must emerge into the open
ground, and placed Thomson about thirty yards beyond
372 A CENTURY OF SPORT
the open space, with a hundred yards' view of the open
ground, myself taking up a position in the thick under-
growth on the other side in case he should try to sneak
away under cover. The head beater carried out the
beat as arranged, and almost immediately the tiger came
out in front of Thomson and stood perfectly still, broad-
side on, with nothing between him and a '577 double-
barrelled Express rifle in Thomson's hands. Thomson
fired and missed, and the tiger went back into the jungle
he had just left. As the beaters came on again he broke
cover in exactly the same spot, but this time at a very
slow pace. My friend again fired and again missed, and
the tiger broke into a series of bounds, still across the
open space. A second barrel was fired at him, but, alas
for poor Thomson, another miss ! On another occasion
my friend was in a most favourable position, when a
tiger broke cover within ten yards of him, and he had
two shots, both unsuccessful. Why the bad luck should
come at this time I cannot tell, but I feel sure that a pig
or a deer would not have got off under the circumstances.
The late Captain Collinson, of the 58th Regiment, who
afterwards became Collinson Bey, of the Egyptian Army,
must be added to the list of keen sportsmen. He was a
handsome fellow, a fine man and a soldier, a keen sports-
man, a good shot, and courageous to the last degree.
Although he never had the luck to bag a tiger in Singa-
pore, he created a record for Amoy by getting three
tigers in caves, before breakfast in one morning, under
the most dangerous circumstances.
Another of my shooting companions, whose name is
also mentioned in Buckley, is Mr. Donald Maw, and of
all my shooting chums I am not sure that anyone came
up to him as a good all-round shot and sportsman. He
was also a fine target shot, but as he is still in Singapore
he might not like me to say all about him that I
feel.
Although many animals are brought down under the
most disadvantageous and almost impossible conditions,
they often offer ridiculousl}^ easy chances, and it is the
A NIGHT ADVENTURE 373
easy ones, as in poor Thomson's case, that are often
missed. The usual method in tiger shooting is to put in
the beaters to one side, with the guns, on foot, placed
in the most favourable position obtainable upon the side
on which the animal is expected to break. Under
these conditions Mr. Maw and myself have accounted
for a dozen tigers on the island. Others have had luck,
too, but I never heard of one of them with more than a
single animal to his credit. Many have fallen to spring-
guns set by gambler planters, and several have been
caught in pits or traps.
On one occasion I was tempted to deviate from the
usual method of shooting on foot, and sat up in a tree all
night to get a shot, as under the circumstances this was
the only way. The Changhie jungle was much too big
to attempt to beat, but a path ran through it, and tigers
had been seen passing through it, leaving their footprints.
I built a machan in a tree on the side of this path and
tethered a goat a few yards distant, knowing that the
bleat of the goat would attract the tiger when night set
in. I chose a bright, moonlight night for my first and
only attempt at night-firing from a machan, as on
ordinary nights the pitch darkness of the jungle makes a
shot impossible. My head tracker, Kader, was with
me, a fine shikari, who knew every short cut in the jungle,
and when there were no paths could get through within
a short distance of the intended place, whereas many a
man would only end in getting back to the starting -
place or crossing his own tracks. We took up position
about 5 p.m., and kept a sharp look-out for several hours,
the moon shining brightly along the path. About
midnight I began to get weary and disappointed,
having made up my mind that whatever was to happen
would be in the first hours of the night. Suddenly I
saw something coming down the path from the Serangoon
end, and prepared for a shot. I grasped my rifle and
waited until the object should approach a little nearer,
feeling that after all my long wait was to be rewarded.
To my surprise, instead of a tiger was a man, wearing
374 A CENTURY 0^ SPORT
only a loin cloth like the Tamils wear, but with a piece
of looking-glass five or six inches wide embedded in his
matted hair, which gave him a very weird appearance
as the moon's rays shone on it. Now it happened that
this man was well known to Kader as an orang kramaty
or holy man. Most Malay villages have these men, or
know of them. They are reverenced and generally
invested with the property of invulnerability, and many
superstitions hang about them. Personally I think
them either maniacs or impostors. This particular
orang kramat was supposed to be dumb, at all events
no one had ever heard him speak. I looked down as
he halted on seeing the white goat tied up, and asked him
in Malay, '' Who are you ? " The surprise was too
sudden for him, and he replied, " It is I, sir," and with
that passed along the path out of view. So much for
the dumb holy man. As we were not invulnerable to
tigers, we decided to keep our positions, and settled
down for another five or six hours' watch. The moon
by this time had got low, and the path, not more than a
couple of feet, was in deep shadow. About four o'clock
a number of monkeys in the trees near by began to
" swear," and Kader whispered to me that the tiger
was about, and the monkeys had seen him. This must
have been the case, for in a few minutes a tiger sprang
out of the jungle and seized my goat by the neck,
intending to carry him off on the spring. In this, how-
ever, he was disappointed, as I had tethered the goat
round the body with a jungle creeper, much stronger
than a rope of like calibre. The goat had four large
teeth-marks in the neck, in one of which I could put my
finger for a couple of inches, and its neck was broken.
I fired, but in the darkness missed. Weary men, we
descended from our perch at daybreak, firmly resolved
not to repeat the experience.
In connection with this incident and the " kramat "
man, Mr. H.N. Ridley, in an article in the Straits Times
Annual for 1906, on the '' Tiger in Myth and Reality,"
gives the following version :
I
MALAY BELIEFS 37S
" A sportsman, G.P.O., in pursuit of a tiger near
Changi, sat all night in a tree overlooking a forest path
which led to the village, expecting that his prey would
sooner or later come along the track. In the middle of
the night the figure of a native was seen coming along in
the direction of the village.
*' * Who are you ? ' cried the sportsman.
'^ ' It is I,' was the reply, and the figure vanished in
the gloom.
'^ At five o'clock in the morning, when it was darkest,
the ' great cat ' rushed suddenly from under the tree
across the path and seized the goat tied up underneath.
The sportsman fired, but it was too dark to see clearly,
and the tiger crashed back into the wood unhurt. On
his return to the village, he inquired of the inhabitants
who it was that had come down the forest track at
midnight. They declared that no one had done so, nor
would anyone dare to walk there at night while the tigers
were about ; and where, they added, could he have come
from, as the path led to no other village.
'* The sportsman and his ' shikari ' said that they had
seen and spoken to the man, who answered them.
'' ' Oh, that was the tiger,' they all said, ' in the form of
a man come to see where you were, and when it found
out, of course refused to come down the path where you
could shoot it, so he hid under the tree instead.' Many
other weird tales of interwoven myth and fact might
be told of this superb and mysterious animal, of the
part it plays in the magic dreamland of the East, and in
the reality of the fife of the peasant."
Many animals are beheved by the natives to be kramat,
and it is very annoying, after your beater has been out
tracking and the guns arrive, to be told that there is
nothing in the neighbourhood except the kramat deer, or
the kramat pig, which, of course, it is useless to go after.
The title has generally been gained by the superior
cunning of the animal in evading the guns or the bad
shooting of the men who have been after it. When,
sooner or later, the animal does fall to a well-directed
bullet from a persistent hunter, their faith has a rude
shock, but there is generally an explanation forthcoming.
II — 25
376 A CENTURY OF SPORT
Within recent years the head of a rebelhous tribe pro-
claimed himself kramat, and believed it himself, till he
was captured and shot in the presence of his followers.
So much for the invulnerable kramat.
On the mainland there are many black panthers —
none of the spotted variety is, I believe, met with,
though some are called by the natives harimau kumbang.
From time to time, reports are made of this animal being
seen on the island, and there is no inherent reason why,
if a tiger swims the Straits, the black panther should not ;
but I have never seen one or heard of one being shot or
trapped in Singapore, though one frequently hears of
fowls, cats, dogs, etc., being carried off by a panther.
But then fowls, and even dogs and cats, can be converted
into money by night prowlers. The resident who
declares that he was followed, while on his bicycle, for
some miles by a black panther probably overlooked
the fact that black pariah dogs abound in that district.
Next to the tiger in size is the sambur deer, and these
were formerly quite common, but now are reduced to
a pitiful half-dozen. A fine animal, running up to 330 lb.
weight ; those shot on the island are similar to the
sambur on the mainland, many of the old stagers
having handsome horns.
The troubles of the jungle do not always consist in
the fierceness of the animal hunted. On one occasion,
when out with a Captain Dawkins, of the 5th Fusihers,
after deer, in order to give him a good view of the country
I advised him to stand on the trunk of a fallen monarch
of the forest, which raised him well above the surround-
ing undergrowth. When I got to my own station, some
1 50 yards away, I saw him frantically waving his arms
and attempt to rub something off his limbs. He flung
away his sun topi, followed it by his rifle, and was pre-
paring to discard his coat. Had he got into the midst
of a colony of red ants, keringas, about half an inch
long with terrible nippers, that bite and never give way ?
I went to his assistance, and found that it was not red
ants, but bees that he was attacked by. Realising that
AN ENCOUNTER WITH BEES 377
they would go for anything within sight, I called out to
him to follow me, but at a distance, and reaching a bed
of bracken, I carefully crawled under it, flat on the
ground, under about five feet of the dense fern. I
called to him to follow my example, and to my horror
he followed me into my tunnel, and brought hundreds
of the vicious insects with him. After combating
them for some time under these disadvantageous cir-
cumstances, I told him in forcible language to get out
of it and run down the path, and when I could stand it
no longer, I followed his example, intending to go the
opposite way. The bees came on me in ever greater
numbers. I found I was following him, and as we ran
the insects left him to go for me ! At last I rushed to
a stagnant pool of water at a dip in the path, and lay
down in it, my topi covering my face, and remained
quite motionless for some ten minutes. On getting out
of the pool I found myself covered with horse-leeches,
and had practically to strip to rid myself of the loathsome
things I Further down the path I came to my friend
having the bee-stings extracted by an old Chinaman,
who consolingly muttered, as he cleared out each sting,
'' tid'apa " (nevermind), which, being translated to Daw-
kins as " a matter of no importance," made him more
indignant than ever. We consoled ourselves that they
were only bees, and not hornets, of which three stings
will kill a man and six a horse.
Wild pig {Sus cristatus) have at all times been more
numerous than other kinds of game in and around the
swamps of the island. They, like deer, afford good
shooting for the rifle, but owing to the thickness of the
undergrowth and the ease with which they can slip
through it noiselessly and at a fair pace, buck-shot is
more effective than ball. From their habit of feeding
on roots, they do a good deal of damage in vegetable
gardens and on tapioca estates, and it used to be
customary to keep a man or two occupied entirely in
shooting down wild pig. At times, when beating
swamps and thickets, as many as ten or fifteen have been
378 A CENTURY OF SPORT
turned out of quite small patches. The Chinese set
spring-guns and dig pits to capture them, and their
flesh is quite good eating. The Malays do not touch the
animal, and do not shoot or trap it, but they have inge-
nious ways of keeping the animals out of their gardens,
or of killing them if they get in.
During the north-east monsoon, in the rainy season,
from November to February, or even later, very fair
snipe shooting used to be had in the swamps and marshy
land, which provide food for the birds, and large wisps
would arrive with the rain and the north wind. Not
infrequently hundreds could be seen on the wing, cruis-
ing round before deciding where to settle. But this,
again, was in the old days, before the advent of the
hevea. Many good bags were made, as many as fifty
or sixty couple falling to a couple of guns in a few hours.
Now twenty couple is an exceptional day's bag.
About the year 1881 Mr. James Miller (GilfiUan, Wood
and Co.), with whom I was then living, made an attempt
to introduce the Indian red-legged partridge into Singa-
pore, and imported about a hundred birds. They were
kept in an enclosure on his compound at Nassim Hill,
Tanglin, and apparently had got accustomed to their
new habitat and quite satisfied with their new surround-
ings. But one night a musang (Paradoxurus hermo-
phrodyta) forced a hole in the roof and killed several.
Miller decided to let the rest go free, and some flew away,
but many remained close to their previous enclosure.
Food was put on the tennis-lawn for them each morning,
and quite a number used to come for their early breakfast.
One morning an old hen was seen approaching in an
excited manner, and presently out came a brood of young
partridges, much to the delight of all of us. As many
birds had settled round about the house, it was hoped
that this might be taking place elsewhere as well.
Notices were put up asking residents not to shoot them,
and they were not, to our knowledge, shot by local sports-
men. The regiment at Tanghn, just in the midst of
the new home of the birds, was changed for another.
PARTRIDGE BREEDING 379
Soon after their arrival Miller met one of the officers at
a dinner party, and in course of conversation the new
sportsman said : "You fellows don't know the good shoot-
ing there is on the island. This morning, before eight
o'clock, I got four couple of partridges within a mile of
the barracks ! " Miller's attempt did not succeed. No
doubt musang, snakes, and other enemies were too much
for the strangers.
Occasionally a painted snipe is put up, but they are
very rare. The same applies to teal and wild duck,
but many regular snipe shooters never saw one of these
birds in the island.
Golden plover usually visit us a month or so in advance
of the snipe. They are at all times fairly plentiful,
but always difficult to approach, as they invariably
settle on open ground ; and though they are not so hard
to get at as the same bird at home, a good deal of
manoeuvring is required to get within range.
Green pigeons are plentiful when certain jungle trees
are in fruit, and under certain conditions enormous bags
are made. The birds roost by thousands in clumps of
trees some distance from where they feed. The general
method is to place guns round the clump of trees where
they are known to roost, and get the birds on their evening
flight back after feeding. A shot into the brown may
bring down several, and by placing five or six guns
round the roosting trees two or three hundred can be
got in an hour and a half.
The pergam, a magnificent large pigeon, is also to
be had, though difficult to bring down, as he flies high
and has strong feathers. No. 4 shot is generally required.
Not far from the impounding reservoir a large wild
fig tree, standing in thick jungle about eighty feet high,
was in full fruit, and attracted numbers of pergam.
Not having any No. 4 shot, my friend D. Maw climbed
up the tree, and shot many with snipe shot as they
circled about. Although frequently shot at, they re-
turned, and continued to circle about for quite a long
time.
38o A CENTURY OF SPORT
Quail are occasionally put up from patches of lallang
grass, but their numbers are so few that they are not
considered enough attraction for the sportsman. Two
kinds are found, the ordinary speckled-breasted one
{Excalfactoria chinensis) and the very small brown bird
(Turnix pugnax) with a red stern. .
A species of water -fowl is also to be met, but is
not shot by Europeans. The native gunner, however,
will shoot anything that gets up. To him nothing is
sacred, not even does in the breeding season. When
game was more plentiful the Government passed a
Destruction of Wild Birds and Animals Ordinance,
prescribing a close season. The Ordinance, I believe,
still exists, though with little practical application.
The days of sport on the island are almost over, and
one cannot but regret that the all-conquering rubber has
put an end to one of the most delightful pastimes which
our predecessors of as recently as twenty years ago
thoroughly enjoyed.
CHAPTER XIX
AMATEUR THEATRICALS AND MUSIC
AMATEUR THEATRICALS
Mr. Buckley, himself an enthusiastic amateur, says in
his book that the earhest record of amateur theatricals
in Singapore was in 1833, when the amateurs essayed
Dr. Young's celebrated and much-admired tragedy The
Revenge ; the attempt was a failure, and the paper gave
the performers a good slating. Mr. Buckley gives quite
a full account of amateur theatricals up to 1867.
The first theatre was in Cross Street, Teluk Ayer, and
in it the amateurs played She Stoops to Conquer. In
1834 a move was made to Chong Long's house at Kam-
pong Glam. Chong Long was a well-known and popular
Chinaman, whose personal residence was in the Square.
The house at Kampong Glam was later bought by Mr.
Carnie, and after him by Mr. James Eraser, of Maclaine,
Eraser and Co. The first performance at Chong Long's
was a failure ; the paper was so unkind as to observe
that " the whole would have gone off much better had
several of them kept sober ^ and others remembered their
parts better." This performance was so damping that
it was not for another ten years that theatricals were
revived ; Captain Calbeck, of the Madras Army, was
the brave man, and Mr. W. H. Read aided and abetted
him. In those days, and for years after, none of the
actors appeared on the programme under their own
names, but each took a fancy name ; Captain Cal-
beck used the delightfully appropriate one of Vincent
Crummies, and under his management things went well.
The theatre was at the London Hotel, in Coleman
381
382 AMATEUR THEATRICALS AND MUSIC
Street, which stood where the Adelphi does to-day ;
the proprietor, Mr. Dutronquoy, rigged up a theatre in
one of the rooms and called it the Theatre Royal. In
the first performance there, in 1844, Mr. W. H. Read
made his debut in Charles the Second, or the Merry
Monarchy sl very favourite play at the time. Women's
parts in the old days were always played by men, and
of these men Mr. W. H. Read was in his day the most
clever ; he always used the stage name of Miss Petowker.
Mr. Buckley says that Miss Petowker had the smallest
waist and smallest foot of any lady in Singapore !
Another amateur who made his debut in Charles
the Second was Mr. Thomas Dunman, father of Messrs.
Robert and William Dunman, whose names are also
famous in the annals of Singapore theatricals. His
stage name was Mr. Johnson, and Mr. Buckley says that
he was the greatest low comedian Singapore had ever
seen. However, when he joined the police force, his
theatrical career had to cease, as the authorities objected
to his acting ; his last part, which he played after he
had joined the force, was the appropriate one of Captain
Copp ! Though he was lost to the stage, his comic songs,
sketches, and jokes were always in evidence at his own
and his friends' houses.
Mr. William Napier, the lawyer, and later Lieutenant-
Governor of Labuan, was also a leader in amateur
theatricals at this time ; he played the part of the King
in Charles the Second, and when answering one of the
other characters who inquired how His Majesty had
passed the night, brought down the house by saying
" Vara restless ! Vara restless I " This reminds one
of another Scotch lawyer, Mr. J. G. Campbell, who did
much the same thing in Under the Red Robe. He played
the part of a. French inn-keeper, and delighted the
audiences by his version of one of his lines. " Ah I
'Tis the way of the wurrld ! " he proclaimed, which for
a French inn-keeper was at least precocious. Mr.
Campbell has given up theatricals now, but his fine bass
was always very useful in musical plays.
THE CORPS DRAMATIQUE 383
When Dutronquoy moved his hotel to where the
Europe is now, the Theatre Royal disappeared, and the
amateurs moved to the old Assembly Rooms at the
foot of Fort Canning, where a very passable theatre
was made, the scenery for which was painted by Mr.
C. A. Dyce, of Martin, Dyce and Co., who was a brother
of Mr. Dyce, the R.A. The first performance at this
new Theatre Royal was in 1845.
The most celebrated of the amateurs in the 'Forties,
besides those already mentioned, were Mr. Archie
Spottiswoode, who played women's parts under the
name of Miss Ledbrook ; Captain J. D. Scott, of the
Madras Artillery, calling himself Mr. Folair ; and Mr.
J. D. Vaughan, the lawyer, whose name was Mr. Jingle.
Mr. Farleigh Armstrong, then in William Macdonald
and Co., made his debut in 1845, ^^^ was for long the
leading comedian. Mr. W. H. Read gave up women's
parts in that year, but continued for long afterwards
in men's.
After this there was a considerable lull, until 1855,
when four performances were given. In 1857 the
amateurs were busy playing in aid of a fund to fit up
a new theatre at the Town Hall, which took the place
of the old Assembly Rooms, demolished in 1856. A
temporary theatre was erected on their site, and was the
home of the amateurs until 1861, when they moved to
the Town Hall, which stood where the present Victoria
Theatre stands, and which was pulled down only in
1906 to make way for the latter.
Captain J. D. Scott left with his battery for India
in i860, and Mr. W. H. Read became President and
Stage Manager of the Corps Dramatique. Mr. Farleigh
Armstrong, whose stage name was Mr. Bono, proved
a worthy successor to Mr. Thomas Dunman as low
comedian. Mr. G. M. Dare, then in Syme and Co., joined
the Corps Dramatique in 1857, ^nd took a lively part
in it for many years. A playbill of Helping Hands,
performed in October 1857, has Mr. Dare's list of
members next their acting names. Amongst them
384 AMATEUR THEATRICALS AND MUSIC
are the names of Messrs. Frederick Mansfield Goss, of
Ker, Rawson and Co. ; Robert Barclay Read, of A. L.
Johnston and Co. ; H. W. Wood and WiUiam Adamson,
both then in the Borneo Co. Mr. (the late Sir) William
Adamson played a woman's part, and later became
the leading light comedian ; for years he took an active
part in theatricals, even so late as 1876, as we shall see
presently.
In 1 861 Mr. F. D. Barnes, of the P. and O. Company,
first appeared ; he was an actor possessing great powers
in the famous Robson's line. His first role in Singapore
was in Robson's part in The Chimney Corner, which
was played with Boots at the Swan, written by Mr.
John Cameron, Editor of the Straits Times. The latter
was the first amateur-written play produced here, and
a great success, the title-role being played by Mr. Farleigh
Armstrong.
About the end of 1861 a second amateur society
was formed, the Savage Club, of which the leading
spirit was Mr. William Steel, of the Mercantile Bank.
The result was that 1862 was a red-letter year, the
Corps Dramatique going at full blast in the Town Hall
and the Savage Club at Barganny House, Mr. Steel's
residence, where a stage was fitted up. Mr. J. D.
Vaughan was President and Stage Manager of the
Savage Club, and Mr. Robert Barclay Read of the Corps
Dramatique.
The Savage Club in this year produced Fra Diavolo,
the first musical play given by amateurs in Singapore,
though musical numbers had been introduced in many
others previously. The Club also produced Don Ccesar
de Bazan and The Merchant of Venice, both very
courageous efforts for amateurs ; but the Club was very
fortunate in possessing Dr. H. A. Allen as its tragedian,
and Mr. De La Feuillade, of the Borneo Co., for melo-
drama. The latter was splendid in broken English
parts. The Club's leading lady was Mr. William Mul-
^holland, of the Borneo Co., and Mr. Buckley says
'that as a delineator of female characters he was never
BUCKLEY'S CHILDREN'S PARTIES 385
surpassed, his Portia in particular being excellent.
He played Maritana in Don Ccesar de Bazan ; Mr.
Buckley says that he was exquisite in the part, and
that no stranger visiting the theatre could have realised
that a man and not a woman was playing.
The low comedian of the Savage Club was Mr. Charles
Emmerson, of Emmerson's Tiffin Rooms. He was quite
equal to any of his predecessors, and, when he joined
the Corps Dramatique later, proved an able successor
to Mr. Farleigh Armstrong.
The Savage Club had, however, a very short career,
for Mr. Steel left in 1863 for Bombay, and, though
attempts were made to resuscitate it, the Club ended
with Mr. Steel's departure.
In 1864 was commenced the series of Children's
Parties at Christmas-time, which were continued from
year to year till 191 1. Mr. C. B. Buckley, " the Chil-
dren's Friend," wrote the children's plays, designed the
costumes, arranged and stage-managed, and bore the
cost of production and of the subsequent entertainment.
He lives in the memories of all whose childhood was
spent in Singapore during his life here, and those grown-
ups who helped him in his entertainments have an in-
effaceable recollection of the energy, skill, and powers of
organisation which he devoted to pleasing the children
and making their Christmas happy. Mr. Buckley was
himself a good actor, and a capable musician, but he
had also the genius of mise en scene and stage manage-
ment ; this is happily summed up in the last verse of
some lines in Straits Produce for April 1895, concerning
him and his ways :
When the limelights he works upon the stage
He refresheth the hearts of youth and age.
With sweet fairies and scenes our minds engage
With troubles of lovers and of love the rage,
And the children love him so,
His kindness is felt by all.
Meanness of self he doth not know.
He helpeth those who fall.
After his death in 19.12 the children subscribed
386 AMATEUR THEATRICALS AND MUSIC
for a portrait of their friend, which hangs in the Town
Hall ; it is painted by the late Mr. John Adamson
from portraits and knowledge supplied by Mrs. G. P.
Owen, and is a masterpiece of portraiture. The unveiling
ceremony was attended by nearly a thousand children
and grown-ups.
After 1867 folks seem to have got very serious ;
possibly the Transfer was too much for them ; but
whatever the reason was, theatricals seem to have
stopped altogether, and it was not until 1876 that a
revival was attempted. Helping Hands was put on
again, and with it was played a farce by Edmund Yates
called My Friend from Leatherhead. The Singapore
Daily Times commenced its critique thus :
" The Amateur Dramatic Corps of some twenty-five
or thirty years ago, which has just been rescued from
decay by the energ}'- and public spirit of the young
men of the Colony, if its records had been diligently
chronicled, would have now presented an interesting
story of the social life of the Settlement."
Those are very true words, and the reader will find
in Mr. Buckley's account of theatricals and in this
account name after name of persons, men and women,
who played big parts in the social life of Singapore.
Amongst the names of " the young men of the Colony "
responsible for the revival in 1876 are those of Hervey,
Maxwell, McCallum, Stringer, Swettenham, and Cadell.
The Hon. Mr. William Adamson was the Stage Manager ;
he had played in Helping Hands in 1857. The play was
a domestic drama by Tom Taylor, and a very popular
one in its time, but very out of date in 1876. The
ladies' parts were still taken by men, Messrs. Budd,
Sheriff, and Cadell. The last-named was picked out
by the paper as having acted to perfection. Mr. J. C. D.
Jones, of the Telegraph Co., made his debut as William
Rufus, Toole's old part. Panjang Jones, as he was called,
was for years one of the leading spirits in amateur
theatricals, and has left behind him a very high repu-
tation indeed. He and Mr. J. M. Fabris, to be men-
J. C. D. JONKS
("Panjang").
n. 386]
A. Y. GAHAGAN. J. M. FABRIS.
Caricatures by R. \V. Braddell.
AMATEUR DRAMATIC CLUB 387
tioned later, were possibly the best actors Singapore
has seen in the past fifty years.
The 1876 revival was only a flash in the pan, and
the next revival occurred in 1882, since when Singapore
has enjoyed a succession of amateur performances,
very many of which have reached the highest level of
excellence.
We have to thank the Masonic fraternity for the
revival. Mr. W. H. Read was District Grand Master
and patron of the performance ; the programme de-
signed was a " blue " Mason's apron with appropriate
emblems, and the brethren turned out in full regalia
and jewellery. The first piece was a farce called A Fast
Train ! High Pressure ! ! Express ! ! ! which ought
to have damned it but did not, for it was a great success.
The second was called D'ye know me now? and this
expression remained for long a great Singapore catch
phrase. In it Mr. T. de M. Braddell (now Sir Thomas
Braddell) made his debut as Nogo Dumps. The paper
said that " Mr. Braddell's debut on the Singapore
stage was a thorough red-letter day for the Amateur
Dramatic Corps in having secured such a valuable
addition to its staff." For the next eight years he
played an active part in theatricals, and was a par-
ticularly good actor in tragedy and Henry Irving parts.
Amongst the Masonic fraternity was also Mr. J. P.
Joaquim, the lawyer, and at that time partner of Mr.
Braddell, and he was a very good amateur actor. The
Masonic performance was naturally in aid of charities,
and resulted in the collection of a good sum.
In 1884 the Singapore Amateur Dramatic Club put
on The Wonderful Woman, an adaptation from the French
by Charles Dance, an author whose plays had been
very popular in the 'Forties. This play had been pro-
duced at the Lyceum in 1 849, with Charles Mathews as
the Marquis de Fontignac and Madame Vestris as the
pretty widow, Hortense Bertrand. Mr. Streeter played
the former and Mrs. Salzmann the latter. Of her
performance the paper said :
388 AMATEUR THEATRICALS AND MUSIC
" Mrs. Salzmann as the Marchioness was irresistible.
Her pretty face, engaging manners, and natural acting
took the house by storm. She was greeted with vigorous
applause throughout the piece."
This is the first of many roles in which Mrs. Salzmann
has delighted Singapore audiences, and it is appropriate
that the first mention of her is in The Wonderful Woman,
for if ever there was a wonderful woman she is Mrs. Salz-
mann. Her last appearance on the stage was in His
Excellency the Governor in 1906, but she still continues to
win prizes in tennis tournaments, and it seems little more
than yesterday since she last sang in public. What
a wonderful voice she had, and what expression she
put into her songs ! The following lines from Straits
Produce were written to her in 1895, entitled " To
Singapore's Songstress " :
I've come from a Smoker,
I'm wearied with noise,
Last night I played poker
With some of the hoys ;
And I think, as I lie back — I'm not sleepy yet,
And I drowsily puff out a last cigarette —
What is the use of it when it's all done —
Blatant tom-foolery, where is the fun ?
And I know, that's the worst, that none of the throng
Can move me as you, with one simple sweet song.
" Queen of the Fairies," " Ruth," proud " Gypsy Queen,"
" Katisha" — each in their turn you have been.
As each you've excelled ; — ^yet I do you no wrong
In preferring to each — one simple sweet song.
Full of soft dignity, graciously sweet.
Rings out round melody, ever replete
With womanly sympathy. May you e'er long
Entrance me again with a simple sweet song I
Mr. R. W. Braddell made his debut in The Wonderful
Woman as Crepin the Cobbler and made a great hit ;
a song with a chorus of cobblers was specially introduced
for him at Mr. Salzmann's suggestion, and proved an
attraction. Mr. Bob Braddell was a comedian, and
sang a good comic song. Mr. J. P. Joaquim also
DRAMATIC AND MUSICAL SOCIETY 389
appeared in the play, and the orchestra was under
Mr. Wallace, of Sym^ and Co.
In 1 885 the Amateur Club expanded into the Singapore
Amateur Dramatic and Musical Society. They played
Freezing a Mother-in-Law and Lend me Five Shillings j
with which was interspersed some charming music
by Mr. Edward Salzmann, Mrs. G. M. Dare (now Mrs.
G. P. Owen), and Miss Capel.
In the first play Mrs. Merewether played Mrs.
Watmuff. She was a sister of Mr. T. de M. Braddell,
who played Mr. Watmuff. Mrs., or Lady, Merewether,
as she is now, was a most useful member of the Club,
for in addition to being a good actress, she always
played the piano in the musical plays, and was a very
skilful accompanist. In the second play Mrs. Salzmann
and Mrs. Braddell (wife of Mr. T. de M. Braddell)
acted, as also did Mr. (now Sir) E. M. Merewether, Mr.
(now Sir) E. W. Birch, and Mr. A. Y. Gahagan, of the
Telegraph Company, who for long was Singapore's
leading comedian, and one of the best sportsmen and
most popular men who ever came here.
It will be seen that up to now the amateurs had
been content to play very old-fashioned, out-of-date
plays ; but in 1887 a change was made, and two London
successes of a more modern character were put on.
This marked a distinct advance in local theatricals,
and heralded a new era.
In 1887 the amateurs played Mark Melford's famous
farcical comedy Turned Upy and scored a great success,
the audiences being packed. Mr. T. de M. Braddell
played General Baltic; Mr. J. C. D. Jones plaj^ed
Carraway Bones, and stage-managed. Mrs. (now Lady)
Braddell played Mary Medway, and the paper said
that she did it so splendidly that the part might have
been written for her. Mr. A. Y. Gahagan played the
female character, and appeared on the programme as
Miss Gahagan, but it was a low comedy part. Miss
Wishart (now Mrs. J. D. Saunders) made her debut
with success, as also did Miss Dennys (now Lady Murray).
390 AMATEUR THEATRICALS AND MUSIC
Mr. J. C. H. Darby, of the Telegraph Co., painted
the scenery for this play, as he did for so many others
later, and the paper picked the scenery out for special
mention.
Turned Up was followed in the same year by Two
Roses, James Albery's famous comedy, in which Henry
Irving had scored so great a success as Digby Grant,
which part Mr. T. de M. Braddell took, Mr. A. Y.
Gahagan playing Caleb Deecie and Panjang Jones
Our Mr. Jenkins. Mrs. Salzmann was Our Mrs. Jenkins
and Mrs. G. M. Dare Mrs. Cupps. The play was an
ambitious effort, but judging by the critiques it was
a great success, though not so great as Turned Up,
which, in theatrical parlance, the audiences had simply
eaten up.
In -June 1888 The Crimson Scarf, a comic opera in
one act by H. B. Farnie and J. E. Legouix, was put on.
Mr. Robert Dunman appeared as Cornarino, and his
bass voice was heard to great advantage ; this is the
first mention of him. Mr. W. G. St. Clair played
Sassaprasso, Mr. William Dunman Ernesto, and Mr.
G. P. Owen Marco. The ladies were Mrs. Simon, wife
of Dr. 'M. F. Simon, a Government surgeon, as Bianca,
and Mrs. G. M. Dare as Tessa. Mrs. Simon had a
magnificent voice, and was a very clever actress as well.
Mr. T. de M. Braddell stage-managed and Mr. Salzmann
was the Musical Director. The little play was a great
success ; but its importance is that it was the germ out
of which arose the splendid series of Gilbert and Sullivan
operas that will be mentioned later.
The Crimson Scarf was put on again in 1 897, being
preceded by a curtain-raiser called A Bad Penny.
The parts in the former were all differently cast, but
the opera scored as big a success as before.
The late King Edward, when he was Prince of Wales,
made nigger minstrels all the rage in the 'Eighties, and
the first entertainment of that type was at the TangHn
Club in November 1888. The party called themselves
The Bulbuls, and one of the features of the entertainment
"CASTE" AND "ROBERT MACAIRE " 391
was a topical song written by Mrs. G. P. Owen, and
entitled " Dear me ! Is that possible? " One of its
verses shows a remarkable coincidence ; it was as
follows :
Now there's the GambUng Ordinance I
No lotteries, sweeps, or games of chance :
We're not allowed our own free will
To drop six fifty in his till —
The Beak has squashed the Gosling's Bill.
The reference w^as to the Manila lotteries, which had
been held to be illegal here, though legal in Manila,
and the GosHng was Mr. T. L. Goshng, who in his day
was a very successful singer of comic songs ; his sons
and daughters will be remembered for their cleverness
in the pantomimes which at one time Mrs. GosHng
used to get up, and which were so successful.
Compare the above topic with the following from
''When the Clock strikes Thirteen," sung by Mr. T. C.
Maxwell in The Flats performance in 191 8, just thirty
years after :
A Council of wise men to guide us we've got,
And we're thankful indeed for this fact.
For they've settled quite plain
We may gamble again
Without breaking the Gaming House Act.
The reference was to the Our Day Lotteries, which
had been legalised at last by amendment of the law.
The Hon. Mr. F. S. James, C.M.G., who is an ex-
ceptionally tall man, was the organiser of the very
successful Our Days, and one of the lines announced
that " it's a very long James that can't turn." Rather
a difference to 1888, but the end justified the means.
Nigger minstrel shows continued to be got up occa-
sionally until 1902, when the last occurred.
In 1888 the amateurs put on Robertson's famous play
Caste, in which Mr. J. C. D. Jones gave a wonderful
performance as Samuel Gerridge.
In 1888 the ballet Robert Macaire had scored a great
II — 26
392 AMATEUR THEATRICALS AND MUSIC
success at the Empire in London, and perhaps it was
this that led the amateurs to put on the play of that
name in 1889. An old version had been put on in
1862, when Mr. Robert Barclay Read played the title-
role, and Mr. Tidman, of the Borneo Co., played
Strop.
The play put on in 1889 was Charles Selby's melo-
drama, and Mr. T. de M. Braddell played the tragic
part of the murderer Macaire, his brother, Mr. R. W.
Braddell, playing the cowardly Strop, and being respon-
sible for the comic element. It is amusing to read
at this date that the brothers Braddell brought down
the house in their step-dance ! Mr. Howard Newton
was the officer in charge of the gendarmes, and sang
some splendid songs, including one called " Vive
I'Amour," which was a great hit. Mr. Howard Newton
is still referred to as ** Singapore's only tenor," for
he had a most magnificent voice. He was Municipal
Engineer, but later went to Bombay. Mrs. W. J. Mayson
and Mrs. O. P. Griffith Jones, who have so frequently
delighted modern audiences, are daughters of his. Mr.
Newton was one of the causes of the great success
scored by the Gilbert and Sullivan operas now to be
mentioned.
In 1889 the amateurs put on lolanthe, under the
stage-management of Mr. T. de M. Braddell and the
musical direction of Mr. C. O. Blagden. One of the
leading spirits in it and its successors was Mrs. G. M.
Dare (Mrs. G. P. Owen), and to her taste and skill in
designing dresses, and her unflagging enthusiasm, much
of the success was due, added to which her charming
appearance and voice helped greatly in the work on
the stage. How wonderfully successful these operas
were is shown by the fact that their memory is fresh
to this day, and they still remain a standard for com-
parison. The Mikado being bracketed with The Geisha
as the two greatest successes and most perfect perform-
ances our amateurs have ever given.
The cast of lolanthe was as follows :
R. Dunman. Mrs. Dare. W. G. St. Clair.
GROUP FROM "IOI.ANTHE," 1889.
H. Newton.
II. 392]
Mrs. Dare Mrs. Melville Simons. Miss Wishart
(Mrs. G. P. Owen). (Mrs. J. D. Saunders).
" three; LITTI^E; maids FROM SCHOOI,."
The Mikado, 1893.
"lOLANTHE" AND "THE MIKADO"
393
The Lord Chancellor
The Earl of Mountararat
The Earl of Tolloler
Private Willis
Strephon
The Queen of the Fairies
lolanthe
Celia
Leila
Fleta
Phyllis .
In January 1893 The
following cast :
The Mikado
Nanki Poo
Ko-ko .
Pooh Bah
Pish Tush
Yum Yum
Pitti Sing
Peep Boh
Katisha
Tea Girls
Mr. J. M. Fabris
Mr. W. G. St. Clair
Mr. Howard Newton
Mr. Robert Dunman
Mr. Horace Brett
Mrs. Salzmann
Miss Wishart (Mrs.
Saunders)
Mrs. Donaldson
Mrs. W. E. Hooper
Miss L. Wishart
Mrs. G. M. Dare
J. D.
Mikado was put on with the
Mr. G. T. Batty
Mr. E. L. Hunter
Mr. J. M. Fabris
Mr. Robert Dunman
Mr. G. p. Owen
Mrs. Melville Simons
Mrs. G. M. Dare
Miss Wishart (Mrs. J. D. Saun-
ders)
Mrs. Salzmann
Misses Nellie Salzmann and
Mary Mackay
Mr. J. M. Fabris stage-managed this time, and Mr.
Salzmann was Musical Director. Mr. Fabris was in
H. M. Becher and Co., a firm now defunct, and was
known as " the George Grossmith of the Far East " ; no
man ever did more than he for theatricals in Singapore.
He was in all probability the finest amateur actor who
has ever been here. Mrs. Melville Simons, the wife of
Mr. H. Melville Simons, of Paterson, Simons and Co.,
made a triumphant debut in The Mikado ; she was
very popular with the audiences, and always " got her
stuff across," as the profession say. In many ways
her work and methods were like those of Mrs. Roland
Braddell to-day, so those who remember her say.
In November 1 894 The Pirates of Penzance was per-
formed. The present Victoria Theatre was officially
opened with this opera in 1909 by the Singapore Amateur
Dramatic Committee, and it is interesting to place
the two caste side by side :
394
AMATEUR THEATRICALS AND MUSIC
1894
1909
Maj'.'Gen.
Stanley .
Mr. E. H. Haig. R.E.
Mr. a. S. Bailey
The Pirate
King .
Mr. p. S. Falshaw
Mr. E. a. Brown
Samuel .
.
Mr. G. p. Owen
Mr. J. Dewar
Frederick
.
Mr. H. Newton
Mr. W. Dunman
Sergeant of Police .
Mr. G. T. Batty
Mr. 0. A. KiMMEL
Mabel
•
Mrs. H. M. March
Miss Ida van Cuylen
burg
Edith
.
Miss W. Cooke
Mrs. W. J. Mayson
Kate
.
Mrs. G. M. Dare
Mrs. Roland Braddell
Isabel
.
Miss T. Cooke
Miss Kerr
Ruth
,
Mrs. Salzmann
Mrs. Coombe
There can be no doubt that the 1894 cast was the
better ; in 1909 there was no tenor, and Mr. WilUam
Dunman had to come out of retirement and play
Frederick, a very remarkable performance for a man
of his age. In Mr. E. A. Brown, however, the 1909
cast possessed the better Pirate King, and the singing
of Miss van Cuylenburg (now Mrs. Lonsdale) was superb ;
but Mrs. March was very good. Mrs. Coombe had a
very fine voice, but no better than Mrs. Salzmann's,
whereas in stage presence and acting there could be
no comparison. Since 1909, owing to the entire absence
of a tenor, it has been impossible to put on a Gilbert
and Sullivan opera. The absence of tenors in Singapore
is quite remarkable ; any other part can be filled to per-
fection, but the tenor is ever wanting.
In 1 896 the amateurs put on The Grand Duke, which
was very enterprising, as the opera had been pro-
duced at the Savoy only in March of that year. Mr. H. S.
Ainslie, of the 5th Regiment, played Ernest Dummkopf ;
Mr. Robert Dunman, Ludwig ; Mr. J. C. D. Jones,
Ben Hashbaz ; Mr. G. P. Owen, the Prince of Monte
Carlo; Mrs. Melville Simons, Julia JelHcoe ; Mrs. G. M.
Dare, the Princess of Monte Carlo ; Mrs. J. D. Saunders,
Gretchen ; and Mrs. W. E. Hooper, Martha. Mr. J. C. D.
Jones stage-managed, and Mrs. Merewether was at
the piano.
There was a long break before the next Gilbert and
Sullivan, and it is necessary to go back and see what
other plays were put on in the 'Nineties.
A.
"THE PRIVATE SECRETARY" 395
In 1890 came Our Boys y Mr. H. J. Byron's classic play.
Mr. J. M. Fabris stage-managed and played the lead,
and Mr. A. Y. Gahagan scored a considerable success,
as did Captain Massy, R.A., and his wife. The last two
had played in Caste, and were a very capable couple.
Our Boys was revived in 1900, when it was played at
Government House, Mr. Gahagan being the only one
left of the old cast.
In 1 891 The Private Secretary was put on, and proved
a " terrific success," for which Mr. J. C. D. Jones was
chiefly responsible in the title-role made famous by
Charles Hawtrey. Mr. Gahagan also scored heavily as
Mr. Gibson, the Bond Street tailor. Mrs. G. S. Murray
(now Lady Murray) doubled two parts, and Mrs. (now
Lady) Merewether played the maiden aunt.
In 1893, the S.V.A. came out with a memorable
performance of The Late Lamented, an adaptation by
Fred Homer from a popular French play called Feu
Toiipinal. The play was put on to raise funds for fitting
up a recreation room at the S.V.A. Drill Hall, and is
memorable as being the first occasion on which electric
lights were used for stage purposes in Singapore. Inci-
dentally they forgot to put the footlights on in the
first act. Major (afterwards Sir H. E.)McCallum played
the part of an old army officer with great success, and
Mr. J. Bromhead Matthews (now Sir John, but then a
partner in Braddell Brothers) played the part of an old
crusted solicitor. Mrs. Hooper and Mrs. Brydges, wife
of the lawyer then practising here, also played parts.
In 1894 Jerome K. Jerome's Sunset and Wilham
Brough's Trying it on were put on at the Tanglin Club,
but as the performances there were not open to public
criticism, the paper could only remark that the plays
were a success. Mr. and Mrs. Bromhead Matthews,
Mrs. Hooper, Mr. Haigh, R.E., Mr. Harwood, late
Sohcitor-General, and Mr. E. Ormiston, now a broker
in Hongkong, were amongst those who acted in the plays.
In October 1896 a three-act comedy called The Pass-
port was put on, in which Mr. F. W. Barker, founder of
396 AMATEUR THEATRICALS AND MUSIC
Barker and Co., made a successful debut as Christopher
Coleman ; Messrs. Lionel Koek, now in Malacca, and
H. S. Ainslie, of the 5th Regiment, also made their debut.
Mrs. Gilmore Ellis, wife of the late P.C.M.O., Dr. Gilmore
Ellis, and Mrs. Melville Simons played the ladies' parts.
In 1899 began the famous Wynter period, when
Captain Wynter and his wife delighted Singapore
audiences. Captain Wynter, besides being a good
amateur actor, was a very fine producer and stage-
manager. He made his debut in a play called Tom
Cobby at the Regimental Theatre at Tanghn, while the
King's Own were on the station.
His first public production was a triple bill in Septem-
ber 1 899, when Crazed, A Two-some and The Pantomime
Rehearsal were produced ; Messrs. W. Dunman and
C. I. Carver played in the first-named play. Captain
Wynter's last public production was also a triple bill,
in which The Pantom^ime Rehearsal was repeated, the
other plays being a revival of Jerome's Sunset and a
musical play called The Crusader and the Craven, in
which Mr. E. A. Brown made a big hit as Blonde! Fitz
Osborne.
Mr. Brown had made his debut in 1901, when The
Grass Widow and Charley's Aunt were put on by
Captain Wynter. In the former the widow^s were Mrs.
Wynter and Mrs. J. A. N. Pickering. Mr. Brown made
his debut in the part of Arthur, and received a cordial
welcome from, the Press ; since then Singapore theatri-
cals have owed an immense debt of gratitude to him as
actor, singer, stage-manager, and, above all, as a voice
trainer in musical productions. In Charley's Aunt Mr.
J. M. Fabris played the lead, the rest of the male cast
being, the Hon. Mr. A. Murray, Colonial Engineer (Sir
Charles), Mr. L. Koek (Spettigue), Captain Wynter and
Mr. E. A. Brown (Jack and Charley), and Mr. C. I.
Carver, who made a big hit as Brassett the butler, which
was Mr. Carver's best performance in Singapore. The
ladies were Mrs. Hooper and Mrs. Wynter, Mrs. G. S.
Murray and Mrs. Stitt.
"H.M.S. PINAFORE" 397
Captain Wynter's biggest success was in April 1900
with In Town, the first musical comedy ever written,
according to Mr. H. G. Hibbert and other authorities.
The play is by James Leader, with lyrics by Adrian Ross
(the first he ever wrote for the stage), and the music by
Dr. F. Osmond Carr. This production is memorable for
the fact that when H.M.S. Terrible visited Singapore,
during the Boer War, In Town was performed again for
the sailors. Mr. Whiteside made a great hit in the part
of the call-boy Shrimp, in which the late Edmund Payne
first made his London name. Amongst the cast were
Captain Wynter and Messrs. J. M; Fabris, W. Dunman,
L. Koek, George Penny, and G. T. Greig, while the princi-
pal ladies were Mrs. Simon and Mrs. Wynter. Mr. W.
G. St. Clair was Musical Director.
In November 1900, under Captain Wynter's manage-
ment, the amateurs put on Sweet Lavender, Mr. J. M.
Fabris playing Dick Phenyl and Mr. W. Dunman Maw
the solicitor. With two such experienced and finished
actors in the leading roles, it is needless to say the play
proved a big success. Mrs. H. G. Diss as Ruth was
very convincing ; she played several parts in Singapore,
and is remembered as a very capable actress.
In March 1901 Captain Wynter put on another
musical play. At Zero, but it was not so great a success,
though in the last act prominent citizens of Singapore
appeared in counterfeit, to the great enjoyment of the
audiences, the late Mr. Buckley in particular being
cleverly portrayed. Mr. H. G. Diss, of John Little
and Co., scored in one of the comic parts.
In September 1902, under the stage-management of
Mr. J. M. Fabris, the amateurs put on H.M.S. Pinafore.
Mr. A. B. Cross, the lawyer, then in Braddell Brothers,
made a big hit as the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Porter, and
proved himself a worthy successor to Mr. J. M. Fabris ;
Mr. E. A. Brown made a splendid Captain Corcoran ;
Mrs. Salzmann excelled even herself as Buttercup ; and
Mr. Stewart as Dick Dead-eye was very successful.
In December 1903 the amateurs played The Yeomen
398 AMATEUR THEATRICALS AND MUSIC
of the Guard. Mr. W. Dunman gave one of the finest
performances ever seen in Singapore as Jack Point, a
perfect piece of art. There is hardly a more dehghtful
part to play, and Mr. Dunman played it in a way that
any professional might have envied. Mr. C. I. Carver
played Colonel Fairfax, Miss Edith Abrams Elsie
Maynard, and Mrs. F. W. Barker Phoebe Merryll. The
latter lady had played Hebe in H.M.S. Pinafore, and in
both parts scored a great success ; Mrs. Barker was
always a very popular performer with audiences.
In February 1903 Liberty Hallwd^'s staged. This was
the last time that Mr. J. C. D. Jones appeared in Singa-
pore ; he played Luscombe. Miss Maud Newton (Mrs.
W. J. Mayson) made her debut as Crafer, the maid, and
since then has continually pleased Singapore audiences.
Mr. A. Y. Gahagan also made a last appearance as
Briginshaw. Mrs. F. W. Barker and Mrs. W. C. Michell
played the leading ladies' parts. Mr. A. B. Cross was
excellent as Todman. This was his last appearance
in Singapore also, as he went shortly afterwards to
practise in Seremban, where he was well known to
audiences before he went to the front in the Great War.
In June 1904 the amateurs put on the Duchess of
Bayswater &> Co. and The Rose of Auvergne by Offenbach.
In the latter play Mr. W. Dunman appeared as Alphonse
the cobbler, Mr. E. A. Brown as Pierre the blacksmith,
and Mrs. Abbot as Fleurette. This was an ideal cast,
and made the httle play a memorable success ; Mrs.
Abbot was always splendid in whatever she did. In
the former play Mrs. Hooper scored a great success in
the title-role. Singapore owed much to Mrs. Hooper in
theatricals, and whatever part she played it was always
splendidly done. Mr. E. E. Sykes carried off the honours
amongst the men, giving a very memorable performance.
We have now reached a new era in theatricals when
the Singapore Amateur Dramatic Committee was formed
in March 1906. The original members were the late
Mr. E. F. H. Edhn, of Drew and Napier, President;
Messrs. E. A. Brown, F. A. Langley, of Guthrie and Co.,
W. DUXMAN AND E. E. SYKES.
CI. 398]
THii YL:oMHN of the guard," 1903.
AMATEUR DRAMATIC COMMITTEE 399
the late Mr. Frank Whitefield, C. Everitt, T. G. Tread-
gold ; and W. J. Mayson, Hon. Secretary. Amongst
prominent members elected to the Committee after that
date may be mentioned the late Mr. O. A. Kimmel, of
Barker and Co. ; Mr. J. C. H. Darby, of the Telegraph
Co.; Mr. C. Emerson, of Sisson and Delay; Mr. F. M.
Elhot, of Rodyk and Davidson; Mr. Claud Severn,
C.M.G. (now Colonial Secretary at Hongkong) ; Mr.
Roland Braddell ; and Mr. Francis Graham. Of those
who did yeoman service for the Committee may be
mentioned Mr. J. W. Dossett, who for long had charge
of the scenery and technical work behind the stage ;
the late Mr. Frank Whitefield, of the Municipality, who
was Musical Director ; Dr. A. G. Butler, who succeeded
as Musical Director; and as producers and stage man-
agers, Messrs. Brown, Mayson, Braddell, and Graham.
The Committee, which put amateur theatricals on a
proper business-like footing and was responsible for
several great successes, recently expanded into the
Singapore Amateur Dramatic Society, which ought to
have a big future.
The first effort of the Committee took place at the
Town Hall in April 1906, and was of a very modest
character ; but it was the last performance that the
amateurs gave in the old hall. A musical programme
was combined with a one-act play called Dream Faces, in
which Mr. C. Everitt and Miss Edith Newton (now Mrs.
Griffith Jones) made their debut.
A much more ambitious effort followed, when Captain
Marshall's comedy. His Excellency the Governor, was
put on in May 1906, at the present Victoria Memorial
Hall. A stage was specially built and the ceihng heavily
wired ; but even then the acoustics were shocking, and the
play suffered as a consequence. Mr. W. J. Mayson made
his debut in the title-role and Mrs. Salzmann made her
last appearance. Miss Newton (Mrs. W. J. Mayson)
was very successful as Stella de Gex ; it still remains the
best of the many good parts she has played.
In April 1907 the Committee put on two plays at the
400 AMATEUR THEATRICALS AND MUSIC
Teutonia Club, The Burglar and the Judge and Dream
Faces. In the former the late Mr. O. A. Kimmel made
his debut in the part of the burglar, Mr. W. J. Mayson
being the judge. Mr. Kimmel was one of the best low
comedians Singapore has had, being invariably successful
in every part he played. His early death came as a
terrible shock to all his friends behind and across the
footlights, for he was universally a favourite.
In July 1907 a party of amateurs produced a musical
farce called The Rajah of Stengahpour, by Mr. J. N.
Biggs, R.A., and Mr. Roland Braddell. It was put
on at the Teutonia Club, and, though it had been
refused by the Amateur Dramatic Committee, proved
a tremendous success. In it Mrs. Roland Braddell
made her debut, and immediately became a great
favourite with audiences. Mr. A. S. Bailey in the title-
role and Mr. Hugh Holland, R.A., also made their
debut, and scored successes. The play was highly
topical, verses being written about all the leading
people in Singapore, who enjoyed listening to them,
fortunately. The play was an innovation in every way,
and its success led to other amateur-written musical
plays. The Singapore Free Press said : "A stranger
dropping into the back of the Hall [the Teutonia Club]
last evening might well have been excused for im-
agining for a moment that he was back again in the
pit of a home theatre during pantomime. Singapore,
the stiff and rather staid Singapore, was actually
humming the choruses, and that is something which has
not happened for many a long year, if it ever did, of
which one has doubts."
In December 1907 the Committee put on H. V.
Esmond's comedy One Summer's Day, but it was not
a very great success, the play being unsuited to the
cast, and the stage at the Teutonia Club cramping the
actors and scenery. Mrs. Hooper made her last appear-
ance in the part of Chiara.
In August 1908 the Committee put on a show at the
Teutonia Club on the lines of the Follies. It was the
"THE MAGISTRATE" 401
first of its kind in Singapore, and was managed and
arranged by Mr. Roland Braddell, who wrote a potted
pantomime The Babes in the Wood for the second part.
The company called themselves the Starboard Lights,
and wore emerald green costumes. The performance
bristled with topicalities, and Mr. Hugh Holland and
Mrs. Braddell were responsible for a great deal of its
success. The Free Press described it as the '' most
extravagantly funny variety entertainment put on the
stage in Singapore for years." Mr. Claud Severn's
imitation of a kangaroo hopping brought down the house
and nearly brought down the stage ! He and Mrs.
Braddell were the Babes.
The next effort of the Committee has already been
mentioned : The Pirates of Penzance, in February 1909,
with which the new theatre was officially opened. It
was a triumphant success, for which Mr. E. A. Brown's
stage management was largely responsible.
In the next month the Committee put on The Ghost of
Jerry Bundler, by W. W. Jacobs, and a musical skit The
Pirates of Pulau Brani, by Mr. Roland Braddell. Both
proved very acceptable.
In October 1909 the Committee tried a daring experi-
ment with a costume play Under the Red Robe, The
play, perhaps, was not a success with the public, but it
was magnificently mounted, and Mr. H. A. Courtney,
of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, gave a notable
performance as Cardinal Richelieu.
In November 19 10 the Committee put on The Magis-
trate, which proved a success. Mr. O. A. Kimmel in the
title-role was splendid, and kept the house in roars of
laughter ; Mr. T. G. Treadgold also gave a very sound
performance, while all the parts were most creditably
rendered. The ladies were Mrs. Roland Braddell,
Mrs. J. C. Murray, and Mrs. Buckland, wife of the Agent
of the P. and O. Company.
In October and November 191 2 the Committee put
on The Geisha, which proved to be the finest and most
finished production ever done by amateurs in Singapore.
402 AMATEUR THEATRICALS AND MUSIC
Scenery was got out from home, the costumes were
carried out by Messrs. Yamato and Co., under the super-
vision of Mrs. C. H. P. Hay, the dances were arranged
by Mrs. W. J. Mayson, the cast and chorus contained
fifty-four performers, and the orchestra was magnificent
under Mr. Hewitt, Bandmaster of the Buffs. As the
Free Press said : '' There have been triumphs for the
amateurs before, but this is the crowning triumph."
The two principal roles upon which the success of the
play greatly depends are those of O Mimosa San and
Molly Seamore ; these were played by Miss Ida van
Cuylenburg (now Mrs. Lonsdale) and Mrs. Roland
Braddell, and the parts might have been written for
them. Of the former the Straits Times said : "Her
performance was more than a success, it was an artistic
triumph," and that " it was intense whole-hearted
admiration that made the audience call and call again
for repetitions of her part." Miss van Cuylenburg's
magnificent soprano was shown to its best advantage in
the lovely numbers which the part contains, and her
acting was perfect. It was a performance which will
live in the minds of all who saw it. Of Mrs. Braddell
the Straits Times said : "If ever Mr. Owen Hall is
Galled upon to justify his libretto, he should seek an
introduction to our Molly Seamore," " she made it all
a merry romp, singing, dancing, flirting, teasing with
such a whole-hearted zest and with so little of the
strain of artificiality that the audience joined her in
the spirit of fun and took delight in every moment she
was on the stage."
If you want to see Mr. E. A. Brown at his best, see
him in a Hayden Coffin part. As Lieutenant Reginald
Fairfax he was magnificent ; his song " Star of my Soul "
was one of the finest things in the play, which he stage-
managed and produced. But of the men Mr. C. H. P.
Hay as Wun Hi stood out the most. The Straits Times
said : " Mr. Hay appears for the first time here, but he
is an actor of quite exceptional merit, and he played the
cunning Chinaman to perfection. His dance in the
"THE QUERIES" AND A REVUE 403
last act was a revelation, and made one conclude that
the best amateur may equal the professional." Mr.
O. A. Kimmel played the Marquis Imari on the first
night, but had to drop out of the caste owing to his
wife's illness. Mr. W. J. Mayson then did a thing that
for an amateur was wonderful ; he went on without
rehearsal and read the part off the backs of fans, which
were changed as necessary. Probably not a soul in
the audience realised that he was not speaking the part
from memory, as he did later during the seven perfor-
mances of the play.
In March 1914 the Committee put on a triple bill,
Dream Faces, Bernard Shaw's How he lied to her Husband,
and The Ghost of Jerry Bundler. Mr. J. R. Moore gave
a notable performance in the second play, as did Mrs.
Wilfred Hunt, whose acting was particularly commented
upon by the Straits Times.
In April 19 14 the Committee combined with the
K.O. Y.L.I. , then stationed here, and gave a vaudeville
entertainment with The House of Nightingales, in which
Mr. J. R. Moore and Mrs. W. J. Mayson gave finished
performances.
The day of revue had now arrived, so in December
191 5 the Committee put on My Word ! 3. revue written
and produced by Messrs. Roland Braddell and Francis
Graham, preceded by a Folly entertainment entitled
The Queries, in which the costumes were designed by
Mr. Edward Collier, and were very quaint and effective.
The revue scored a huge success. The Straits Times
said : " Indeed, the simple truth is that we have never
seen out East anything better, and rarely anything quite
so good, as the tout ensemble last night. It was a credit
to all concerned." The dresses were designed by Mr.
Edward Collier and carried out by Robinson and Co.,
and of them the Straits Times said : " It is no small credit
to Singapore that it has been able to produce dresses
and costumes that would do no discredit to a London
stage." Mr. Graham made his Singapore debut in the
revue, and proved himself a finished actor and a great
404 AMATEUR THEATRICALS AND MUSIC
acquisition to the Committee ; Mrs. Thomas and Mr.
E. A. Brown made a great hit with their duet " They'd
never beUeve me," which as a consequence was whistled,
sung, and played all over Singapore, till one got sick of
the sound of it ! Mrs. Roland Braddell gave a very
finished performance, and made her rag-time songs
thoroughly popular ; but her best number was " Military
Mary Ann," with very good business by the full chorus.
Mr. J. Dewar, who is always splendid, excelled as Horatio
Buggs, his make-up being particularly good. Altogether
the Committee had a most satisfactory success, and the
Officers' Families' Fund received a very substantial draft ;
but the various sums raised by the Committee during the
War will be given later.
In July 191 6, under Mr. Brown's stage-management,
the Committee repeated The Queries, and added to it
A Lay of Ancient Rome, a musical skit, in which Mr. O.
A. Kimmel and Mrs. Roland Braddell scored well.
In December 1916 the Committee put on another
revue, written and produced by Messrs. Braddell and
Graham, entitled Here's fun ! and scored another
triumphant success. The scenery was designed and
painted by Mr. Edward Collier, and was the finest
amateur-painted scenery ever seen in Singapore. The
first scene was set in a mythical place called Tebessa,
and the curtain rose to a pitch-dark stage ; after a
pause the full lights went on with a flash, and disclosed
a wonderful Oriental set, going back the full depth of
the stage and showing a street and market-place with
Arab men and women, shops, and street vendors. The
costumes in this revue were particularly fine, and were
carried out by Mrs. F. W. King, with native tailors,
and also by Messrs. Robinson and Co. Mr. Graham and
Mrs. Roland Braddell again scored great successes ; Mrs.
Griffith Jones sang a beautiful song, with a violin accom-
paniment by Mr. R. L. Eber, who played the part of
a travelhng musician. Mrs. Monro and Mr. H. A.
Stallwood were very good in the parts of a maid and a
man-servant, and brought the house down with their
"DANDY DICK" 405
duet in the first act. The cast and chorus numbered
fifty. Both in this revue and in My Word ! the orchestra
was under the charge of Dr. A. G. Butler, and was very
fine ; indeed, the successes scored by the two revues
were largely due to the magnificent playing of the
orchestra, in which on both occasions Mr. F. Martens
and the members of the Europe Hotel Orchestra gave
their valuable services free of charge. The Free Press
said of Here's Fun! " The stage effects are such as
Singapore can scarcely have seen before, and the whole
production is a spectacular treat."
In December 191 7 the Committee put on Pinero's
Dandy Dick, under Mr. Brown's stage-management. It
was undoubtedly the best production of a non-musical
play that the Committee ever did, the cast being well
balanced and the principal roles admirably played.
Mr. W. J. Mayson was splendid as the Dean, and his wife
scored heavily in the part of the Dean's sporting sister.
The Free Press described their performances as undoubted
triumphs. Mrs. Grayburn made a very successful debut
as the Dean's toy child, the part of his other daughter
being played by Mrs. Roland Braddell with her usual
success. Mr. Turner and Mr. Brown played the parts
of the officers, the former making a successful debut.
In 19 19 the Singapore Amateur Dramatic Society
produced a most enjoyable children's performance,
arranged and produced by Mrs. W; J. Mayson, the feature
of which was the splendid dancing which she arranged.
Naturally, all the productions by the Committee
during the War were for charities, and a very large sum
of money was raised, as the following figures show :
1915 Queries and My Word! .... 5,209
1916 Queries Q-nd Lay of Ancient Rome . . 3,230
191 6 " Our Day " Variety Performance . . 1,537
1916 Here's Fun! ...... 7,790
191 7 " Our Day " Variety Performance . . 1,260
191 7 Dandy Dick ...... 4,000
1 91 9 Children's Performance .... 3,500
This gives a total of $26,526, in addition to which
Mrs. Oldman and Mrs. Braddell got up an entertainment
4o6 AMATEUR THEATRICALS AND MUSIC
in 191 8 called The Flats, which made a profit of $5,266,
and was a memorable success, with some clever local
skits in it. The record houses are : in a two-performance
show, $1 ,833 by The Flats ; in a three-performance show,
$1,748 by Dandy Dick) and for a more than three-
performance show, $1,637 by Here's Fun I
It may be thought that too much space has been
devoted to amateur theatricals, but the excuse must be
that they form such enjoyable interludes in life here,
and that their record contains the names of so many
well-known Singaporeans.
MUSIC
By Edwin A. Brown
The characteristic of organised musical effort in Singa-
pore has been that it was ephemeral, and that it suffered
from want of tenor soloists and a proper concert hall ;
as Mr. Buckley says under the date 1865 : " From time
to time in Singapore small parties for practising music
had been formed, but never attained length of life." He
goes on to mention that in 1865 the Amateur Musical
Society was formed among the English community, and
mustered about thirty to forty members. The German
Teutonia Club had its Liedertafel some years before.
The A.M.S. was at first conducted by the organist of
St. Andrew's Cathedral, but the mainspring of it was
Mr. Neil Macvicar (Martin, Dyce and Co.), who came
out in the same year as Mr. Arthur Knight, 1 860. The
first concert was given on the 28th December 1865, and
included the overture to The Caliph of Bagdad and
Haydn's first quintette. Thomas and Charles Crane
sang the " Larboard Watch," and C. B. Buckley made
his first appearance and sang the first solo in the
Town Hall, " The Village Blacksmith." Another con-
cert was given in 1 866. There was also the Philharmonic
Society of St. Cecilia at this time. The Committee of
the S.A.M.S. in 1867 included C. B. Buckley, Dr. J. H.
Robertson (father of Dr. Murray Robertson), and J. R.
EDWARD SAI.ZMANN.
II. 406]
MR. EDWARD SALZMANN 407
Macarthur (Hamilton, Gray) ; Mr. W. Hole was Honorary
Secretary and Treasurer and Edward d 'Almeida
Conductor. Apparently by 1 872 the Society had ended.
The first public notice of Mr. Edward Salzmann
appears in the March papers of 1874 : " Mr. Salzmann,
late of the Royal Italian Opera, Covent Garden, and
Professor of Music at the Royal Naval College, London,
has been appointed organist of St. Andrew's Cathedral."
On the nth March of that year Madame Arabella
Goddard gave a concert here, at which Mr. Salzmann,
Mr. Buckley, and Mr. Crane performed. Mr. Salzmann
had succeeded a Mr. I burg, who left for Shanghai after
a short stay here, his predecessor at St. Andrew's being
Mr. E. B. Fentum. If Mr. Salzmann could have been
induced to write his musical memories of Singapore, this
article would have been unnecessary. An amateur
orchestra was founded in 1884, and in 1888 he was
conductor. The orchestra gave a popular promenade
concert on the 9th May 1887, when an orchestra of
twenty-seven played, under three conductors, Mr. J. E.
Light, Mr. Salzmann, and Mr. Galistan. This was
probably Mr. St. Clair's first appearance in music in
Singapore, and he played the contra-bass. Among
those who took part were Mrs. Dare and Mrs. Salzmann,
R. Dunman, Miss Aitken, N. B. Westerhout, H. Laugher.
Indeed, since his arrival in Singapore Mr. Salzmann's
name was associated, directly or indirectly, with every
musical and dramatic production for a quarter of a
century. He retired from the post of organist of the
Cathedral in 191 8, having then probably attended more
weddings (in church) than anyone east of Suez. Mr.
Salzmann held, and time has shown that he was right,
that continuous musical practices would not succeed.
He therefore used to call his choir together for a particular
effort and collect his orchestra, practising assiduously
for a time, giving a successful concert, and then giving
musical effort a rest. " Mr. Salzmann's Choir " included
all the musical talent of the place, and the results were
so successful that he handed over the management of his
II — 27
4o8 AMATEUR THEATRICALS ANDj^MUSIC
choir to a committee, retaining the conductorship for
some years. At a compHmentary concert on the 5th
May 1893 Sir Charles Warren made a presentation to
Mr. and Mrs. Salzmann on their going home, after
eighteen years' stay in Singapore, and in his reply Mr.
Salzmann mentioned that he was going to ransack the
music-shops to find suitable material for the Society.
How successful he was the next few years show.
The Singapore Philharmonic Society was formed
in March 1891 on the initiative of Mr. W. G. St. Clair.
On a basis of subscribing members who were to have
admission to concerts and musical evenings for their
subscription, the Society was warmly received. The
first concert was given on the 7th December 1891, and
consisted of Co wen's Rose Maiden and a miscellaneous
selection. There was available at that time Mr. C. A.
Rauch's musical party, consisting of Messrs. C. A. Ranch,
A. Seumenicht, P. Schabert, E. Lanz, and R. Kinder-
vater, who gave delightful and high - class chamber
music. With the Society's orchestra and a choir which
was formed a considerable musical revival sprang up.
The first public performance of the Society of 1 892 took
place on the 6th June, with selections from the Messiah,
chorus and instrumentalists numbering over a hundred.
But a musical evening at Government House in the
previous March, with selections from oratorios, was
a great success. Miss Shelford and Mr. Arthur Crane,
Miss Grey, Mr. Bromhead Matthews, and Mrs. Finlayson
took part in this, as well as Miss Clementi Smith, the
Governor's daughter. Mr. Salzmann in 1 893 conducted
at an oratorio concert at the Town Hall, the first part
being selections from the Elijah. The activity lasted
for some years. Rossini's Stabat Mater was given
again in 1896, under Mr. Salzmann, the principal
vocalists being Mrs. Melville Simons, Mrs. Salzmann,
Miss Sharp, Miss Bogle, Mr. Newton, and Mr. Dunman.
This was a highly enjoyable performance also. The
orchestra, under Mr. W. G. St. Clair, had a short time
previously given a popular concert, at which there was
ORCHESTRAL CONCERTS 409
an exceptionally large attendance, and in the previous
May Mr. Salzmann had conducted a combined choral
and orchestral concert — three big musical events in one
year. The year 1895 was an active one musically.
In January Alfred Gaul's cantata Ruth was per-
formed. March saw the production of the Crusaders ^
and December Lauda Sion, all under the baton of Mr.
Salzmann. In 1902 the Society gave two choral
concerts, two orchestral, two musical evenings for
members, and one at Government House. The
membership numbered 244, and in addition to concert
giving and practice, encouragement was afforded to
young players. The activity was sustained till 1905,
and Mr. Whitefield, who died in 191 1, had taken over
the choral work, Mr. St. Clair conducting the orchestra.
The Society gave the Rose Maiden again. In 1906
the work of the Society was hampered by the letting
of the Town Hall for the Tanjong Pagar Arbitra-
tion, and in 1907 the demolition of the Town Hall
to construct the present theatre was begun. This
handicapped the Society greatly. Nevertheless, by
storing the music at the Teutonia Club and practising
at the Tanglin Club some excellent concerts were given.
But the loss of the Town Hall was fatal to the musical
activity of the Society, the Memorial Hall being too
big and expensive and the theatre being unsuitable.
1908-9 were slack years, but the President never lost
hope of securing a proper concert hall. In 19 10 he
propounded a scheme for a concert hall, and secured
much support financially. In this year Mr. and Mrs.
Noel Trotter, at a cost of £650, generously presented
to the Society a complete set of orchestral instruments
of the Philharmonic pitch, constant trouble having
arisen over the difficulty of conforming to the Kneller
Hall pitch, which the military bands had adopted.
The fine set of instruments was used at a concert at
the Teutonia Club. Orchestral practices were resumed
in 191 1, but the handicap of having no home proved
too much. Mr. St. Clair's energies, until he retired
410 AMATEUR THEATRICALS AND MUSIC
in 1 91 6, were devoted to the provision of a concert hall,
for which Mr. Manasseh Meyer generously promised
to provide a fine organ. The site was secured, plans
drawn, a number of subscriptions raised, when the
War intervened, and the hall has not yet been begun.
The experience of the Philharmonic Society shows how
necessary a concert hall is for Singapore.
It is not possible to enumerate all the concerts given
in Singapore by professional musicians, generously
assisted by the amateurs. In 1889 Miss Amy Sherwin
took a leading part in a performance of the Stabat Mater
with Mr. Salzmann's choir, in which Mrs. Salzmann sang
*^ Quis est homo" with Miss Amy Sherwin. The cele-
brated artiste also played in Turned up. Mr. Salzmann
conducted concerts for Madame Mendelssohn and Signor
Orlandini, at which Mrs. Salzmann and Mr. Howard
Newton sang.
During the last fifteen to twenty years musical
effort has passed through many vicissitudes, and
cannot be said to have been crowned with success.
It may be that life in the Colony has become much
more strenuous than it used to be, and that after a
day's work people do not feel inclined for further
effort ; but principally, we think, the explanation lies
in the somewhat curious fact that new arrivals in the
Colony during the period mentioned have not been
markedly musical, certainly have not been possessed
of any outstanding talent. Reasons could possibly be
found for this fact, but there is no need to go into them
here. As for instrumentalists, we can hardly point to
a single Briton who could be considered as a good
soloist, with the exception of A. P. Ager and Mr. and
Mrs. R. L. Eber. Of the aliens, mostly Germans,
we can remember names like Asmuss, Lanz, Wach,
Seumenicht, Mrs. Gad, Mrs. von Kilian, and of course
Mrs. Becker, and that prince of good fellows and most
versatile performers on the 'cello, Valois. As regards
singers, about the only foreigner whose name will be
found figuring as a soloist is E. Lehrenkrauss, of Behn,
SWEET SINGERS OF SINGAPORE 411
Meyer and Co. ; but the British population was not much
better off, for with the possible exception of J. G. Kirk,
a man with a small but sweet tenor voice, no tenor
really worthy of the name has honoured Singapore
with his presence since " Billy " Dunman's and Howard
Newton's day. For sopranos, also, musical society
looked in vain, and during the first few years of the
century the British community searched among them-
selves for one without success. Madame Brandt used
to fill the duties of soprano soloist in those days.
Curiously enough, the Colony has never wanted for
a good contralto. Mrs. Salzmann was still going very
strong in 1901, and the writer well remembers a concert
at the Tanglin Club, given by a Russian operatic singer
of good repute, in which none of the runs and trills
and " tricks of the trade " of that professional could
equal Mrs. Salzmann 's rendering of a simple little English
song, a great favourite of hers, " The Old Grey Mare."
Then Mrs. Arthur Barker, and after her Mrs. F. W.
Barker, successively filled the contralto role, and there
has always been a good reliable voice for concert work.
At the present time we have Mrs. McCullagh, an Irish
lady with all the Irish enthusiasm for music, and with
probably as good a voice as has ever been heard in
the Colon3\ Mr. Brown's arrival in 1901 gave the
Colony a baritone to fill the vacancy caused by Robert
Dunman's retirement, and he is still with us.
So much for those who have " faced the footlights,"
and they have not been many. But we do not find
much evidence of general private musical effort.
H. Laugher, the old Raffles schoolmaster, whose per-
formances on the flageolet will be remembered by some,
used to try to run a vocal quartette party in his rooms ;
but it was difficult to find the necessary voices, and
the effort did not last very long. Then Frank White-
field tried a male voice choir in connection with the
Philharmonic, and that, too, had only a short life. The
truth is that neither the talent nor the enthusiasm for
the exercise of it existed in the place. We remember
412 AMATEUR THEATRICALS AND MUSIC
well attending a big afternoon reception at the house
of a well-known Tuan Besar, and the garden party-
being spoilt by rain. The company collected in the
drawing room, and music was suggested. Out of, we
suppose, fifty British ladies not one could be found
who could play an accompaniment ! On another occa-
sion a lady gave specially a musical evening, invited
all the principal singers, and never provided for the
accompanying of their songs ! These little reminiscences
go to show the absence of that " sense of music " which
is so necessary to successful musical effort.
In looking back over the past twenty years some
outstanding efforts come to one's mind. There was,
for instance, the Messiah concert, arranged for by a
committee of gentlemen with Mr. Gahagan at their
head, which concert was organised and conducted by
Mr. Salzmann. It took place in that glorious room
for music, the upper room of the old Town Hall, and
the choir and orchestra could not have numbered
much less than one hundred and fifty. Madame Brandt
was the soprano soloist, Mrs. Salzmann and Mrs. Arthur
Barker shared the honours of the contralto between
them, Mr. Kirk was the tenor, and Mr. Brown the
bass. Little points about that concert still stick in
one's mind : for instance, Mrs. Salzmann 's singing of
" He shall feed His flock," and the refusal of a certain
gentleman, well in the front of the audience, to stand
up during the " Hallelujah Chorus " ! This concert
was followed next year by another of the same descrip-
tion, in which the first part of the programme consisted
of selections from Sir Michael Costa's Eli. It is in-
teresting to remember that Mr. Salzmann had probably
played that oratorio often under the personal con-
ductorship of Sir Michael, who was Conductor of the
Royal Italian Opera Company while Mr. Salzmann
was a member of the orchestra. The next musical
effort that one remembers, outside the region of dramatic
entertainment, was the formation of a choir to sing
at the official reception of the present King and Queen,
CHORAL SOCIETY 413
then Duke and Duchess of York. This choir was also
arranged and conducted by Mr. Salzmann, who was
presented to their Royal Highnesses at the conclusion of
the ceremony. Another choir of large dimensions was
formed later on for the occasion of the Coronation
of King Edward VII. On this occasion Mr. Lewis,
a new comer to the Colony from Shanghai, sang the
solo in " Land of Hope and Glory." Mr. Salzmann
was again responsible for the choir and orchestra,
which latter, as usual, contained many Germans.
With the above exceptions the times that united
musical effort has been attempted in the Settlement
have been few. The Philharmonic Choir was still in
existence at the beginning of the century, and was
attracting a fair number, but it soon fell away, and
was given up as hopeless, and spasmodic efforts, such
as the Rose Maiden under Mr. Whitefield, were
the only sign that choral singing need not altogether
be looked upon as a lost art. Later on a private
choral society, or rather a denominational one, was
formed at the instance of several ladies and gentlemen
of the congregation of St. Andrew's Cathedral, Mr.
Brown being appointed conductor. The scheme of
running the Society in sessions was here tried for the
first time. The first session was most enthusiastic,
and an excellent concert, consisting in the main of
unaccompanied old-fashioned glees, was given in the
Teutonia Club, and was a great success. Everyone
looked upon the Cathedral Glee Society as firmly estab-
lished. At the first practice of the next session only
the conductor and the accompanist turned up I And
so this effort also followed its predecessors in the way
that all united musical effort seems to take in Singapore.
In 191 7 the Philharmonic Choral Society was re-
suscitated again, mainly at the instance of several
ladies and gentlemen who had not been in operatic
work, but who nevertheless said they wished to sing.
Again an enthusiastic first session was the result, but the
second died off, and although an attempt was made to
414 AMATEUR THEATRICALS AND MUSIC
recover the enthusiasm by the inclusion of an orchestra,
the latter was never really a success owing to the lack
of players, and to-day the Choral Society only exists
as a committee pledged to carry on the children's
concerts until the time seems to be more ripe for
restarting the choir.
No article on music during the past twenty years
would be complete without some mention of the military
bands that have been here. After the South African
War the first white regiment to arrive here was the
Manchesters, straight from South Africa, followed
in a couple of years by the Sherwood Foresters,
both with no bands to speak of, although individual
members played regularly in the Philharmonic Orchestra.
But the Settlement later on was lucky to be the abode
of a battalion of the West Kent Regiment, with a band
reputed to be one of the finest in the marching regiments
of the British Army. And right well they sustained their
reputation.
There are people here who will still remember the
shock they got when, at a concert at the Tanglin Club,
the band laid down its instruments and sang an un-
accompanied glee. As a matter of fact, they could do
more than this. They used to entertain the regiment
once a month, and as they possessed a number of good
comedians in their ranks, and besides going out of the
ordinary rut in their instrumental music, being adepts
at quartettes on the trombones, trios for clarionets,
etc., a good programme was always assured. But the
climax was reached one night when at the end of the
programme the whole band stripped, and gave as
good a combined gymnastic display as has ever been
seen in Singapore. It is interesting to note that the
then gymnastic instructor was Sergeant Guest, of the
Aldershot Gymnastic Staff, who afterwards turned up
in Singapore during the War as Major Guest, in command
of the wing of the Middlesex Battalion stationed here.
Mr. McElvey was the Conductor of this collection of
versatile artists, and " McElvey 's Boys," as they
REGIMENTAL BANDS 415
used to be called, will long be remembered in the East.
Another band with a good sound musical training was
that of the Buffs, who came here later on. Not perhaps
so excellent in their versatility, they were nevertheless
quite as noticeable for the class of music they played,
and their programmes were quite as ambitious as those
of the West Kents. The Conductor, Mr. Hewitt, was
excellent with a choir, and in fact the band formed the
orchestra at the A.D.C.'s production of The Geisha^ and
gave the finishing touches to that most artistic and
very successful production.
The band of the " Koylis " (or King's Own Yorkshire
Light Infantry), the last regiment of the old army to be
stationed here before the War, was also one that must
not be forgotten when mentioning military music,
although perhaps not reaching the pitch of excellence
attained by the West Kents and Buffs.
CHAPTER XX
CONCERNING KNOWN PERSONS
By Walter Makepeace
The Reads : C. R., W. H. M., and R. B.
These three famous men belong to the early period of
the Settlement's history, for although W. H.'s life
extended into the twentieth century, his active con-
nection with Singapore ceased in 1880, although his
sympathies were enshrined in the place and its doings.
Buckley's Anecdotal History devotes many pages to
these worthies, and possibly inspired the concluding
paragraph quoted from Ecclesiasticus, " Let us now
praise famous men."
Christopher Rideout Read came to Singapore in
November 1822 as the partner of Mr. Alexander Laurie
Johnston, coming on from Bencoolen on the advice of
Sir Stamford Raffles. The two were on the founder's
Town Commission nominated under Regulation No. 3 •
of 1823, which gave them the powers of justices of the
peace in England. [It is worthy of note that the last
representative of the firm of A. L. Johnston and Co., Mr.
W. E. Hooper, holds the record as having been Chairman
of the Visiting Justices for sixteen years, and still holds
that honorary and honourable office.] Two of these
magistrates were to sit with the Resident in Court to
decide in civil and criminal cases. C. R. Read's wife
and young daughter joined him in Singapore in 1824.
One of the most strenuous advocates of the freedom of
the port, in 1836 he was instrumental in getting up a
petition to the Indian Board (Buckley, page 303) pro-
416
WILLIAM HENRY READ 417
testing against the imposition of tonnage dues, presented
by Lord Stanley, and was in communication with the
East India and China Association in London on the
subject. In 1 863 he wrote to Sir Charles Wood, Secretary
of State for India, asking that the prohibition of Sir
Stamford Raffles against the levy of tonnage dues be
reimposed, but the request was not acceded to, as the
Government of India was pledged not to take advantage
of the bill to authorise the levy of port dues in the ports
of the Straits Settlements.
William Henry Macleod Read arrived in Singapore in
1 841, in a sailing vessel, to take his father's place (who
then retired) in A. L. Johnston and Co. On the ist
January 1842, then, W. H. Read replaced his father,
Mr. A. L. Johnston having also left Singapore in the
previous December. He lived at that time in a house in
Battery Road, on the river-side, which had been built by
the senior member of the firm, and was named Tanjong
Tangkap, because jealous rival merchants said it was
a trap to catch ship-masters as they arrived and rowed
up the river. The young man was praised for his excel-
lent jockeyism in his riding of the winner of the first
race, the Colonel, in 1843. He also promoted the first
regatta in the harbour in that year ; next year became
Treasurer of the first public library ; and the following
year was the second initiate of the newly formed Masonic
lodge.
The sort of man he was may be judged from the follow-
ing : " In 1845 we went on a deputation to Colonel
Butterworth abouf a bridge. On leaving, the Colonel
called me back, and said, * You will never have that
bridge.' * Sir,' I said, ' I am sorry to differ from you ;
we will have it,' and so we did." 1 848 was a memorable
year for him. He was married, and took his bride to
the Tanghn of Singapore, then Beach Road. Also the
firm changed its godown to where the Hongkong Bank
now stands, and there business went on, side by side
with Robinson's, until 1890. Mr. Read's name was the
first on the roll of the Volunteer Corps in 1859. Two
4i8 CONCERNING KNOWN PERSONS
years before this he had taken up the Consulate for
Holland, at a time when there were no Dutchmen in
Singapore, but when the strain between the English
and Dutch over Java and Rhio was great. It speaks
well for the diplomacy of the young Consul that his con-
duct so pleased the Dutch, without interfering with his
patriotism, that he was made a Knight of the Netherlands
Lion, and was received with great courtesy at The Hague.
He resigned the Consulate in 1885. W. H. was the first
Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council at the
Transfer in 1 867, and had great influence over the native
rajahs, who often came to him in their troubles, and he
played a noteworthy part in bringing the Native States
under British protection. Queen Victoria made him a
C.M.G. in 1886. The Singapore Free Press of March
1866 gives a summary of Sir Richard McCausland's
proposal of his health at a public dinner in the Town
Hall :
" I shall not venture nor attempt to enumerate all the
public services Mr. Read has rendered ; for the omission
of any one might have been fatal to the task. But
whether it be free trade or freemasonry ; gas works or
gambling farm ; a secret society which has just started
up or a grand jury presentment to put it down ; a screw-
pile pier [? Johnston's Pier] or railway ; patent slips and
docks ; the Suez Canal or any other diggings of the
Delta ; and lastly, but by no means least, the total and
absolute transfer of the entire Straits Settlements from
the cold embraces of poor old John Company (now, alas,
no more !) to the fostering care of a Colpnial Secretary and
the tender mercies of a Chancellor of the Exchequer "
" Delta " was the pen-name under which Mr. Read
contributed numerous letters to the newspapers — always
strong in argument and precedent, if at later dates
somewhat acrimonious.
In 1907 he published Play and Politics : Recollections
of Malaya by an Old Resident, dedicated to Sir Andrew
Clarke. Of this grand old Singaporean Mr. Buckley
writes :
ROBERT BARCLAY READ 4^9
" Certainly no one here ever worked more unselfishly
and unsparingly for the good of the place, and how much
it owed to him there are few now to remember. Public
men work for various reasons, and often for somewhat
selfish objects, but Mr. Read gave his time and his
unsparing energy for the good of the place, even to the
detriment of his own personal and pecuniary interests,
solely from a wish to help the place with which he, his
father, and his family had been so long connected."
W. H. was born the year before Sir Stamford
Raffles hoisted the flag here. He left in February
1887, and lived for many years at Blackheath, always
keenly interested in Singapore. In 1897, ^^ ^ letter
to Mr. A. Knight, he writes of the fatigue of his
" forty years in the wilderness " — although he found
much pleasant manna there — " deaf as I am, I ^m
sure that if there is a post-mortem held on me, * Singa-
pore ' will be found engraven on my heart." Mr.
Read's portrait, painted by his friend and connection,
James Sant, R.A., hangs in the Town Hall. He died
in his ninetieth year, in 1908.
Robert Barclay Read was a cousin of W. H. Read.
He arrived in the Colony in May 1 848, at the age of twenty,
and resided in Singapore for thirty-six years, dying at
Yokohama, where he had gone in ill-health on the 27th
October 1884, at the age of fifty-six.
** He was very popular in the place, a leader in all its
affairs, like his cousin, W. H. Read, both commercial
and social. He was Consul for Sweden and Norway. . . .
The Swedish Government made him a Knight of the Order
of Wasa and the Dutch Government conferred on him
the Knighthood of the Netherlands Lion for his valuable
assistance in discovering and following up the threads
of a conspiracy at Palembang. . . . Socially Mr. Read
was for years the life and soul of the place. He had a
good appreciation of the enjoyments of life, and, especi-
ally in his younger days, the capacity for inspiring and
diffusing them. He was an enthusiastic yachtsman, and
took great delight in his cruises. ... In the amateur
theatricals of those days he was always considered an in-
420 CONCERNING KNOWN PERSONS
dispensable associate. . . . He was for long President of
the Singapore Club, and a handsome centre-piece was
subscribed for by the members to be kept in the Club in
memory of him." " Of light comedians none excelled Mr.
Barclay Read and Mr. William Adamson " (Buckley).
If the name of Singapore was on the heart of W. H.
Read, surely the great concomitant set forth by Raffles,
" Singapore a free port," was engraven on the hearts of
all the Reads. In 1863 (Buckley, page 699) the Supreme
Government of India directed the Governor to submit to
the Chamber of Commerce for their opinion a bill to
authorise the levy of port dues in the ports of the Straits
Settlements. Mr. Church, the Resident Councillor in
1856, had recommended a levy or port clearance fee on
square-rigged vessels, to cover the cost of the harbour-
master's department, then Rs. 7,020 per annum. The
Chamber of Commerce (the 29th November) protested
strongly, Abraham Logan being the Secretary :
" It is almost superfluous in adducing reasons against
the levy of these dues here to observe that Singapore
had been a * free port ' since its first establishment in
1 819, and that to its complete exemption from duties,
whether of customs or on vessels using the harbour, is
mainly to be attributed its remarkable success as a place
of trade, and the high degree of prosperity to which it has
now attained. . . . The existence of port dues, however
trifling in amount, would, in the opinion of this Chamber,
have the effect of materially diminishing the advantages
which Singapore now offers as a place of call and refit
to vessels trading in these seas."
In forwarding that letter, Governor Blundell stated
that if the expenses were met from the general revenue
of the Colony there would be no object in levying port
dues of any kind — ** on the contrary the measure would
prove detrimental as well as objectless." A widely
signed memorial was sent to the Government of India,
dated the i6th February 1857.
The matter dropped till 1 860, when a draft bill to levy
RAFFLES'S PLEDGE RECALLED 421
port dues was again forwarded from India. In 1863 the
attitude of the Chamber was unchanged towards a
proposal that "has been objected to on several occasions,"
quoting instances such as the resolution of the inhabi-
tants on the 1 8th December 1856 " that the imposition
of tonnage dues on shipping is an unwarrantable attack
upon the freedom of the port ... as being in direct
violation of the principles upon which this Settlement
was established."
From his home at Surbiton Park, March 1863, C. R.
Read, with him W. C. Raffles Flint and James Banner-
man Gumming, brought all forces to bear on Sir Charles
Wood, Secretary of State for India, addressing to him a
number of letters calling attention, inter alia, to :
" That when Sir Stamford Raffles formed the Settle-
ment and hoisted the British flag at Singapore in 18 19,
he issued a proclamation declaring it a free port, and that
it was to remain so.
" That the then Supreme Government of India
approved of and confirmed the said proclamation.
" That relying on the fostering care and pledged faith
of Government, the inhabitants have expended large
sums in building the town and erecting public buildings,
bridges, etc., and in improving and bringing the interior
of the island into cultivation.
" That some years after the formation of the Settle-
ment the Supreme Government of India thought fit
to make it a penal one, and sent their convicts thither
from all three presidencies until they amount to many
hundreds.
" That the accumulation of such numbers of murderers,
of which class they principally consisted, necessitated the
sending of troops as a protection to the lives and property
of the settlers,and consequently entailing heavy expenses.
" That ... it is most unfair, unnecessary, and con-
stituting a breach of faith with reference to Sir Stamford
Raffles 's proclamation to attempt to levy duties of any
kind on the trade of Singapore."
The correspondence failed to persuade Sir Charles
Wood to order the reimposition of the prohibition of
422 CONCERNING KNOWN PERSONS
duties of any kind being levied at the port of Singapore,
and a petition was prepared to Parliament.
A shorter petition was subsequently prepared, dated
the 1 3th July 1 863 . It will suffice to show how keen was
the interest taken by the Reads in this matter to quote
the following letter :
" Clyde Villa, Surbiton Park.
" gih July 1863.
''My dear Willie,
" I hear you Singaporeans consider yourselves
safe because the Government have withdrawn their
bill of levying duties at your port. You are about as
safe as the ostrich when he sticks his head in a bush and
deems himself safe from the hunters. Depend upon it
there is no safety for Singapore till the prohibition be
reimposed, and it is only by pressing Sir Charles on that
point that you will avoid the infliction of duties. I send
you a copy of a note from Lord Stanley to Seymour.
Sir Charles has so far committed himself to Lord S. that
if the Chamber of Commerce adopt the plan I recommend,
which I send herewith, he cannot without a breach of
honour and good faith refuse to reimpose the prohibition.
Let the Chamber adopt their own language in the letter
to be addressed to him, but let it be to the effect I have
noted down. I have sent you also a copy of a revised
petition to the House, which will probably be presented
next week ; Lord S. thought the first one too long and
that many members would not give themselves the
trouble of reading or listening to it attentively, but he
thinks it could not be better as a guide to whoever may
speak on the motion ; if I could feel sure that you
Singaporeans would adopt my advice I should feel
inchned to rest on my oars till I get the letter I recom-
mend, as I think Sir Charles has pledged himself too
deeply to Lord Stanley to retreat when he finds the
Singaporeans unanimous in repudiating his assertion
that the proposal to levy tonnage dues came from
them, and are solid in demanding the reimposition of
the prohibition. There may be a chance of the Settle-
ment being taken over by the Colonial Department, but
even then it will be highly desirable that the prohibition
be reimposed before that event takes place. The
THE BRADDELL FAMILY 423
Chambers of Commerce of Liverpool, Manchester, and
Glasgow are acting for us.
*' Thine affectionately,
^'C. R. Read."
This petition quoted again Sir T. S. Raffles :
^* A Regulation for the Port of Singapore.
''Regd. No. II of 1823.
" This Port of Singapore is a Free Port and the Trade
thereof is open to Ships and Vessels of every Nation
free of duty equally and ahke to all."
And the Subsidiary Rules revised on the 29th
August 1823 :
"Clause 7. — All vessels, European and native, will
promptly receive a Port Clearance on application to
the master attendant's office, and such Port Clearance
will be without charge or fee.
''{Signed) T. S. Raffles.
'' Registered, G. Bonham, Register [szc]."
The Braddell Family.
Mr. Thomas Braddell's direct connection with Singa-
pore commenced in 1862, and covered just a score of
years to his retirement early in 1883, caused by a
carriage accident. But he was actually in the Colony
from 1844, so that for seventy-five years there have
been Braddells in the Straits, and for fifty-seven years
in Singapore. Those who have known most of them
find a deep interest in noting how their various qualities
and traits of character appear from generation to
generation.
Thomas Braddell, C.M.G., F.R.G.S., F.E.S.L.,was born
on the 30th January 1823 at Rahingrany, Co. Wicklow,
the property of his grandfather, the Rev. Henry Braddell,
M.A., Rector of Carnew, Co. Wicklow. At the age of
nearly seventeen he went to Demerara with his brother,
George Wilham, to learn sugar planting. The brother
died there in 1 840, and in 1 844 Thomas Braddell arrived
at Penang from Demerara to manage the sugar estate
11—28
424 CONCERNING KNOWN PERSONS
called Otaheite, in the Ayer Hitam Valley, which be-
longed to Messrs. Brown and Co. About this time a
great impetus had been given to the sugar industry in
the Straits by the new sugar duties, with the result that
Brown and Co. opened in 1846 the Batu Kawan Estate,
in Province Wellesley, of which Mr. Braddell became
the manager and owner of one quarter ; but the estate
got inundated in a very high tide, the crop was lost,
and the venture ended. On the ist January 1849 Mr.
Braddell joined the service of the East India Company
as Deputy Superintendent of Police at Penang. After
holding various offices in Penang, the Province, and
Malacca, he was promoted to the highest position
which any uncovenanted servant of the Company
had ever held, that of Assistant Resident Councillor,
Penang, a post which had previously been held by a
covenanted civilian or high military officer. He earned
this promotion for an act which made him famous at
the time, and gained him the quickest promotion in
Government service then known. In 1854 the most
serious clan riots ever known broke out in Singapore,
and the feud spread to Malacca, where the Chinese broke
out, took possession of the country parts, and built
a stockade in one of the main roads, where they defied
the police. Mr. Braddell, who was at that time stationed
in Malacca, without the slightest assistance and without
calling on the military, went out with all the pohce
he could get together, attacked the Chinese, killed
and wounded several of them, took the stockade, and
summarily ended the riots, for which act he was publicly
thanked by the Governor.
He was not satisfied with his prospects in the Company
as an uncovenanted servant, and commenced to study
for the Bar, a natural bent, seeing that from 1801 rela-
tives of his had been at the Irish Bar. On the loth June
1859 he was called at Gray's Inn ; in 1862 he resigned
the Company's service and went to Singapore, where
he commenced practice in partnership with Mr. Abraham
Logan, as Logan and Braddell . In 1 864 he was appointed
THOMASIBRADDETX, C.IM.G.
SIR THOMAS BRADDEIyT..
tl. 424]
ROT,AND BRADDE)!.!.. ]\rASTER THOMAS BRADDE:!,!^.
Four Generations of the Braddell Family.
MR. THOMAS BRADDELL 425
as Crown Counsel, and when the Transfer took place
was appointed Attorney-General, an office which he
held until the end of 1882. In February 1858 Mr.
Braddell had written a pamphlet entitled " Singapore
and the Straits Settlements Described," because of
the agitation then going on about the Transfer. In
this pamphlet (which proved very useful and most
opportune) he discussed the best way of governing and
administering the Straits, and several of his suggestions
were adopted. He wanted the Government of the Straits
to be quite distinct from that of India, and that the
sources from which the officials were derived should
also be distinct. The pamphlet was a remarkable
piece of constructive statesmanship, and showed his
fitness for the high office to which he was appointed
when his suggestions came to be put into practice.
He was a most indefatigable worker, and used to sit
up very late at night at his work. In addition to his
multifarious duties, he found or made time to become
a fine Malay scholar, to write innumerable articles
in Logan's Journal, and to collect material for a history
of Singapore, which, however, he never actually wrote,
but which was the foundation of Mr. Buckley's history,
and indeed prompted Mr. Buckley to undertake that
most valuable work. Mr. Braddell was certainly one
of the busiest men of his day, his court practice (for
the Attorney-General was allowed private practice
at that time) was very large and lucrative, his duties
as Attorney-General were very heavy, but he always
found time for public work. As Mr. Buckley put it
in his history, " there are some who wonder why Mr.
Braddell, who was a very busy man, should have spent
so much time and taken so much trouble about the stories
of this place ; but he was one of those, Hke Mr. Crawfurd,
J. T. Thomson, G. W. Earl, John Cameron, and others,
who were very willing to use their spare time in en-
deavouring to record the history of the place, the growing
importance of which they foresaw and appreciated."
When Sir Andrew Clarke was sent out with orders
426 CONCERNING KNOWN PERSONS
to solve the problem of the Native States, he relied
very strongly on Mr. Braddell, and appointed him
Colonial Secretary and Secretary for Affairs relating
to the Native States in 1875. To Mr. Braddell was
due much of the success of the conference which con-
cluded the Treaty of Pangkor in 1 874, which Sir Andrew
described as " the very best stroke of policy that has
occurred since the British flag was seen in the
Archipelago."
He was exceedingly popular with all the Malay chiefs
and principal men, who used to come from all parts to
consult him. Being a very fine Malay scholar and
having a most courteous manner, he was able to exert
great influence with them, the following instance of
which is given in Sir Andrew Clarke's diary.
In February 1874 Sir Andrew Clarke, with Admiral
Sir Charles Shadwell, went up to Selangor, and arrived
at Langat, the residence of the Sultan of Selangor
and the pirates' headquarters. The place was strongly
fortified v/ith big guns, and as Sir Andrew wrote in
his diary, " the fort itself, both inside and outside, was
covered with some hundreds of very villainous-looking
Malays armed to the teeth." Major McNair, with a party,
was sent ashore to ask the Sultan to come off and see
His Excellency, but the Sultan refused, and Major
McNair, after waiting three hours, returned, having
effected nothing. Sir Andrew's diary then proceeds :
" Braddell, my Attorney-General, then landed alone,
smoking a cigar, as if for a stroll, lounged through the
bazaar and town, passed the sentries, and stepped
quietly into the Sultan's palace. Braddell speaks
Malay better than a Malay, and knows their customs.
It ended in his getting at the Sultan, who at last con-
sented to come on board."
Of Mr. Braddell's personal quaUties Mr. Buckley,
who was his life-long friend, speaks highly :
" He was a man of great quickness of perception,
great energy of purpose, and unwearied industry. He
MR. T. BRADDELL'S RETIREMENT 427
was, in his comparatively younger days, when he first
came to Singapore, one of the most popular men of the
place. He was a capital billiard player, and was to
be seen in the theatre when any travelling company
gave performances there, which were poor enough ;
but he used to say that it passed an evening occasionally,
however bad the players were, and made a little diversion
from work.
" It was always pleasant to the jury to hear him
conducting the cases at the Assizes, for he was most
essentially a kind-hearted, straightforward man, with
a very pleasant, perfectly audible voice, and a fluent
but very simple speaker. He had a very pleasant
face and manner, and it was said of him after the
Transfer that he was the only official who could carry
off the civil service uniform which came into use then
among some, but not all, the officials, for he had a
fine figure, and was over six feet in height."
Towards the end of 1882 Mr. Braddell had a nasty
carriage accident, and as a consequence had to retire ;
he was entertained before his departure at a farewell
dinner given by the Bar and the Civil Service, at which
the Chief Justice, Sir Thomas Sidgreaves, took the chair,
and the Governor was present as a guest. All the
Members of Council, heads of department, most of
the Civil Service and all the Bar were present, so the
papers said. In proposing the toast of the evening
the Chief Justice said that the news of Mr. Braddell's
retirement had been received with incredulity :
'' One could hardly understand that Mr. Braddell,
who had become a sort of institution here, whom every-
one of us had known so long, who had become a part
and parcel of the Colonial regime under which we all
live, was going to leave us, that we were to lose the
benefit of his assistance. It seemed as if a Colonial
calamity was impending. Because I do not think
there is anyone in the whole Colony who from his long
residence and unselfish devotion to the public weal
is so universally respected and whose absence will
be more regretted."
428 CONCERNING KNOWN PERSONS
He died in London on the 1 9th September 1 89 1 , at the
age of sixty-nine. The Supreme Court assembled in
Singapore to do honour to his memory, and speeches
were made by the Attorney-General, Mr. Jonas Daniel
Vaughan, his old friend and colleague, and by the
Chief Justice Sir Edward L. O'Malley. The Singapore
Free Press, in an obituary notice, remarked that there
were very few institutions in this place which did
not in some way, to those who were acquainted with
their history, recall him, and that that was especially
the case among the Masonic fraternity. It went
on to refer to the fine work done by many of the old
officials of the East India Company, and concluded :
" Foremost amongst them stands the name of Mr.
Braddell, who for thorough honesty of purpose and
uprightness of character in somewhat trying official
duties has left an honoured name in the history of
the earlier days of Singapore." Mr. Braddell had filled
all the offices connected with Freemasonry in his day,
save that of District Grand Master, which was held
by his friend, the late Mr. W. H. Read, whose deputy
he was.
In 1852 he married Miss Anne Lee, the daughter
of William Lee, of Longeaton, Notts., in his day a well-
known amateur cricketer who played for Nottingham-
shire. By her he had two sons and two daughters ; one
of the latter married Sir Edward Marsh Merewether,
K.C.V.O., K.C.M.G., then a cadet in the Straits Civil
Service, and at present Governor of the Leeward Isles.
They were on the Appam when she was captured
by the Moewe, the German raider. She played a
large part in theatricals and music while she was in
Singapore.
Of his sons the elder. Sir Thomas de Multon Lee
Braddell, came out in 1879, having been married a
month or two before he sailed. He joined his father
in practice. J. P. Joaquim and Sir John Bromhead
Matthews were also partners of his, the former in the
'Eighties and the latter in the 'Nineties. Sir Thomas,
SIR THOMAS BRADDELL 429
while he was at the Bar, did not take any part in
pubHc affairs save when he acted as Attorney-General
in 1898, and for a year or two prior to that as a
Municipal Commissioner. In 1907 he was appointed a
Puisne Judge, and in 191 1 he became Attorney-General,
holding that appointment until 191 3, when he went to
the Federated Malay States as Chief Judicial Com-
missioner. In the New Year's honours of 19 14 he
received a knighthood, and in 191 7 he retired, and is
now living in England. Sir Thomas, like his father,
was an enthusiastic Freemason, and in his time was
Master of Lodge St. George and first Master of Read
Lodge, Kuala Lumpur, holding the two offices by special
dispensation in the same year; he was also District
Grand Senior Warden.
Sir Thomas was a very good actor in his younger days,
and was particularly successful as General Baltic in
Turned up, by Mark Melford, and as Digby Grant in
Two Roses, by James Albery. These were played at
the old Town Hall in 1887 with great success. He also
stage-managed lolanthe, which started an era of musical
plays in October 1889, and the Crimson Scarf, a comic
opera by H. B. Farnie and J. E. Legouix, in 1888 ; nor
was he above giving an evening a week to coach the
elder pupils of Raffles Girls' School in their Shakespeare.
Although not very robust, he played a fair game at tennis,
a good game of billiards, and was a staunch supporter
of the Swimming Club, which has a fine portrait of their
former President in the club-house. All who knew him
had the highest esteem for his fine character and sterling
work. In Council and Court he was courteous in demean-
our and quiet in speech, yet withal firm and decisive.
Privately, no one ever appealed to him in vain for advice
or help, which he gave with great sincerity and kindness,
in his quiet way, well meriting the verdict of one
troubled lady whom he aided in a troublesome piece of
public work that " he was such a helpful man."
Sir Thomas de Multon Lee Braddell was born in
Province Wellesley in 1856, and after leaving Oxford was
430 CONCERNING KNOWN PERSONS
called to the Bar at the Inner Temple on the 25th June
1879. On the 1 6th September 1879 he married Violet
Ida Nassau, daughter of John Roberts Kirby by his
wife Elizabeth, who was the daughter of William
Frederick Nassau, of St. Osyth's Priory, Essex. He
was admitted to the local Bar on the 5th January 1880.
Sir Thomas's eldest son, Roland St. John Braddell, is
now practising in Singapore, carrying on the traditions
of the family in the firm of Braddell Brothers, and by his
interest in the stage and public affairs. He was born in
Singapore on the 20th December 1 880, took his law degree
at Oxford in 1904, was called to the Bar at the Middle
Temple in the following July, and came out to Singapore
in that year and was admitted here on the 9th April
1906. On the 1 2th December 1906 he married Dulcie
Sylvia, only daughter of the late Dr. Lyttelton Forbes
Winslow, D.C.L., LL.D., M.D., etc., the celebrated
mental specialist, himself the son of a more celebrated
mental specialist, whose evidence in Macnaghten's case
caused a revolution in criminal law with regard to lunacy.
Mr. and Mrs. Roland Braddell have one son, Thomas
Lyndhurst Braddell, born in Singapore in 1908 — the
fourth generation.
The younger son of Thomas Braddell, Robert
Wallace, also came out to the Straits after his father's
retirement and practised at the Singapore Bar in partner-
ship with his brother. Sir Thomas, until December 1906,
when he retired. He was the finest criminal lawyer and
cross-examiner who has practised at the local Bar. He
was a very fine billiard and lawn-tennis player, gaining
the championship many times at both games. In no
less than three separate tournaments R. W. Braddell
secured the championship, the singles handicap, the
doubles handicap, and the Profession Pairs, i.e. every
event. He and the Hon. F. M. Elliot carried off the Pro-
fession Pairs on many occasions. Also " Bob " was an
admirable caricaturist, much of his work being shown
in illustrations herein, and under the nom de plume of
*' K.Y.D." had cartoons of Sir Cecil Smith, the Maharaja
THE MAXWELLS 43i
of Johore, and others published in the Vanity Fair
series. Straits Produce contains much of his hterary and
artistic work. He shared the family taste for theatricals,
and appeared in comic parts on many occasions, and could
sing a good comic song. Robert Wallace Glen Lee
Braddell was born in 1859, won his tennis half-blue at
Oxford, and was amateur lawn tennis champion of the
North of England. He married Minnie, daughter of the
Rev. Thomas Smith, vicar of Brailes, near Banbury.
His son, Robert Lyttleton Lee Braddell, was born in
1888 in Malacca. At Oxford he was captain of the
Association football team, and played for England. He
was also in the 'Varsity cricket team, and has given some
fine expositions of these games in Singapore. Robert
Lyttleton was called to the Bar at the Inner Temple
on the 28th June 191 1, and married Ethel, daughter of
Robert Jewison, of Beverley, Yorkshire. He came out
to Singapore, and in 191 2 was admitted to the local
Bar. During the War he went home, joined up, and
obtained a commission in the R.A., and was in France.
The Maxwells
Sir Peter Benson Maxwell was born on the 31st
January 1816. He was the fourth son of Mr. Peter
Benson Maxwell, owner of Birdstown, Londonderry, and
one of eight brothers. His mother was, before her
marriage, Hester Emily O'Hara, of a well-known family
in County Galway. His parents lived a good deal
abroad, and he was educated in France, and at Trinity
College, Dubhn. He chose the law as his profession,
was called to Inner Temple, and practised as a barrister
in London, sharing chambers with two men who also
became eminent judges. Baron Pollock and Sir George
Honyman. He was for a time on the staff of the Morning
Chronicle when Douglas Cook was editor, and con-
tributed to the Saturday Review. He also did some
reporting in the House of Commons, and his name still
survives in the law reports of Maxwell, Pollock and
Lowndes. In 1842 he married a cousin, Frances
432 CONCERNING KNOWN PERSONS
Dorothea Synge, only daughter of Mr. Synge, of Glanmore
Castle, County Wicklow, and had a family of eight
children — four sons and four daughters.
During the Crimean War he was sent as one of the
members of a Commission to the Crimea to enquire into
the state of the hospitals there, and on his return wrote
the celebrated pamphlet Whom shall we hang? Its
moral was that, instead of seeking a victim on whom the
blame for inefficiency and lack of preparation should
be bestowed, the nation had itself to blame for the
niggardly provision of money in the army estimates.
He went to Penang as Recorder in 1856, being sworn
in on the 20th March, and Punch published the lines
which begin with ** So whom shall we hang has gone to
Penang." He succeeded Sir Richard McCausland as
Recorder of Singapore in 1 866. On the transfer of the
Straits Settlements in 1867 the title of the post was
changed to that of Chief Justice, and, as such, he swore
in Sir Harry Ord, the first Governor. He retired in
1 871. He was a " strong " judge, and insisted upon
getting to the bottom of every case. In order that he
might not be at the mercy of interpreters, he not only
learnt Malay, but became a Malay scholar ; and he
created a sensation when he announced in Court that
he would personally walk round the boundaries of some
disputed property. He afterwards made this a practice,
and in this way learnt much of native life and custom.
He was a great supporter of native rights by long
possession of land, and saved many a " squatter " from
eviction by a landlord with a newly acquired title-deed.
His reputation amongst the older generation of Malays
and Chinese both in Penang and Singapore still survives,
and is based upon his humanity and impartiality. His
judgments were marked by the extent of his knowledge
of the law and his breadth of view. Sir Benson's career
as a judge will, however, be found dealt with fully in
the article on " Law and the Lawyers."
In 1883, at the request of the British Government
and of the Khedive, he proceeded to Egypt to assist
SIR PETER BKNSOX MAXWET.L.
SIR W. K. MAXWEI.I., K.C.M G.
II. 432]
W. GEORGE MAXWEI.Iv, C.M.G. MASTER VERNON MAXWEI.I..
Four Generations of the Maxwell Family.
SIR BENSON MAXWELL 433
Lord Dufferin by undertaking the reforms of the Law
Courts. The French legal system was in force, and he
had a delicate and difficult task, which he attacked with
energy and ability, but in which he encountered con-
siderable opposition. His duties included periodical
visits of inspection to the gaols, where he found the
unfortunate prisoners cruelly ill-treated, being flogged
with the kurbash by their gaolers on any pretext. Sir
Benson determined to put an end to this state of things,
and his efforts on behalf of the oppressed, and against
corruption and cruelty generally, are still gratefully
remembered in Egypt. The official opposition to his
measures increased ; and he was not adequately sup-
ported by Mr. Gladstone's Government, which was then
wholly absorbed in debating the Khartoum Relief
Expedition. In August 1885, therefore, finding himself
persistently thwarted, he resigned his appointment.
Great efforts were made by both the British and Egyptian
Governments to persuade him to withdraw his resigna-
tion, but in vain. A question of principle was involved,
and no thought of personal advancement had any
weight with him.
Some time after. Lord Dufferin, in speaking of the
difficulties of those early reforms in Egypt, was describ-
ing the qualities of self-abnegation, patience, and high
idealism required, when his hearer said : " Why, Lord
Dufferin, you wanted angels, not men ! " " Well," he
said, " I found one in Maxwell."
In his later years Sir Benson made his home in London,
but travelled a good deal, spending one or two winters
in Rome, and frequently visiting Switzerland and Ger-
many. He was deeply interested in archaeology and
in the study of languages, and was a good linguist,
speaking French like a Frenchman, and being well
acquainted with German and Italian. Music was his
special hobby, the violoncello, which he played with
considerable skill, being his favourite instrument.
On the 26th July 1 892 Sir Benson and Lady Maxwell
celebrated their golden wedding ; but some time before
434 CONCERNING KNOWN PERSONS
this took place his health had begun to fail from repeated
attacks of asthma and bronchitis, and the anniversary
found him quite an invalid. A sojourn in the south of
France revived him for a time, but a chill contracted at
Grasse early in January led to pneumonia, and on the
14th January 1893 the end came at daybreak. He was
laid to rest in the French cemetery at Grasse, in the
beautiful country he loved so well, and on his grave are
the words, which all who knew him feel appropriate :
" WITH THE SPIRITS OF JUST MEN MADE PERFECT."
THE SECOND GENERATION
Peter Benson Maxwell, eldest son of Sir P. B. Maxwell,
was educated at Wimbledon School, and came out to
Penang in 1 864, for two years being clerk to his father.
In 1 866 he was appointed Magistrate, Province Wellesley,
and held the appointment until 1868, when he was
given a similar appointment in Berbice, British Guiana.
He died at Georgetown, British Guiana, in 1878, leaving
three sons.
William Edward Maxwell was Sir Peter's second son.
He was educated at Repton School, and in January 1865
entered the public service as clerk to his father, who was
then Recorder of Penang. In 1869 he was appointed
Police Magistrate and Commissioner of the Court of
Requests in Penang, and in 1870 was transferred in the
same capacities to Malacca. For a short time in 1870
he acted as Lieutenant-Governor of Malacca. Four
years later he was sent to Province Wellesley as Assistant
Government Agent, and in 1875 he effected the land
settlement of the Trans-Krian district. When an
expedition was sent to Perak after Mr. J. W, W. Birch's
murder, he was Deputy Commissioner with the Larut
Field Force (November 1875), and was mentioned in
despatches. He acted as Assistant Resident of Perak
in 1876. Then, in 1877, he acted successively as
Assistant Colonial Secretary, Singapore, as Resident of
Perak, and as Senior Magistrate, Singapore. He was
appointed Assistant Resident of Perak in 1878, in succes-
SIR W. E. MAXWELL 435
sion to Captain Speedy, who afterwards became famous
in Abyssinia. He acted as British Resident, Perak, in
1 88 1 and the early part of 1882.
Perhaps the most important of his many appointments
in Malaya was the one that followed. In 1882 — he had
been called to the Bar (Inner Temple) in 1881 — he was
made Commissioner of Lands Titles, Straits Settle-
ments, an appointment which was especially created for
him in order that, with his special qualifications and
knowledge of land matters, he might put the land system
of the Colony upon a satisfactory basis. The appoint-
ment gave him a seat in the Executive and Legislative
Councils. It is to him that the Colony owes the Crown
Lands Ordinance 1883, the Boundaries Ordinance 1884,
the Crown Lands Ordinance 1886, the Conveyancing
and Law of Property 1 886, the Malacca Lands Ordinance
1886, and the Registration of Deeds Ordinance 1886.
He was sent on a special visit to the Australian Colonies
in 1883, in order that he might see the manner in which
the " Torrens " system of land transfer by registration
of title operated in the various land offices. His report
upon the subject was a most valuable document, but his
attempt to introduce the system into the Colony was
opposed strenuously in some quarters, and eventually
failed.
In 1884 he was employed by the Foreign Office
on a mission to the west coast of Acheen, where the
survivors of the shipwrecked crew of the Nisero were
being held in captivity by the Achinese. After difficult
and protracted negotiations he secured their release ;
for his services he received the thanks of His Majesty's
Government, an award of ^^500, and the C.M.G. He
acted as Resident Councillor of Penang from May 1887
to May 1889. In June 1889 he was appointed British
Resident, Selangor. At the earhest opportunity he
put into force the system upon which he had laboured
for years in the Colony, passed the Land Enactment
and the Registration of Titles Enactment (both of
which he drafted himself), and by his untiring energy
436 CONCERNING KNOWN PERSONS
and determination converted in a very short time
the chaos of the land offices into a simple and effectual
system of land tenure and land conveyancing. The
system was so successful that it was soon adopted
in Perak, Negri Sembilan, and Pahang.
Later, when the States were federated, federal en-
actments were passed. The same system has since
been adopted, with modification, in the Unfederated
States.
Upon the death of Sir Frederick Dickson, K.C.M.G.,
Sir William was appointed in March 1 892 to succeed as
Colonial Secretary, S.S. He administered the Govern-
ment of the Colony in 1893.
In 1 894 he was promoted to be Governor of the Gold
Coast. There was little or no land system beyond
that of customary native tenure, and the local chiefs
claimed the right to grant to European concession-
hunters wide areas of land both for agriculture and
mining. He investigated the subject with characteristic
energy, acumen, and thoroughness, and submitted to
the Colonial Office his recommendations for a land
system which would preserve the rights both of the
peasantry and of the Colonial Government. The
rebellion of King Prempah of Ashanti absorbed the
greater part of his attention in 1895, ^nd he proceeded
to Ashanti with the expeditionary force under command
of Sir Francis Scott, K.C.M.G. The account of
Prempah's defeat and surrender, and his public obeisance
to the Governor, as representative of Her Majesty
the Queen, is well known. The effect of the action then
taken was immediate and lasting, and its wisdom is
now fully recognised. Ashanti thereupon became a
British protectorate. He was given the K.C.M.G.
in 1896. Later he had trouble with Samuri, a leader
of a large marauding force in the hinterland of Ashanti,
and proceeded thither to deal with him in July 1897.
At Kumassi he had a severe attack of blackwater
fever, and was insistently urged by his medical advisers
to return to the coast. Feeling, however, that there
STUDENT AND ADMINISTRATOR 437
remained still to be done work which he alone would
do, he refused to leave. He completed the task, and
was carried down to Accra by hammock-bearers, in
nearly a dying condition. At the first opportunity
he was put on a homeward-bound steamer. He died
on the voyage, and was buried at sea, off the Canary
Islands, on the 14th December 1897.
The work by which he is best remembered is his
Manual of the Malay Language (Trubner 1882), which
is used by all students of Malaya. As a mere manual
it is perhaps somewhat overweighted by the brilliant
essay (which is not quite appropriately styled an
" Introduction ") upon the Sanskrit Element in Malay ;
but it is an essay which no student can afford to miss.
In him the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society
had the keenest supporter and best contributor that
it has ever had. He conducted a " Notes and Queries "
supplement for some time, and contributed a great
number of articles. Many of these articles are classics.
In some of them he saved from oblivion some legendary
Malay stories, which professional story-tellers knew
by rote and repeated, for an evening's entertainment,
to the villagers.
He married, in 1870, Lilias Aberigh-Mackay, daughter
of the Colonial Chaplain of Penang, and sister of " Ali
Baba," whose Twenty -one Days in India is one of the
classics of India. Mrs. (afterwards Lady) Maxwell
was one of the most charming hostesses that Singapore
has ever had. They had six sons, of whom a brief
account is given below.
Sir William was a man of medium height, with a
fair complexion and a light yellow moustache. He
had eyes of a striking light blue, whose natural glitter
was brightened by an eyeglass. In the course of con-
versation he would jerk this eyeglass into its position,
and then abruptly concentrate a glare that was often
disconcerting, and at times terrifying. Partly because
of the colour of his eyes, and partly because of his restless
energy, the Perak Malays, who have a nickname for
438 CONCERNING KNOWN PERSONS
almost everyone, called him when he first went there
" Anak Rimau," the " tiger-cub." He was a good
snipe shot, and a good and very keen rider. The
Selangor Gymkhana Club flourished in his time, and
at all times and everywhere he strongly supported
anything connected with amateur riding. Tent-pegging
was his strong point ; and one of the best cartoons
that ever appeared in Straits Produce was one that came
out at a time when he was Colonial Secretary, and
it was generally expected that he would get the K.C.M.G.
The cartoon was an adaptation of Lady Butler's well-
known picture *' Missed," in which an Indian cavalryman
is pulling up his charger, after having failed to carry
the peg. Mr. James Miller, the cartoonist, substituted
a " K " for the peg, and hit off Sir William's expression
and eyeglass with great skill and felicity. Sir William's
fault was his tendency to be imperious. He always
knew exactly what he wanted and exactly how he wanted
to get there, and he was seldom prepared to concede
that there was any other way. The result was that
any committee on which he served tended either to
become a " one-man " concern, or else to end in a dead-
lock.
He was a great administrator, with a complete
grasp of his subject, and a sympathetic control over
his subordinates. Men recognised him as keen and
capable, and put out their best efforts to carry through
any work for him. His ambition was to return to
Singapore as Governor, and his untimely death was to
this Colony an incalculable loss.
Robert Walter Maxwell, third son of Sir P. B. Maxwell,
was educated at Repton School, and came to Singapore
in 1867. As his two brothers had been, he was at first
clerk to his father. He then acted as Private Secretary
to the Lieutenant-Governor of Penang. In 1871 he
joined the Straits Settlements Police Force as an
Assistant Superintendent. He became a Superintendent
of Police in 1873, Superintendent of Police, Penang, in
1880, and finally Inspector-General of Police. A smart
ROBERT WALTER MAXWELL 439
and fearless officer, he was very popular with all ranks
of the force, and devoted to its service. He took keen
personal interest in the young officers of the force, was
a wise friend to them all, and gave them a helping
hand when one was needed. When the Chinese riot
broke out in Singapore, in connection with the muni-
cipal by-law relating to the five-foot ways, he was very
badly injured by a blow on the head. From this injury
he never completely recovered. He retired on pension
in 1893. For some years he led a semi-invalid life in
London, and had just taken and settled into a small
country house at Rockbourne, in Wiltshire, when he
died suddenly in July 1897. He was unmarried.
Of all the family he was the most popular. In all
classes of the community he was a friend to all, and
an enemy to none. With charm of manner, and a
delightful disposition, his thought was always of others
and never of himself ; despite his ill-health in his late
years, he was always cheerful and ready to amuse and
be amused.
Frank R. Ord Maxwell was the youngest of Sir
Benson's sons. Born in 1849, he was also educated
at Repton School, and joined the Sarawak Civil Service
in 1872. In 1876 he was promoted to be Resident
of the Batang Lupas and Saribas districts. He com-
manded a punitive expedition against Lang Eudang
in the Sekrang in 1879. From 1881 until his retirement
on pension in 1895 he was Resident of the First Division
(Sarawak Proper), and was the right-hand man of the
Rajah of Sarawak. He did much to increase the
prestige of the Rajah's rule and extend his rulership
in the direction of the then decaying kingdom of Brunei.
The treaty whereby the Trusan district was ceded by
Brunei to Sarawak was negotiated and signed by him.
After his retirement on pension, he was appointed in
1 896 British Consul and Resident of Labuan. He died,
whilst on leave, at Yokohama on the 17th August 1897.
The Dyaks, amongst whom the greater part of his
life was spent, had for him respect and affection second
II — 29
440 CONCERNING KNOWN PERSONS
only to that which they had for their Rajah. He
thoroughly gauged their strength and their weakness,
and could always look at any question from their
point of view.
THE THIRD GENERATION.
William George Maxwell, eldest son of Sir W. E.
Maxwell, was born in 1871, educated at Clifton Col-
lege, and appointed a junior officer, Perak, 1891,
but was transferred to the Straits Settlements Civil
Service in 1904. He held a number of appointments
in the Federated Malay States as Magistrate, District
Officer, etc., and was appointed Solicitor-General, S.S.,
1906, and Acting Attorney-General, S.S., 1908. Upon
the transfer in 1909 of suzerainty of Kedah from Siam
to Great Britain under the treaty of that year, Mr.
Maxwell was selected for the appointment of British
Adviser, Kedah. He acted as Colonial Secretary, S.S.,
in 1914, 1916, 1918, and 1919; as Secretary to the
High Commissioner, Malay States, in 191 5 and 191 7 ;
and as British Resident, Perak, in 1916. He was
appointed General Adviser, Johore, in 191 8, and received
C.M.G. in 1915. He holds the Royal Humane Society's
medal, and is a barrister-at-law of the Inner Temple.
The multifarious positions found for Mr. Maxwell
are shown by the following list of " commissions."
He was President of the Singapore Housing Commission
191 8; of the Rubber Industry Protection Committee
191 8; of the Singapore Centenary Committee (191 8) ;
of the Raffles College Subscription Committee (19 19) J
Vice-Chairman of the Food Control and Food Production
Committees, S.S. and F.M.S., and of the Shipping Control
Committee, S.S. ; Passage Controller. In this year
he is President of the Straits Branch Royal Asiatic
Society, and Chairman of the Raffles Museum and
Library Committee. A ready writer, the publications
to his credit include : The Land Laws of Perak (Past
and Present) ; The Laws of Perak ; a Chronological
Table of Perak Laws ; and a Chronological Table of the
WILLIAM GEORGE MAXWELL 441
Laws of the Straits Settlements. The last has reached
its eleventh edition. He is the author of that charming
book In Malay Forests (Blackwood), and has contri-
buted numerous articles to the Journal of the Straits
Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. Mr. Maxwell
married Evelyn, daughter of W. F. Stevenson, Esq.,
and has two sons, mentioned later.
Charleton Neville Maxwell, second son of Sir W. E.
Maxwell, was born in 1872, and educated at Cheltenham
College and Bedford Grammar School. He first entered
the Sarawak Civil Service in 1891, but was appointed
junior officer, Selangor, in 1894. He had a number of
appointments in the Federated Malay States as Magis-
trate, District Officer, etc. He served in the South
African War (Queen's medal with five clasps) ; in 1914,
was appointed British Agent, Trengganu, and later was
seconded for service with the Trengganu Government.
Eric Frank O'Hara Maxwell, third son, was born
in 1873, and educated at Cheltenham College and
Bedford Grammar School. He came to Singapore
in 1894, and was articled to Messrs. Drew and Napier.
Later he practised as an advocate and solicitor in Ipoh,
and founded the legal firm of Maxwell and Kenion. He
retired in 1909. He married Ethel, daughter of Colonel
Hale, and has one son.
Dennis Wellesley Maxwell (Lieutenant-Colonel), fourth
son, was born in 1875, and followed his two brothers at
Cheltenham College and Bedford Grammar School.
He then went to Sandhurst, and in 1894 received a
commission in the 74th Highland Light Infantry.
Transferred to the Indian Army, 4th Gurkhas, he served
in the Tirah campaign and the Boxer rebellion. He was
wounded in Mesopotamia, 191 7, and is at the time of
writing in command of the 4th Gurkhas. He married
Constance, daughter of Sir Stair Agnew, and has a
daughter and a son.
Gerald Verner Maxwell, fifth son, was born in 1877,
and was also educated at Cheltenham College, Bedford
Grammar School, and then Peterhouse, Cambridge
442 CONCERNING KNOWN PERSONS
(Scholar). He entered the Fiji Civil Service in 1898,
and has held a number of appointments in Fiji. In
191 2 he was promoted to be Chairman of the Native
Lands Commission. He married Jean, daughter of
Dr. Blyth, and has two sons and two daughters.
Peter Benson Maxwell (Captain), sixth son, was born
in 1 88 1, educated at Bedford Grammar School, and also
entered Sandhurst, gaining the sword of honour on
leaving. He received his commission in 1899, and was
transferred to the Indian Army, 35th Sikhs. He then
passed the Staff College examinations, in the Indian
Army, and later in the British Army, and was transferred
back to the British Army (East Yorkshire Regiment),
proceeded with his regiment to France at the outbreak
of war, and was killed on the Aisne, in September 191 4.
Captain Maxwell married Eileen, daughter of General
Sir Gordon Hamilton, and left one daughter.
THE FOURTH GENERATION
Vernon Stevenson Maxwell, elder son of W. G.
Maxwell, was born at Taiping, F.M.S., in 1904, and is
at Winchester College.
Clive Benson Maxwell, younger son of W. G. Maxwell,
was born at Singapore in 1908. He is at Oxford Pre-
paratory School.
The Cranes
Thomas Owen Crane came to Singapore in 1824 or
1825, and started in business as Thomas O. Crane in the
latter year. He married one of the many daughters of
Dr. d'Almeida in 1826, and had fourteen children.
When Buckley's history was pubhshed, only one of them,
the eldest daughter, was dead. Of the family, Wilham
Crane went to Japan in 1861, and has adopted that
country as his own. Thomas Crane married and went
home. Charles E. Crane married a Miss Stapleton, and
carried on business as an auctioneer for many years in
Singapore. Thomas and Charles are noted as singing
the " Larboard Watch" in 1865 Mary Ann Esther
THE CRANES 443
Crane married Thomas Dunman in 1 847. Sarah was the
wife of Mr. H. W. Wood, one of the founders of Gilfillan,
Wood and Co. Emily Crane married Mr. W. W. Shaw,
of Boustead's. Adelaide is at home, unmarried. Arthur
G. Crane married Miss Farrow, and has several times
come back to Singapore to stay for a time, always
rejoining the Cathedral choir. Frank Crane married
and went to Natal. Two daughters, Delphina and Eva,
were unmarried. Joseph Crane was a captain in the
Mercantile Marine. Henry Crane was the last of the
sons to reside permanently in Singapore.
Thomas O. Crane retired from business in 1864 J he
had lived for many years at his large house at Gaylang.
After thirty-five years in Singapore, he made a short
visit to London, and retired in 1 866, dying the following
year. His name constantly appears in the records as
a J. P., a member of the Raffles School Committee, a
warden of the first Freemasons' Lodge, and a persistent
and enterprising planter. He tried cotton, and in 1836
had seventeen acres of cotton at Tanjong Katong, but
the want of a regular dry season made cotton growing a
failure. He then planted coconuts on the Gelang
coconut estate, and his experiences are reported in
Logan's Journal (page 103).
William Crane, his brother, came up from Australia
to join him in business about 1842, and returned to
England in 1857.
Some of Thomas's grandchildren have lived and
worked in Singapore, among them Charles S. Crane,
the Secretary of the Straits Trading Co.
The Dunmans
Thomas Dunman was born in the year of Waterloo,
and was certainly here in 1842, for his boat Bellows to
Mend took part in the New Year's Day regatta. He
entered the police force in September 1 843 from Martin,
Dyce and Co., and as he was not of the covenanted ser-
vice, the appointment was criticised. But he made good.
Thomson, in his book Sequel to Life in the Far East, in
444 CONCERNING KNOWN PERSONS
speaking of the uncovenanted officers of the East India
Company's service, writes : " It was Congalton who swept
the Malay waters of pirates ; it was Dunman who first
gave security to households in Singapore by raising and
training an efficient pohce force ; and it was Coleman
who laid out the city of Singapore in the expansive and
well-arranged plan admired by strangers." Buckley
writes warmly of T. Dunman's activity and intimate
acquaintance with the manners and habits of the natives,
and says : " His time was not spent in sitting in an office
under a punkah, answering frivolous enquiries and
minutes about petty police details, as in the present day
(1900), but in going about town and country." He sat
as a police magistrate in 1844 and onwards. In 1851
he was made Superintendent of Police for Singapore,
and in 1856 Commissioner of Police, retiring in 1871,
but remaining in the place for four years, and dying
at Bournemouth in 1887, aged 73. He was evi-
dently one of the strenuous kind of early Singaporean
which Buckley so much admired, entering into all sides
of life in the island, including a large coconut plantation
of 400 acres at Tanjong Katong. The Grove Estate was
west of the old Tanjong Katong road to the sea. At
one time the founder of the family lived at the corner
of Malacca Street ; most of his children were born at one
of the few bungalows on the sea-front. Beach Road,
where Clyde Terrace Market is now.
Thomas Dunman married Mary Ann Esther, the
second daughter of Thomas O. Crane, on the 5th January
1 847, who was then at the early age of sixteen, and the
characteristic features of the d'Almeidas were continued.
She had nine children, all alive on Centenary Day, when
she was eighty-eight years old, and 1 20 children, grand-
children and great-grandchildren, some of the latter
over twenty-one years of age, and {vide Buckley) some
of the most popular young people of Singapore ; she is
still living.
Robert Dunman, the eldest son, was twice married.
By his first wife there were three children, Muriel, Leslie,
THOMAS DUNMAN.
THE DUNMAN FAMILY 445
and another son, a Tank officer, killed in the War. By
the second wife — ^Tom, in the R.E., is now dead ; Amy ;
and Norah, who married Colonel Sergeant, at one time
connected with the Volunteers in Singapore, and killed
in the War. In 1871 he signed per pro. for Shaw,
Scholefield and Co., which had been established in i860.
In that year also he won the all-comers' all-rifles
match of the S.V.C. (being then sergeant), with a score
of thirty-three, Sergeant-Instructor Phillips making
twenty-five. ** The scoring was not so good as usual,
owing to the deterioration of the powder caused by the
climate."
The other children of Thomas Dunman were Ellen,
unmarried ; Elizabeth, who married Mr. Woodroffe, of
the I.C.S., and one of whose sons. Colonel Woodroffe,
R.E., was through the War ; Louiza, married the A.D.C.
to Governor Ord, and had six children, of whom E. N. T.
Cummins and H. C. Cummins are out here, planters,
their brother. Colonel Cummins, being taken prisoner
at Kut ; Henry, a musical professor in America ; William,
now in Singapore, and managing the Grove Estate ;
Amy, married C. T. Lacey, three sons, one killed in the
War and another a colonel in the K.R.R., M.C. ; May
Ann, unmarried ; and Emilie, who has a son and
a daughter.
How much does Singapore's life not owe to such
families as the Cranes and the Dunmans ? They organise
concerts and provide much of the music ; they produce
plays and make life worth living. The Dunman boys
played good cricket, and Robert was a good shot and
keen volunteer. William also played good cricket, and
gave an excellent Jack Point on the stage.
Of Tom Dunman his contemporaries in the 'Sixties
speak with respect and love for his high qualities. They
also tell stories showing that he was more than a bit of
a wag, such as starting his new diary with " January ist,
left off Beer " — " January 2nd, took to it again." Again
they speak of the famous dinner in his house at Kampong
Glam, for which he forgot to make arrangements, and on
446 CONCERNING KNOWN PERSONS
the morning sent his head boy round to the houses of
the guests and collected their own dinners, which they
greatly enjoyed, especially one man his own mutton.
Apparently the guests were as equally forgetful of the
dinner as was Tom. As the chronicler puts it :
" To people who have not been in the East this may
seem a strange story, but the head boys really do all the
housekeeping, and are in the habit of helping one another;
the fact of the guests taking their own servants to wait
upon them at table tends to encourage co-operation
among the boys. . . . Eastern housekeeping runs on
entirely different lines to home, and is calculated to suit
the young lady of the present day down to the ground."
The d'Almeidas
Dr. Jose d'Alrneida was a landowner in Singapore
in 1 824. He had been a surgeon on a passing Portuguese
man-of-war, and being struck with the prospects and
advantages of the place, decided to settle here, but
before doing so made several voyages, leaving money
here for Mr. F. J. Bernard to purchase land, one of the
plots being on Beach Road. Dr. d'Almeida came here
to live in 1825, and had a shop in the Square. Taking
advantage of commercial opportunities, the firm of Jose
d'Almeida was established, and carried on by his sons
afterwards, Joaquim and Jose, and when the doctor
died in 1 850, it was one of the largest and most important
in the place. The doctor's house at Beach Road was
the rendezvous of all the musical talent of Singapore,
and his kindness to newcomers was proverbial. He and
Dr.Montgomerie (whohad a nutmegplantation, including
Everton and Duxton, from Neil Road down to where
the Rikisha Station now stands) were associated in the
exploitation (Buckley says discovery) of gutta-percha.
Dr. d'Almeida was an indefatigable agriculturist — sugar,
coffee, coconuts, cotton — and introduced new varieties
of fruit, such as the Pisang d'Almeida; he also tried
cochineal, vanilla, cloves, and brought in teal and quail
from India and China. On his visit to Europe in 1842,
DR. JOSH D'Al^MEIDA.
n. 446]
1
THE SHELFORDS 447
he was knighted by the Queen of Portugal, and was
appointed Consul-General in the Straits, and received
several other titles. Sir Jose's family was a large one —
nineteen or twenty children — and at his funeral at the
Roman Cathohc Cemetery in Fort Canning Road (1850)
nearly every European in the community attended.
Among the children, the eldest married Mr. T. O. Crane.
Jose d'Almeida's story is told in Buckley. Eva married
Crombie Glass, a partner of Guthrie and Co. in the
Singapore Middle Ages (1870). Another daughter, Eva,
married A. P. Talbot, of the Civil Service, who was
Clerk of Council for many years, and acted on several
occasions as Colonial Secretary.
The Dunmans and d'Almeidas went to Dusseldorf
together — twenty of them in all, — took a large house in
Bahn Strasse from 1864-7, ^^ the time of the Schleswig-
Holstein and the Seven Weeks' War, ending with the
battle of Koniggratz.
The Shelfords
The biographical records of Mr. Thomas Shelford,
C.M.G., are by no means commensurate with the great
part he played in the life of Singapore for twenty-five
years. He came in with the Transfer, and was almost
the leading man till his retirement in 1 898. Mr. Shelford
came to the Colony from the Cape in 1 863 or 1 864 to
join the firm of Paterson, Simons and Co. He speedily
assumed a good position, and signed the firm per pro.
with Mr. Gulland in 1867, the year of the Transfer. In
that year he joined the Board of Trustees of the Raffles
Institution, Mr. Thomas Scott being a contemporary on
the same body. He served on the Legislative Council
with such high distinction that it became a byword in
the Council that what he did not know of its proceedings
and business was hardly worth knowing. His power of
logical arrangement was great : no reference was too
minute to be verified, no subject too trivial to be dealt
with but in logical sequence and with well-chosen phrase.
Whether discoursing on matters of trade and commerce,
448 CONCERNING KNOWN PERSONS
checking a financial statement, reviewing the proceedings
of a company, or criticising the Government, which he
was apt to do with a caustic tongue, conceiving himself
to be the representative of the '' people outside," Mr.
Shelford always had something to say worth listening to,
and his speeches, even at this lapse of time, repay study.
In his firm Mr. Shelford had the most minute knowledge
of all that went on. The long connection of himself
and his partners with the New Harbour Dock was a
happy one, and it is a melancholy coincidence that he
died the very day the " concern " was handed over
to Government. He was not very strong in body,
and suffered with his lungs, which debarred him from
outdoor sports ; but he fought against that disability
with magnificent courage. Thomas Shelford was born
on the 23rd November 1839. He was twice married,
his first wife being buried in Singapore. The brass
lectern in the Cathedral was given by Mr. Shelford in her
memory in 1873, and the brass rails in front of the com-
munion table were given by the family after his death.
He had five children by her, Mr. William Heard Shelford,
Mrs. R. N. Bland, Miss Flora Shelford, Mr. R. Shelford
(who was formerly in the Sarawak Museum), and Mr.
Laurie Shelford, in the navy. By his second wife he
had two daughters.
When he retired in 1 897 Sir Cecil Smith said that " For
almost a quarter of a century Mr. Shelford has . . .
borne a great part in the shaping of the legislation of
this Colony, and in the general conduct of the business
discussion of its public affairs. In Mr. Shelford the
Colony has happily shown that pubhc- spirited industry
united to the high qualifications of an oratorical capacity
to marshal his facts and figures, so laboriously and skil-
fully drawn together, and present them in addresses
whose debating power only on occasion failed of its
legitimate effect, because the Government were often
tied down to the carrying out of a policy prescribed
from the Colonial Office." The writer, who knew Mr.
Shelford quite well in his public capacity, reading these
THE KERS AND THE KERRS 449
words after an interval of twenty-two years, heartily
endorses them. In June 1901 Mr. Shelf ord's portrait
was unveiled in the Town Hall. It brings out with
great fidehty the habit Mr. Shelford had of cocking his
head a little on one side, which caused the natives, who
had a great admiration for him, to give him the name of
" Tuan kepala singet " — the master with his head on
one side.
Mr. WilUam Heard Shelford, the son of Thomas
Shelford, born on the ist December 1868, came into
prominence in Singapore soon after the death of his
father in 1903, when Mr. C. Stringer, the head of
Paterson, Simons and Co. in Singapore, was away. Like
his father, he entered vigorously into the commercial
and political life of Singapore. In the Chamber of
Commerce he expressed the same clear and decided
opinions that were expected from a Shelford on the
harbour schemes, and with regard to currency and other
matters. He was a keen supporter of commercial
education and a staunch Churchman, holding office as
Treasurer of the Cathedral, as his father did before him.
In the Straits Settlements Association he was on the
Committee in 1903. He took a prominent part in the
Tanjong Pagar expropriation, and was a member of the
Legislative Council, 1905-6. After he had left Singapore,
he was President of the Straits Settlements Home
Association. He was Chairman of the Chamber of
Commerce in 1905.
The Kers and the Kerrs
William Wemyss Ker arrived in Singapore in July
1828, and according to the Singapore Chronicle was
admitted a partner in the establishment of Holdsworth,
Smithson and Co. on the 22nd January 1830. On the
31st March 1835 Holdsworth and Smithson both retired,
and the firm changed its name to Ker, Rawson and Co.
Mr. Ker left the East for good in 1857. He had one of
the fashionable houses in Beach Road, with a separate
billiard-room. His house caught fire in 1847 in a blaze
450 CONCERNING KNOWN PERSONS
which threatened the whole row of houses. In 1 848 he
Hved at Bukit Chermin, and great excitement was caused
by a false alarm that Chinese pirates had landed and
attacked it. Mr. Ker was a member of the Committee
for furthering the objects of the Great Exhibition of
1857, on which were such well-known men as T. Church
(Resident Councillor), G. W. Earl, G. G. Nicol, Tan Kim
Seng, and Dr. Oxley.
James Campbell Ker and Thomas Rawson Ker, two
of his sons, came out to Singapore in the 'Seventies,
and joined Paterson, Simons and Co., but both left after
a few years' service in the firm, and for many years were
in the service of the Sultans of Johore, as also was another
son, Harry Ker.
William Purdy Wellwood Ker, a grandson of W. W.
Ker, came out to Paterson, Simons in 1900, and is now
a director in the firm.
Other Kers and Kerrs who came into Singapore
history are : Dr. T. S. Kerr, an assistant to Dr. Little
(1883), later Colonial Surgeon, Penang ; and James Kerr
and David Kerr, partners in Eraser and Co., the former
marrying Miss Eraser.
Crawford D. Kerr, Secretary of the Straits Insurance
Co. (1889).
Robert Ker, a Glasgow partner of Syme and Co. in
1846 ; William Ker, jun., who became a partner in 1851 ;
Robert Ker, also a partner in 1858. John Paton Ker,
son of William Ker, jun., an assistant in Syme and Co.,
a fine amateur jockey who rode as " Mr. Curpejee," left
the firm to go to Ipoh, and died in 191 8.
Thomas B. Ker, one of the original founders of the
'Singapore Library in 1844.
A. J. Kerr, Registrar of the Supreme Court, 1834-57.
William Graham Kerr, a partner in Martin, Dyce and
Co. in 1857, who started a business in 1854, and died
many years afterwards in Bangkok. He was associated
with W. H. Read in agitating against the introduction
of the copper coin of India (1855), part of the movement
which ultimately led to the Transfer. W. G. Kerr also
SIR JOHN ANDERSON 451
protested in 1856 against the imposition of tonnage
dues.
The Georges
Mr. W. R. George came to Singapore in 1823, and
appears in 1829 in connection with the Bilhard Club.
He was in the firm of d 'Almeida and Co., and also in
W. M. Spottiswoode and Co. Buckley (page 207) has
much to say of his vigour in taking early morning walks,
after forty years' residence in the place. Mr. W. R.
George married a daughter of Colonel Farquhar, the
first Resident of Singapore, who was superseded by Sir
Stamford Raffles. His son, Mr. John Chadwick Far-
quhar George, was for many years in the old Oriental
Bank, as Manager in Singapore and Ceylon. His grand-
son, Mr. J. George, is in the Chartered Bank, and was
stationed at Singapore at the Centenary ; thus the three
lives extend, save for four years, over the hundred years.
The Scrymgeours
The staffs of the older banks in the Straits show several
instances of father and son having been here. Mr.
John Sturrock Scrymgeour was in the Oriental Bank
from about 1856 to the 'Seventies, being Manager in
1 867. Mr. J. Scrymgeour is accountant in the Hongkong
and Shanghai Bank, and was here at the Centenary.
The Ormistons
W. Ormiston was Manager of the Chartered Mercantile
Bank in Singapore in i860. Thirty years later his
son, Evan Ormiston, was also in the Mercantile Bank
in Singapore. He is now a broker in Hongkong.
Sir John Anderson
Sir John Anderson (of Guthrie and Co., to distinguish
him from Sir John Anderson, the Governor) was born at
Rotherhithe in 1852. He came to Singapore in 1859,
with his father and mother, the former being in the
Shipping Office long years ago. Having received the
452 CONCERNING KNOWN PERSONS
bulk of his education in Singapore, at the Raffles School,
he may justly be claimed as a " Singapore boy," and
few have taken a larger part in the history of the place
during the last forty years. He spent some twelve
years in the Government service, and commenced his
mercantile career in 1871, when he joined Boustead and
Co., going to Guthrie and Co. in 1 876, and he has been the
head of that firm since the death of Mr. Thomas Scott.
John Anderson was always a fighter and a hard
hitter. When he was seventeen he tackled a burglar
at his father's house in Beach Road, and after a struggle
secured his man. Then in 1882 he backed his boat
(of the Rowing Club, which he and Mr. F. G. Davidson,
of the P. and O. Co., resuscitated) against a Johore crew,
for which the Sultan had had a special sliding-seat
outrigger built, and had trained his men for weeks ;
but the Club won, though the Malays beat the officers
of the Bacchante, then in port with Prince Edward
and Prince George on board. Mr. Anderson was a
member of the Volunteer Fire Brigade in those days,
could play a good game at tennis, and only gave up
cricket in 1887, when he found the use of spectacles
hampered him in the game. In the sterner commercial
field John Anderson was also a hard hitter. He tackled
the Municipal Commissioners in a rousing speech at
the farewell dinner to Sir Frank Swettenham. He
had a keen fight with the Tanjong Pagar (home) Board,
and he was a doughty opponent of the Shipping Ring.
With natives he had a wonderful power, knew their
modes of thought and how best to deal with them.
At a meeting of the early Raub shareholders, mostly
natives, Mr. Anderson explained the position lucidly
in English, and then proceeded to tell them what they
ought to do in fluent Malay. Perhaps the most note-
worthy piece of public work which Mr. Anderson
carried out was the chairmanship of the Opium Com-
mission, which finally decided the Government to take
over the sale of chandu through the Monopolies Depart-
ment. He was on the Legislative Council at various
SIR JOHN ANDERSON.
II. 452]
CHARLES BURTON BUCKLEY 453
times since 1886. Sir John was knighted in 191 2,
and went to England finally in that year. Sir John
Anderson was for many years Consul-General for Siam
in Singapore, and is now Siamese Consul-General in
London.
Charles Burton Buckley
No centenary history of Singapore could be complete
without an account of Charles Burton Buckley, who
for nearly fifty years was one of the best-known residents
of the Settlement. He was born on the 30th of January
1844, one of the sons of the Rev. John Wall Buckley,
the vicar for many years of St. Mary's, Paddington,
the well-known church on Paddington Green, and
one of the old " three-decker " churches. His father
was one of the old school, and to the end of his time
always preached in a black gown.
Charles Buckley was one of a family of ten, many of
whom became well known. Of his brothers, Henry
Burton Buckley was an authority on Company Law,
and after a successful career at the Bar was made one
of the Judges of the Chancery Division of the High
Court in England, and subsequently a Lord Justice
of Appeal. In 191 5 he was made a peer under the title
of Lord Wrenbury, and he still takes an active part
in the legal business of the House of Lords and the
Privy Council. Another brother was Robert Burton
Buckley, CLE., for many years in India, and a great
authority on irrigation. Of his sisters, Arabella Burton
Buckley (Mrs. Fisher) became well known as the
authoress of many scientific books for children. The
Fairyland of Science, Life and her Children, etc.
Another sister, Mrs. Clauson, was the mother of the
late Sir John Clauson, K.C.M.G., Governor of Cyprus.
Charles Buckley was educated at Winchester College,
and to the end of his life he regarded that school as the
only school worth going to in England. His love for his
old school was always being shown, and the fact that
a man was a Wykehamist was a sure passport to his
454 CONCERNING KNOWN PERSONS
favour. We do not suppose he ever revisited England
without a hurried visit to Winchester, where he was sure
to find someone with whom he was acquainted. After
leaving school Charles Buckley was in a poor state of
health. It so happened that the Read and Buckley
families were friends and neighbours, and so it was that
W. H. Read, hearing of young Buckley's ill-health,
said at once, *' You send him out to Singapore. It is
a fine healthy place for a young man, and I will give
him a billet in A. L. Johnston and Co." This was done,
and in 1 864 Charles Buckley came out to Singapore and
settled down in a place that in later years was in many
ways to owe so much to his example and character.
He remained for some eleven years with Messrs. A. L.
Johnston and Co., and then, after a short venture at
Chendras Gold Mine, near Mount Ophir, on the borders
of Johore and Malacca, he took up the study of law,
and joined the legal firm of Rodyk and Davidson. Prior
to this he had been reading law privately, and assisting
the late Thomas Braddell, C.M.G., the then Attorney-
General, in his work. He continued in partnership with
Messrs. William and Edward Nanson until 1904, when
he retired from Rodyk and Davidson. It was not,
however, in Mr. Buckley's nature in retiring from pro-
fessional work to live a life of idleness. For years past
he had been the Confidential Adviser of the late Sultan
Abubakar of Johore and his successor, the present Sultan
Ibrahim ; and as the planting industry was fast de-
veloping, and Johore becoming an important place,
it was necessary that up-to-date control should be
exercised, and with the full consent of the then Governor,
Mr. Buckley became Honorary Adviser to the Johore
Government. It is characteristic of the man that
he would accept no payment for his services. The
Malays understood him, and appreciated his character
thoroughly. They knew that when he recommended
any particular line of action he had no private interests
to serve, and that he recommended a thing because he
believed it was for the good of the State. He carried
CHART.IDS BURTON BUCKIy^Y.
n. 454]
THE ANECDOTAL HISTORY 455
on this work till 1910, when it became necessary to
reorganise the public service of Johore by the intro-
duction of European officers. The late Mr. Douglas
Campbell was then appointed Adviser, and Mr. Buckley
retired into private life.
In March 191 2 Mr. Buckley paid one of his flying
visits home, taking Tunku Ismail, the eldest son of the
Sultan of Johore, to England for education. Unfortu-
nately the weather that spring was unusually cold, and
Mr. Buckley contracted a chill, from which he died in
London on the 22nd May 191 2. It was perhaps fitting
that the first news of his death should come to Singapore
in a telegram to the Sultan of Johore.
The most permanent evidence of Mr. Buckley's
intimate knowledge of Singapore is to be found in his
Anecdotal History of Singapore. In the year 1884, with
Mr. John Eraser, Mr. David Neave, Mr. Thomas Shelford,
and Mr. John Cuthbertson, all of them now dead, he
resuscitated the Singapore Free Press, and from time to
time he contributed to it an Anecdotal History of
Singapore. In later years he was persuaded to collect
these articles and to complete the history up to the
period of transfer from the India Office to the Colonial
Office. This history was indeed a labour of love, and, like
other similar undertakings, was unremunerative. That
it was a labour of love no one who knew the work Mr.
Buckley put into the book could doubt. In his own
opinion his work was more than rewarded, as during his
researches he discovered the original treatymade between
the Temenggong of Johore and Sir Stamford Raffles,
dated the 6th February 18 19, which authorised the
original Settlement of Singapore as a British dependency.
The book is a careful record of the earlier days of the
Settlement, and is the more valuable as Mr. Buckley was
personally acquainted with a great number of persons
mentioned therein. No effort was spared by him to
verify the references, and the work will always remain as
a most valuable record of the earlier days of Singapore.
But the special field in which Mr. Buckley's energies
11—30
456 CONCERNING KNOWN PERSONS
and sympathies were engaged was in fostering the
kindHest relations between himself and the children.
When he arrived in Singapore in 1 864 the place was small,
but it at once struck him that while the children of the
better classes had plenty of amusements and entertain-
ments, there were many Eurasians and those of the
poorer classes who could not afford to give their children
what those other children received. He therefore con-
ceived the idea of a Christmas treat, which for years was
one of the features of Christmas-time in the Colony.
For years this treat took the form of a play, usually
written by Mr. Buckle}^, acted by children under the
tuition of Mr. Buckley, with music and dancing arranged
by Mr. Buckley. He was a great organiser, and for weeks
before he was arranging for this and that, and devoted
his whole time to the work. It was marvellous the way
he managed the children. To the casual observer he
raged and stormed at them, but the children, bless them,
thoroughly understood him, and were not a bit afraid ;
and although it always seemed as if nothing would be
ready, yet on the night itself (generally Boxing Night)
everything went quite smoothly, although those in the
audience nearer the stage could hear Mr. Buckley's
voice urging the children to do this or not to do that.
Everyone enjoyed it, and none more than the children
who were taking part. His great idea was to have
something original, and a man of great ideas, he always
succeeded in producing something which had not been
seen before, and always pointing some patriotic sentiment
or illustrating some point in the history of Singapore or
the Empire's best men. In later years the organisation
of a play became rather too much for Mr. Buckley, and
the children were entertained in the Victoria Hall with
music, dancing, and games, perhaps as many as 1,000
children being entertained in the last few years. It was
hoped when Mr. Buckley died that these entertainments
would be continued, but it was not to be. It was not a
question of the cost. Money would have easily been
forthcoming, but the man could not be found who would
THE JOLLY OLD OCTOPUS 457
or could devote the whole of his time to the organisation
of such a show. Although the younger generation no
longer knows these shows, there will be many in Singa-
pore, perhaps mothers, yes, and even grandmothers, who
will remember the time when they took part, either as
performers or spectators, in Mr. Buckley's Christmas
treat. What his private charities were no one can tell,
only those who experienced his acts of kindness knew
of them. A most unselfish man, whose sole aim in life
was to do his duty, he absolutely refused any public
recognition. Eccentric perhaps he w^as, but although
people smiled, no one ever heard an unkind word spoken
of him.
What is Thackeray's definition of a gentleman ?
" Perhaps these are rarer personages than some of us
think. For which of us can point out many such in his
circle — men whose aims are generous, whose truth is
constant, and not only constant in its kind but elevated
in its degree ; whose want of meanness makes them
simple ; who can look the world honestly in the face
with an equal manly sympathy for the great and the
small ? We all know a hundred whose coats are very
well made and a score who have excellent manners, but
of gentlemen how many ? Let us take a little scrap of
paper and each make out his list."
Assuredly the name of Charles Buckley should
appear in that list.
John Fraser, " Our Jolly Old Octopus "
Mr. John Fraser was a native of Wigtown, and after
his school days entered the National Bank at Newton
Stewart, seven miles away from his home. He was
soon transferred to a Manchester bank, but found his
way out East in 1865 to the Chartered Mercantile Bank,
as it was then. He left the bank and went on to Shanghai
for a couple of years, but came back to Singapore and
joined Mr. Alex. Gentle, like himself a C.M.B. man, in
business as brokers and accountants. The partnership
lasted a few years, and then for many years appeared
458 CONCERNING KNOWN PERSONS
the name "John Eraser, bill broker," and he entered into
most of the social and business life of Singapore. To
the broking business, then established in the Exchange
Building, he attracted Mr. James Kerr (who married
Miss Eraser), H. Payne Gallwey, and later David Kerr.
In partnership with David Neave, he had the Mission
Press, which used to print the race-books, and the
partners owned the soda-water factory which subse-
quently developed into Eraser and Neave, Ltd. Mr.
James Gumming joined him in the business of Eraser
and Gumming, brickmakers, house builders, and what-
ever else would make money. He carried out many
important liquidations, notably that of Sayle and Go. and
the Singapore Insurance Go. His houses in Tanglin, Gree
Hall, White House, and others still stand as examples
of that branch of his business. The Eraser and Neave
Building in Robinson Road, afterwards disposed of
to Loke Yew, was another of his property ventures.
He was for years President of the Singapore Glub, and
was the auctioneer at the race lotteries, invariably
dressed in full Highland costume. He was Secretary
of Lodge Zetland, and one of the original members of
the Cricket Glub, and no one seeing his afterwards
portly figure would have given him credit for winning
the hundred yards in 1874. Municipal Commissioner,
Justice of the Peace, Committee of the S.P.G.A., there
was no end to his utilities, and the Straits Produce of
1 893 put beneath a picture of him :
A man so various that he seems to be
Not one but all mankind's epitome ;
a poetical notice of him having :
Had I but time 'twere fitting to relate
How on the Civic Board he sits in state.
How the poor dumb animals protects,
And caged Celestials in the gaol inspects,
And how he's bitten with a building craze
Like poor old Balbus of our schoolboys' days. •
Octopus-like, beneath the Club he waits,
Fishing the waters of our Sunny Straits.
Mr. John Eraser retired in 1897, and lived at Farnham
w. 458]
JOHN FRASER.
CHARLES PHILLIPS 459
till February 1907, when he died. Mrs. Eraser died on
the I St July 191 9.
Charles Phillips
Mr. Charles Phillips (183 5-1 904) was born in Shal-
bourne, Wiltshire. Joining the army, and after various
periods in Scotland and Ireland, he left England in the fall
of 1863, arriving at Madras in February 1864, and at
Singapore about six months later. He was instructor
of the old Singapore Volunteer Rifles till their disband-
ment in 1887, and was founder and first President of the
Singapore Rifle Association. About 1872 he was
appointed Superintendent of the Sailors' Home, where
he remained till his death. But it was his services in
the cause of religion and temperance, for which he was
an unwearied worker throughout his forty years'
residence, that made him so well known and give him
no mean place in the history of Christianity in Singapore.
The extent of his religious activity included gospel work
with the late Miss Cooke on behalf of the forces ; estab-
lishment of Sunday Schools ; bands of hope for the
young and temperance meetings for old folk ; meetings
for soldiers and sailors ; thirty years' work at the
hospital and gaol ; his Malay Hymnal (popular English
hymns translated by him into Malay) for the Straits
Chinese of Prinsep Street Church ; his establishment of
the Christian Institute in Middle Road for those whom
the churches had not reached ; his organisation of the
meetings at Boustead Institute. Mr. Phillips recom-
mended the establishment of a Methodist centre of work
in Singapore, and the missionaries, when they came,
took over the Christian Institute, which therefore became
the first centre of local Methodist work. The success
of the Methodist Mission was largely due to the great
assistance afforded to it in its infancy by Mr. Phillips,
and Bishop Oldham publicly spoke of him as " the father
of Methodism in Singapore." Mr. Phillips won the
respect of all who knew him by his catholic sympathies,
his generous disposition, his manly faith, uprightness,
46o CONCERNING KNOWN PERSONS
and zeal in all good works. A mural tablet to his
memory, in Prinsep Street Church, was unveiled by-
Mr. C. B. Buckley as his oldest friend. And the tribute
paid to him by Mr. Arthur Knight expresses the high
qualities he possessed far better than the foregoing
record :
'* I am so sorry to hear of Phillips's death. Sailors have
lost a true friend. Never have I met a man with so
kind a heart for the poor despised merchant seamen.
That man used to go and read and pray with sick
sailors in hospital, and if they died, he would write to
their friends or parents. Many the blessing I have seen
sent him from such relatives. I recollect in 1871, when
first appointed by the Committee of the Home, there was
strong opposition against him, but he soon proved his
worth."
Mrs. Phillips was a Miss McFarlane ; Mr. C. M. Phillips,
M.A., Principal of Raffles School, is a son, Mrs. H.Adam-
son a daughter.
Miss Sophia Cooke
Singapore shares with Ceylon that reputation given by
the Missionary, " where every prospect pleases and only
man is vile." This has drawn many an unwilling penny
for the missionary box from the small schoolboy and
girl at home. Whether they ever believe the investment
for converting the heathen sound or not is an open
question, but the self-denying lives of some missionary
workers are worthy of all praise. " Missie Cooke," as
she was called by the natives for many decades, is justly
entitled to a place of honour in the history of Singapore.
The Society for the Promotion of Female Education in
the East had been extended to Singapore in 1843, taking
over the station from the Society for Sending Women
Missionaries to the Women of the East, and itself being
taken over on the 9th January 1900 by the Church of
England Zenana Missionary Society. In Singapore
the school is known as the Chinese Girls' School, but
better as Miss Cooke's School. She arrived here in 1853,
MISS SOPHIA COOKE.
n. 460]
SIR HENRY McCALLUM 461
and the school-house was half-built by 1861. Miss
Cooke worked in Singapore till 1895, and died here,
doing a noble work among the police, soldiers, and sailors.
She was a fine organiser, a ready writer, and indefati-
gable in interesting the good folk at home in the mission,
and had no small influence with the ladies of the place
through her gentle yet firm insistence on their " making
a stand " against the enervating cHmate and tendency
to materialism. Miss Cooke started and carried on the
Sailors' Rest, which before the days of the Boustead
Institute did useful work among the sailors. She devoted
one day a week to visiting in the hospital, and her
well-known palanquin in the streets was a sure sign of
some errand of mercy. Those who knew Singapore in
the 'Sixties remember her morning rides with a high
official or leading merchant, and found her, like most
other women with a kind heart, able to tell a good story
and enjoy a good joke. The loving hands of past
Chinese girls whom she helped and taught still place
flowers on her grave, and her old pupils speak with
tenderest affection of Sophia Cooke.
Sir Henry McCallum
For a quarter of a century " the Major " ruled Singa-
pore, in many respects, and he lives in the memory
of all who knew him. Henry E. McCallum was born in
1852, the eldest son of Major H. McCallum, R.M.L.I.
Entering the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, at
the early age of sixteen, he passed out in 1871, taking
first place for the R.E., for which he was awarded the
Pollock gold medal, with prizes for mathematics,
fortification, artillery, surveying, and chemistry. He
spent two years at Portsmouth, went to the Horse
Guards as a designer of barracks, and in 1875 came out as
private secretary to Sir William Jervois, thus beginning
his Colonial career, which closed as Governor of Ceylon.
He took part in the Perak field operations, and was
awarded the medal and clasp. Major McCallum came
back to the Straits, after some absences on regimental
462 CONCERNING KNOWN PERSONS
duty, in 1880 as Deputy Colonial Engineer at Penang,
Major McNair being the holder of the senior appoint-
ment. He was immediately put upon the fortification of
Singapore, excelling in this work in the promptitude and
energy he displayed. The forts were built and ready for
use long before the guns for them arrived from home.
He received the C.M.G. in 1887, the K.C.M.G. in 1898,
and the G. C.M.G. in 1904.
But these details of the career of this distinguished
officer do not in any sufficient way explain what he
was to Singapore. He was at one time President of
the Municipal Commissioners and of the Fire Com-
missioners, as well as an active volunteer fireman.
When the Volunteer movement was revived and the
Singapore Volunteer Artillery formed in 1888, Major
McCallum became Commandant, and remained so till
he left the Colony, his abundant energy and influence
with the Government and the military authorities,
combined with a bluff and hearty friendship with the
Volunteers that in no way interfered with disciphne,
going far to make the corps a success. He persuaded the
Chinese and others to subscribe for a battery of maxim
guns for the corps. He planned and built the Drill
Hall, and he joined heartily in the concerts and dances
held there by the corps. Whenever there was work to
be done he was a demon ; whenever play was on he was
the cheeriest boy in the world, and for nine years he
was the life and soul of the corps. In 1891 Major
McCallum was Special Commissioner in Pahang, and took
charge of the local forces in suppressing the rebellion
in that State, this closing the long list of his services in
the Straits, for in 1897 he was promoted to be Governor
and Commander-in-Chief in Lagos, and made an excur-
sion to the hinterland in connection with the French
boundary. Later he accepted the important post of
Governor of Newfoundland. Although rather a man of
action than a writer. Major McCallum had a ready pen,
and wrote in 1894 a series of articles, '* A Trip across
the Malay Peninsula with H.E. the Governor," an
MANASSEH MBYER, J.P.
11. 462]
MANASSEH MEYER 463
account of the then adventurous journey of Sir Charles
Mitchell, Major McCallum, Captain Herbert, A.D.C.,
and Mr. W. P. Burra, Private Secretary, the party being
conducted through Pahang by Mr. Hugh Clifford. The
account recalls the humour of the Major's camp ad-
dresses. It was the first attempt of a Governor to travel
from the west to the east coast of the Peninsula.
Sir Henry McCallum has been twice married : to Lily,
only daughter of Vice-Admiral Johnson, R.N., who died
in Singapore in 1895 J ^^^ then to Maud, third daughter
of Lieutenant-Colonel Creighton, R.M.L.L
Manasseh Meyer
Mr. Manasseh Meyer's career in Singapore has been
a remarkable one. He was born in 1 846, and commenced
his education at Calcutta. He first came to Singapore
in 1 86 1, and continued his education at St. Joseph's
Institution, then quite a small school in a small building,
having but one class of twenty-five pupils. At this time,
of course, the principal residences were large compound
houses in Beach Road, North Bridge Road, and Hill
Street, there being no buildings at all in Orchard Road.
In 1864 Mr. Meyer returned to Calcutta, and joined his
maternal uncle in business for the purpose of learning
Hebrew writing and book-keeping. Three years later he
started business on a small capital in Rangoon, where he
stayed for six years. In 1873 he came back to Singapore
and established his present business, and soon became
the largest local importer and exporter with India.
Mr. Meyer commenced property buying in Singapore in
1885, but his largest years for purchasing were between
1890 and 1892. From 1893 to 1900 he served as a Muni-
cipal Commissioner, his great knowledge of property
and local circumstances making him exceptionally useful
as a City Father. He was also a member of the Straits
Committee on Currency. The years became busier and
busier for Mr. Meyer, with his increasing interests and
growing family of four daughters and three sons. He
has not been away from the Colony since 1907, but in
464 CONCERNING KNOWN PERSONS
his earlier career he travelled with his family to Egypt,
Mesopotamia, Palestine, Europe, India, China, and
Japan.
Of his public beneficence to his own people and to every
worthy cause in Singapore, of his private charities and
kindliness, this is no place to speak, but as to his
character as a true citizen of Singapore it is difficult to
write in adequate terms.
K. B. S. Robertson
Mr. K. B. S. Robertson was an assistant superintendent
in 1856, having joined the police under Mr. T. Dunman,
and remained in that service till his death. He married
a daughter of Governor Blundell, as did also A. E.
Schmidt, of Rautenberg, Schmidt ; Captain G. T. Wright,
of the Master Attendant's Office; Mr. J. M. Moniot, of
the Survey Department ; and Mr. W. W. Willans (who
afterwards became Colonial Treasurer, and survived for
many years, dying at Brighton). Mrs. Robertson is
still alive in Singapore, and her children and grand-
children have been closely associated with art, music,
and sport. E. J. Robertson and J. B. Robertson, the
latter a fine golfer, and C. H. Robertson are sons ; Mrs.
Howard Newton, Mrs. Raeburn (Guthrie and Co.),
daughters ; and Mrs. Mayson, Mrs. Griffiths Jones, and
Miss L. Newton granddaughters.
CHAPTER XXI
THE MERRY PAST
THE GOOD OLD DAYS
By Roland St. J. Braddell
" Le temps qui change tout, change aussi nos humeurs ;
Chaque age a ses plaisirs, son esprit et ses mceurs."
This is an attempt to tell the little things which do not
matter to the serious historian, but which are everything
to the tittle-tattler ; and what town is more dependent
than Singapore upon tittle-tattle for the sambal to its
daily curry ?
For one hundred years men have sweltered and
struggled, laboured and lived, dreamed and died in this
island of ours, but the stranger can never understand
the attraction. Kipling damned us ; Maxwell, of the
Standard, who went round the world in the Ophir with
our present King, admitted that Singapore had attrac-
tions, but hastened to add that they were of the kind
that were seen at their best in blue-books, unless, indeed,
one was a salamander, or had had the privilege of being
brought up in an incubator ; and, sad though it is, the
average stranger who enters our gates leaves them
cursing the heat, the hotels, and the expense. We do
not heave half a brick at his head ; we just let him stew
in his own juice. No ! Singapore is for the Singaporean ;
to him only it has its attraction. But none of us can
put into words why he likes Singapore ; he knows in a
vague way, he feels it most convincingly, but to tell it —
who can ?
We of to-day are much the same as they were in the
465
466 THE MERRY PAST
past, though our ways are changed, our talk is different ;
the sicca rupee has yielded to the two-and-fourpenny
dollar, the crinoline to the crazy skirt, the polka to the
fox-trot ; old John Brown's body lies mouldering on
the slopes of Fort Canning, but young John Brown
tertius goes up the godown stairs each morning. A
broad road, a noisy tramway, and a length of godowns
run now where the old man loaded his produce out of
his back door into sampans ; but Brown and Co. still face
the world honest and prosperous, and the great iron
ships carry their goods over the seas where his slender
barques used to belly their canvas out to the monsoon.
Good old John Brown, good old Mrs. Brown ; plain,
kind folk, hard at a bargain, not very cultured, perhaps,
according to modern ideas, but British — oh, so British !
That is the keynote of Singapore ; never mind the
swarming masses in the streets, yellow, black, and brown,
or the chattering Babel of their many tongues — the place
is British, stolid, prosperous, conservative, resentful of
change, distrustful of enthusiasms, and commercial —
above all, behind all, beyond all commercial.
To Scotland we have learned to look for a large part
of our leaders in Singapore ; the porridge-trap still works,
and bankers, merchants, and governors still come to
remind us that in Scotland there is bred a race without
which our British Empire would not have been and
would not be now. It is fitting, then, that we must go
to a Scottish mercantile assistant for the first picture
of life in Singapore — Walter Duncan, of A. L. Johnston
and Co. Young Duncan was the son of the Sheriff
Substitute of Shetland, which place he left in 1823,
arriving in Singapore after a voyage that lasted over
five months. His passage-money cost him eighty
guineas and his outfit another fifty-six pounds odd.
He remained in Singapore for about a year, then left
to take over the firm's branch in Rhio, returning later
to Singapore and setting up a ship-chandler's business
of his own. In 1857 he died at his plantation at Siglap.
His diary for 1824 has happily been preserved for us.
AN ANNIVERSARY DINNER 467
and most interesting reading it makes. The number
of Europeans in Singapore then was about seventy-five,
of whom fifty sat down to dinner at Government House,
including Duncan, on the anniversary of the foundation
of the Settlement, the Resident, Mr. Crawfurd, being
their host. Duncan did not think much of it, and
expressed himself freely on the subject in his diary ; the
speeches were long and dull, Mr. Crawfurd 's meagre
store of wine gave out, for, as Abdullah remarked of him,
" his hand was not an open one," though he was "much
bent down by a love for the goods of this world." The
hour of dinner was the unusual one of half-past seven,
for at that time the usual hour was four or half-past
four, and though there was plenty to eat, few felt
inclined to eat it. " It was a stupid affair altogether,
what I expected it would turn out to be." Amongst
the toasts was that of Sir Stamford Raffles, described as
" a distinguished individual."
If the Resident's entertainments were dull, not
so those of Mr. Bonham. Thus :
*' February 28th. — Dined at Mr. Bonham's, the
Assistant Resident, where sixteen of us sat down to
table. It was his first party in his new house, and
was kept up with great glee. He sported his champagne
plentifully, and the consequence was that several
of the party were left sleeping in their chairs when we
broke up at 10 p.m."
Mr. Bonham was famous for his entertainments,
and very popular amongst the Europeans : Mr. J. T.
Thomson tells us that " his plum puddings were good,
so was his champagne, and as these found their way
to the stomach, so were the hearts of his friends taken
captive," and that " he had a great deal of bonhomie
about him," an excruciating pun; but the unkind said
that he received the Governorship because he gave
good dinners.
Duncan was rather a square-toed young man, and on
the 13th March has this entry: " Dined at the Mess.
468 THE MERRY PAST
There, as at Mr. Bonham's, the practice of sitting after
dinner beyond the usual time seems to be gaining ground,
a practice which I could much wish were knocked on
the head, as I take it that guzzling first wine, then tea
and grog, from half-past four to nine or ten o'clock
without respite is carrying things to a greater extent
than they ought in this climate." After this pious
entry it is somewhat sad to find that ten days later
he went out to a big party at Captain Pearl's plantation
(Pearl's Hill), where the dinner was excellent, '' not an
over-foolish display, but at the same time sufficiently
plentiful and well arranged, champagne circulating
freely, both during and after dinner." Dancing followed
to two fiddlers, '' whose music, indifferent as it was, had
an irresistible effect upon me." At half-past nine the
company sat down to " a devil, as a supper here is often
called " ; then, alas, for good intentions, ** took a
pill, retired quickly to bed, and passed a restless night " !
The few Europeans on the island at this time appear
to have all lived on friendly terms of social intercourse.
Duncan, then a junior clerk in a merchant's office,
seems to have been on familiar terms with " all the
best people," and to have dined repeatedly with the
Resident and Mr. Bonham. There was no pretence
on the part of the officials to superiority in social position
over the mercantile community, as there seems to have
been in the 'Thirties, and, indeed, for some years after
that time ; an absurd assumption, for were they not all
servants of a society of merchants, the Honourable
East India Company? But John Company's cove-
nanted officials seem to have been a stiff-necked lot,
bowing only to a superior cocked hat. The manners
of the Europeans at that time were simple, frank, and
hospitable. They seem to have visited each other
in the evening after dinner a great deal ; they break-
fasted at half-past nine and dined at half-past four
or thereabouts. Tiffin was not such an institution
as it is now, for the early dinner rendered it unnecessary.
The universal night-cap was a glass of gin and water,
SINGAPORE IN THE TWENTIES 469
a practice that seems to have been still alive, though
rapidly dying out in the 'Eighties. Ten o'clock saw the
town asleep. A voyage to or from England took
from three to five months, according to wind and weather ;
if an answer to a letter was received within nine months,
it was considered very punctual. Under these circum-
stances it is not surprising to learn that the arrival of
a vessel from home created great excitement, an instance
of which is shown in the following entry from the diary :
^' The signal for a ship to the eastward is at last made,
and seems to infuse new life and anxiousness in all."
The streets were lighted for the first time on the
evening of the ist April 1824, but there were very few
lamps, and they had only a single glass in front, so the
light was of little use. Some humorous burglar
celebrated the date by entering the godown of Mr.
Purvis that same night and decamping with five hundred
dollars' worth of goods.
Singapore in the 'Twenties contained few houses ;
the swamps near where the present commercial part
of the town round Raffles Place lies had not been cleared
or filled in, the river ran a clear stream between man-
groves save for a few hundred yards up from its mouth.
The present Esplanade, or plain as it was long called,
was the principal part of the town. Round it and along
Beach Road were the dwellings of the merchants,
the public offices, and the military cantonments, which
were at first near Stamford Road, at the foot of Govern-
ment Hill, as it was then called, now Fort Canning,
and were later removed to Rochore ; but that being found
to be too low, a final change was made to Sepoy Lines.
Further east was the Malay quarter, or Kampong Glam,
where the Sultan of Johore and his followers lived,
and where the pirates used to foregather. The river
was spanned by a wooden bridge, and the Chinese had
their kampong where Chinatown lies to-day. The
remains of the ancient Malay town of Singapura were
still to be seen, and are described by Mr. Crawfurd in
his book concerning his embassy to Siam. The great
470 THE MERRY PAST
wall remained, sixteen feet broad at its base and eight
or nine feet high ; it ran for nearly a mile from what
is now Fort Canning to the present Stamford Canal.
This old town was bounded to the east by the sea,
to the north by this great wall, and to the west by the
river, thus forming a kind of triangle, of which the
sea formed a base of about a mile in length. There
were no loopholes in the wall, nor were there traces of any
artificial defences, from which Mr. Crawfurd concluded
that the works of Singapore were not intended against
firearms or an attack by sea ; or that, if the latter,
the inhabitants considered themselves strong in their
naval force, and therefore thought other defences
superfluous.
The original Malay name for Fort Canning was
Bukit Larangan, or the Forbidden Hill, and Colonel
Farquhar found in 1819 that not one of the people of
the Settlement dared ascend it, for they thought it
haunted by the ghosts of long-forgotten kings and
queens, whose tombs were on its side. Later it was called
Bukit Tuan Bonham, and the present name is Bukit
Bandera, or Flag Hill. The Chinese still call it Gover-
nor's Hill, the present Government House being second
Governor's Hill. Thus Hill Street is Ong Ke Swa Kha,
the foot of Governor's Hill ; Tank Road is Ong Ke Swa
Au, the back of Governor's Hill ; while Niven Road is
Ji Ong Swa Kha, the foot of second Governor's Hill.
Chinese names for localities contain a great deal of
topographical and a little historical information.
In October 1829 a meeting was held at Mr. E.
Boustead's house, when the Singapore Billiard Club
was formed, with Mr. W. R. George as the Secretary.
Mr. Buckley says that this was the beginning of Singa-
pore Clubs ; but in 1 825 the Raffles Club had been formed,
which lasted until 1835. Its functions were to get up
social entertainments on the occasion of the anniversary
of the Settlement and other celebrations. The Billiard
Club did not last very long.
The 'Thirties were progressive. Singapore expanded
THE ROADSTEAD 47^
rapidly in trade and importance ; the town was pushed
out further, and much swamp land was reclaimed.
Its life is presented to us in four very readable books
by Captain Sherard Osborn, R.N., Mr. Bennett, a
naturalist, Mr. Windsor Earl, and Mr. J. T. Thomson.
The harbour was already full of shipping, behind
which, says Mr. Thomson, '* stretched a sandy beach,
glistening in the sun, and overhung by the graceful
palm trees, the glory of Singapore planters. In the
centre of the landscape was Government Hill, with its
verdant lawns and snug bungalow ; and at its base
were the warehouses and mansions of the merchant
princes. Behind these was to be seen the comely
undulating background, alternately covered with the
mighty forest trees and gambler and pepper gardens.
The tallness of the forest trees, standing alone or in
clumps on the half-cleared hills and islands, gave
a majesty to the scenery that I have observed nowhere
else."
No wonder that travellers came very early to call
Singapore the Queen of the East. The scene to-day
is very different, for although the entrance to Keppel
Harbour is still beautiful in the extreme, the view
of Singapore from the Roads (Mr. Thomson's harbour)
is far from prepossessing.
If you come into port to-day, you could write an
easy description of it : how you went to your cabin
and unpacked every bag you had already packed
because of the things you had forgotten ; how a rosy-
cheeked old gentleman cursed his way up the pilot's
ladder; how you tipped about two-thirds of the total
population of the ship ; and finally, how you slithered
and staggered down a precipitous gangway in a tropical
rainstorm. There's nothing to it — a child could do it.
Not so in the 'Thirties ; to describe a ship coming into
port then you had to know something about the sea.
Hear J. T. Thomson on the arrival of an Indiaman :
'' She headed for the harbour, upon which she bore
down with all sails set, from ringtail to jib-a-jib and
II— 31
472 THE MERRY PAST
from mainsails to sky-scrapers. As she nears the port
the smaller sails are taken in and furled ; still she
approaches, and the courses are hauled up, top-gallant
sails are furled, she is now near her anchorage. The
main topsail is backed, her way is lost, the yards are
lowered to the caps, and down goes her anchor " : and
that's that !
Having got to anchor thus happily, let us join Mr.
Sherard Osborn, then a young midshipman in H.M.S.
Hyacinth, an eighteen-gun ship-rigged corvette : he
tells us how even that most thoughtless of human beings,
a British midshipman, could not but mark the signs
of vitality and active commercial enterprise of the
place.
Here is the scene in the roads as we stand with him :
'' Before the town and at a distance of a mile from
it lay numerous huge junks, all glittering with white
and red and green and black, their strange eyes staring
with all the vacuit}^ of a Chinaman, and apparently
wondering how they would ever find their way to China.
Unearthly cries, resembling swine in distress, issued
from these ponderous arks, evidently meant for songs
by their sailors, as they hoisted in the long-boats pre-
paratory to going to sea. Within these junks, in compari-
son with which we looked uncommonly small, were
thousands of prahus of every size and form, stretching
away into a narrow and shoal harbour which lies to
the right of the town. A merchant assured us that
as many as 4,000 of these vessels had arrived during
the past monsoon ; and but for the Dutch interference
and jealousy, many more would visit Singapore yearly."
Threading their way in and out amongst the large
craft were hundreds of small boats, amongst which
** the Singapore sampan decidedly carried oif the palm
for beauty and fleetness, approaching, in sharpness
of outline and the chance of drowning the sitters, to
one of our above-bridge racing wherries on the Thames ;
two Malay rowers, each puUing a single-bladed oar,
could in these sampans beat our fleetest gig. There
SHERARD OSBORN: MIDSHIPMAN 473
were also some Arab vessels, called grabs, rigged some-
what like brigs, but having a length of bow which was
perfectly astounding ; indeed, in some of them the
long taper of the bow was one-third the length of the
whole vessel, and the bowsprit was entirely inboard."
Another type of vessel which attracted special notice
was the sampan-pukat, 120 feet long and 20-foot beam,
and pulling fifty to eighty oars : " She resembled
nothing so much in colour and appearance as some
huge centipede scrambling over the sea. These were
owned by the merchants of Singapore and manned
by stalwart Chinese crews ; they could outstrip the
fleetest prahus, and were able to sail or pull with equal
facility. By them an immense smuggling trade is
done with the Dutch monopolists, and many a rich
cargo of spices and gold-dust, antimony and pepper,
repays the merchant of Singapore for his speculation
in Sheffield and Birmingham goods."
Boatmen cluster round the Hyacinth touting for fares,
and presently load after load of officers and bluejackets
go ashore into the Babel of Singapore, where they are
fleeced right and left. Young Osborn's coxswain, a
Gosport boy, on his return after making his purchases,
delivered himself thus : " Well, I thought they were
a smart set on Common Hard, sir ; but blest if
they don't draw one's eye-teeth in Sincumpo ! " The
place then and for long afterwards was known in the
Navy as Sincapore.
Let us go on with Osborn into the European quarter :
*' It was pleasing to turn from all these loud noises
and strong smells of the commercial part of Singapore
to the opposite side of the river, where, nestling among
the green trees, lay the residences of the wealthy Euro-
pean merchants ; all was as dreamy, sleepy, quiet,
and picturesque as anyone could desire, and I am bound
to say as hot, for there the bright equatorial sun was
pouring down without shadow or breeze to take off
its effects. The sepoy sentry seemed to be frizzling
in his leathern shako and hideous regimentals, and
474 THE MERRY PAST
the sensation I felt on regarding his scarlet coat was
that he might at any moment burst into flames. He
was a military martyr lashed to a British musket instead
of a stake.
" From that painful sight the eye instinctively
sought repose upon a mass of cold dark-green foliage,
against which the Court House rose — a long building,
possibly commodious, but decidedly of the composite
order of architecture."
A pretty esplanade and bungalows, standing in pleasant
detached patches of ground, stretched away until lost in
the jungle and half-cleared country beyond ; these, with
a very commodious church, constituted " the west-end "
of Singapore, or its Mayfair, as another writer de-
scribed it !
Cricket and boating were Osborn's principal amuse-
ments ashore, and to them let us leave him, link arms
with Mr. Bennett, and stroll up the winding road leading
to Government Hill, now Fort Canning, at the foot of
which lay the remains of Raffles 's Botanical Gardens,
even by then run to weed and abandoned :
" On attaining the gentle and gradual rise of the
hill, the view that expands itself is both extensive
and grand : embracing a wide portion of this splendid
island, and causing feelings of regret in the mind of
the spectator that so much fertile land should be per-
mitted to lie waste." This was due to the heavy quit-
rents demanded by Government. '' Turning our eyes
in another direction from the gloomy mass of forest
scenery and undulating land, extending to the horizon,
a more animated and pleasing scene is spread before
us. Neat white houses and elegant mansions are
seen in the open plain, or peeping above the dense
vegetation when constructed upon a gentle rising hill.
As far as the eye can reach out over the tranquil waters,
some wooded islands stud the ocean, and, more distant,
land indistinctly appears."
On the top of the hill stood Government House, which
had been built by Raffles and added to by Crawfurd.
It was one hundred feet long and fifty feet deep, a
MILITARY ENGINEERING 475
neat wooden bungalow with Venetians and attap roof,
consisting of two parallel halls with front and back
verandah, terminated by two square wings which com-
prised the sleeping apartments. Mr. Earl says that
the building was so unsubstantial that after a Sumatra
squall inquiring glances were cast up to discover whether
the house was still there or in the valley behind it !
It remained, however, until 1859, when Fort Canning was
made. The Governor then moved his residence to
Leonie Hill, in Grange Road, where he remained until
1869, when the present Government House was com-
pleted. A story is told of the making of Fort Canning
which illustrates the marvellous engineering feats
performed in Singapore in the good old days. When
the fort was completed it was discovered that PearFs
Hill was higher, and stood in the way of the guns, so
the Government military engineer had to cut off the
top of that hill ! This was nothing to Captain Faber's
famous suggestionpn the 'Forties ; he had built a bridge
across the river under which sampans were unable
to pass at high tide. When this was pointed out to
him, he proposed dredging the bed of the river and
so lowering it ! On another occasion the same gallant
officer tried to make water run up a hill of its own
motion.
But to return to Mr. Bennett. Having descended
from Government Hill, he is minded to cross the river,
and finds the wooden bridge in a ruinous condition.
Now you and I would have railed at the Government
or been sarcastic or humorous ; not so the gallant
Mr. Bennett — place aux dames was his motto, and this
is what he wrote of the bridge : " Ladies visiting their
friends on the opposite side of the creek are obliged
to stop the carriage on one side of the bridge and walk
across, at the risk of deranging their curls by the breezes
or injuring the fairness of their complexions by the fervent
rays of the tropical sun." He then recommended
very strongly the erection of a new bridge. In the
earhest books about the place the Singapore River is
476 THE MERRY PAST
always referred to as a creek ; nowadays, if one needed
to refer to it, one would more rightly term it a sewer.
But any reference to the river is quite unnecessary ;
it refers to itself so frequently and so loudly that you
cannot help noticing it. In fact, recently it was said
that it made the Town Hall clock strike thirteen ;
but you cannot believe all you hear in Singapore.
With the bridge in this bad condition the cleaning
of dainty little shoes must have formed a trying part
of the domestic's morning work. Mr. Bennett says
that the Malay servants used the hibiscus " for cleansing
shoes b}'- rubbing them with the petals of the flower,
which contain a quantity of purplish black astringent
juice. After rubbing them over the shoes, they polish
the latter by aid of a brush ; it certainly prevents the
white dresses, usually worn in Eastern climates, from
being sullied by the shoes, which often happens when
blacking has been used." The Europeans accordingly
called the hibiscus " the shoe-flower."
Mr. Windsor Earl, who was a sailor in the 'Thirties,
but later became a lawyer and then a police magistrate
in Singapore, tells us that " Singapore is considered
to be more agreeable as a residence than any other
town in India, for the daily arrival of ships from various
parts of the world creates constant excitement, while
in point of climate it is certainly not inferior to any
intertropical seaport in the world." Until as late as
1859 Singapore remained a health resort for Bengal
civilians.
Dining out has always been a favourite pastime in
this part of the world, though nowadays the old-
fashioned long and heavy dinner party is a thing of the
past. Let us go out to dinner with Mr. J. T. Thomson.
His trousers and waistcoat are snow-white, his coat is
black, a forage cap with white cover on his head, and
his shoes are of canvas, pipeclayed, excepting at the
extreme points of the toes, where they are of japanned
leather. He gets into his buggy, drawn by a smart
piebald Acheen pony, with the syce running along at
FORMAL DINNER PARTY 477
the side of it, as was the custom then and for long
afterwards. Arrived at his host's, comphments are
passed, and he is asked if he has brought his white
jacket. Knowing the ways of the place, he has, so
retires and dons " the easy, cool, upper dress of India."
White was the regulation dress here until about
1870, except at Government House, and curiously
enough at Whampoa's, of whom more anon. Governor
Butterworth introduced black for Government House,
and tried to make it universal, but failed, for the ladies
preferred " clean white to dubious black," as someone
wrote at the time. It is interesting to note that white
has come back to its own nowadays for informal dinners
and dances ; it was always used in the old days for
the balls at the old Assembly Rooms.
Sherry and bitters stand on a side-table for the gentle-
men to partake of, and whet their torpid appetites,
after which the party proceeds formally into the dining-
room, where different soups in silver tureens occupy the
end and middle of the table, mock-turtle and mulliga-
tawny being the favourites ; the servants stand behind
their masters and mistresses, for guests were always ex-
pected to bring their own servants without being asked,
a custom which went out only the other day.
Soup over, ''mine host" asks his leading lady guest
to take wine, an example which is followed with alacrity
by all the other gentlemen. Fish, then joints of sweet
Bengal mutton, Chinese capons, Kedah fowls and
Sangora ducks, Yorkshire hams, Java potatoes, and
Malay ubis follow. The conversation waxes, and
" the ladies unbend from their dignity." This course
comes to an end, and a general round of drinking healths
takes place. Meanwhile the table is cleared and the
next course succeeds, a short one of curry and rice,
accompanied with sambals of pungent taste, Bombay
ducks and Campar roses, salted turtle eggs and omelettes.
To wash the curry down pale ale is served, and partaken
of by all, including the ladies.
The table is once more cleared, and the dessert
478 THE MERRY PAST
succeeds : macaroni puddings, shapes, and custards.
Now champagne is more freely poured forth, and a huge
cheese is placed on the table, which is discussed with
more pale ale. A rosy pink, says Mr. Thomson, for
the first time blushes in the cheeks of the climate-worn,
wan and pale ladies, a brilliant moment of their former
selves. What happens to the gentlemen he does not
say, but if a guess might be hazarded, for " rosy pink "
substitute '' apoplectic purple."
At last the table is cleared of its cloth, and numerous
fruits with wine are placed on the polished redwood.
The " inimitable durian " (Mr. Thomson's words) is
excluded, as also " the coarser jack and chumpada :
but mangosteen, mango, pomaloe, langsat, rose-apple,
popya, and plantain find a place."
It is now 9 p.m., and the ladies retire to the drawing-
room on the upper floor ; the gentlemen sit on for
another half-hour. Coffee and tea are presently served,
and '' form an antidote to the stronger beverages
previously indulged in." The ladies ''now receive
that expected attention from the more gallant portion
of the gentlemen visitors. The piano is opened, and
a duet is played. The card-players retire to a snug,
cool end of the verandah, where also brandy and water
may be had ad libitum. The young ladies take their
turn at the piano, and it may be the room is cleared
for dancing. The China scarf over that young officer's
shoulder shows where his heart has gone to. A swarm
of butterflies flicker round that young English rose
just arrived — she is enraptured, and pities her pale
sisters — poor things ! "
At 1 1 p.m. the party breaks up: "some feed,"
as our latest community would say. If they did not
die in the old times, they most certainly lived ; and,
mind you, Mr. Thomson's description was not a joke,
it was quite a serious piece of writing.
The importance of dinner-giving in the good old
days is amusingly illustrated by Mr. Thomson. We
have already referred to Mr. Bonham's dinner-parties^
n. 478]
GOVERNOR BUTTERWORTH.
A SARCASTIC HISTORIAN 479
and the rumour that he received the Governorship in
consequence of them. The same thing is said by Mr.
Thomson of Colonel Butterworth, who succeeded Mr.
Bonham, being appointed over the heads of Messrs.
Blundell and Church. Mr. Blundell gave good dinners,
but had not been sufficiently subservient to the Indian
Government ; Mr. Church had a disastrous reputation
for giving bad dinners, and so was out of the running.
The social side of Mr. and Mrs. Church's hfe was a
source of never - failing amusement while they were
here ; many are the anecdotes about them, but one
shall be sufficient to explain why Mr. Church did not
get the Governorship.
While Mr. Bonham was Governor a friend of his found
him in his office with a large bottle of magnesia on the
table in front of him. *' Not sick, I hope," said the
friend. '' Oh, dear, no," said the Governor, " but I am
going to dine with Tom Church to-night."
Colonel Butterworth gave excellent dinners. " The
members of Council one and all declared that the best
road to men's hearts was through the stomach — a
sentiment most profound " ; so, Mr. Thomson says,
Butterworth was appointed.
This Governor was called Butterpot the Great, and
Mr. Thomson says he divided all mankind into colonels,
captains, ensigns, etc. No private gentleman in his
estimation had any rank in society. The wealthy
merchant's wife ranked only as the wife of a sergeant-
major, a clerk's as a corporal's, and a tradesman's as a
private's. The Lord Mayor of London himself, if he
were a shop-keeper, could not have obtained admission
to the little Singapore Government House.
Mr. Thomson says that the Europeans did not number
many. Those on shore might be 200 in number, those
in the shipping world not more than 400 to 500. The
Europeans were principally following mercantile pursuits,
and as a body they were upright, honourable, and stable.
" Their word in those days was as good as their bond,
^nd the consequence was confidence " ; one does not
48o THE MERRY PAST
know that things have changed much in this regard at
this date. No banks had yet appeared (the first one
opened in 1 840), so each firm kept its own iron safe.
Mr. Earl tells us that the amusements of an active
nature in which Europeans engaged then consisted
chiefly of boat-sailing and shooting, and that boat races
and saihng matches occurred almost daily. The shooting
took place in the lowlands at the back of the town, and
snipe, plover,and pigeon were the birds chiefly obtainable.
The land where the Ladies' Lawn Tennis Club is to-day
was a great place for snipe in the early days of Singapore.
The interior of the island was almost unknown to the
Europeans in the Thirties, but there was a small inde-
pendent Chinese settlement a few miles distant up the
river, which no Europeans had visited at that time.
The other amusement mentioned by Mr. Earl seems
to be at its highest vogue to-day ; it was writing letters
to the papers, of which there were two at that time, one
ministerial and one opposition. It is a relief to remem-
ber that our forerunners suffered as badly as we do
from such perspiring reformers as *' Ironside " and
*' Pro bono publico " and the rest.
It will have been observed by the perspicacious
reader that a great deal of drinking went on in " the
good old days." The Malays observed the fact also,
and used to sing this illuminating little pantun, short,
pithy, and expressive :
The Malayan eats rice.
The Chinaman eats pig,
But the white man drinks grog only.
It was thought that alcohol was necessary at that
time ; Mr. Earl remarked in his book that there seemed
" to be some fatality attaching to clergymen at Singapore,
as three following incumbents, the Revs. Burns, Darrah,
and White, all died young, and of the same complaint
My own opinion is they were all too strict adherents
to teetotahsm."
However, in 1837 there blossomed forth the first
Singapore Temperance Society, which began very sue-
THE FIRST HOTEL 481
cessfully. Three months later Mr. John Gemmill, then
a store-keeper and later Singapore's first auctioneer,
made use of the Society for advertising purposes. He
issued a circular which announced that " the Temperance
Society is making such rapid strides in this Settlement
that it is useless to advertise brandy for sale, although
I have got some very good of an old stock which I wish
to get rid of and leave off seUing the article " ! After a
sarcastic suggestion that since the Society commenced
operations the spirit trade had become very unprofitable,
he concluded his circular thus : ** I have, however,
just received a superior lot of very old Malmsey Madeira,
that I can confidently recommend, also a fresh batch
of genuine old port wine for sale." Mr. Gemmill,
however, made amends many years later (in 1864) by
presenting a clear water fountain, which stands in the
Square.
Mr. Cameron, writing in the 'Sixties, says : " The good
folks of Singapore are by no means inclined to place too
narrow restrictions on their libations, and it has been
found in the experience of the older residents that a
liberality in this respect conduces to good health and
long life."
Heavy drinking went on for years. Mr. Hornaday, the
American naturalist, writing of Singapore in the 'Seven-
ties, said: ''The hotels of Singapore are all bad, and
life in them is exceedingly dull. The liquor consumed
in them, and the drunken men one sees almost daily,
keep the abstemious traveller in a state of perpetual
disgust. The extent to which intoxicating liquors of
all kinds are drunk in the East Indies is simply appal-
ling." This is all now a thing of the past, and though
most Europeans take alcohol, moderation is the rule,
whatever excitable females may say to the contrary.
A good many " firsts " were achieved in the 'Thirties :
thus the first boarding-house was opened in High Street
by a Mr. Hallpike in 1831, and in 1832 the first so-called
hotel was opened by a Mr. John Francis at the north end
of the Square, with a billiard-room and a refreshment-
482 THE MERRY PAST
hall attached ; the first public entertainment was given
in 1 83 1 by Signer Masoni, a violinist ; in 1833 the first
** London tailor " opened a shop and the first European
hairdresser started business, both of them in Malacca
Street, and neither successful.
On New Year's Day 1834 the first regatta was
started, in the third race of which the Singapore Yacht
Club sailed, and in 1839 the first complete New Year's
Day Sports were held on land and sea, since when this
has been an annual event. The shore sports commenced
with a pony race with native riders, and there was Kling
wrestling and foot-racing ; these sports took place on
the Esplanade, the Tamil name for which is to this day
" January Thidal," or January Place.
The methods of missionaries are sometimes apt to
cause a smile amongst their unregenerate fellow-men,
but a proposition by an American missionary in 1835
probably was as wild a dream as was ever conceived.
He proposed that colonies of young men and women
should come from America to the Straits to spread
science and civilisation ! Each colony of these philan-
thropists was to comprise five to fifteen families, or
thirty to ninety individuals, and to include agriculturists,
carpenters, goldsmiths, shoemakers, and a religious
pastor. They were to rely on their own resources (they
certainly could not have relied on anything else), and
have a sort of common stock. This remarkable scheme
to found families who were to remain here, and their
descendants after them, most fortunately did not come
to a practical trial. Captain Newbold has preserved it
for our amusement in his book.
In such a place as Singapore the Feast of St. Andrew has
naturally always played a considerable part in its gaieties.
Tamil printers produce menus with strange dishes and
stranger quotations ; little Mr. Binks (whose grand-
mother was alleged to have been Scotch) gets out
his kilt, and the noise of pipes sometimes comes
faintly to the ear in the night. Well, the first celebra-
tion took place in 1835, when the Scotsmen gave a large
FEAST OF ST. ANDREW 483
dinner, Dr. Montgomerie and Mr. Napier, the lawyer,
presiding. It was given in the upper rooms of the Court
House, and the hour was 6.30 p.m. The Malacca band
had been learning some appropriate airs for the respective
toasts, which the Straits Chronicle said were an ineffable
treat to all lovers of music ! On the following evening
a ball was given, when the ladies wore tartan scarves and
several gentlemen the garb of Old Gaul ; this party did
not break up until daylight. At the dinner the follow-
ing year the company broke up at sunrise, after having
partaken of a third supper ! It is hard to imagine a
ball being given in the Singapore Club, but in 1879 the
St. Andrew's Ball was held there, the building having
been completed and opened only a few weeks before.
During the 'Forties the Settlement made even more
rapid strides than during the 'Thirties, despite the set-
back which occurred at first, after Hongkong was
ceded to the British at the conclusion of the ** Opium
War," or China War. Singapore had been made the
base for this war, which commenced in 1 840. Ship after
ship assembled in the roads, and tents sprang up all over
the Esplanade and other available places. During the
months while the expedition was assembling Singapore
lived in a blaze of excitement, and Governor Bonham
kept open house. The war concluded in 1 842, and Hong-
kong seems at first to have taken the junk trade away
from Singapore, as well as a good deal of capital ; however,
matters soon righted themselves.
Captain Sir Edward Belcher, R.N., C.B., was in
command of H.M.S. Samarang in the 'Forties ; he
anchored in the Singapore roads in May 1 846 :
" Singapore," he writes, " has undergone considerable
improvement since I first became acquainted with it,
under the government of Mr. Bonham in 1840. The
lines of streets, then only marked out by slight poles
with rags or causeways or embankments, inclosing cer-
tain portions of barely cleared marsh, were now finished,
solid ground filled in in many spots, and blocks of houses
had been erected. The river-lines had been completec^
484 THE MERRY PAST
in stone, good roads formed, and several substantial
and well-designed bridges spanned the stream at various
points." He then refers to the diminished prosperity
due to Hongkong, which he says " had now materially
diminished the society, as well as, by the transfer of
much of the capital to Hongkong, the means of support-
ing the marked hospitaHty which we experienced at
the former period."
We can get a good notion of what the place was like
from a number of books, by means of which we can take
a tour through the town and note the points of interest.
Starting on the western or business side of the town, in
the centre was Commercial Square, now called Raffles
Place ; the road ran round it, as it does now, but the centre
was a flower garden, and among the trees which stood
there were some rare ones, including a date and an
aloe, the whole garden being enclosed with a wooden
railing. One of the Chinese names for Raffles Place to
this day is " Hua Hooi Kak," or " flower garden
corner," a variant being " flower garden by the godowns."
The Square had been made by cutting down a small hill
and filling in ; Kling Street is still called by the Chinese
** small hill top," and anyone driving into Raffles Place
through Battery Road cannot fail to notice the rise up
to the new Chartered Bank and ensuing dip. Near the
Square there was a market (the old Teluk Ayer Market
on the sea). The Chinese name for Malacca Street is
** Lau pa-sat khau," or '* old market mouth." They
call the EUenborough Market, completed in 1846, the
*' new market " to this day.
At the entrance to the river stood Fort Fullerton, and
access to it from the Square was obtained through a
narrow road, both sides of which were lined with go-
downs ; this, of course, is the present Battery Road, but
it was much narrower then. There was no Collyer Quay ;
the backs of the godowns facing Battery Road and the
Square came almost to the water's edge, and most of the
merchants had piers out into the sea for loading and
unloading goods. The condition of this part of the town
TANJONG TANGKAP 485
is still preserved in the Chinese names for it. Thus
Collyer Quay is still known as " Tho Kho Au," '' at the
back of the godowns," and Flint Street as " Tho Kho
Bue," *' the end of the godowns." Boat Quay ran right
up to Fort FuUerton at the river mouth.
In the 'Forties many residents were still living in the
Square and in Battery Road over their godowns,
the most celebrated of the houses being the premises
of Messrs. A. L. Johnston and Co. in Battery Road,
where Mr. A. L. Johnston lived and kept up great state.
It was the first house as you entered the river on the
western bank, and was nicknamed Tanjong Tangkap,
because the other merchants said Mr. Johnston built
it there so as to be the first to catch (tangkap) the
captains of vessels as they came up the river !
The southern limit of the town was Teluk Ayer,
where the beach was covered with junk spars, tongkangs
and boats in the course of construction, and at the ex-
treme end was a European shipbuilding yard. Beyond
it were nutmeg plantations and fruit gardens.
As he entered the river the first building that greeted
the eye of the stranger on his right was the Police Office,
which stood on the site of the present Government
Offices ; behind it was the Ordnance Store fronting the
river, and next to that the original Fives Court founded
by Dr. Montgomerie. Fives was for years a most
popular game in Singapore, and an additional court had
to be built later in Tanglin.
In the corner of one block of buildings stood the
Medical Stores, in the grounds of which were piled
cannon-balls ; as these were pills for a possible enemy
one supposes that that was the connection. Higher
up and next to the Supreme Court were two shipbuilding
yards, the noise from which made the Supreme Court an
almost impossible place in which to conduct litigation.
One of these yards belonged to Messrs. Wilkinson, Tiven-
dale and Co., and from it the little paddle-steamer Ranee
was launched in 1848 by Miss Church, the daughter of
the Resident. She was the first steamer built in Singa-
486 THE MERRY PAST •
pore, 60 feet long with a beam of 8 J feet, designed by
Mr. Bulbeck, carpenter of H.M.S. Meander.
One of the sights of the river was the large population
of Orang Laut, the original inhabitants of Singapore,
who dwelt, men, women, and children, in their sampans.
The old Assembly Rooms stood at the corner, at
the foot of Fort Canning and River Valley Road ; they
were completed in 1 844, and were used as ball-room and
theatre, and for public purposes generally. In 1848
Rajah Brooke, as he became later, was invested there
with the K.C.B., one of those present being Mr. Charles
Johnston, the second Rajah, who died in 191 7.
High Street had eight compound houses on its left
side going up towards Government Hill, and on the right
side five, one lot not being built upon.
The beach side of the Esplanade was retained by piles
of wood, and the margin for the whole length was fringed
with wild trees ; it was about seventy yards deep,
much narrower than the present Esplanade, which
has been extended by reclamation. About midway,
but nearer the Bras Basah Canal (now Stamford Canal),
there was a turn in the road, where had been erected
a small battery near the site of the convict jetty which
was made later, and which has now, of course, disap-
peared. This battery was used for saluting till the
guns were removed to Fort Fullerton in 1 844. Disused
by the military, its low wall supplied sitting accommo-
dation to those who came to the Esplanade for gossip
or fresh air, and from this cause the place came to be
called "Scandal Point." In the 'Forties the ordinary
dinner-hour was still from four to five, and the fashionable
hour for exercise was from five till dusk. The ride
or drive was invariably finished off by a few turns on
the Esplanade. Two select bodies of local politicians
used to foregather every evening at Scandal Point,
and " heard much argument." Their inquisitive eyes
used to turn towards Tanjong Tangkap to see who was
going to or coming from that centre of hospitality.
Singapore has always dearly loved its gossip.
SINGAPORE IN THE 'FORTIES 487
Opposite the Esplanade stood three dwelUng-houses.
The first, at the corner of High Street, was that of Mr.
Edward Boustead, which later on became the main
building of the old Hotel de I'Europe, and was pulled
down to make way for the present hotel building.
The next was the residence of Dr. Montgomerie, which
is now the block of the Municipal Offices where the
Commissioners and the Rent Board hold their meetings,
and the President has his office. The third was the
house of Mr. Thomas Church, the Resident Councillor,
and is now the block of the Municipal Offices where
the Engineering Department has its office. After Mr.
Church left it became the Freemasons' Lodge, and
the building where the ladies used to go and tiffin was
laid at the time of the New Year's Sports. Later on the
ground-floor was the first place used by the Cricket Club
as a store for their stumps, bats, etc.
Then came the old St. Andrew's Church, which had
no architectural beauty to recommend it, being a plain,
low edifice with a spiral steeple surmounted by a cross.
The interior was fitted up more with regard to neatness
than elegance ; a gallery ran round three of its sides.
In the church fagade which looked to the sea was the
Town Clock. The bell belonging to the church was the
gift of Mrs. Balestier, wife of the American Consul. It
used to sound the curfew immediately after the eight
o'clock gun had gone. The old clock was removed to
the Supreme Court later, and is now in the tower of
the Police Offices, so it has certainly earned its keep.
The part of the town lying between the Esplanade
and Government Hill was divided by roads intersecting
each other at right angles into square plots of ground,
in which were detached dwelling-houses in their own
compounds, with nicely laid-out gardens where mer-
chants and other Europeans lived. The houses were
all white with red roofs and green Venetians, and strangers
coming to Singapore generally wrote of them as being
very handsome.
A bridge led across the canal to the Raffles Institution
II — 32
488 THE MERRY PAST
(now Raffles School), and near it stood a gigantic banyan
tree, which had the appearance of a cock from town.
The natives regarded it with superstitious awe, and when
it was eventually destroyed by fire looked on the event
as a public calamity, so Mr. Norris says, writing in 1878.
Eastward of the Raffles Institution, along Beach
Road, ran a row of twenty elegant dwelUngs with con-
venient compounds, which had been the residences
of the earliest Singapore merchants. One of the Chinese
names for Beach Road is still " Twenty Houses Street."
Where Raffles Hotel is now Mr. and Mrs. W. R. George
had their house ; the last compound house of all belonged
to Dr. Jose d 'Almeida, and was for twenty-five years
one of the centres of social gaiety in Singapore ; in
another close by lived Mr. John Henry Velge and his
family, and this house, too, was celebrated for its hos-
pitality, dances being the great feature of the Velge
entertainments. Years after Mr. Velge's house became
Emrrierson's Hotel. Most of these old Beach Road
residences had a separate building with a billiard-table
in it, and in one of them the Singapore Club found its
first dwelling-place. They began disappearing about
1880, and are all gone by now. Beach Road at this
time ran for about a mile, and a quarter of a mile beyond
the last European residence was the Sultan of Johore's
residence.
Eastward beyond Beach Road lay the Kampongs
of the Malays, named after the races inhabiting them,
Kampong Bencoolen, Kampong Java, Kampong Sum-
bawa, and so forth. Kampong Bencoolen, where the
present Bencoolen Street is, was once a vegetable garden,
and was occupied principally by natives of Bencoolen
who had come to Singapore when we gave up that
station, with other rights, to the Dutch in exchange
for Malacca. In Kampong Java were native coffee-
shops, eating-houses and flower-shops, the last kept
by Javanese women, and the scenes of frequent murders
committed by jealous husbands. Sir Edward Belcher
tells us that in Kampong Glam the eye was naturally
CHINESE ROBBERS AT TANGLIN 4S9
attracted to the general fabrication of arms, and to
those conversant in the examination of the pirate boats
of the seas round Singapore, the question naturally
suggested itself, '' Were those swords, parangs, knives,
muskets, bull-mouthed blunderbusses, etc., intended for
pirates ? " He had no hesitation in saying that they
were, and recommended legislation to put down the
trade — a wise suggestion, and therefore unheeded.
The town went back but a little way, and the first
house erected in Tanglin was on Cairn Hill, constructed
at Mr. Carnie's order in 1840 ; it was pulled down
to make way for the present Chartered Bank house.
In the country, as it then was, Dr. Martin had a house
at Annanbank in River Valley Road and Dr. Little
one at Bonnygrass ; Dr. Oxley lived on his hill where
the Pavilion is now ; and Mr. Thomas Hewetson lived
at Mount Elizabeth, the furthest house in Tanglin,
and notorious for tigers. During the riots in 1846
a most daring and successful gang robbery was per-
petrated in this house. It was situated on an eminence
in Mr. Hewetson's plantation which was completely
surrounded by a large hedge. A gang of 200 Chinese
attacked it, after posting sentinels at the main road.
Mr. Hewetson gallantly d.efended himself, and fired
repeatedly upon the robbers, but was finally forced to
retire with his family to a loft in the top of the house
through a trap door. The Chinese ransacked the house
and escaped ; the police, of course, arrived too late,
but a Mr. Angus, who had endeavoured to come to
the rescue, was severely handled by the Chinese. It
reads like life in modern Perak.
The plantations of nutmegs and betel-nuts which
surrounded the country residences were very luxuriant,
and when the fruit was on the former the odour was
quite dehghtful. One male tree was planted for every
ten females, and the trees at full bearing were valued at
a guinea a tree. Beyond Tank Road there were no
houses on the left-hand side of Orchard Road going out
of town ; the whole length of the right-hand side was
490 THE MERRY PAST
covered with nutmegs, and amongst them stood three
or four houses.
In 1848 the principal nutmeg plantations in Tanglin
were Mr. Prinsep's, where Government House and
Mount Sophia are now (6,700 trees) ; Mr. Scott's Claymore
Estate at Scott's Road (5,200 trees) ; Mr. Nicoll's estate
at Sri Menanti, round Chatsworth House, which he
built (8,000 trees) ; Mr. Carnie's estate round Cairn Hill
(4,370 trees) ; Dr. Oxley's estate, which was bounded by
River Valley Road, Tank Road, Orchard Road, and
Orange Road (4,050 trees) ; Mr. T. Hewetson's estate at
Mount Elizabeth (1,515 trees); and Mr. W. W. Willans's
estate at Mount Harriet, part being where Tanglin Bar-
racks are now ( i ,600 trees). As one plays up to the sixth
green on the Garrison Golf Links one notices various
round mounds ; these are where Mr. Willans's nutmegs
once stood. Mr. S. F. Davidson says in his book that
Dr. Oxley's plantation was by far the finest one on
the island, and that nothing could be finer than their
beautiful position, tasteful outlay, and luxuriant foliage.
Tanglin must have been a very beautiful place at this
time, a veritable spice garden.
Sugar was also planted in large quantities. Beyond
Balestier Road lay the sugar plantation of Mr. Balestier,
the American Consul ; it ran up to the Kallang River, and
beyond it, on the other side of the river, la^^ the Kallang-
dale Sugar Estate, with a big water-mill near the river.
This originally was planted by Dr. Montgomerie, but
he lost over it. In the town itself there were some
very fine sugar-mills.
On the Serangoon Road side of the Racecourse there
were nutmeg and fruit gardens, while on the opposite
side (where the stands and paddocks are now) there
were large vegetable gardens. Further out, on the right-
hand side of Serangoon Road leaving town, there
were more large vegetable gardens.
Where the old Gaol site is now there stood the convict
lines, ranges of low attap sheds enclosed within a high
wall, comfortable and clean, but very unhealthy,
CONVICTS AS SERVANTS 491
as they stood in marshy ground which had not then
been reclaimed. The convicts were a great feature in
Singapore in those times ; they made the roads and did
the work for the Pubhc Works Department. The best-
behaved of them were released and employed as domestic
servants by the Europeans. Mr. E. J. Robertson, in his
Straits Memories, tells us how he was wheeled out in
his perambulator as a child by a convict ; and Admiral
Keppel recounts how, on going up to Government House,
he saw a gardener quietly working in the grounds with
MURDER on his forehead, for branding was the practice
then.
On the ground between the convict lines and where
the Ladies' Lawn Tennis Club is now stood the hospital,
and Stamford Road at that time was called Hospital
Street.
Tanjong Pagar was a fishing village inhabited by
Malays and Chinese. The Temenggong lived at the
Istana Lama in Teluk Blanga, and gave frequent enter-
tainments to the Europeans. Tigers did continual
destruction on the outskirts of the town, and many
were the deaths caused by them, while those tigers of
the sea, the pirates, committed almost daily acts of
depredation.
The two chief roads leading out of town were those
leading to Bukit Timah and Serangoon or Sa-ranggong.
The ranggong was a bird about the size of an adjutant
bird, black on back and white on breast, neck long, bill
long and sharp, crest grey ; its feet were not webbed.
Each of these roads was almost seven miles long at that
time. The Chinese name at this date for Bukit Timah
was *' Be Chia Lo Boi " or '' end of the horse carriage
street " ; the road was roughly opened beyond Bukit
Timah as far as Kranji in 1845.
Rents in the 'Forties, according to Major Law, stood at
from thirty-five to sixty dollars for a comfortable two-
storied house with dining-room, drawing-room, and from
four to six bedrooms : " happy days '' ! The following
list of servants and their wages may be of interest.
492 THE MERRY PAST
Major Low writes : " For a moderate family there is a
butler at from seven to eight dollars a month, two under-
servants at five dollars each, a maid (or ayah) or nurse
five to six dollars, tailor seven to eight dollars, cook
seven to eight, with an assistant, perhaps, at five dollars,
washerman five to six dollars, two grooms at five dollars
each, grass-cutter two dollars, lamplighter and sweeper
four dollars, scavenger one dollar, and waterman four
dollars." All were Indians ; it was not until long after-
wards that the Hailam descended on the land.
The conveyances used for pleasure or convenience
were mostly palanquin carriages drawn by one pony,
and led, not driven, by a groom, with an occasional
out-rider behind. The syces of private carriages and
hacks always ran along with the pony, and never sat
on the carriage. Colonel Butterworth imported a large
carriage and four horses, and when attending the
evening service at St. Andrew's on dark nights the syces
ran at the sides of the horses with lanterns. Besides
palanquins, four-wheeled open carriages and gigs were
also common. With the exception of a few Arabs,
most of the residents contented themselves with Java
ponies, and a good one could be got from sixty to one
hundred dollars.
One of the great events of the year was the arrival
of the Bugis boats in October and November. They
held a sort of fair on the beach, where sarongs and native
cloths were displayed for sale, as well as many kinds of
beautiful birds. The whole fair formed a pretty and
interesting sight, and was particularly welcome to the
European ladies, who had not much to interest them.
The place was dependent for up-to-date news upon
the opium clippers. These beautiful vessels were kept
like yachts, and carried large crews ; they were built
after the finest models, many of them having belonged
in their day to the Royal Yacht Squadron, and they were
masted and sparred to the very last verge of safety.
The centre of gossip was at John Little's (at that time
Little, Cursetjee <Sc Co.),in the Square, and the unexpected
SOCIAL SINGAPORE 493
arrival of an opium clipper caused the whole Square to
buzz with excitement.
By 1845 a new importance had been attached to
Singapore from its having become the focus where
steamers from different places periodically congregated
with news from Europe and various quarters of the Far
East. As a result an evident change took place in the
general tone of society, a change which the old stagers
deplored and exclaimed against. The regular and rapid
intercourse with the mother country by tending to keep
alive home feelings and affections, and> the constant
supply of new intellectual food which every mail
brought, contributed materially to this change.
Mr. F. Marryat, R.N., of H.M.S. Samarang, gives us
a social picture of Singapore in the 'Forties. He writes :
" Sincapore, like all new Settlements, is composed of
so mixed a community that there is but little hospitality
and less gaiety. Everyone is waiting to ascertain what
is to be his position in society, and till then is afraid of
committing himself by friendly intercourse ; moreover,
everybody is too busy making money."
There would be more than a grain of truth in that if
it had been written of the present time.
'' The consequence is, but few parties are given, and
a ball is so rare that it becomes the subject of conversa-
tion for months. There are some good-looking girls at
Sincapore, but it is only at church or on parade that a
stranger obtains a glimpse of them. Prudery is at
present the order of the day, and this is carried to such
an extent from non-intercourse that at a farewell ball
given to the Cambrians the women would only polka
and waltz with each other.''
The result of this want of hospitality was that the
stranger passed his evenings at the hotels playing
billiards, smoking, and drinking. Mr. Marryat says that
the hotels were very good in consequence of the steamer
traffic from Bombay to Hongkong, and that they were
fitted up with an unusual degree of comfort, but their
charges were not very moderate.
494 THE MERRY PAST
He says that there were two hotels, one kept by an
EngUshman and one by a Frenchman ; both were equally
attentive, but the Frenchman's house had the preference
in consequence of its superior locality, facing the Esplan-
ade and looking upon the sea. This was Dutronquoy's
Hotel, as it was generally called, though its official title
was the London Hotel. Dutronquoy arrived in March
1839, and advertised himself as a painter of miniatures
and portraits. In May that year he opened an hotel in
High Street, from which he removed later to Coleman
Street, where the Adelphi is now. He was also the
first professional photographer in Singapore ; in Decem-
ber 1843 he advertised from the London Hotel that he
was *' complete master of the newly invented and late
imported Daguerreotype." He also announced that
" ladies and gentlemen could have their likeness taken
in the astonishing short space of two minutes " !
At the London Hotel he converted part of the house
into a small theatre, where the amateurs played Charles
the Second and The Spectre Bridegroom in 1 844.
In 1845 Dutronquoy left Coleman Street, and opened
where the Europe is now, at the corner of the Esplanade
and High Street, and this was where he was when Mr.
Marryat visited his hotel. After Dutronquoy left it
became the Hotel de I'Esperance, and was kept by a
Frenchwoman ; in 1865 a Frenchman named Castele-
yens, who kept an hotel in Beach Road called the Hotel
de I'Europe, removed from there to the site of the Hotel
de I'Esperance, and took the old name with him. The
hotel has been known as the Europe ever since, and is
to-day one of the principal centres of social life in Singa-
pore. Dutronquoy disappeared mysteriously, murdered,
it was whispered, whilst gold digging up the Muar, and
the hotel was carried on by his wife and son for several
years.
In September 1847 Miss Pfeiffer paid a visit to
Singapore : she went to see Madame Behn, wife of the
principal partner in Behn, Meyer and Co. This was
the first German lady she had met since she had left
MUSIC ON THE ESPLANADE 495
Hamburg. She observes in her book: ''I was once
more able to give free vent to my feehngs in my own
native tongue." It looks as though it will be a very
long time before that tongue is heard here again.
Miss Pfeiffer tells us that " twice a week a very fine
military band used to play on the Esplanade, close to
the sea, and the whole world of fashionables would either
walk or drive to the place to hear the music. The
carriages were ranged several rows deep, and surrounded
by young beaux on foot or horseback ; anyone might
have been excused for imagining himself in a European
city."
In June 1831 the officers of the 29th Madras N. I.,
which was the first sepoy regiment to come, allowed
their band to play once a week on the Esplanade. As
long as the native regiments were stationed here, says
Mr. Buckley, the bands used to play, latterly twice a
week ; the chains were taken down opposite Coleman
Street and the carriages were driven in and stood in a
circle round the bandstand. After the Transfer the
native regiments were withdrawn, and it was not until
long after that they came here again.
Jack ashore in Singapore was always a source of
interest and often of amusement in the old days ; here
is a picture of him in the 'Forties drawn by the Captain
of H.M.S. Samarang :
" Being duly togged out for the shore, in his best
white trousers and neatly worked shirt, set off by a
flowing Barcelona, and natty straw hat, with a length
of black streaming ribbon, or pendant, which designates
him a bona fide man-of-war's man, he steps upon the
gangway, eyeing the boatmen pressing around for fares.
. " The lightest and fastest are the tambangs, which are
very elegant little canoes, generally impelled by two or
four lank but clean-built and powerful Malays. These
urge their claims for preference, exclaiming ' ' Two man
boat, sar ? " '' Four man boat, sar?" or " Pull like
debbel, sar " !
Ashore Jack had his shopping to do and curios to
496 THE MERRY PAST
buy for the folk at home ; but, alas ! the punch house and
the grog shop, to say nothing worse, were the only places
of amusements open to him. The number of these was
very large ; there were also low coffee-houses and spirit-
shops in the outskirts of the town, where many unwary
sailors were stupefied by spirits and unscrupulously
robbed. The Sailors' Home was started in the 'Fifties
as a consequence, and did much good.
That popular sport, horse-racing, began in 1843,
when there were two days' racing, the first race com-
mencing at 1 1 a.m. and being won by Mr. W. H. Read.
The Racecourse then was where it is now, but the stand
was on the opposite side, and everything was, of course,
much more primitive. As a result, doubtless, of having
started racing, the first sale of horses from Sydney took
place in 1844. These sales became quite a feature of
Singapore life ; they took place in the Square until 1 886,
when the traffic had become too large, and the venue was
changed to Abrams's Repository. The sales used to
start after tiffin. Here is a description of one of them
in the 'Seventies by Mr. J. Thomson :
*' But now the tinkle of a bell summons us across the
Square, and we there find that a horse sale is about to
commence. The merchants and their assistants, freed
for the day, are seated about in groups, and assume,
some of them, as horsey airs as any votary of Tattersall's
famous mart. An Australian ship has just brought a full
consignment of horses. There they are, tethered beneath
the trees, some of them likely looking beasts, but some-
what stale after the voyage. One by one they are
trotted out by Malay or Kling grooms and sold for from
twenty to two hundred dollars apiece."
There seems to be no book giving us a picture of life
in Singapore in the 'Fifties, so one must turn to Mr.
Buckley and the Press. The town grew apace, and rents
rose very heavily ; the value of real property increased,
and there was one of those periodical land booms to
which growing towns are susceptible. Though the price
of labour and material was heavv, there was so much
AN AFFAIR OF HONOUR 497
building that in 1858 several public works had to be
stopped temporarily. For the rest, the 'Fifties were a
decade of great world events ; the Crimean War was
succeeded by the Indian Mutiny, which led to the
abolition of the old Honourable Company and all its
monopolies.
In 1850 the Marquis and Marchioness of Dalhousie
descended upon the place with a numerous suite, a visit
which that ^ masterpiece of ughness, the Dalhousie
Obelisk, commemorates. The object of the noble
marquis was retrenchment, but beyond depriving the
local newspaper of a much-needed subsidy, he does not
seem to have done very much.
In these days it is hard to imagine the solemn fighting
of a duel in SingapcJre, but in March 1850 the paper
gave an account of one, but, hke Betsy Prig, it named
no names :
'* On Thursday morning last an ' affair of honour '
came off in the neighbourhood of the Racecourse,
between two European gentlemen, Messieurs S. and
P. Mr. S. fired, and the shot whizzed close past his
antagonist's ear ; Mr. P. discharged the contents of his
pistol into the air. The police had received information,
but were not on the spot until too late to save — powder
and shot ! "
Mr. Buckley says that it used to be said in Singapore
that some of the stories in Captain Marryat's novels,
particularly O'Brien's famous duel in Peter Simple, were
founded on occurrences which had taken place here,
as a very similar duel had been carried through in North
Bridge Road, where a billiard-room and public-house
stood. Captain Marryat does not appear to have been
in Singapore, but he commanded the Lame during the
Burma War, and his daughter, Florence, the novelist,
married a son of Mr. Church, the Resident Councillor in
1854.
By 1855 the Assembly Rooms had fallen into dis-
repair, and the foundation-stone of the old Town Hall
498 THE MERRY PAST
was laid on the 1 7th March. Here theatricals and dances
were held and the MunicipaHty had its offices until the
Victoria Memorial was projected*. A committee of
local tuans besar was appointed to see to the latter ;
their qualification for approving plans for a theatre was
that none of them knew the first thing about the techni-
cal side of a theatre, with the result that as a practical
proposition the part of the building behind the foot-
lights leaves so much to be desired that one wonders
how it ever came to be built, until one is told that the
Committee obtained the plans of a number of London
theatres and that the architect picked out of each such
features as he thought useful ! A typical Singapore
effort — but the Committee had all been here many years,
and were tuans besar y so obviously they must know !
As for the Memorial Hall, it can be used for no purpose :
you cannot speak in it, because the echo is like a mass
meeting of Bolshevists ; you cannot dance in it, because
it is too big, and they forgot at first to put stairs up to
the band gallery, so that a big drum has to be pulled
up by a rope. Some day Singapore will insist that its
committees are chosen for knowledge and not on the
old age pension scheme ; so many people will then die
of shock that we shall probably regret the innovation.
There is so little to say of the 'Fifties and so much
of the 'Sixties that the opportunity may be taken of
writing about Whampoa, who was the centre of social
life and hospitality here for so long, and who made
Singapore a blessed spot for the Royal Navy, the mercan-
tile marine, and many travellers. His real name was
Hoh Ah Kay, but having been born at Whampoa, near
Canton, about 1816, he got the nick-name of Whampoa,
which became so settled that he actually appears under
that name as a member of Legislative Council in the
Government Gazette^ with his real name in brackets ! Mr.
Whampoa died in 1880, the most respected and best-
liked Chinaman who has ever been in Singapore. His
connection with the Royal Navy came about through his
firm being naval contractors. Every book written about
WHAMPOA'S HOSPITALITY 499
Singapore in his hey-day has something to say about him
and his lovely residence on the Serangoon Road, which
was bought by Mr. Seah Liang Seah after his death and
renamed Bendemeer, but which to Singapore history
must always remain ' ' Whampoa's. ' ' His chop was Nam
Seng, and to this day his conservative fellow-countrymen
call Tan Tock Seng's Hospital " Nam Seng Hue-hng
pin," '* beside Nam Seng's flower garden."
Mr. J. T. Thomson gives us a description of both the
man and his house in the early days : " He had bought a
neglected garden in Toah Pyoh, which he soon converted
into a tasteful bel-retiro, with avenues, fruit orchard,
hanging gardens, Dutch walks, dwarf bamboos, and
orange trees. In the garden were shrubs, stags, peacocks,
all displayed in the aviary or menagerie to great advan-
tage." Mr. Thomson says that Whampoa's mind was
that of a country gentleman, of the old school, with the
result that a night or two in his house was a treat to
purser or admiral. Thus Admiral Keppel, in his diary
for 1848, wrote :
" Our worthy old purser, Simons, died while staying
at Whampoa's country house. He was a fine specimen
of his countrymen ; his generosity and honesty had long
made him a favourite. Whampoa gave generous
entertainments to naval officers. At midnight, by the
light of a full moon, we would visit the beautiful Victoria
Regia, a magnificent lotus in a circular pond, a present
from the Regent of Siam, who sent it through Mr. W. H.
Read."
And nine years afterwards the Admiral wrote : ** Put
up at Whampoa's, and how comfortable the old fellow
made me."
Mr. Hornaday, writing in the 'Seventies, gives us this
description :
*' On one side of a quiet street in the suburbs there
is a wall enclosing a spacious garden. Passing through
an open gate, the posts of which are very high and
ornamented with carved figures of Chinese dragons, we
drove through a well-kept garden, sighted a spacious
500 THE MERRY PAST
but unpretentious white house, and drew up before the
massive and finely carved front doors. A gardener who
was trimming a shrub close by took my card and thrust
it through the open carving. Presently the doors opened .
wide, and I saw Mr. Whampoa coming slowly from the
farther end of the wide hall to meet me. He was an old
man with a low stoop in his shoulders, a large head, a
very thin queue of white hair, small twinkling eyes
with a very pleasant expression, perfect manners, and
a very kind, unassuming smile."
This was, of course, towards the end of Mr. Whampoa's
life. His son is living in Singapore to-day, and was for
long a head clerk in Messrs. Allen and Gledhill's office.
It is pleasant that one should be able to record the
name of a Chinese gentleman as one of the principal
hosts of Singapore for about forty 3^ears ; but Mr.
Whampoa was not the first of such. In the Thirties
Mr. Chong Long, a son of the Capitan China of Malacca
while the Dutch still possessed that place, was well
known for his entertainments to the Europeans. He was
the wealthiest and most intelligent of his class at the
time, and very popular with all communities.
In the 'Fifties one of the great meeting-places was the
News Room in Commercial Square at the offices of the
Straits Times. It was a large room, sixty feet by forty,
and contained more than one hundred files of papers
from all parts of the globe, most* of them exchanges, for
the room was really the newspaper file-room of the
Editor of the Straits Times. It was also well supplied
with prices current, maps, etc., and was the centre of
the commercial part of the town. Officers of ships of
war, commanders of merchant vessels and passengers,
who arrived by the many vessels constantly passing
through the harbour, were admitted free of charge, and
from them the local inhabitants got much news, with
the result that it was the most popular resort of the place.
In 1858 the day of adventure had not ceased, and
*' Sarawacking," as Kipling calls it, was still feasible.
Mr. Adam Wilson claimed the island of Bencalis, and
'\^s€^Ll.^
A FUTILE EXPEDITION 501
started out with a considerable armed party to take
possession of it, being aided by one chief and opposed
by another. A battle royal took place, in which a
Dutch gunboat, under some provision of the 1 824 treaty,
joined in the affray ; but Wilson came off victorious, and
took many guns. The claim to the island, however,
seems to have come to nothing, for Adam Wilson ended
as a broker and auctioneer in the Square and not as
Rajah of Bencalis. He was Secretary to the Singapore
Exchange until 1866.
For a view of life in the 'Sixties we are fortunate in
possessing Mr. Cameron's most readable book, which is
supplemented by Mr. E. J. Robertson's reminiscences.
Mr. Cameron was Editor of the Straits Times, and his
book, written in 1 864, was of great assistance during the
agitation for the Transfer.
The harbour and the shipping of the port had under-
gone a considerable change ; for the box-shaped, heavy-
rigged East Indiamen had been exchanged for the beauti-
fully modelled clipper or frigate-built ships of the finest
building yards in Great Britain and America. Their
tall, slim, raking spars reached in the view from seaward
high above the hilly background of the island. The
late Mr. C. Phillips (father of Mr. C. M. Phillips, the
present head of Raffles School), writing in the Straits
Chinese Magazine, says :
'* When I came to Singapore in the early sixties, or
about five years before the Suez Canal was opened, the
harbour was full of saihng vessels of every description,
manned by Europeans. So numerous were they that
standing on the Esplanade it was difficult to find an
opening between them sufficiently large to see through
to the islands beyond."
The large European seafaring population, however,
had no shore accommodation but the gin-shop and the
tavern, so that liquor wrought havoc amongst the sailors,
and a temperance campaign was begun in real earnest,
with beneficial results. Bethel services also were con-
ducted in the harbour by the Rev. Mr. Venn, the Seamen's
502 THE MERRY PAST
Chaplain. Mr. Phillips, describing these services, tells
us that the masters wore tall hats and long black cloth
coats " like real old English gentlemen " ! The officers
and petty officers wore uniforms with their company's
badge on their caps, while the sailors wore white shirts
and collars, silk neckties fastened in a sailor's knot,
reefing jackets, waistcoats with brass buttons, and black
caps with peaks.
In addition to the sailing ships, Mr. Cameron says
that there was scarcely any time in the year when there
were less than half a dozen steam vessels in the port, and
not infrequently twice that number. The steamers of
the Messageries Imperiales were the largest, swiftest,
and finest fitted of any steamers then placed on the route
between China and Europe for passenger traffic.
Turning to the. town, Mr. Cameron tells us that from
Fort Fullerton, at the western side of the river's
mouth, the black muzzles of nine 68-pounder guns
peeped through the grassy embrasures, and behind it
stood a pretty little bungalow surrounded by shrubbery.
Collyer Quay was constructed during the years 1861 to
1864; by 1866 practically all the buildings facing it
were constructed, and remained for a long time one of
the sights of the Far East. They are now giving way to
more modern and larger buildings, and one imagines that
it will not be long before none of them remains. " Blue
Funnel Corner," as the Chinese call the part where
Messrs. Mansfield and Co. have their offices, is already
about to be entirely rebuilt, and one hears of other
projects in the air. The land on which Collyer Quay
was built was all reclaimed from the sea, and since the
original construction there has, of course, been further
reclamation.
In the centre of Commercial Square in 1 864 there stood
the telegraph office, and round it four Banks, each with
an English proprietary, the principal of which was the
Oriental in the building now occupied by the Nippon
Yusen Kaisha, and Mr. Cameron wrote that " the ever-
lasting chink of dollars to be heard on passing these
AMERICAN CONSULS 5o3
establishments is almost deafening." The cashiers
were all Chinese, and they tested the coins by ringing
them on the counters. The Oriental Bank was always
called by the natives " the Bank Besar," and when it
stopped payment in 1884 there was a very big sensation
in Singapore. Mr. John S. Scrymgeour was its Manager
in 1 864 ; his son is at present in Singapore, in the
Hongkong and Shanghai Bank.
There was no bridge across the river below Elgin
Bridge until 1869, when Cavenagh Bridge was opened.
Governor Ord suggested that the latter should be called
" Edinburgh Bridge," because it was first used about
the time the Duke of Edinburgh visited Singapore ; but
quite properly it was called after Governor Cavenagh,
the last of the Indian Governors, and it bears his armorial
achievement on the main arches at each end. Until
its construction a ferry plied backwards and forwards.
On the eastern side of the river in the 'Sixties the
old houses of the principal merchants still stood, but
very few of them were used as residences, some of the
best being taken up for hotels and one (the present
Municipal Engineer's office) being used as a Masonic
Lodge. In one on Beach Road the Singapore Club
started in 1862.
The site of the present north wing of Raffles Hotel
had a house on it, occupied later by the American Consul,
Major Studer, father of Mrs. Mugliston and Mrs. J.
P. Joaquim, from which house they were married,
says Mr. Robertson. Mrs. Mugliston is the wife of
Dr. T. C. Mugliston, and the mother of Mr. Gerald
Mughston, of Messrs. Sandilands, Buttery and Co. Her
father. Major Studer, was for long a well-known and
popular character in Singapore. Mr. Hornaday, the
American naturalist, wrote of him that :
" I think Major Studer is one of the most efficient
consuls with whom I have yet become acquainted.
First, last, and all the time he is uncompromisingly
American, loyal to the backbone, and devoted heart and
soul to the interests of the Government he represents.
"—33
504 THE MERRY PAST
In addition to this, he has the stamina which such a
position requires, and does his duty without the shghtest
fear of what those around him may say or do. I was
not surprised to learn that his official acts have not
always met the approbation of those most affected by
them, for to my mind no consul can do his duty un-
flinchingly without making some enemies."
Mr. Andrew Carnegie stayed with Major Studer
in January 1879, and in his book Round the World men-
tions the Major ** and his accomplished daughter."
When Mr. Carnegie was in Singapore the *' Dutch wife "
had not yet passed into being merely a bolster. The
following paragraph from his book may be not uninter-
esting :
** I have had many experiences in beds, from the
generous feather cover of the Germans to the canopy
of state couch of England, but to-night my couch was
minus covering of any kind. Calling to Vandy (Mr.
Vandevorst), I found he was in the same predicament.
Each had, instead, a long stiff bolster lying lengthwise
in the middle of the mattress, the use of which neither
of us could make out. We soon discovered that there
was no need of covering at the Equator ; but this bolster
must have some use, if we could only find it. Upon
inquiring next day we ascertained that it is composed
of a kind of pith which has the property of keeping
cool in the hottest weather, and that it is the greatest
relief at night to cultivate the closest possible acquain-
tance with this strange bedfellow ; in fact, in Singapore
* no family should be without it.' "
The first American Consul at Singapore appears
to have been Mr. Balestier, after whom Balestier Road
is named. He was at first styled Consul for the port
of Rhio, where nominally he had his office, though he
lived at Singapore. In November 1836 he was recog-
nised by the Court of Directors in London, and became
Consul at Singapore in June 1837, when American ships
were allowed by the East India Company to trade
on the same footing as those of other nations.
EMMERSON'S TIFFIN ROOMS 505
One of the features of life recently in Singapore has
been the arrival of a large American community which
seems to be increasing almost daily. They will, perhaps,
be interested to know that one of the sensations of the
'Sixties in Singapore was the arrival of the Confederate
cruiser Alabama, one of the world's most famous vessels,
and one which the British taxpayer had good cause to
remember when we had to foot the bill of damages
awarded against us for aiding her.
At the right-hand corner of Middle Road and Beach
Road stood the Clarendon Hotel, run by Mr. Charles
Emmerson, better known as " the Colonel." The
hotel consisted of a large compound house, with a pavilion
for bachelors and a bar and billiard-room. He also
had Emmerson's Tiffin Rooms, next to Cavenagh Bridge,
which were a very popular resort for many years,
especially on Saturday afternoons. Emmerson kept
a large wooden box containing unpaid chits amounting
to several hundreds of dollars, and bearing the words
*' For Sale " in large letters on the lid ! He was a typical
barman, always greeted every customer as he came
in, and was full of stories and jokes suitable to all tastes,
from a parson to a skipper. He came to Singapore in
i860, starting as a veterinary surgeon and being the
first to practise that profession in Singapore. Then
he started a small tiffin-room in Battery Road, which
grew later into the hotel already mentioned, and the
tiffin-room near Cavenagh Bridge. He was a very
popular amateur actor for many years in low comedy
parts. He died in Singapore in 1883, after having
added much to its gaiety during the twenty-three years
of his residence.
High Street in the 'Sixties and 'Seventies was com-
posed of compound houses. On the left was the studio of
Schlacter, the photographer, and at the corner of North
Bridge Road stood the famous Kugelman's bar, hotel,
and restaurant, where later the first Australian barmaids
were employed. They all struck, and had to be sent
back to Australia. Kugelman's was always well pat-
5o6 THE MERRY PAST
ronised, especially at night, as it was the only place
where a late supper — cold meats and grill — could be
got. Later on, much later, came the Egg Club ; but
nowadays there is no place where one can get a late
supper. The Tanglin Club commenced in 1865, and
until its bowling alleys were opened and became an
evening resort, the roysterer used to hie him to the Moses
Pavilion, where Hock Lam Street is now. Here bowls
were played till all hours, losers paying for the game,
and then three balls each for the winners to settle
who should pay for the last drink, after which an
adjournment was had to Kugelman's for supper. Bowls
is a dead game now since the Tanglin Club alleys were
pulled down.
Kugelman was a horse-breaker as well as a barman.
He was a very muscular man, and it was his boast
that he had never been thrown from a horse in his
life. Mr. J. Thomson, in his book on the Straits of
Malacca, wrote that he had seen Kugelman lift a horse
by the forelegs and back it into a carriage ; from which
one may infer that there were no disturbances in his
supper rooms !
The Moses Pavilion changed hands once or twice
until it passed into the hands of the late Mr. (Daddy)
Abrams, and he started his business there. It was there,
also, that the first race lotteries were held. Mr. Abrams
came out to Singapore in the 'Seventies in a Glen boat,
bringing some horses for Sir Andrew Clarke, then
Governor. He lived for a long time in Bras Basah
Road, in a house which had been tenanted by Mrs.
Church, wife of the Resident Councillor, after her hus-
band's death.
At the far end of High Street was another hotel,
the Union, with bar, billiards, and bowling. It was kept
by the late Mr. John Lowell, and brought him a fortune,
being the chief place for seafaring people, who made
long stays in the old days of sailing ships.
It was a dull dog, indeed, in the 'Sixties who could
not find something to amuse him in the evening, for
SOCIETY AND SNOBBERY 507
there were eight hotels, six bil Hard-rooms, and three
bowHng alleys.
In 1 861 the fortification and barracks on Fort Canning
were completed, and the European artillerymen were
removed there from their previous quarters at Pearl's
Hill. The gunner officers' mess remained at Fort Can-
ning as late as 1907, and after they left it was converted
into headquarters offices. The attap barracks at
Tanglin were also ready in the 'Sixties, but a regiment
did not come for some years after their completion.
In the 'Sixties the European community was still
a small one ; society, Mr. Cameron wrote, might be
said " to consist of the chief Government officials,
the merchants and bankers with their assistants and
clerks, the lawyers, doctors, and military — at least,
any of these positions prima facie give the necessary
social status."
" While a nearly complete disregard is paid to wealth,
a too great watchfulness of position is evinced. I
do not say that the line drawn at Government House
is too circumscribed, but all the distinctions which are
necessarily made there need not be made outside of it ;
nor need fresh ones be drawn, as is often the case."
Mr. Cameron goes on to remark that there were not
over forty families who aimed at forming a part of
society ; and apparently there was a good deal of snob-
bery amongst them.
It is curious to read in his book that " whatever it
may be under the new regime, the official world here
certainly has not hitherto taken a prominent lead in
social affairs, due to the expensive nature of hospitality."
That is even more true to-day, and there is now sitting a
Commission to enquire into public salaries, one result
of which it is fervently hoped will be such an increase
of salary as will put matters right at last.
Mr. Cameron had a quaint way of putting things, and
his book, long since out of print and very difficult to
procure, is one of the most readable about Singapore.
5o8 THE MERRY PAST
The old heavy dinner still was the leading form of enter-
tainment, and Mr. Cameron deals with it :
"It is to the merchants chiefly that Singapore is
indebted for the introduction of its very expensive though
very pleasant style of hospitality. Their dinners are
affairs of every week ; they possess the charm of being
at once magnificent and unrestrained, and they do much
to maintain a spirit of emulation in household luxuriance.
It is wonderful how perfect, too, is the knowledge
possessed of the means of hospitality of each house and
how soon new arrivals and visitors became acquainted
with the comparative degrees of excellence in this
respect.
" The military have the credit, and with every appear-
ance of justice, of being the most accurate and rapid in
their discovery of this desirable information. They
scent the quarry from afar off, and come down upon it
with singularly good success."
Mr. Cameron gives a picture of a day in a Singaporean's
life in the 'Sixties. At five o'clock a 68-pounder at Fort
Canning ushered in the day. This was the accepted
signal for all the old residents to start from bed. By
six o'clock all were generally dressed and out of doors
for a walk or a ride. This early morning walk for long
remained an institution, friends were met, and gossip
and news exchanged. During the training season for
the races the horses did their practice in the early
morning, as they do now, and the Stewards provided
tea on the course, which made it the rendezvous for
most of the residents, whether racing enthusiasts or not.
Breakfast was at nine, " fish, curry, and rice, and
perhaps a couple of eggs washed down with a tumbler or
so of good claret." Arrived in town, a quarter of an
hour or so was spent in going the rounds of the Square
to learn the news of the morning. These Commercial
Square gatherings were quite a characteristic of the place
and of the community, and whatever channels they
opened to the flow of local gossip, or even scandal, they
were useful as serving the purpose of an open-air and
A DAY'S ROUTINE IN THE 'SIXTIES 509
non-commercial exchange. By half-past ten business
proper commenced, and lasted without a break till the
tiffin hour, one o'clock, when half an hour's relaxation
and a very light meal were indulged in. About that
time the daily newspaper came out, and there was a
goodly flocking either to the Exchange or the godowns
in the Square for a perusal of it.
Two o'clock was the Exchange hour, and though it
was not much used as a place of inter-communication
on commercial subjects, yet as a rendezvous and a place
where the leading men of the mercantile community
could have an interchange of ideas, even on irrelevant
matters, it had the good effect of promoting and main-
taining a more general intimacy than might otherwise
prevail. Unlike the Chamber of Commerce, from which
it was distinct, the Exchange as a body assumed no
political influence ; it was rather distinguished for its
hearty and mixed co-operation in all that tended to
ameliorate or enliven the conditions of life in the
Settlement. Its place came to be taken by the Singapore
Club.
Business hours were not severe ; by half-past four or
five most offices closed, and the greater number then
resorted to the fives court or cricket ground. The band
nights twice a week on the Esplanade still remained a
great institution. Except on such nights most people
retired home before six o'clock, and dinner was at half-
past six or seven, the former being the more usual hour.
The dinner was as substantial as in the 'Thirties, and
the dishes remained of the same nature.
Mr. Robertson tells us that the cooks were generally
Christian Indians, and ** amongst other Christian accom-
plishments had that of * drink all same master.' " Syces
still followed the Indian custom of leading the horses
down to office and running along beside them when
their masters were driving. " There was none of the
jumping up behind which has come in with the employ-
ment of the incurably lazy Malay syce. ' '
In one of Singapore's many ephemeral journals, The
510 THE MERRY PAST
Motor Car and Athletic Journal, which ran during the
year 1908, there is an article on locomotion in the 'Sixties
by Mr. C. B. Buckley, which contains the following
interesting matter, well worthy of preservation in a more
permanent form :
" About 1866 or 1867 it was related in town one
morning that Mr. T. S. Thomson had gone on a sort of
velocipede to the bungalow at Seletar, nine miles, and
back again before breakfast. It sounded prodigious
and incredible, but was found to be true ! He had seen
in the London streets, in 1851, at the time of the Great
Exhibition in Hyde Park, a thing, something like a
spider, with four wheels and treadles, which excited his
admiration, and hearing in Singapore of a machine
called a Rantoon, he and Mr. Robert Jamie, the very
popular chemist in the dispensary of Drs. Little and
Robertson, next to John Little and Company, sent home
to get two of them. Mr. Thomson appeared on his, to
the great surprise of everyone ; but his co-adventurer
was a heavy man with a long beard that caught the wind,
and he did not struggle long. Mr. and Mrs. Jamie left
Singapore many years ago, and are now living at his
own house near Edinburgh, which he calls Serangoon,
as he used to live on his coconut plantation at Serangoon
in Singapore. Mr. Thomson, then, was the first intro-
ducer of vehicles propelled without horses in the
Straits, and his Rantoon was a fearful-looking thing.
It had three wheels, and no multiphcation power of
any sort, the wheels simply turning round as the feet
were moved on the treadles, while he tugged away
vigorously at two hand-levers at the same time. It
naturally went slow, and could not get up any pace,
except downhill, when it answered first-rate. But the
roads in Singapore, unfortunately, were up as well as
down.
" No one else thought of exerting themselves in this
SDrt of perspiring fashion, until a very popular individual,
Mr. Carmichael, the Manager of the Chartered Bank,
got a bicycle out. He tried to ride it, but only succeeded
in falling off, so Mr. Thomson had a try. He got on it
under the portico at Glass Mount in Chancery Lane, but
BICYCLES AND SCOOTERS 511
he had just started when his foot caught in the treadle
and the frame, which stopped it dead, and he landed
flat on the road on his face.
" That bicycle was somewhat after the fashion of the
Rantoon. It had no gearing, and was the beginning
of the present bicycles. A few years after that the
bicycles with one very large wheel in front and another
very small wheel behind to hold the fork came to
Singapore, and several Chinese blacksmiths used them
to go to their work at Tanjong Pagar Docks from the
town. I think they were being used in this practical
way in Singapore while they were still little used in
London, except for a run on Saturday afternoons down
Edgware Road to Kilburn and Edgware."
Incidentally, the first motor scooter which the writer
ever saw was being ridden past the gates of Government
House some short time ago by a Chinese motor-mechanic.
Matches were a novelty and almost unknown, and it
was one of the duties of the tukang ayer or the chokra (the
general small boy of all work, who was usually a son of
one of the other servants, all Indians) to stand by the
carriage when his master was going out with a fire-
brand at which the master could light his cigar. At
dinner parties, when the ladies left, a bundle of thick
Chinese joss-sticks in a curious Chinese trough was
lighted, and the boat passed round for the men to light up
at ; there were no cigarettes smoked then. A few persons
were accustomed to carry flint and steel, but not many,
as facilities were so generally provided for getting lights.
Thus at the only bridge which existed, connecting
from Bonham Street to near the Treasury, which bridge
was of wood and cost a toll of one cent to cross, little
Malay boys used to hang around, like the London link-
boys, and offer the use of a smouldering coil of coir, in
return for which they would receive a copper or two.
These boys also used to dive from the bridge for coins
at that time.
Coconut oil was all the lighting power known, the
form of lamps being a bowl or tumbler partly filled with
512 THE MERRY PAST
water and the balance with oil, with a cloth or pith
wick fixed in a star-shaped piece of tin with cork supports.
More elaborate types were used for drawing and dining-
room lamps. Gas came in 1864, but for long was used
only in the town, the streets of which were lighted
with it for the first time on Queen Victoria's birthday,
the 24th May 1864. When the lamps were lighted
natives were seen going up to the lamp-posts and touch-
ing them gingerly with their finger-tips ; they could
not understand how a fire came out at the top without
the post getting hot !
The following account of the Queen's birthday, 1 864,
is taken from a letter written to England dated the 30th
May that year :
" I'll tell you about the Queen's birthday and how
they managed it in Singapore. At a little after five in
the morning there was a review on the Esplanade of
all the troops and volunteers in Singapore : the Sepoys
mustered 800 men, all had red turbans, red coats,
black trousers and sandals ; the Artillery (English)
numbered over 120, white pith helmets, blue trousers
and jackets ; Volunteers, about 80, white trousers and
light-coloured hollands. It was a fine sight to me and
the natives, any amount of firing from small arms and
twenty-one rounds from the guns of the fort ; the review
was over about six o'clock. In the evening the streets
were lit with gas for the first time, and a small illumi-
nation took place at the gas works, the engineer threw his
house open to all the Europeans, and no end of
champagne was drunk. One thing that greatly pleased
me was to look down on the natives from the balcony :
there were several thousand immovable upturned faces,
staring with wonder at the illumination. All that night,
and in fact for several nights after, each lamp-post had
a crowd around it of enquiring Celestials and natives of
other countries explaining it to each other : none of them
will believe it is air — they won't believe it. ' We don't
see the oil.' * Where is the wick ? ' These are their
remarks. They have at last given it up in despair. Last
night I met the lamplighter going his rounds (a Madras
SARTORIAL 513
man), followed by an excited crowd of natives : the
lamplighter is in their eyes a sort of demi-god."
Our Asiatics nowadays are much less unsophisticated I
There was no convenient supply of ice. An Ice
Company was started in 1861, but it was a failure and
closed down. Mr. Tudor, an American, made a gallant
attempt to revive it, but he lost $20,000 over it, and
gave it up. After that Singapore depended for long
upon occasional American sailing ships, which would
come in with a cargo of ice that was snapped up as a
great novelty and luxury, as also were the American
apples and other fruit which they sometimes brought.
The drink of the 'Sixties was brandy and schweppes ;
and the latter was imported in casks ! It was the only
soda water to be had then. Brandy and soda continued
to be the most popular drink until the 'Eighties at least ;
but when exactly whisky and soda first came to be the
Singapore drink par excellence the writer has sought in
vain to discover ; that grand epic " The Birth of the
Stengah " must, therefore, remain to be written !
Calhng in the 'Sixties must have been a fiendish
performance. The crime appears to have been committed
between the hours of eleven and one o'clock, the criminal
being attired in " frock coat, tweeds, etc.," so Mr.
Robertson says. The etcetera sounds the coolest,
anyway.
When lovely woman sets out to adorn herself and
invites the shopman to provide her with the wherewithal,
the names by which she indicates her wants are apt to
astonish the unfortunate male who accompanies her.
For many years recently Mrs. Beal was the presiding
goddess of fashion in Singapore, her temple being
situate within the portals of Robinson and Co. Here is
the first advertisement of that eminent firm appearing
in March 1861, in the Singapore Review and Monthly
Magazine. The firm announces itself as " late Spicer
and Robinson," which was no more than the truth. It
informed the public that its millinery department was
514 THE MERRY PAST
" under the superintendence of Miss Foweraker from
London " ; and if that name had only caught the eye
of Charles Dickens another portrait would surely have
been placed in his marvellous gallery. " Miss Foweraker
from London " ! Does it not conjure up pictures of
Cockneydom, and by its very sound put one back in the
days of crinolines, and John Leech, Thackeray, and
Dickens ?
Having got the curtain up with this priceless overture,
the firm then announce that their " show rooms will be
found replete with a carefully selected stock of mantles,
ribbons, bonnets, Lyons' and Spitalfields' silks. Organdie
and Chantilly muslins, barege robes, balzerine ditto, opera
cloaks, burnous ditto, ladies' and children's hats, lace
jackets, collars and sleeves, sewed and tambourined
muslins, ball dresses, wreaths, gloves, perfumery, etc.
etc."
Heaven must have helped the husband of the 'Sixties ;
fancy following your wife into Government House in
the usual furtive and hang-dog manner, what time she
was attired in a balzerine ditto or a tambourined muslin 1
Only the late and much-lamented Mr. " Pony" Moore,
or his fellow-conspirator Burgess, could have acted
properly up to the latter costume ; but women will
miscall their clothing. Even Mother Eve probabl}''
startled the serpent and frightened Adam out of the
garden by demanding a robe des feuilles d'automne or
some other similar nonsense.
Changhi Bungalow has got a lot to answer for, and if
the old trees round it could only speak while they are
shivering in the night wind, they could tell some stories
that would make a woman's tiffin party green with envy.
By 1845 it had become the fashionable place for picnic
parties, and by the 'Sixties it was in excelsis. In 1868
the Directory contains no less than fourteen " sanitaria,"
of which six were cottages at Dunman Ville (Tanjong
Katong) and one was Mr. Gottlieb's Faery Point beyond
Changhi, rent thirty dollars a month furnished. The
finest Government bungalow, according to Mr. Cameron,
GOVERNMENT BUNGALOWS 515
was at Seletar. The road leading to it passed for some
distance through the thickest of the old forest. At one
point, about a mile from the bungalow, where the road
wound through an elevated valley, even in the glare of
noonday there was little more than a subdued twilight
that reached the traveller as he passed along. The tall
forest trees started up from the very edge of the road,
as straight and regular as the pillars of a colonnade, their
branches often meeting at a height of 130 feet overhead.
The bungalow was a simple wooden structure with an
attap roof. Fifty yards behind it stood the dark
impenetrable jungle, from out of which there gushed a
clear, sparkling brook of icy cold water that ran past
the back of the bungalow. This was a very favourite
place for bathing and picnics. The Singapore Hot
Springs Company have their factory at Seletar now.
These Government bungalows were built for the East
India Company officials, and were, of course, necessary
at a time when travel through the island was slow and
difficult. It is impossible nowadays to realise the
grandeur of the old Singapore scenery, and the above
description has therefore been preserved to give the
modern reader some idea of what the interior of the island
was like in the old days. To-day most of the roads
are flanked by very tired-looking rubber trees, and the
scenery is monotonous and often ugly. In the 'Sixties
wild hogs crowded all the swampy parts of the jungle.
There were two kinds of deer to be seen, the ordinary
elk and the moose ; both were found in considerable
numbers, and supplied the natives with food . Crocodiles
and pythons were frequently to be met with, while otters
were often captured in the creeks and rivers. Tigers
were an absolute curse in the country, and caused many
deaths.
Of the present well-known places of residence the
1868 Directory gives the following : Abbotsford, Broad-
fields, Dalvey, Blanche House, Ardmore, Eskbank
Cottage, Erin Lodge, Mount Pleasant, Mount Echo,
Bushey Park, Neidpath and CairnhilL
5i6 THE MERRY PAST
We have seen how in the 'Forties the TangHn side
of the town was stopped practically at Tank Road and
Tanglin itself was nearly all nutmeg estates. In the
'Fifties there was one of those periodical land booms
that Singapore knows so well, so that by 1864 Mr.
Cameron was able to write that the greatest number of
European residences were about two miles out, though a
few were twice that distance. River Valley Road and
Cavenagh Road were then the fashionable places. About
three miles out the houses got very thin, and only one
or two were to be found beyond the four-mile radius ;
nowadays a big colony of them is springing up beyond
the Botanical Gardens.
In October 1869 the present Government House was
completed ; the provision of a palatial place of residence
naturally had a considerable social effect in that the
Governor was able to extend more hospitality than
previously. But a far more important event occurred
on the 17th December 1869 : the Suez Canal was opened
to traffic, with the result that the 'Seventies saw a com-
plete revolution in Singapore trade and social life.
The introduction of steam and telegraphy and the
completion of the Canal entirely altered the social life
of the place by bringing it nearer home. When Singa-
pore was far from England it had its own ways and
customs ; it was a family where all knew each other, took
an interest in each other, and stood by each other. In
the 'Seventies there began a complete change ; coteries
and cliques became the order of the day, new social
barriers were raised, and life here began to approximate
more and more to English life, until to-day Singapore
resembles nothing so much as an English provincial
town where commerce is the principal interest. Indeed,
we actually have thes dansant twice a week at the Europe
Hotel !
The opening of the Canal and the establishment of
new steam navigation companies engaged in the China
trade did away with the great fleet of clippers. The
Chinese of Singapore took to steam tonnage with sur-
SUEZ CANAL INFLUENCES 517
prising readiness and great success, just as they will take
to commercial aviation when it arrives, for they are a
most up-to-date and enterprising community.
The Tanjong Pagar Dock Company, which had been
a struggling concern, and upon which the Banks looked
askance at the end of the 'Sixties, came to the front once
the Canal was opened. The shares, which had been down
to $80, commenced to rise steadily, until they became
a staple investment locally. Previously the harbour
and roads had been crowded with square-rigged ships,
Chinese junks, and Malay prahus, while Tanjong Pagar
had been comparatively deserted ; but now its wharves
became the scene of daily activity. The passing of the
clipper made a great difference, too, in the ship-chandler's
business, which had been a very profitable one. The
clippers were built for peace, and carried as much canvas
as was possible ; indeed, it was astonishing, says Mr. W.
H. Read, to count the sails they spread to the wind.
Sky-sails and moon-sails and endless stay-sails were
theirs ; royal studding-sails and ringtail rovers, anything
and everything that would catch a breath of air in light
winds. At the same time they had to face heavy gales
and to brave cyclones and typhoons, so that the con-
sumption of spars and canvas rejoiced the hearts of the
chandlers. The agents in Singapore always had spare
masts and yards ready, so frequently were they in
demand.
Gone, too, for ever were the days of the venturesome
trading captains of the older times who had done so
much to open up the trade of the port. Vast profits
they often made, but they had to be bold men, and too
many of them lost their lives in uncharted seas, were
murdered by pirates, and stricken down by fever. Their
profits, too, were frequently lost by improvidence and
extravagance and by misplaced trust ; but they were
a fine set of men, who should never be forgotten for the
work they did. Of them, perhaps the best known and
most worthy of remembrance were Captains Ross and
Lingard. Captain Ross was the father of Mr. John Dill
5i8 THE MERRY PAST
Ross, the author of the most entertaining book ever
written about this part of the world, Sixty Years' Life and
Travel in the Far East,
Captain Ross arrived here early in the 'Fifties in his
ship the Wild Irish Girl jSmd was the father of the Bornean
trade, in which he rapidly made a large fortune, which
enabled him to live in great state and extend open
hospitality at his house Woodneuk, where Tyersall is
now. On one occasion he fought his ship the Lizzie Webber
for eight hours against pirates, and an account of this
and many other things of interest will be found in his
son's book. Captain Ross died in 1888.
Captain Lingard, known as the " Rajah Laut," was
also a great character. It is related of him that finding
it impossible to obtain payment of a very large sum of
money from a certain Bornean Sultan, he landed his
crew, stormed the Sultan's palace, and captured His
Highness, who promptly paid up I
In the town itself rows of new buildings sprang up in
Raffles Place and CoUyer Quay, and the merchant could
no longer take things easily. Mr. Thomson, writing in
1874, remarks on the change from the '^ good old days,"
as he calls them, when the residents might hear once in
six months from home, and when two or three successful
shipments of produce from the " spice islands " might
bring a princely fortune to their proprietor. He
proceeds :
" 'Those were good times indeed,' said a worthy but
unfortunate old merchant to me. ' We lived then above
our offices, a small but a very happy community. Now
we might almost as well live in London as here ; steam
and telegraph brings us daily into communication with
the old world. Our Sundays are not our own. By
night and by day we are at work writing for the mail.' "
The vast works undertaken at Tanjong Pagar by the
Government after the expropriation of the Dock Com-
pany have completely changed the appearance of the
whole approach to town from the wharves. Mr. Horna-
MR. HORNADAY'S IMPRESSIONS 5i9
day, already mentioned, writes of it as it was in 1877,
and his description is interesting. He landed, as one
nearly always does, in a tropical downpour :
" Entering Singapore by way of New Harbour is
like getting into a house through the scullery window.
One's first impressions of the town are associated with
coal-dust, mud, stagnant water, and mean buildings,
and I found it required quite an effort to shake them off.
This back-door entrance is by no means fair to Singapore,
for under its baleful influence the traveller is apt to go
away (by the next steamer usually) with a low estimate
of the city, every way considered.
" For the first stage out from New Harbour the road
is built through a muddy and dismal mangrove swamp.
Here and there we pass a group of dingy and weather-
beaten Malay houses standing on posts over the soft and
slimy mud, or perhaps over a thin sheet of murky water.
*' Further on we emerge from the swamp and pass a
Chinese joss-house and cemetery on a hill-side, beyond
which we have, for a mile on our right hand, a solid row
of Chinese shops and dwellings, and on the other side of
the road a creek flowing mud and slime instead of water."
Later Mr. Hornaday reaches the sailors' quarters :
*' Aha ! the sailors' quarter, it would seem, if we may
judge by the tavern signs. One announces, quite
regardless of space,
THEMANONTHELOOKOUT,
and displays the portly figure of Jack Tar holding a
small Krupp cannon up to his eye, while he squints
horribly into the muzzle. Another sign, in base imitation
of the former, proclaims,
THEMANATTHEWHEEL ;
and another, the best painted of them all, sets forth, in
beautiful letters, but homicidal orthography,
THE SILVER ANKER.
Still another proclaims,
THE ORIGINAL MADRAS BOB,
which is equivalent to the assertion that there are
"—34
520 THE MERRY PAST
spurious Madras Bobs about, and ' all others are base
imitations, unless stamped by our trade mark, and liable
to be prosecuted according to law.' Verily, human
nature seems to be very much the same in Singapore
as in Rochester."
In the 'Seventies the Ladies' Lawn Tennis Club had
not been founded ; the land where it now stands was
then the dhobies' green, whence the name, Dhoby Ghaut,
which belongs to the cross street at the western end. Mr.
Hornaday says *' all the washerwomen congregate on a
five-acre lawn called Dhobi Green, at one end of which
runs a stream of water, and there you will see the white
shirts, trousers, and pyjamas of His Excellency, perhaps,
hanging in ignominious proximity to and on a level with
yours " ! When the Ladies' Lawn was started, Sir
Ernest (then Mr.) Birch laid out its grounds, and a very
different appearance the place had to what it has now ;
it looked more like a bit of the Botanical Gardens.
The Chinese dhoby did not come till the 'Eighties, until
when Kling women did the washing.
The second of Singapore's public monuments appeared
in 1872, when the unfortunate little elephant, that
Wandering Jew of memorials, first gazed pathetically on
an unheeding world. The little animal reminds us (or
should do) that H.M. the King of Siam visited Singapore
in 1 87 1. He now turns his back on the Supreme Court,
and eyes suspiciously the clattering trams as they rattle
by. Poor little fellow ! He once appeared in all the
glory of pink and green, but that was one of his nights
out, and an indignant Municipality speedily restored him
to a proper sense of decency. After all, cricketers will
be cricketers, and in those halcyon days paint was as
cheap as whisky !
In 1874 the Botanical Gardens were opened to the
public, and became, as they are now, one of Singapore's
very few show places. In 1879 General Grant, the
famous American soldier, was entertained at Govern-
ment House. Otherwise the 'Seventies do not present
much of interest. The usual periodic land boom
INTRODUCTION OF NEW GAMES 521
descended on the place in 1878, as much as thirty-six
cents a square foot being paid for " mostly swamp land "
between the Singapore River and River Valley Road ;
and, possibly as a result, at least one may hope so, a
policeman who had been drawing the munificent salary
of $40 a month was alleged to have sold property worth
$20,000 and retired. His lot, at all events, was a happy
one ! That trial and necessity of modern life, the tele-
phone, was first tried in 1878, and a sample was placed
in the Museum, which was then housed in Raffles Institu-
tion, now Raffles School.
Sport seems to have had a slump ; the New Year
Sports held on the Esplanade were characterised by
gloom, and after them someone committed the outrage
of plastering the steps of the cricketers' bungalow with
tar and writing " To Let " in large letters on the building.
The races proved a frost, and a critic wrote in the paper
that " there was only one gentleman jockey. Appar-
ently young Singapore prefers to shine at niminy-
piminy lawn tennis rather than to witch the world with
noble horsemanship." The Editor had sent to him the
revised laws of lawn tennis, and unblushingly admitted
that he could not understand the jargon of the game !
As a matter of fact, the late Mr. Charles Stringer, of
Paterson, Simons and Co., was responsible for its intro-
duction. Football, both Rugby and Association, came
in the 'Eighties, and late in that decade golf arrived, its
foster-fathers being Mr. Justice Goldney and Mr. R. N.
Bland. The Club, started in 1 89 1 , used the lower rooms
of the second-class stand of the Sporting Club until the
present pavihon was built.
The books about Singapore in the 'Eighties are written
by travellers, and are not nearly so interesting as those
written in previous decades. Most of them contain
descriptions of the Maharaja of Johore and his enter-
tainments, just as those in the 'Sixties and 'Seventies
always had something about Whampoa. The Temeng-
gong who was a party to the Treaty whereby we obtained
Singapore was Temenggong Abdul Rahman, who died
522 THE MERRY PAST
in Singapore in 1825, and was succeeded by his second
son Ibrahim, then fifteen years of age. Temenggong
Ibrahim died in 1862, and was succeeded by his eldest
son, who became Sultan Abubakar. Temenggongs Abdul
Rahman and Ibrahim lie buried in the Rajah's burying-
ground at the mosque at Teluk Blanga.
Temenggong Abubakar received the title of Maharaja
in 1868, and in 1885 was recognised as Sultan. During
the course of his reign he received the K.C.S.I. and the
G.C.M.G., besides foreign orders. Sultan Abubakar was
very courtly and hospitable, and was very loyal to Queen
Victoria. Very generous, very progressive, and very
much liked by all, he played a great part in Singapore
social life. All distinguished visitors were royally enter-
tained, and amongst them were the sailor Princes from
the Bacchante and the Duke of Sutherland in 1888.
The Sultan kept a splendid stud of horses, drove a
four-in-hand (as did also Governor Weld), played cricket
and billiards, and was generally a good sportsman. There
is a lot about him in Mrs. Caddy's book about the Duke
of Sutherland's trip in his yacht the Sans Peiir. She
tells a good story against a local pressman. When the
yacht arrived in Singapore a local reporter came on
board, wanting to interview the Duke, though it was
very early in the morning.
" You can't see him now ; his Grace is in bed," he
was told.
" Oh ! I don't mind that in the least," was the eager
reply.
" We do ! " said the steward emphatically.
It was while the Sans Peur lay in the roads that there
was a great sham naval attack on Singapore Harbour,
in which H.M. ships Orion, Audacious, Constance, Heroine,
and Alacrity took part, besides the forts and the 2nd
South Lancashires. It was a night attack, and afforded
Singapore a sight such as it had never seen before and
has never seen since.
Sultan Abubakar died in London in 1895, and was
succeeded by the present Sultan Ibrahim, G.CM.G.,
H.H. SUI.TAN ABUBAKAR OF JOHORE, G.C.M.G., K.C.S.I.
Vanity Fair Cartoon by R. W. Braddell.
II. 522]
VISIT OF SAILOR PRINCES 523
K.B.E., who also is a very enlightened and popular
ruler, and a splendid sportsman.
The event of the 'Eighties was, of course, the arrival
of the sailor Princes in January 1882. This was His
Majesty King George V's first visit to Singapore, his next
one being in 1 90 1 , when Her Majesty Queen Mary accom-
panied him. The town was en fete for the two Princes
in 1882, and the big fancy dress ball at Government
House is still remembered ; the belles of it were the
two Misses Niven, now Mrs. Hooper and Lady Birch.
Rikishas came to Singapore in 1880, but it was long
before it was considered the proper thing for Europeans
to ride in them. A telephone exchange was opened in
1 88 1, and Johore was linked with it in 1883. In 1887
Raffles Statue was unveiled on the Esplanade, and caused
much astonishment to the populace, who were heard to
observe, Hai-yah ! Dia orang hitam macham kita !
(Great Scott ! He's a black man like ourselves !) In
1889 the widening of the Esplanade was begun, and the
road round it received the name of Connaught Drive,
owing to the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Connaught
in 1890. As late as 1896 tigers were still in Singapore,
a tigress being shot in that year at Mount Pleasant, and
three weeks afterwards two on the Bukit Timah Road.
The 'Eighties and 'Nineties are so comparatively recent
that they hardly merit the title of " the good old days "
concerning which this article is intended to tell, so with
them we may let our curtain fall.
Bibliography
An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore, by Charles Burton
Buckley. (Singapore, Eraser & Neave, 1902.)
Journal of an Embassy to Siam and Cochin China, by John Crawfurd,
F.R.S., F.L.S., F.G.S., etc. (London, Henry Colburn, 1828).
Singapore Sixty Years Ago, reprinted from the Straits Times, 1883,
including the Journal of Mr. Walter Scott Duncan ; Wanderings
in New South Wales, Batavia, Pedir Coast, Singapore and China,
by George Bennett, F.L.S., F.R.C.S. (London, Richard
Bentley, 1834,)
Quedah, by Captain Sherard Osborn, R.N., C.B. (Edinburgh and
London, William Blackwood & Sons, 1865.)
524 THE MERRY PAST
The Eastern Seas, or Voyages and A dventures in the Indian A rchipelago,
by George Windsor Earl. (London, Allen & Co., 1837.)
Some Glimpses into Life in the Far East, by J. T. Thomson, F.R.G.S.,
late Government Surveyor, Singapore. (London, Richardson
& Company, 1865.)
Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Samarang during the Years 1843-
1846, by Captain Sir Edward Belcher, R.N., C.B., F.R.A.S.,
F.G.S., etc. (London, Reeve, Bonham & Reeve, 1848.)
Borneo and the East Indian Archipelago, by F. Marryat. (London,
Longman & Co., 1848.)
A Womari's Journey Round the World, by Ida Pfeiffer. (London,
Ingram, Cooke & Co., 1850.)
Voyage dans VArchipel Indien, par V. Fontanier, ancien Consul a
Singapour. (Paris, Ledoyen, 1852.)
A Sailor's Life under Four Sovereigns, by Sir Henry Keppel, G.C.B.,
D.C.L. (London, Macmillan & Co., 1899.)
Our Tropical Possessions in Malayan India, by John Cameron,
F.R.G.S. (London, Smith, Elder & Co., 1865.)
The Straits of Malacca, Indo-China and China, by J. Thomson,
F.R.G.S. (London, Sampson Low, Marston, Low and Searle,
1875.)
Straits Memories, by E. J. Robertson. (Singapore, Methodist
Publishing House, 1910.)
Singapore Thirty Years Ago, by George Norris. (Singapore, 1878.)
Two Years in the Jungle, by William T. Hornaday, Chief Taxidermist
U.S. National Museum. (London, Kegan Paul, Trench & Co.,
1885.)
Round the World, by Andrew Carnegie. (London, Sampson Low,
Marston, Searle & Rivington, n.d.)
The Straits Chinese Magazine. (Published in Singapore, 1897-1907.)
With the " Ophir" round the World, by William Maxwell, special corres-
pondent of the Standard. (London, Cassell & Company, 1902.)
To Siam and Malaya in the Duke of Sutherland's Yacht " Sans Peur,"
by Mrs. Florence Caddy. (London, Hurst & Blackett, Ltd.,
1889.)
The Cruise of H.M.S. Bacchante, 1879-1882. (London, Macmillan
and Co., 1886.)
Sunny Lands and Sunny Seas, by Hugh Wilkinson. (London, John
Murray, 1883.)
SLAVE DEBTORS 525
PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS
By Henry Barnaby Leicester
Fifty years ago, on the north side of the Singapore
River, the white shingly beach extended from the
mouth of the river to the mouth of the Kallang River,
after which a patch of beach appeared here and there,
with stretches of muddy mangrove swamps, until one
got to the Tanjong Rhu beach, whence a broad belt of
sand continued for miles to Bedok, affording ample room
for pedestrians to trudge along. Encroachments by
the sea have reduced the beach since to what it is
at Tanjong Rhu and elsewhere, while the beach from
the Singapore River has given place to the sea-wall,
which covers all that space as far as Clyde Terrace
Market and beyond. In 1870 the beach opposite the
Raffles Boys' School was resorted to by the boys and
others for sea-bathing, and at high tide the water rose
almost to the spot where the footpath is now, for the
reclamation came much later, of course. Cattle were
also landed and shipped at this spot.
Before Cavenagh Bridge was built, those who did not
cross the river by going across the old Elgin Bridge used
to take a koleh, for two pice, at the steps near the Govern-
ment Offices, and cross over to Butterworth Ghaut, at
the entrance to Bonham Street.
One interesting feature of domestic Hfe in my childhood
days was the presence of manumitted female slaves in
the homes of many of the old residents. I well remem-
ber several such in my own home, who bore very
singular names, such as Madar, Mellore, Tanjong, and
Bunga. These were originally young slave debtors
who had been emancipated some years before, even
before the Abolition Act was made appUcable to the
British Colonies. These women had bartered their
freedom for a consideration, and were looked upon as
slave debtors. They were employed in household duties
and very kindly treated, being, in fact, privileged re-
526 THE MERRY PAST
tainers of the families employing them. Their employers
placed implicit confidence in them owing to their
unswerving fidelity to their masters when they were
mere slaves. Most of these emancipated slaves elected
to continue to serve their old masters until they were
well advanced in years, and were both loved and
respected for their sterling qualities, so rarely found in
domestic servants of the present day.
Half a century ago the Raffles Institution was divided
into four schools or classes, each with two or more
divisions, viz. the upper school, presided over by
Mr. J. B. Bayley ; the middle school, under the direction
of Mr. (afterwards the Rev.) George Brown ; the infant
school, under the leadership of Mr. E. T. Yzelman ; and
the lower infant school, with Mr. Marshall at its head ;
assisted by pupil-teachers and scholarship holders still
at school. The above-named gentlemen have all long
since gone to join the great silent majority. The school
awarded several scholarships annually, of the value of
$7, $6, $5, $4, $3, and $2 a month respectively, the
holders being decorated with a beautiful silver medal
attached by a blue ribbon, which they had to wear in
class on pain of a fine. It goes without saying that
boys and girls are, as a rule, better educated than they
were fifty years ago ; but Mr. Bayley turned out some
brilHant scholars in his time. One of them, Mr. Tan
Teck Soon, who is well known for his scholarly attain-
ments, is still among us to-day.
When Mr. Bayley was headmaster education could
be had for nothing. There were no fixed or compulsory
school fees, at least in so far as Raffles Institution was
concerned. A lad on admission was always asked what
amount his parents or guardian could or would pay for
his tuition, and those who declared their inability to
pay anything were educated free of charge.
In 1 87 1 or so, after the Abyssinian War, Prince
Allamayo, the Crown Prince of Abyssinia, who was the
ward of Captain T. C. S. Speedy, Commissioner of PoHce,
was a classmate of mine at Raffles. He used to attend
A SCHOOL VENDETTA 527
the school accompanied by the Captain's poHce orderly,
and often had his wool twitched by some of the mis-
chievous lads in the class. Shortly afterwards he was
sent to prosecute his studies in England, where he died
later.
The hill north of Selegie Road (Mount Sophia) was
bare of buildings in the 'Sixties, and was known to us
school-boys as the Rockies, to which we usually resorted
on holidays, for it was an ideal camping-ground for
picnics . The scholars of the various schools in Singapore
did not fraternise then as they do now. They were
constantly at war with each other, at times to such a
serious extent as to necessitate the intervention of the
police ; for the masters were seldom heeded when a big
fight took place. There was a sort of permanent
vendetta between Raffles and the Brothers' School.
The boys and girls of Raffles School nowadays have
more licence than was the case in my boyhood. The
boarders then were practically prisoners, whether in
class or at play. They were not allowed to step beyond
a certain boundary in the school grounds except once a
week for a few hours to visit their parents or guardians.
When marching to church, headed by the master, they
had to halt if they happened to meet the girls from the
Raffles Girls' School, and were not permitted to resume
their march until a safe distance intervened between
them and the girls ! Even in Sunday school the boys
sat entirely apart from the girls. Conversation or
association between the sexes was strictly forbidden,
except in the case of brothers and sisters. With the
advent of Mr. HuUett in 1871 matters began to take a
different turn in the boys' school.
The late Mr. J. W. W. Birch, who was Colonial Secre-
tary then, and the late Sir Peter Benson Maxwell, the
Chief Justice, took a keen interest in the welfare of the
school, which they frequently visited to inspect the work
and encourage the lads to persevere. On one occasion,
just before I left the school, Mr. Birch made a visit, and,
after testing the highest class in the school, singled me
528 THE MERRY PAST
out and offered me a clerkship in the Colonial Secretary's
office after the completion of my studies. Loth to
remain in school after this, I only awaited the result of
the annual examination. When I found I was awarded
a scholarship, I called at once at the Colonial Secretary's
office, where I was conducted to Mr. Birch's room. He,
of course, had forgotten all about me, until reminded of
his promise some months previously. I was advised to
remain in school for another term ; but later I joined the
Government Service, and have Mr. Birch's kindly interest
to thank for that.
On one occasion, when the ladies present at the annual
examination awarded me the first prize for reading,
Sir Peter Benson Maxwell held out a ten-dollar note
to me as an extra reward. I was so elated at the
prospect of owning what seemed to me then quite a
fortune that I made a grab for it, when Sir Peter,
amid much laughter and to my own confusion, drew
it back, saying, *' Not so fast, not so fast, my lad; I
want to give you a few words of advice before I part
with this note." But I got my note in the end, to the
envy of my classmates, and was as proud as a king;
ten dollars in those good old days was a very large
sum for a boy to possess.
I have a pretty vivid recollection in the 'Sixties of
Colonel (afterwards Major-General) Orfeur Cavenagh,
the last of our Governors under the Indian regime.
He had lost a leg during the Indian Mutiny, but although
encumbered with a wooden substitute was always on
horseback, from which he used to review the Indian
troops on the old Esplanade. The infantry, composed
of Madras sepoys, were clad in scarlet tunics and white
trousers. Their head-gear consisted of a red, round,
close-fitting cap without a peak, with a broad band
falHng behind and overlapping the nape of the neck.
The artillery, also Indian, wore white tunics and black
trousers, with tall, black, shiny hats, something after
the style of the Parsee hat. Colonel Cavenagh was a
great favourite with us schoolboys. It was his custom
A CONTRAST IN GOVERNORS 529
to make occasional visits to the schools, armed on
every occasion with a bagful of bright new copper
coins. His advent was always hailed with dehght, for
it was the invariable prelude to a largess all round, after
putting the lads through a course in mental arithmetic,
geography, and kindred subjects. Money was scarce
among schoolboys in those days, and the possessor
of a few coins glistening in the sunlight like gold was
greatly envied. The Colonel was a plain and unassuming
old gentleman, small in stature and with a merry twinkle
in his eye — in appearance more like a skipper of the
old school than a military officer.
The first Colonial Governor, Sir Harry St. George
Ord, one of the most unpopular among the Colonial
Governors, was quite unlike his predecessor in office.
Fond of military pomp, he rarely, if ever, embarked
or disembarked without a European guard of honour
in full dress in attendance, while Council was never
opened without the naval guard of honour, the
Governor and his suite appearing in full dress.
I remember quite well the visit of H.R.H. Prince
Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, brother of the late King
Edward VH, in 1870. If I mistake not, the Volunteers
formed the guard of honour on this occasion. The
principal streets were lavishly decorated with arches,
evergreens, and bunting, and a stand was erected in
High Street immediately behind the Hotel de I'Europe,
where the Raffles boys and girls were congregated,
and where they were afterwards regaled with cakes,
buns, and ginger beer, all at the expense of Mr. R. C.
Woods, senior, the lawyer. High Street in those days
had a number of compound houses in it, and was quite
unhke what it is to-day. Kugelman's Hotel, a com-
pound house, stood at the corner of North Bridge
Road where it joined High Street, and there were always
some wild animals on exhibition there.
Soon after the Duke of Edinburgh's visit the King
of Siam (the first Siamese King to visit Singapore)
came in 1871, escorted by a body-guard clad in green
530 THE MERRY PAST
tunics and the national lower garment (instead of
trousers), stockings, and buckled shoes, while their
head-gear consisted of a sort of helmet surmounted
by feathers. Many of the women- folk among the King's
retinue wore their national costume, but otherwise were
comically dressed with ladies' hats and bonnets. The
crush on Cavenagh Bridge was so great on this occasion
that many narrowly escaped being trampled upon.
During the Indian regime the band of the Madras
sepoys used to play every Saturday afternoon on the
Esplanade on a mound where the statue of Raffles
stood from 1887 till it was moved for the Centenary.
All Singapore used to be there, but the ground was
taboo to the native element.
The Volunteers, with the late Mr. W. H. Read as
Commandant, were a mixed corps of all European
nationalities (Germans being amongst them) and Eura-
sians. The uniform was a scarlet tunic with green
facings, white trousers and a shako. There was a
brass band attached to the Corps. During the riots
in 1 87 1 the Volunteers were called out, and while on
patrol at Kampong Glam some of the men got so excited
at seeing the Chinese breaking into and looting shops
that they broke the ranks, and started belabouring
the rioters until the Commanding Officer managed
to get them to fall in again. The Volunteer depot
used to be next door to the Sailors' Home, and the
men used to have target practice on the Racecourse,
where, in season, snipe abounded and afforded sport
to the residents.
The riots already mentioned caused great excite-
ment, and one amusing incident occurred during
them. One morning, very early in October 1871,
residents of Waterloo Street, Bencoolen Street, Middle
Road, and the adjacent streets, which formed the
residential quarter of a great many respectable Eurasian
famihes then, were startled out of their peaceful
slumbers by loud bugle blasts. On people hastening
out of their cosy beds to ascertain the cause of
ARRIVAL OF HIGHLAND REGIMENT 53^
the unusual commotion, they were greeted by the
sight of a bugler of the Volunteer Corps blowing
the assembly with all his might. It appeared that
serious riots had broken out, and the Corps was under
orders to mobilise immediately. Many answered the
call with alacrity, but some, on some pretext or other,
failed to do so at once. Anyhow the gallant little band
in scarlet tunics and shakos was finally got together
and marched to Kampong Glam, where they were even-
tually posted. One of the riflemen, who suffered from
that curious disease called " latah," while pacing
to and fro, came across a flock of geese, when a gander,
with distended wings and cackling with all his might,
flew at the sentry, who, startled at the sudden and
unexpected onslaught, dropped his rifle and bolted for
some distance, amidst the laughter of his comrades !
That Malays are not entirely lacking in a sense of
humour is borne out by the following incident, which
is akin to what is said to have occurred in France during
the Great War at the appearance in a village of a Highland
regiment, when it was a puzzle to the peasants as to
whether it was not a regiment of women until some
knowing wag suggested that it must be the famous
middle-sex (Middlesex) regiment. Soon after Singapore
became a Crown Colony rumours were current among
the Malays that the Madras sepoys would give place
to what they termed Sepoy orang puteh, or white men
sepoys, and there was much surmise as to what the
latter would be like, for beyond a few British artillerymen
stationed at Fort Canning, they had never seen British
troops, and no regiment of the line had yet appeared.
Finally, when a kilted regiment disembarked amid
a gaping and curious crowd, the Malays in particular
wondered why soldiers should wear what they thought
were women's skirts. They wandered about asking
one another what sort of men these were who were
dressed as perempuan (women), until someone suggested
that it must be a body of beings who were neither men
nor women, but something betwixt and between ! The
532 THE MERRY PAST
wondering crowd must have dispersed to their homes
with some weird tales to unfold to their women-folk,
who in those days were not so prone to appear in public
as they are to-day.
In 1 87 1, and prior to that, the General Post Office
was located in an annexe to the Supreme Court on
the side nearest the present Government Printing
Office. The chief clerk in those days was in receipt
of $85 a month, and it was during the time of the late
Mr. Henry Trotter that I joined this office.
By a strange coincidence the salary attached to
the post of chief clerk, Treasury, soon after the founding
of Singapore was Rs.200, while to-day it is S200. The
salary of Rs.200 was subsequently reduced to Rs.150,
because the finances of the young Settlement did not
warrant the payment of so large a sum; but Rs.150
was a magnificent salary in those halcyon days. The
late Mr. William Willans Willans, who retired from
the Colonial Treasurership in 1882, was at one time,
when my father was in the service, a clerk in the Treasury
at Rs.8o a month. It may be not uninteresting to
record the fact that Mr. (now Sir) Frank Swettenham
was in 1871 in receipt of a salary of $118 a month
as Collector of Land Revenue in Penang. To what
heights has he not risen since then ?
When I joined the Post Office Mr. Trotter used to
attend office punctually at 1 1 a.m., leaving quite as
punctually at 2 p.m., except when it happened to be
a mail day, a much rarer occurrence then than now.
On these occasions the clerks had to be in attendance
either before or after the usual office hours. When-
ever it was necessary on such occasions to have the
office opened at night, Mr. Trotter generally spent
his time in the Europe Hotel opposite, from which
he would occasionally emerge to take a peep at the
clerks to see what they were doing.
I well remember how we were strictly enjoined to keep
to our seats, work or no work, when the Postmaster-
General was in office. His coachman used to signal
CENSUS OFFICE STAFF 533
the approach of his carriage by three sharp cracks
with his whip, on hearing which the clerks would
scuttle like rats to their respective seats. The chief
clerk, Mr. Trotter's importation from Ceylon, a Mr.
Andre, always received him in the porch, and as he
stepped into the office all the clerks were expected
to rise from their seats to bid him " Good morning."
The establishment was more like a school than an
office.
The Post Office building was a narrow one-roomed
oblong structure, and sufficed until 1874, when a new
building was put up on Fort Fullerton ; but Government,
ever penny wise and pound foolish in regard to public
works, failed to foresee the needs of the future, with
the result that the building had to be replaced by another
on practically the same site. Fort Fullerton, which
was mounted with 7-pounders on the sea and river
front, was thereafter demolished, and few now remember
the old fort as it was.
One of the earliest lawyers within my recollection
was Mr. Atchison ; then came Mr. Bernard Rodyk
and Mr. J. G. Davidson. During the Perak campaign,
more than forty years ago, I had the privilege of serving
under the late Mr. J. G. Davidson, who was then acting
as Queen's Commissioner with the British Field Force,
with Mr. (afterwards Sir) W. E. Maxwell as his deputy.
The first proper census of Singapore was taken in
1 88 1, and the office still stands at the corner of South
Bridge Road and Spring Street (now a Japanese dispen-
sary). The census officers were the late Colonel
Dunlop and Mr. H. Hewetson, with Mr. A. P. Talbot,
of the Colonial Secretary's Office, as Secretary. The
late Mr. C. B. Holloway was chief clerk, and I was his
immediate assistant. The clerical staff numbered some-
thing like thirty hands. The work of compilation
and tabulation was completed about the close of October,
but Mr. Holloway and I were retained in the office
till the last day of the year. Almost all those who
took part in the work are now dead. The late Mr.
534 THE MERRY PAST
H. Hewetson was Secretary to the Municipal Com-
missioners, Singapore, and a member of an old Bencoolen
family, like his successor, Mr. Presgrave.
Among the Protestant places of worship with which I
was familiar in my youth (and which still stands to-day)
is the Prinsep Street Chapel, now commonly known as the
Baba Chapel. Within fifteen or sixteen years of the
founding of Singapore the Rev. B. P. Keasberry, whose
descendants are still on the scene, came to labour here
under the auspices of the Church Missionary Society.
Besides missionary work among the Malays, which was
carried on by means of contributions from the residents
and a yearly grant from Government, the London
Missionary Society gave occasional financial assistance.
Religious services were also held in the homes of Eura-
sians, in which Mr. Keasberry was assisted by my father,
who afterwards bought two lots of land from Government
and gave them to the missionary cause. The present
chapel, which was built just a few years before my birth,
stands on the plot of land the gift of my father. I may
here mention that my father also contributed his mite
towards the building of St. Andrew's Church (not the
present but the old edifice). The Rev. B. P. Keasberry
was a familiar and well-known figure in Singapore up
to the time of his death, for he died in harness, and, need-
less to say, was much loved and highly respected by all
classes of the community, rich and poor, high and low.
Sad to say, the large Malay congregation which he had
gathered round him in his lifetime soon dwindled down,
until a mere handful was left, faithful to the Christian
creed to the last.
Another place of worship (non-secular), which was
then known as the " Christian Institute " (now the
Methodist Chinese Church at the junction of Middle
Road and Waterloo Street), was a popular place of
worship in the 'Seventies, where Mr. (then Sergeant)
Phillips, the father of the present Principal of Raffles
School, used regularly to conduct religious services,
which were mostly frequented by Eurasians of different
TEMPERANCE WORK 535
denominations, especially on the evenings of weekdays.
This modest Bethel subsequently served as a sort of
feeder to the other churches. It was really the birth-
place of Methodism in Singapore, for it was here that the
Rev. (now Bishop) Oldham first formed the nucleus of a
Methodist church.
The " Bethesda " of the 'Seventies was a wooden
building on the site of the present chapel. Mr. Philip
Robinson, the founder of the local firm of Robinson and
Co., was closely associated with this little place of worship,
in which Major Malan was a familiar figure.
Half a century ago the British and Foreign Bible
Society depot was an unpretentious unpainted wooden
structure on the site now occupied by the Raffles Girls'
School, opposite to which, on the other side of the road,
stood what was then known as the Scotch Kirk. To
the best of my recollection a Eurasian family of the
name of Petersen had charge of the Bible depot.
Fifty or more years ago the clergy and laity were
much more in close touch with each other than they are
at present, due, no doubt, to the smallness of the Protes-
tant community. The Chaplain of St. Andrew's, as well
as the Bishop of the diocese, used to make periodical
calls on the parishioners, for every member of the con-
gregation was personally and individually known to
them. I well remember Dr. McDougall, the Bishop,
and the Rev. Canon Beckles, who were familiar figures
in the homes of the people. The bond thus created
tended to keep the Anghcan flock well in hand, and there
was little or no tendency on their part to drift to pastures
new, as is unfortunately the case to-day.
Temperance work among civilians and the mihtary,
as well as seamen, was most active fifty years ago, the
principal workers in the cause being Mr. (then Sergeant)
C. Phillips and Mr. Alfred Keun, the father of Mr. W. C.
P. Keun, the accountant in the Government Monopolies,
both of whom have long since died. Regular meetings
and entertainments were held in different places, but
principally in the Sailors' Home, and the result has been
n— 35
536 THE MERRY PAST
most beneficial, as experience has proved. The clergy
of the various denominations in those days took little
part in the movement. Nowadays temperance work
abounds on every hand, and workers among the clergy
and laity are not lacking ; the humble endeavours of a
few so long ago formed the thin end of the wedge.
In connection with work among the seamen, temper-
ance refreshment rooms connected with the Band of
Hope were opened in some parts of the town, notably
in North Bridge Road, but they did not prove a success.
Miss Sophia Cooke, I believe, first conceived the idea of
having a Sailors' Rest as near the docks as possible.
Some thirty-seven years ago a house next door to the
Kreta Ayer Police Station, which had been vacated by
the Census Office, was secured, and a Eurasian named
Jansen was placed in charge. The place was largely
patronised by soldiers as well as sailors, for, besides
reading matter, refreshments and beds could be had there
at a nominal figure. This useful institution lasted until
the Boustead Institute was built ten years later, and the
Manager of the Rest, named Lee, an ex-armourer of
H.M.S. OrioHj the Singapore guard-ship, was, I believe,
appointed Manager of the Institute. The land on which
the Boustead Institute stands was the property of the old
Tanjong Pagar Dock Company, and, if I mistake not, is
the gift of the Company to the trustees of the Institute.
The very recent terrible eruption at Kloet reminds me
of the catastrophe at Krakatoa in 1883. The eruptions
were distinctly heard here long before the news reached
us. The detonations resembled the distant firing of
cannon, which set people wondering what they really
were. Before the receipt of the news many attributed
the noises to the firing of guns at sea by ships of war.
Editorial Notes. — Mr. Leicester's most interesting
reminiscences may be supplemented in two respects.
First as to education in the 'Sixties, the following from
Mr. E. J. Robertson's Straits Memories is worthy of
preservation, and rounds off Mr. Leicester's description :
SCHOOL MEMORIES 537
" On the site of the present [1910] Caledonian Hotel
a Mrs. Taylor kept a small infants' school in the sixties,
whilst the Christian Brothers' School was carried on in
separate bungalows, but RafTles, of course, was the chief
school. I joined in 1867, at first as a day boy and
later as boarder. Mr. Bayley was headmaster and Mr.
Yzelman was another of the masters, and there were
about fifteen of us boy boarders. We lived in strenuous
days then, for we were roused by gun-fire at 5 a.m., and
trotted off to a well for our bath. Each boy had his
own bucket, and had to draw the water necessary for his
ablutions himself. There were no tubs or shower baths,
but when the tide was high we were taken to the beach
opposite the school for a dip. For meals we were given
no early tea, but a breakfast of fried fish, rice, and curry ;
for tiffin, bread and butter, pisangs, and tea ; and for
dinner, at five, more rice and curry and one meat course.
The school hours were nine to noon and one to four.
Sundays, twice to church, and collects, etc., to be learnt in
the interval. There were no games as now, and we had
to make our own amusements, and after dark we were
kept at study till bedtime. Mr. Bayley was succeeded
by the Rev. George Brown, who left for Australia and
the Fiji Islands in 1873. Raffles Girls' School was kept
before that time in a compound house at the corner of
Middle Road and Beach Road, and was kept by Mrs.
Anderson, the mother of Mr. [now Sir] John Anderson.
It was later transferred to the Raffles Institution in
charge of Mrs. J. G. Boyd, senior, and when the Govern-
ment decided to build and extend the building to three
stories for the Raffles Library and Museum, it was again
removed to a house in Beach Road owned by the King
of Siam, which stills stands nearly opposite Clyde Terrace
Market, surrounded by firewood, bricks, and other signs
of commercial prosperity. It next moved to a compound
house where Raffles Hotel now stands, and finally came
to rest in its present quarters."
Then as to the Krakatoa eruption, Mr. Buckley, in his
History, gives some further particulars. He says that
not long after the news of the explosion reached here
" pieces of pumice-stone, as big as a hat, were floating
about outside the harbour, and Mr. George Dare brought
538 THE MERRY PAST
pieces to the Club in his canoe." The eruption lasted
from the 26th to the 28th August 1883, and Krakatoa,
in the Straits of Anjer, was about 500 miles from
Singapore.
AWAKENING OLD MEMORIES
By J. H. Drysdale
I arrived in Singapore in March 1872, as fourth
engineer of the s.s. Tanah Merah, after rather a long
voyage, having sailed from the Tail of the Bank (Clyde)
on New Year's morning at 3 o'clock, and run into a gale
in the Irish Channel, which compelled us to run back to
Belfast for repairs. As three engineers were the full
complement for a steamer of her size running on the
coast, I was dumped on Tanjong Pagar wharf with all
my belongings, namely, an old-fashioned carpet bag of
clothes and ten bright sovereigns in my pocket, to make
a career for myself in the East. Fortunately I was
gifted with a nature which made me tackle any work that
was given me with right good will, and I am still greatly
amused at the course I steered when I landed, as I
made a bee-line for the harbour, having heard that two
engineers were wanted in the small steamer Royalist^ and
presented myself on board, carpet bag and all, and inter-
viewed the captain, who had a hearty laugh at the sum-
mary manner I came on board ; but he rather damped
my feelings by stating that he wanted first to engage
a chief and let him choose a second. I got over this
difficulty, as I recommended the second of the Tanah
Merah, and then shipped as third of that vessel. During
my short stay ashore I was introduced to Mr. Hargreaves
and to Mr. Riley, who had a small engineering shop and
store off High Street, the entrance being about where
De Silva (the jeweller's shop) is at present. I was also
in course of time introduced to Mr. Howarth and Mr.
Erskine, never dreaming at the time that there would be
such keen competition between the two firms, and that
I should serve Riley, Hargreaves for about twenty-three
ENGINEERING EXPERIENCES 539
years. High Street had quite a different appearance
from what it has to-day, as a number of the houses had a
small garden in front, which gave it quite a countrified
look. Riley, Hargreaves and Co., in a few years, removed
to Read Street, and Howarth, Erskine started in opposi-
tion on ground adjoining what is now the Municipa
Store in River Valley Road. All the land there was
swampy, and was used by Abrams to grow paddy grass
for his horses.
There was a vast difference in the life of a young
man on shore in Singapore at that time (1872) compared
with the present, as there were very few distractions
from office routine — no cricket, no golf, tennis, and
swimming clubs to brighten up his life. His daily
life was a routine of office work and a game of cards or
billiards to while away the time at night ; no pastime in
the afternoon, unless he was fortunate enough to have
a set of quoits at his quarters. The young men at sea,
on deck or in engine room, led a much happier life, as in
many cases it was a roving one, seeing that a number of
the steamers were in the barter trade, and plied from
place to place on the Borneo, Celebes, and other coasts,
and that meant change of scenery, plenty of health-
giving sea-air, and no hardships, sailing in the tropics,
as it was only those running to Hongkong, Shanghai, and
Japan who got battered about during the typhoon and
monsoon weather.
The engineering community was ninety per cent.
Scotch, and even in the Dutch lines there were
B.I. S.N. Co.'s steamers, on loan to the Netherlands
Government, officered on deck by Dutch and in the
engine-room by Scotch, a combination which proved a
great success, and ran smoothly for many years. We
were a merry crowd, mostly all hailing from the Clyde.
The first meeting to form an Engineers' Association was
presided over by Jackson Millar, who was at that time
a partner in Riley, Hargreaves and Co., who still hold
the record for the largest steel steamer built in Singapore,
the Sarie Borneo. The meeting was in an upper room of
540 THE MERRY PAST
the old Ice Works at the foot of River Valley Road, and
all present were enrolled as members. Our first club-
rooms were on the upper floor of a small house at the
head of High Street, on the left-hand side looking towards
Fort Canning. There we started in a moderate way,
with a reading and meeting-room combined and a billiard-
room. Our entertainments started in a modest way, a
smoking concert now and again in which all the members
were expected to take part, and of which the programme
was amusing and varied, including the songs of our
native land without any instrumental accompaniments,
as we could not afford such a luxury, while those who
could not sing recited or spun a yarn.
On the site of Whiteaway's Building there stood in
olden times a long rambling building — the home of
old-established firms such as Motion and Co., Hammer
and Co., Hartwig and Co., McAlister and Co., C. Gaggino
and Co., and the then famous restaurant and tiffin-rooms
which were a regular haunt of all and sundry, from
the Tuan Besar down to the seafaring class. In those
old times there was more of the " hail fellow well met "
feeling throughout the whole community of Singapore,
and when the captain-owners of the pioneer trading
vessels, such as Ross and Lingard, met, there was quite
an air of joviality, and conversation all round became
of a more rollicking nature than one can find in John
Little's tiffin-room at present. Emmerson also had a
private hotel on the site of Raffles (called the Clarendon).
It was quite a nice locality all along Beach Road, as
there were a number of residential houses, with fairly
large grounds attached, planted with flowers and fruit
trees ; and the outlook on the harbour was very pleasant,
as the sea at high water came up on a sandy beach to
the roadside. The greatest change, in my opinion, in any
locality in town from the old times is Battery Road, as
all the buildings are comparatively new, and the width
of the road is from eight to ten feet more. The widening
was started shortly after McAlister and Co. had their third
and last fire ; they seemed to make that line a speciality.
THE ENGINEER AND ARAB OWNER 541
Johnston's Pier in the olden times was a disgrace, and a
source of danger to the seafaring class ; one required to
have one's sea-legs on to embark in a sampan when a
wobble was on the water and the night dark. There
were no floating pontoons, only outside steps, and those
generally in a slimy and broken-down condition — ^just the
place where the kindly aid of Providence was wanted to
look after the welfare of poor Jack returning to his
vessel, a bit top-heavy.
Steamers in those days were not hustled in and out
of dock as they are at present, as the pumping plant
was very poor. Generally an old-fashioned chain
pump did service for the mud dock and an ancient
grasshopper engine drove the pumps for the new dock,
but with such a din that it could be heard miles away ;
and as it had a habit of breaking down, it took from
thirty-six to forty-eight hours to clear the water from
the dock, which gave us great satisfaction, as we could
get so much longer time for necessary repairs to our
machinery. The owners of steamers in those old days,
principally Chinese and Arabs, were a very kindly
class of people, and valued the services of those who
acted well and fairly towards them. Sanction for
all necessary repairs was given without much grumbling
at expense ; but, all the same, they were keen business
men, and were generally down from town day after day
to inspect the work going on. I remember joining,
as chief engineer, a small steamer called the Vidar,
owned by a very rich and influential Arab named
Syed Massim bin al Jaffree, and when the vessel was
in dock I was surprised to meet him coming down the
engine-room ladder. On enquiring what he wanted,
he said he was going to have a look round the engine-
room and see how the work was progressing, and then
inside the boiler to supervise the boiler-boys who
were scaling the salt off the furnace-tops and the plates
of the combustion-chambers. When I impressed upon
him the fact that it was either he or I who must be in
complete charge, he went up on deck and gave the deck
542 THE MERRY PAST
officers a hot time of it, with the result that the workmen
refused to be kicked about, and work was stopped
until he left for town. On another occasion when in
dock, the Government Engineer and myself were
on our way to inspect the condition of the sea-cocks,
propeller, and stern tubing, and Syed Massim joined
us. As we were passing the stern of the steamer, the
surveyor, noticing a small black mark on a plate,
poked a hole through it, from which some bilge water
ran from the fore-peak. At that Syed Massim was
just jumping wild, and asked what right he had to
do that, as it was the duty of the ship's surveyor, not
his, and said to him, " No doubt you think yourself
a clever man, but I can do a thing like that also,"
and getting a hammer, he drove three or four holes
through the plating, which cost hundreds of dollars to
renew ; but he was quite pleased at his demonstration,
and went away quite happy to his town office.
A MID-CENTURY DIARY
By Mrs. G. P. Owen
George Mildmay Dare was born at sea in 1840. He
was brought to Singapore in his father's barque Marsden
with his mother in 1841, landed at Singapore in August,
and his brother, John Julius, was born on the 19th
September, Captain George Julius Dare meanwhile con-
tinuing his voyage to China. On Christmas Day 1841
Mrs. Dare embarked on the ship Viscount Melbourne to
join her husband in China. On the ist January 1842
this unfortunate ship was wrecked on the Laconia Shoal,
and the passengers and crew left her in five boats,
Mrs. Dare and her two children being in the first long-
boat with Captain McKenzie, twenty-three of the
crew, and another passenger.
On the 9th they were attacked by Lanun pirates
and made prisoners, but managed to cut the rope
and escape in the night. After thirteen days at sea
in this open boat they fetched Singapore, and Dr. Little
SINGAPORE
1846
Scale of <4 Mile
.J 1
niSTRICT OF TANTQNO PAGAR ^^Ta„jo„g
543
544 THE MERRY PAST
handed Mrs. Dare out of the boat, the Httle baby being
apparently dead. However, Dr.. Little was able to
resuscitate him. George Mildmay was quite lively,
having eaten all the bananas while hidden under the
sail at the bottom of the boat ! In 1845 the family
went home, and the two boys were educated at Chelten-
ham, their father and mother continuing their voyages
in the brig John Bagshaw, which belonged to Captain
Dare.
George Mildmay's next appearance in Singapore was
not so tragic. He left London in the barque Royal
Shepherdess, Captain Napier, on the 9th October 1854,
and arrived in Singapore on the 28th March 1855. The
boy had grown so tremendously during his six months'
voyage that the nice suit of clothes he had kept to
land in and make a good impression on his parents
was too small to get into, and he landed in a suit of
sailcloth made by the sailors on board ! Captain
and Mrs. Dare were then living in a house at the corner
of Beach and Bras Basah Roads, where the present
Raffles Hotel stands. Beach Road was the principal
residential quarter in those days, with houses standing
well back from the road and gardens in front, and
beyond the road was only the sandy beach. G. M. Dare
was placed in Syme and Co.'s office, where he remained
five years. He joined the Corps Dramatique on the 9th
October 1857, and used to take women's parts under the
name of Miss Brani. On the arrival of his brother JuHus
in 1859, he also became a member of the Corps, and
acted under the name of Miss Julia Brani. G. M. Dare
joined the Cricket Club in January 1858, and acted as
secretary during that year, and he joined the S. V.
Rifles as private in March the same year.
In 1856 he writes :
" The harbour is full of shipping at present ; vessels
are coming in from all parts on account of the lowness
of freights. In all the ports around we have several
splendid clipper vessels and beautiful little schooners,
all trying to get cargo. We have a very good band,
IMPRESSIONS OF OLD SINGAPORE 545
that of the 38th Regiment, which plays twice a week :
on Saturdays on the Esplanade and on Wednesdays
at the Sepoy Lines. I do not know how we should
pass our time without it. There is a cricket club,
but at present it is too hot to play [this was in July].
They are at last building the new church (St. Andrew's)
and progressing favourably. The work is done by
the convicts ; and later a bridge is to be built over
the river from the Post Office to Campbell Stone (Caven-
agh Bridge), which will be of great use, and save a great
many people from getting duckings by the ferry-boats
capsizing. I have been one of those unfortunate in-
dividuals, but only got my watch slightly damaged.
There has been a murder committed by the Rajah
of Bali. Captain Mactaggart, of the barque Singapore ^
took the Polka down to Bali, where he had a quarrel
with one of the Rajah's men, whom he kicked over
the side of the vessel, when some sort of poison was sent
off, and two men died.
" There is a splendid oil painting of vSingapore done
by Mr. Percy Carpenter, an artist here, from Cursetjee's
Hill (Mount Wallich), and exactly like the place, being
very minute ; it is to be raffled for $2,000, on the terms
that the winner will allow of it being sent home to be
engraved and copies sold.
'* I had a tremendous spill the other day on the
Esplanade, when riding home from office, owing to
a brute of a pariah dog chasing the pony and getting
under his feet and throwing him down. I was thrown,
too, and dreadfully shaken and stunned. These pariahs
are dreadful nuisances, and the convicts do not half
carry out the law^ on the first three days of every month,
which are set aside for killing dogs. Another danger
to people riding or driving is the Chinese and Tamil
processions which are constantly taking place.
" Imagine an immense procession of priests ' togged '
to the nines in silk tights and satin jackets, armed with
huge fans, accompanied by innumerable coolies and
others carrying gigantic banners of silk and large paper
lanterns, the musical (?) part of the procession consist-
ing of men hammering away at large gongs, whilst
others nearly split themselves blowing an inconceivable
variety of droning reed instruments and horns. At the
546 THE MERRY PAST
head of all this were six or eight Chinese in a state of
semi-nudity, whose bodies were covered with dust and
blood, dancing and leaping in the air like a troupe of
maniacs, uttering such guttural and gibberish sounds,
through their total inability to articulate, having long
sharp knives driven through their cheeks, the points of
which met in the roots of their tongues ; and some more
infatuated than the rest had also knives stuck through
the fleshy part of the throat, and were laid on a plat-
form covered with sharp-pointed nails. Of course,
through their constant jolting and movements running
and leaping these wounds are kept open, and blood
oozed from them over their bodies to such an extent
that I can hardly conceive how they kept themselves
from swooning, being exposed bareheaded and half-
naked to the rays of a scorching sun and on dusty red
roads ; however, I am perfectly certain they were
maddened with ' samshu ' (an intoxicating liquor) served
to them by the priests. Now fancy a poor fellow, after
having just breakfasted heartily, coming into business,
meeting one of these infernal affairs, and being doomed
to wait and view the whole proceedings, jammed up by
the side of the road and a yawning ditch, with two
syces holding on like grim death to the heads of the
ponies, to keep them from bolting, as the blackguards
pound away at their gongs and let off heaps of crackers,
perfectly heedless of anything but themselves and their
desire to make an infernal noise to scare all evil spirits
away !
" On the Queen's Birthday we went over to Blakan
Mati to fish, in a rowing boat. There is very little
to shoot on this island ; it used to be called in English
* Barren Isle ' ; but some of the islands are full of pigeon
and wild pig, and I hope to go down as soon as I can
get another gun, for I have sold the last bought on ac-
count of its being German, and likely to burst, as most
of them do. Last Saturday I went for a trip with Mr.
Boyd (an old friend of father's) along the west coast of
the island. We turned up an unexplored river (Sungei
Jurong), up which we went several miles. Not having
a gun, I took a revolver borrowed from Boyd, who took
his rifle and shot-gun. Had several shots at pigeon,
but the birds were so wary and the jungle so thick
YOUNG DARE AND THE TIGERS 547
that we did not succeed in bagging any birds except
some beautifully plumaged ones, and a species of
web-footed snipe ; monkeys and crocodiles were abun-
dant, but the latter were so cunning that it was as
much as one could do to get a glimpse of them ; but
had we gone over the side of the sampan, they would
doubtless have made us aware of their presence. I
hit three monkeys with pistol-shots, only one of which
we got, the mud on both sides of the river being so
deep. After hitting the last, Boyd determined to send
his terrier after it, crocodiles or not, and the dog
managed to reach the land, and after floundering through
the mud, reached the monkey, when a desperate fight
ensued, and we all got so excited from the yells emitted
that two of the boatmen followed, and managed, by
clinging to the mangrove, to reach the scene, but could
not separate them. Boyd also made a spring from the
boat, and went up to his waist in the mud, whence he
was lifted out by our united efforts, being quite unable
to extricate himself. After going up the river some
distance further, we came upon a clearing in the jungle,
made by Malays cutting firewood — quite a little kam-
pong, — and we went on shore and got some fruit and
coconuts. Suddenly they all bolted up into their houses,
which were built on high posts, and they advised us to
get away on account of the tigers beginning to move ; as
we saw their tracks all over the place, we did so in
double quick time ! A few months after I again visited
this spot, and found quite a good-sized village (Kampong
Bahru), and had a narrow escape of being nearer to a
tiger than was pleasant. The village children, who had
been bathing about a quarter of a mile from the houses,
had seen a great many green pigeon feeding on a bush, so
leaving my boatmen to their meal, I went with two of
the Malay villagers to have a shot, and when we were
within about ten yards of the bathing-place, we were
startled by a crash through the jungle, and saw a large
body bounding through the lallang (tall grass), at which
I let fly with my gun, thinking it might have been a
troop of monkeys, of which there were numbers about,
and they were making a great noise. The men with
me were very funky ; but we went up to the spot, and
found the fresh tracks of a tiger, as also the water much
548 THE MERRY PAST
disturbed. It was lucky for the children they had left
earlier, or one of them might have been taken. The
tigers have the audacity to come as close to the town
as Mount Faber flagstaff ; and at Bukit Chermin, where
Boyd lives, they have been heard frequently between
the hours of 7 to 9 p.m. Two tigresses and three tigers
have been caught, and are now on view in town on
payment of one cent.'*
It was in 1856 that the derelict Pascha (which was
wrecked off Mount Formosa, Malacca Straits, in 1853)
was brought into New Harbour by the schooner Wizard,
which had been a long time trying to salvage the Pascha.
The previous Captain, Lovi, most unfortunately dying
of sunstroke at the moment of his success, Captain
Marshall brought her in, and was getting the dollars
out of the wreck.
Mr. Dare writes :
" I went on board soon after her arrival in New
Harbour, and saw them taking out the treasure, which
was in boxes that were so worm-eaten that they broke
open on reaching the deck, and I saw quantities of
dollars all sticking together in lumps from rust and
damp mixed with gold dust."
In November 1856 he writes :
" The horse-races come on in April, and I believe I
shall have to ride in them once or twice ! The training
commences on the ist January, at 6 a.m., and ends when
the sun is well up. There are generally all the Europeans
there, and those who like to try their horses, and those
who are going to run, ride round if they choose. There
is generally plenty of fun going on, and lots of coffee and
tea and brandy and soda. There are two fine yachts
being built here : one is the Coquette, a schooner 60 feet
long, and the other is built in opposition to beat her,
next boat-races in January. Both are splendid models,
and we ought to have some grand racing. There are
a number of gunboats coming out from England to
suppress piracy in these seas, so the pirates will find
their trade very precarious. The only man-of-war here
A GRUESOME SPECTACLE 549
at present is H.M.S. Spartan, Captain Sir W. Hoste,
some nice young officers on board, Bradshaw, Free-
mantle, Fitzroy, etc. H.M.S. Amethyst is shortly to
relieve her. The new chpper schooner was launched on
Saturday, the 12th December, and was named the
Claymore ; the other schooner. Alma, which belonged
to father, was sold for a large sum, and is going to Siam.
The Sally was bought in by the firm under Mr. Webster.
At Christmas I am going to the coast of Johore after
deer and wild-fowl ; I have got a good many snipe this
season, but they are still very shy and wild. By the
way, while shooting on the jungly swamps beyond the
racecourse and the Hindoo cremation grounds last
Friday, I came across the remains of three dead bodies
on an open plain amid the swamps, evidently belonging
to a class of Hindoos who burn their dead, first covering
the corpses with wood, to which they set fire. Two of
the bodies were charred to cinders, but on the third the
fire had apparently gone out, and there he was, only
slightly grilled and smelling horribly. Wild pariah
dogs had run away with one of his legs and part of his
thigh, of which I found the bones some distance off,
partly devoured. I think the police ought to put a stop
to such infernal practices ! The effect of this nasty
sight was sufficient to give the Malay who accompanied
me such a shock that he swore that he saw their three
ghosts ! and there was no more shooting that day."
" January 1857. — Our native population are in a very
disturbed state, on account of the recently passed Con-
servancy and Police Acts. Late in the afternoon of the
31st ultimo, it was known to a few that the Chinese had
resolved to close their shops, and on that day, it is said,
monster meetings of the Chinese secret societies took
place in the rural districts.
New Year's Day being a holiday by universal
consent, no notice was taken of the shops being closed.
On the 2nd they were still all closed, and boatmen, syces,
artificers, and coolies all ceased their ordinary occupa-
tions— it was a general strike, showing that not only
all classes of natives were acting in concert, but that from
their doing so simultaneously it must have been a pre-
arranged movement. That intimidation was used
there is no doubt ; the ferry-boatmen were told by
550 THE MERRY PAST
some Chinese that if they persisted in ferrying Europeans
across the river, the Chinese would put their eyes out
at night. Shortly after 6 a.m. the markets were cleared,
and by 9 o'clock the streets were crowded with Chinese
idlers, who appeared anxious for some opportunity to
commence a riot : indeed, just before eight, the Deputy
Commissioner of Police and his peons were attacked in
Market Street, and repulsed with a few scratches and
bruises, and by 10 a.m. all the Europeans had arrived in
town and found the strike universal. A public meeting
was convened by the Sheriif, the Volunteer Rifle Corps
mustered, the troops held in readiness in case of need.
The Resident Councillor caused a proclamation to be
issued, calling on the people to open their shops, and if
they had any cause for complaint, to make it known to
the Governor. On Saturday Governor Blundell called
the heads of the principal Chinese merchants together,
and arranged with them to have a translation made of
the Act and circulated amongst the various members of
the Chinese community, the former issued being so
faulty as to convey quite an erroneous impression of the
actual provisions of the law. This had a pacifying effect,
and they all opened their shops and pursued their
ordinary avocations. Matters are still far from settled ;
seditious placards in Chinese are still posted about the
streets, calling upon the Chinese to rebel against the
Europeans and turn them out of the island, and have
gone so far as to offer rewards for the heads of the
Governor and some of the principal officers of the Court !
As may be imagined, no traces of the author of these can
be discovered.
" New Year's Day being a general holiday, the regatta
took place as usual. There were pulling matches
amongst the Malays in their sampans for a prize of $12,
sports on the Esplanade, racing and scrambling for cents,
and all sorts of fun, as if there was nothing unusual on
the tapis. In the regatta there were two divisions, one
for decked boats, prize $50, and one for open boats,
prize $25. The decked boats, which started when the
gun fired at 10 a.m., were four in number, as follows :
Sally y belonging to my father; Claymore, to D. Roger,
Esq.;^wm>,tothe P.&O.Company;P/fflw/ow,toJ.Moyle,
Esq. — all schooners. They sailed twice round the course.
BUGIS BOAT WITH I^ADDER MASTS.
Obsolete after 1898.
n. 550]
I.ARGB KOI^EH ROUNDING FI.AG BOAT, SINGAPORE RIJGATTA.
Showing living ballast from masthead ropes.
I
REGATTAS IN THE ROADSTEAD 55i
The Phantom took the lead, followed by Claymore , Sally ,
and Annie, till flag No. i, when the Sally passed the
others, and kept the lead till the last, coming in a winner
by two miles, twenty minutes before the rest, having
done fifteen miles in two hours and seven minutes. The
open boats started as soon as the others had reached
the first flag. I had the command of the Swift, which
came in fourth. The starting-point was opposite
Johnston's Pier, the boats being moored to a rope drawn
from the stearner Hooghly to the gunboat Singapore,
The 6th February, being the anniversary of the Settle-
ment, will be a holiday, and another regatta will take
place, in which the new boat Coquette will sail, as well as
Tare an' ages, a cutter arrived from Lingin, the former
being 50 tons and the latter 30 tons register. The
Tumonggong of Johore has also given orders to D. Lyons,
builder of all these new boats, to build one of 80 tons
to beat all the rest ; so you see there is plenty of compe-
tition !
'* Advices from Hongkong of the 4th brought the
news that the small steamer Thistle, employed in
carrying the mails between that place and Canton, had
been cut off by pirates, carried into a creek and burnt,
after all the Europeans on board had been brutally
murdered. The Government have chartered the Sir
James Brooke to take 250 sepoys up to Canton, and she
is just passing the Auckland, whose cheers can be dis-
tinctly heard, though so far from shore. I hope she will
give John Chinaman a severe lesson ; the brutes have
been trying to set fire to Macao and burn it down. We
are all anxious here, also, for the troops to arrive from
India, for the Chinese are still far from settled, and we
expect to have a fight on Chinese New Year's Day,
when they are allowed to let off crackers and fireworks
in the streets.
" February 1857. — Contrary to expectation, the
Chinese holidays passed off safely, with the exception
of the noise made by thousands of Chinamen, with half
a cwt. of crackers each, letting them off simultaneously
day and night for three days and nights ! There was a
riot amongst the KHngs (natives of the Malabar coast),
who own about 300 of the cargo boats here, and live in
the west wing of the town. It was caused by their
11—36
552 THE MERRY PAST
having processions, blocking up the roads after the hour
permitted, and when requested to move by Constable
Pennefather and his men, refused to do so, and when the
police endeavoured to clear them by force, about 800
of these men attacked the police, who were forced to
retreat, to the station in that part of the town. The
Klings stormed the station, trying to set fire to it and
pull it down ; so the police opened fire, knocking eighteen
men over in the first volley, of whom seven w^ere killed
on the spot and eight died subsequently ; the black
devils thereupon ran away in all directions. Coroner's
inquests have been held on the bodies, in which the jury
gave a verdict that ' the police being endangered of their
lives, had quite sufficient reason for doing so.' This
affair has had a good effect on the natives, showing
them that Europeans are not to be trifled with,
and if 'the police had been allowed to do the same to the
Chinese it would have been a great blessing, as they
require some correction. The colours were duly pre-
sented to the Rifle Corps on the 14th February, when the
troops were called out to do honour to the occasion.
" The Anniversary Regatta took place on the 6th.
The first prize, a cup worth $150, was won by the new
schooner Coquette, beating the Sally by one minute !
We had to give all the others twenty minutes and more,
so the Annie took second prize of $50 and the Tare an' ages
third prize of $25. The Coquette had only one trial
beforehand, so she promises fair to pass everything.
The Claymore has proved quite a failure, coming in last,
and although she had an immense spread of canvas on
her, if the owner only chose to make her into a cutter,
I doubt if she would be passed, as she is a beautiful little
model, and must beat everything if properly rigged and
sailed. I went out and followed them in an open boat,
leg-of-mutton rigged, belonging to Captain Wood, of the
Africa, which I have the loan of for two months, provided
I keep a man to look after her ; so I have had plenty of
cruises lately, and I was out in a heavy squall the other
day, which caught me about five miles out. I set her
square sail and boomed her sails out, and sent her before
it, and she simply flew ! Several seas came right over
her stern, as it blew so hard ; if I had come side on to
the wind, even with the sails stowed, the force of the
THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE 553
wind on her mast would have sent her over. It seldom
blows so hard in Singapore, and that day several large
vessels drifted some distance, and Captain Wood, who
saw me going, thought I was capsized ; it was just
seven minutes past five when I began to move, and I
was in the river and round the point at twenty-four
minutes past.
" The expedition to Siak made by Wilson, Schroeter,
and Carnie has been defeated, and the Dutch have
forbidden their doing anything, as it belongs to them.
They lost the Bulldog cutter, she having capsized in a
squall and sunk in thirty fathoms ; five European sailors
and two Malays were drowned, and all their clothes and
letters were lost. Schroeter had just left her for the
schooner Edithy which was in company, before the squall
came on, so he had a narrow escape, as she capsized
immediately after. Great fears have been lately enter-
tained regarding the convicts, as a Sikh chief Ghurruk
Singh, who was a State prisoner some time ago, has been
tampering with them, and formed a plan of rising whilst
all the Europeans were in church and massacring all.
There are from i,ooo to 2,000 convicts of the same class
as those now rebels in Bengal, and of which some eighty
are Sikhs ; so we are all on the look-out for a riot soon,
and I am heartily glad I am the only one of our family
here.
^^ December 1857. — Since last writing I have joined
the Corps Dramatique, which consists of gentlemen
amateurs : young men like myself in business. I came
out as Lucy in the farce John Dobbs under the name of
* Miss Flora Macfungus,' which has since been changed
at my request to * Miss Brani,' the Malay for Dare.
It was a difficult part, but they say I performed it to
everyone's satisfaction, and made what they called ' a
stunning girl ' ! I went in a crinoline made out of
rattan, and even after the theatre was not known till
I commenced kicking the syce's back on account of his
not opening the door wide enough, which elicited a roar
of laughter from the men in the portico of the theatre,
who were all seeing four young ladies into their carriage.
We all had a capital dance after the performance on the
stage, in our theatrical costumes, and a good champagne
supper afterwards, from which we got home at two in
554 THE MERRY PAST
the morning. There are a great many tigers about at
present : a lady, Mrs. Bernard, when driving out with
her husband to a grant of land which he had recently
bought, was wdthin a hundred yards of an immense brute
only about two miles from town ; and though you may
doubt it, I can assure you that on an average one or two
men (usually Chinese picking gambler) are killed by tigers
every day. This is a fact which will be corroborated by
all the residents here."
In the Autumn Races, 1857, G. M. Dare won the
"Ladies' Purse" on the pony Kildare. In 1858 he
was Secretary of the Cricket Club. The young men
used to meet there for games when not being drilled,
which was five times a week, as all the young fellows
belonged to the Volunteer Rifle Corps.
On the 15th June of that year a fine French screw-
steamer, St. Louis, came in with a fire on board from
self-combustion. They ran her on the beach at Tanjong
Rhu and fired through her twice to sink her, but she
burst into flames again. At 12 p.m. it had consumed
the whole of the wooden part of the ship, the masts,
while falling, presenting a beautiful appearance, and the
tide having commenced ebbing, the fire soon finished
its fell design, and all that remained of a once beautiful
new iron screw-steamer was simply an iron shell.
During October 1858 there was visible every evening
from dusk till 7 p.m. a very brilliant comet with a
very long tail nearly due west. It had been seen at
Hongkong and by vessels in the China Sea at different
periods during the previous month, but only made
its appearance over Singapore in October, getting more
and more brilliant every evening, and attracting great
attention.
G. M. Dare's next brother, John Julius Dare, arrived
in Singapore on the 4th February 1 859, in the Ferozepore,
and went into the firm of G. J. Dare and Co.
The two brothers were living with Captain Mansfield
in a new house built by Mr. Webster. G.M.D. looked
after the house and grounds and cattle, and his young
PICNIC PARTIES 555
brother, only seventeen, took charge of the bazaar
account, and there were several other young men also
in the house. They used to go to lots of picnics and
dances, and the account of a cruise round the island in
the Sally is amusing :
^' The rendezvous was at a Malay settlement, Kranji,
where there was a Government bungalow in those days.
Some drove across Bukit Timah Road in carriages,
but we preferred to go round by sea, and got there after
a very squally passage of eighteen hours. We found
all the rest of the party there, comfortably ensconced
in a fine large bungalow, having had breakfast, and
most of them taking a quiet siesta. Julius and I soon
followed their example, and took possession of a small
room, where we had a wash and dressed, with a murderous
look-out on the slaughter of some wretched chickens
for our breakfast. We afterwards strolled into the jungle
in the hopes of getting some pigeon, but were rather
aghast at coming across the fresh tracks of a tiger, and,
having no kind friends to write our obituary notice
and no gun with us for big game, returned in double
quick time to the bungalow. None of the others would
move out of the house, being too lazy, and their chief
enjoyment consisted in making and drinking ' cocktails *
and sleeping ! Later we had some delightful swimming
and diving in the Old Straits, though the Malays told
us there were crocodiles there, but who nevertheless
joined us, and ventured out much further than we did.
We stopped there two days, returning in the Sally
by the opposite route, eastward, where there was some
nice scenery ; but the frequency and suddenness of
the squalls soon disturbed our reveries, and all went
below except myself, who, being chief mate, had to stand
all the rain and look after the sails. You would be
astonished how the sudden shifts of wind heeled the
old Sally over, and the disasters that resulted amongst
those who had taken refuge below. Poor Adenbrook
(a clerk in Dare & Co.), who was picking out a clean shirt,
had the jar containing the remains of our butter pre-
cipitated over his head and into his trunk of clean
clothes ! Julius, who was comfortably rolled up in
my mattress in the hopes of having a nap, had the
556 THE MERRY PAST
only bottle of lemon syrup we had on board fall on one
of the guns by his side, and all my comfortable bed
and clean sheets were saturated with the sticky mess.
We were a whole day getting back, and fortunately
procured some fine fish from a Chinaman on one of
the islands, as our provender was well-nigh finished."
Mr. Dare left Syme and Co.'s in October 1859, and on
the 3rd November he left for Bangkok to join Captain
Orr, who was opening up a branch of Dare and Co. in
Siam. This venture did not turn out well, and Captain
Mansfield went up to Bangkok and bought Captain
Orr out, and Mr. Dare returned to Singapore in Septem-
ber i860, and took his brother Julius's place in the firm,
the latter having gone back to the Cape to his mother
and sisters. He noticed a lot of changes in the town ;
amongst others, a pretty little pavilion had been built in
the centre of the Square for posting letters and vending
stamps.
The fortifications on Canning Hill were nearly finished,
and Government House was moved from there to
Leonie Hill. The barracks out on the Serangoon
Road for Europeans and Sikhs were near completion,
but the troops had not yet arrived from India. On
the ist February 1861 a most remarkable occurrence
took place. A water-spout landed close to the Dalhousie
Monument, and whipped up earth, dust, stones, and
branches oif the trees. It then swept along the road
past the Post Office to the pier, where it caught the
sampans, took their kajangs off, and threw four right
over. It then formed a column of water in the river,
whirled across and caught a batch of tongkangs lying
by the Chinese Quay, tore their kajangs and sails all
to smithereens, and took the masts out of eight or ten.
Then it went up through the Square and tore out the
windows of a dozen godowns, and did a great deal of
other damage.
St. Andrew's Cathedral was opened in October 1861,
though the steeple was not finished till some time after.
There was a good choir of young fellows and a harmonium.
SNAKE STORIES 557
The organ was on its way out, and cost £600 ; the organ-
ist from home was accompanying it at a salary of £150
per annum. The stained-glass windows were all in,
and looked very fine, the centre one being dedicated
to Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of the Settlement.
There were a great many theatrical performances
by amateurs given in 1861 to help to pay off the debt
on the Town Hall, and Mr. Dare took the principal
lady's parts in most of them. The Volunteer Rifle
Corps was also in good form, being a hundred strong,
including officers and rank and file.
In February 1 862 there was a public ball inaugurating
the Town Hall. In August the same year G. M. Dare
joined the firm of G. H. Brown and Co., and his mother,
two eldest and youngest sisters arrived from the Cape
the same month (leaving two brothers and three sisters
behind). They lived at Fern Cottage, on Mount
Pleasant estate, off Thomson Road, which was then
surrounded by thick jungle, with clearings here and
there of gambier and pepper plantations. He writes :
" The jungle round is full of wild animals ; pig,
deer, tigers, and many snakes. Mamma encountered
no less than three snakes one morning before breakfast,
when going her rounds to the fowl-houses, and the
mandor captured a python sixteen feet long, sneaking
off with a fowl at the foot of our hill, not 200 yards from
our cottage, which mamma, who has a particular horror
of snakes, was shown coiled up in a fowl basket. There
is a small stream at the foot of our hill, and we are
constantly finding tiger tracks there. One evening,
when I was fishing, I heard a rustle and a lapping sound,
and just caught sight of Master Stripes in the lallang
on the opposite side : my heart was in my mouth,
'as I dared not move for fear of attracting his attention ;
but as soon as he made off, I bolted for dear life up the
hill."
Mr. and Mrs. G. H. Brown and family, and her brother,
Mr. Arthur Knight, lived in the big house. Mount
Pleasant, on the same hill, which belonged to Mr. Brown,
558 THE MERRY PAST
and still goes by the name of ' ' Brown's Hill ' ' Mr. Brown
was very musical, and owned a fine organ and three
pianos, one of which he most kindly lent to the Dares.
On the 1 6th March 1863 J. J. Dare brought the rest
of the family up from the Cape in the clipper-steamer
Clan Alpine, of Jardine, Matheson's, Captain Bolton
(who afterwards married the second Miss Dare [Louisa]
on the 23rd February 1864).
On the 19th August 1863 there was a very big fire,
which burnt all the Chinese shops between North Bridge
and Circular Roads : fifty-seven were burnt out com-
pletely. It originated in a coconut oil shop, and the
flames mounted 100 to 150 feet in the air, and ran along
the roofs. It commenced at 3 p.m. and lasted till 7 p.m.,
when, numerous houses having been pulled down till
a high brick wall was reached, it was stopped.
The eldest Miss Dare was married to William Ramsay
Scott, manager of MacDonald and Co., which was after-
wards carried on as W. R. Scott and Co., and they lived
for many years at Abbotsford, which Mr. Scott
had bought. He afterwards sold the whole of the
Abbotsford estate to W. R. Leisk, of Hinnekindt
and Co., for $8,000. There was only the big house on
the top of the hill, and the remaining 20 acres was a
fruit plantation, mostly mangosteens and durians.
Mr. and Mrs. G. M. Dare and her mother (Mrs. Earnshaw)
rented Abbotsford from 1886 to 1896, and Mrs.
G. M. Dare laid the foundations of both Ashtiel (in
1886) and Waverley (in 1887), and named them when
finished.
In April 1864 there was a dreadful accident on the
Tumonggong's steam yacht Johore. The water was
allowed to get too low in the boilers, and on letting,
in the cold water they immediately exploded, scalding
from twenty-five to thirty persons. A great many died,
including poor Bain, the engineer of the docks, and
several Europeans. The rest were chiefly Malays.
Abdul Rahman, brother of the Tumonggong of Johore,
had a most miraculous escape. He was standing looking
INCURSIONS OF TIGERS 559
down into the engine room, when he heard an unusual
noise under his feet, and had the presence of mind
to run to the side and jump overboard, thus saving his
hfe. The steamer was a complete wreck.
Singapore first had gas in 1 864, when on the 24th May
the Governor opened the valve for the first supply,
and the gasworks were illuminated. There were quite
a lot of tigers about again at this time ; a man was
carried off close to Dunearn, and Joe Purvis (brother
of John Purvis) saw the tracks of a tiger having passed
along the ground and over the bridge at the bottom
of Dunearn Hill, and gone along the Bukit Timah
Road, so that people were shy of walking home at night !
Joe Purvis and T. S. Thomson were on the look-out
for him.
In October Mr. Dare left for Foochow, from which
place he went to Japan ; and did not return to reside
in Singapore till 1884, where he continued to live till
his death in December 1907.
CHAPTER XXII
SINGAPORE'S FUTURE
By Alexander W, Still, F.J, I., Editor of the
" Straits Tiines.'*
The past has been reviewed and the present has
been described. Those on whom the task has fallen
have done it well. They have had facts to deal with,
but I, who am not shaped for the sober solidity of
historian's work, must peer into the future, and write
for generations yet unborn, of things that will be facts to
them, but which to me are mere shadows seen as through
a glass darkly. The mantle of a prophet fits not easily
upon me. True, I escape the critics of to-day. They
cannot point at me the finger of scorn, saying with
sad severity, " Behold how this man blunders 1 " But
the historians of Singapore's bi-centenary may drag
me from the decent obscurity which is my due and
hold me up to the ridicule of those who, being born later,
will know how pale and imperfect has been the vision
that comes to me as I strain my eyes to pierce the
obscurity of unopened years.
No man knew Singapore better than Sir Frank
Swettenham, and no one more clearly realized its
possibilities. Shortly before his departure, in the
Autumn of 1903, he said in the course of a public speech :
" You have in Singapore a city of 200,000 inhabitants,
which will one day be a million, and a port reckoned
by the tonnage of its shipping as the seventh largest
in the world. That is something to begin with. Then
you have a magnificent natural harbour on w^hich
nothing has yet been spent, but which, if it were pro-
560
SWETTENHAM'S FORECAST 561
tected by works, would afford 1,300 acres of sheltered
anchorage. You have wharves and docks which have
already fame beyond these shores, and are capable of
vast improvement. You have the making of a great
naval base, which we believe is already almost impreg-
nable. Behind you, you have one of the richest
countries, well watered and wooded, with no earthquakes
or volcanoes, floods or famines, or serious epidemics.
Something has already been done to develop some
portion of this country. Railways have been made,
some mines have been opened, and planting has been
done, and in the course of less than thirty years the
revenue has grown from $5,500,000 to over $20,000,000,
and the trade has grown from little or nothing at all to
a hundred millions of dollars. Then in the Colony you
will have next year a revenue half as large again as
this year, and united with that of the Federated Malay
States, it will be far larger than that of any other
Crown Colony."
That was little more than fifteen years ago, and we
are moving towards the million inhabitants more swiftly
than house-builders can keep pace with the demands
upon their enterprise and skill. Singapore must progress.
It lies on the ocean's main highway from East to West,
and its hinterland is the whole of Asia, for it is the
southmost point of that continent. Since Sir Frank
Swettenham spoke, its docks have been made second
to none, and they are capable of indefinite extension.
Shipbuilding, though in its infancy, has gone far enough
to show that it is possible to gather here a skilled labour
force capable of building ocean liners, if circumstances
favour development in that direction. Singapore harbour
is the calmest in the world, and could give safe anchorage
to more ships than are ever likely to be in one place
at one time. But he who would forecast the future
must not wholly ignore those who say that sea-going
ships, and harbours to shelter them, are already half
consigned to the scrap-heap of human progress, and
that the future is with ships which will wing the
air in swift and graceful flight. It may be so, but I
562 SINGAPORE'S FUTURE
have thought in me that our successors, though they
conquer other elements, will never scorn the sea, but
will develop shipping on lines that do most fully assure
the FUTURE greatness and prosperity of Singapore.
All modern shipping enterprise has favoured entrepot
trade. When the Great War began in 19 14, twenty- to
forty-thousand-ton ships were becoming almost common-
place, and their economic value was acknowledged.
For such ships the entrepot principle is essential. They
cannot go from one little place to another picking
up cargo. They are the aristocrats of the sea, and
must be served by smaller craft, and just because no
place anywhere is a better entrepot than Singapore,
its shipping future is secure. Even as a point of
vantage in aerial navigation its merits have been
recognised.
Is Singapore destined to become a great naval base ?
Tell me how the League of Nations will flourish ; how
China will break the fetters of Manchuism ; how
Japan will profit by great lessons from the West, and
I will answer that question. Suffice it to say that,
almost instantly on the outbreak of the Great War
in 1 9 14, the headquarters of the China Naval Station
were moved to Singapore, and that, outside the British
Isles, no naval command was more vitally important
than that which had its shore quarters at Fort Canning.
To say more would be to raise questions which it is
no part of the business of a Singapore historian, nor
even of a Singapore prophet, to discuss.
Singapore is an island, and there be some who say,
'* What God has put asunder let no man rejoin." To
such it may be a consolation to know that the junction
contemplated will be incomplete. A great causeway
between the island of Singapore and the mainland of
the Peninsula is projected, but the ends of that cause-
way will be linked together by a bridge — at any rate,
for a time. It seems to me that this concession to
sentiment — if, indeed, it be a concession to that and
not to the unplumbed depths of submarine slime —
THE PROPHETIC VISION • 563
is likely to be temporary. Singapore is at present the
terminus . of a wavering, somewhat unstable single
line of rails, which stretches far away into Siam, links
vaguely with Burma, thence turns westward towards
India, and has a few loose ends pointing suggestively
due north to the vast and almost untapped centre of
the Chinese Empire. Through my glass darkly I
see a time when these loose ends will be linked with
new railways which give life and hope to China, and
I see the present wavering, unstable single line of rails,
first doubled, then trebled, then quadrupled as it passes
down the Malay Peninsula, over a broad highway
that has been made as solid as the rocks. And when
it reaches this island, I see the railway spread fan-wise,
and I count scores of lines which lead to Singapore's
harbour and docks. I see the whole vast service elec-
trified, and as the shades of evening are falling, I step
into a luxurious saloon at the great passenger station
where used to be Fort Canning, and I dine at mine
ease, and smoke my fragrant weed, and before midnight
I take my nightcap at a palatial hotel in Kuala Lumpur,
and go to bed in peace, and my nightmare is the recollec-
tion of a journey done in the flesh seventy years before
when Singapore was celebrating its Centenary, in the
year of grace 1919, and an extra inch of rain had washed
out the track, and I had fumed and steamed through
weary, weary hours somewhere in Johore waiting for
dusky sons of the Tida-apa East to mend the broken
track ; and when I awoke, I did not sigh for the " good
old days " — I was content with the future.
Casting a thought backward in search of prophetic
inspiration, one is half disposed to conclude that the
rulers of Singapore have revealed their genius more by
abstinence than by action — in other words, that their
success has been due to their fidelity to the principle
of laissez jaire. Here was open space, freedom to trade,
welcome to men of any colour from any nation big
or little, and, for all, justice and security in greater
measure than had previously been known in the East.
564 SINGAPORE'S FUTURE
Does the past, then, give us the best guide for the
FUTURE ? Only in a hmited degree. Space is no
longer open, because every yard of ground has become
valuable. Life is no longer simple, because the crowding
of many peoples towards this world-mart has made
it complex. Errors of the past menace the health
of the population. Strong guiding hands are needed
in order that the city may fulfil its destiny and be
worthy of its founder. A time is coming, not slowly
but swiftly, when the whole island of Singapore will
be one great town. Plantations will disappear, streets
and houses will multiply, population will rise beyond
the million long before another century has run its
course. The old Singapore has foul blots — human
warrens reeking with filth ' and saturated with the
germs of disease. Because development in the future
is to be rapid, the need for planning town expansion
wisely is imperative. Laissez faire would mean
more warrens, laying up for posterity worse problems
than the present generation has to face. So the Governors
of Singapore, imperial and municipal, should be men
of large vision and bold enterprise — not potterers
whose sole desire is to pass through the period of their
responsibility with a minimum of friction and to leave
office crowned with the halo of peaceful infertility.
There be some in whom the right spirit moves strongly,
and though the present may disregard them, the
FUTURE will honour their memory, and profit, perhaps,
by their labours. I refer to what is known as the
Housing Commission,^ but which was more. Appointed
in 191 7, its report published in 191 8 was the most
comprehensive survey ever made of Singapore's present
and FUTURE needs. The critic may not have been far
wrong who said that its gravest fault was the greatness
of its merit. It was the offering of strong meat to those
whose capacity does not reach beyond the digestion
* The members of this Commission were : Mr. W. George Maxwell, C.M.G.,
President; Mr. Roland St. J. Braddell ; Mr. James R. Lornie ; Dr.
G. A. Finlayson ; Mr. J. A. Ellas ; and Mr. Lee Choon Guan.
SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS 565
of pap ; but what it said should be done went not one
whit beyond what all who look earnestly to the future,
and recognise the obligations . of the present, admit
is necessary. If I could see a real will to plan boldly
and spend freely, I would not wriggle as I write about
the FUTURE — I would be all but sure of it. Shall we
say, then, what should be done ?
As I have said, the whole island of Singapore is
destined to become urban, and because its geographical
location is tropical, the planning of its streets, the
provision of its open spaces, the design, arrangement,
and distribution of its houses, shops, godowns and
factories are matters more vitally important than
they would be in a temperate zone. Great main arteries,
broad and handsome, should be formed, not mere
patchings up of existing roads, but lined so that the
cleansing and refreshing breezes that rise on the sea
may sweep along them unrestrained, sweetening and
purifying as they go. Cross roads should be wide also,
and dotted here and there at frequent intervals ; where-
ever the ground is favourable, there should be public
gardens, with trees and shrubs and flowers to give
restful shade and to kindle in the minds of the people
an appreciation of Nature's beauties. Factories should
be grouped near the harbour area and railway
terminus. Warehouses will naturally spring up in
the same vicinity, offices and shops should be in the
area close behind. There should be a clear and definite
reservations law for the residential areas. The European
quarter should be for Europeans, the Chinese quarter
for Chinese, the Japanese quarter for Japanese, the
Indian quarter for Indians. We are a cosmopolitan
community, and our great object must be to live to-
gether in perfect harmony, respecting each other's
customs and prejudices, not thrusting each upon the
other, but frankly acknowledging that one maij's
meat may be another man's poison, and that what
pleases one may distress another. But it must be re-
membered always that salus populi est suprema lex.
566 SINGAPORE'S FUTURE
No section of the community can claim a right to
live like pigs merely because it is content to do so.
The dark, airless, filthy hovel may be a centre whence
disease will spread itself near and far, and the right
of the individual is limited by the rights and interests
of the whole community. Half the present Singapore
should be demolished, and it can be done only by the
building of many houses on principles consistent with
the strictest laws of sanitation. That will be costly, but
in the long run it will be the greatest of all economies,
and the surest of all ways to promote health, prosperity,
and content. We must dare to spend boldly if we
would reap the interest of a sound investment for the
public welfare.
Will it be done ? One wonders, and without the
answer one cannot tell the future. What is most
probable is a prolonged but futile effort to patch up
the rags of past error ; and so heavy will be the penalty
in disease and death that at last the public conscience
will be fully roused, and some man, bolder and wiser
than his predecessor, will say "Be thorough" and
will lay the foundations upon which true progress
can be made.
There is one thing more that Singapore must have, and
will have, and it is a higher standard of education. The
conditions that exist are deplorable, and if they are not
mended, no increase in the mere bulk of business done,
or in the number of the population, will make Singapore
worthy to be called great. Chinese education of the
higher grades has never taken a firm hold here, because
the language of government is English and the language
of commerce is Chinoised Malay. We have exchanged
our rich supplies of natural products for the manufac-
tures of western nations, and have never aimed at self-
sufficiency. A great, prosperous, and progressive com-
munity cannot be content with educational conditions
as they exist. Even if we continue to be no more than
sellers of raw materials and buyers of finished articles,
the intellectual stagnation which such conditions produce
REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT? 567
would be fatal to the moral of the population. The
tendency to deterioration in the third and fourth genera-
tion of permanent settlers has been remarked, and it is
not entirely climatic. It is largely the consequence of
material prosperity unexalted by mental progression.
Intellectual development, through higher education, is
a physical necessity. It is imperative, therefore, that
we should recognise the present as parent of the
FUTURE, and that we should begin without delay the
great work of building up an educational system which
will enable men born in Singapore to become scholarly,
without going east or west in search of knowledge, since
here there will be available the highest and the best.
When the foundation-stones of a Centenary University
are laid, some of us may have passed behind the veil, but
those who remain will know that we have done one
great duty at least for posterity.
" East is East and West is West, and never the twain
shall meet." Often there is truth in a phrase, but some-
times also there is a lie. East and West have met in
Singapore, and though the process of mental amalga-
mation is slow, I have seen, even in the brief period of my
own experience — a mere tenth of the years during which
this Settlement has existed — some striking evidences of
gravitation towards a common level. The revolution in
China and the great war in Europe have forced all men's
minds to dwell upon the broad principles of democratic
freedom and popular government. In these ten years
I have seen the Asiatic population come fifty years
closer to the state which would make it possible to give
Malaya a system of representative self-government.
It would be rash, perhaps, to say that we are already
ripe for that great change ; but the time is not far distant
when we shall be ready, and I do fervently hope that,
guided by the great instinct which is surer than cold
reason, the Imperial Government will offer us the rights
of freemen before they are clamoured for in anger or in
discontent. We have here a land richly dowered by
Heaven, in a situation that half the world envies, with a
"—37
568 SINGAPORE'S FUTURE
population more complex than any other place possesses,
under an empire greater and more diverse than has ever
been known before. We have a hundred years of splen-
did prosperity behind us, a future which is glowing
with hope, wealth enough to realise our most ambitious
dreams, brains enough to mingle prudence in just pro-
portion with enterprise. I look beyond some obstacles
that bestrew our path and I see this fair city of Singapore,
fairer and nobler and greater than it has ever been,
pointed to as an example of how far East and West may
harmonise, and sending out men of learning and of power
to help others on the road to equal success and content.
Such is my vision of the future. Each must do his
part towards its realisation. To those who come after
will belong the privilege of improving upon oi^r work ;
but no truer words were ever spoken than those which
say that the present is the parent of the future. If
the vision splendid of a glorified Singapore is to mater-
ialise, we must be up and doing. We must look beyond
our own imperative necessities to the needs of our
successors.
Philosophers in all ages have debated on the life of
man, and have affirmed or denied a belief that he is
immortal. Well, there is one form of immortality in
progeny and there is another in work. What a man is
means much, but what a man does means more. There
be some who stuff themselves with knowledge till they
are deeply wise and then lie back content. There be
others who feel that it were better to be a shallow fool,
counting nothing in the scheme of things, than to be
learned and wise and yet passive. He that hath talents
is a traitor to his kind if he use them not. As a com-
munity we rise on stepping-stones of our dead selves to
higher things. Each generation makes its own record.
If we are feeble, the step we leave behind is no thicker
than a tissue ; if we are strong and earnest it is deep
and broad, and there is room on it for an honourable
record of our deeds. May it be the aspiration of our
own time to lay foundations that will be a mighty
AN ASPIRATION 569
incentive to others. The future is hidden from our
eyes. We dream of it, but it is the great unknown.
Changes there may be transcending our most daring
flights of fancy, and paHng the glow of our most lurid
search-lights. But if we are faithful to the light we
have, we shall not be false to any light that is to come —
we shall have done our best ; and when we lay our offering
on the knees of the gods, we may be sure that they will
cherish it with generous appreciation of our service.
CHAPTER XXIII
THE CENTENARY DAY AND ITS
CELEBRATION
By Dr. Gilbert E. Brooke
The foregoing History of Singapore during the first
hundred years of its existence may be concluded with
a brief record of the Centenary celebrations and their
prolegomena.
In March 191 8, the Government appointed a Committee
to report their views as to a scheme to commemorate
the forthcoming Centenary of Singapore. During May
and July four sessions were held, at the conclusion of
which the following report was unanimously adopted
and forwarded to Government, under date the ist
August 191 8 :
" We, the Committee appointed to consider and report
upon a scheme to celebrate the Centenary of Singapore,
have the honour to submit the following report :
" I. In our opinion there should be some permanent
institution erected by public subscription, supplemented
by Government aid, as a memorial of the Centenary.
"2. In response to a request made by us in the
public press, the following suggestions were received,
and carefully considered by us :
** (i) An art gallery.
** (ii) A pavilion pier by the Esplanade.
" (iii) A free hospital.
" (iv) A marine biological station.
** (v) A park or open space for games.
" (vi) An entomological research bureau.
" (vii) Reconstitution of the medical school.
*' (viii) A secondary college.
*' (ix) A university.
570
CELEBRATING THE CENTENARY 571
"3. We are unanimously of opinion that the most
suitable memorial is a scheme which will provide for
the advancement of the education of the Colony with a
view to laying securely the foundations upon which a
university may in course of time be established. There
appear to be three steps. Firstly, the establishment
of technical and higher grade schools ; secondly, when
the technical and higher grade schools have been
successfully established, the provision of science and
arts university colleges ; and thirdly, in the fullness
of time, a university — residential, teaching, and examin-
ing— ^with power to confer degrees in sciences and arts.
"4. It appears to us to be undesirable that we should
do more than outline in the above manner the educa-
tional scheme that we recommend. The details will
have to be filled in by a committee of educationists.
In support of our view that an educational scheme is
the best means of commemorating the Centenary of the
foundation of this Settlement, we would recall some
words of Sir Stamford Raffles in a minute which he
wrote on the establishment of the Malay College :
" ' Education must keep pace with commerce in
order that its benefits may be ensured and its evils
avoided ; and in our connection with these countries
it shall be our care that while with one hand we
carry to their shores the capital of our merchants,
the other shall be stretched forth to offer them
the means of intellectual improvement.'
" And, further, we would refer to a resolution passed
in Singapore on the ist January 1836, by a meeting
of subscribers to some monument intended to be
erected to the memory of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles :
" ' That it is the opinion of this meeting they
will best perpetuate the remembrance of the
eminent services rendered to this Settlement and
the commercial world generally by this distin-
guished individual by endeavouring to complete
the institution founded by him for the purposes
of education.'
"5. Apart from the permanent memorial, we consider
that the actual day of the Centenary (Thursday, the 6th
February 1919) should be marked in a befitting manner.
572 CENTENARY DAY AND CELEBRATION
It should be a public holiday in the Settlement. The poor
should be fed free on that day and the two following
days. There might be sports and a regatta — possibly
the New Year sports might be postponed to that date.
A pageant by school-children of the landing of Raffles
might well be organised.
" Processions of schools might be encouraged ; and
possibly a review of troops held. On the other hand,
processions of the nationalities who have found a home
in Singapore should be discouraged, as tending to osten-
tatious and extravagant expenditure. If, as may be
hoped, the end of war will then be in sight, the general
festivities will naturally be on a larger scale than would
be befitting at the present day. The manner of the
celebration of the day had better be left to a committee
specially appointed for that purpose.
" 6. We further recommend :
" (i) That a set of postage stamps, with special
centenary designs, be issued, and that the estimated
profit from the issue be credited to the Centenary
Fund.
" (ii) That the elephant in front of the Town
Hall be moved to the grass plot of the Supreme
Court or other suitable site ; and that the existing
expanse of road area and grass plot in front of the
Town Hall be rearranged, with a view to utilising
the artistic potentialities of the site and providing
an adequate setting for the statue of Raffles —
which should be moved from its present unsuitable
position.
" (iii) That a marble tablet, in commemoration
of the Centenary, be placed on the plinth of the
statue — at present without an inscription. The
tablet might be unveiled on the Centenary Day.
" 7. There should be an appeal for public subscriptions
on a large scale. The success of the scheme will depend
so very much upon the interest and enthusiasm that is
evoked by the appeal, that its conduct should be left
in the hands of a ' subscription committee.' "
As a sequel to this report, the Government appointed
a Committee under the Chairmanship of the Director
REMOVAL OF RAFFLES'S STATUE 573
of Education — the Honourable H. W. Firmstone, M.L.C.
— to consider the development of higher education,
which they favoured as being the best means by which
the Centenary should be permanently celebrated.
A further Committee, under the Chairmanship of Mr.
W. Peel, Municipal President, with Mr. J. Greig, of the
Chartered Bank, as Treasurer, was appointed to draw
up a programme for the 6th February 1919. The
arrangements determined on comprised three out-
standing features : the removal of the statue of Sir
Stamford Raffles from the Padang, where it had been
unveiled by Sir Frederick Weld on the 27th June 1887,
to a site in front of the Town Hall ; sea sports during the
morning ; and a great festival at the racecourse for the
school children of Singapore during the afternoon and
evening.
The work of removing the fine statue by Mr.
T. Woolner, R.A., was entrusted to Mr. W. Campbell
Oman, F.R.I.B.A., the Municipal Architect, who designed
an effective setting, of which the motif is a colonnade
and raised parterre in Italian Renaissance style, the
tiled parterre being ornamented with a marble-lined
fountain pool surrounded by semicircular seats and
flower-vases. The work, which is a valuable addition
to the architecture of Singapore, was carried out in
ferro-concrete in the remarkable space of less than
seven weeks. The removal of the weighty bronze
with its massive granite pedestal was accomplished
without a hitch. Careful search failed to reveal any
buried relics at its original site ; but a bottle containing
copies of local newspapers and Gazette, with various
coins and paper money, was buried a foot or two to the
north of the new foundation. On the dado of the
pedestal was a bronze shield of Raffles's arms. Below
this, a new tablet was affixed to await an unveiling
ceremony by the Governor. This tablet (which was
carried out by Mr. F. M. Luscombe, of Ribeiro and Co.,
and cast by the United Engineers Ltd.) bears the
following inscription :
574 CENTENARY DAY AND CELEBRATION
1819 — 1919
THIS TABLET TO THE MEMORY OF
SIR STAMFORD RAFFLES
TO WHOSE FORESIGHT AND GENIUS SINGAPORE
OWES ITS EXISTENCE AND PROSPERITY
WAS UNVEILED ON FEBRUARY 6tH I919
THE lOOTH ANNIVERSARY
OF THE FOUNDATION OF THE SETTLEMENT.
A further small tablet was erected on the posterior
panel of the dado, reading :
THIS STATUE ERECTED ON
THE ESPLANADE IN THE YEAR 1 88/
WAS REMOVED TO ITS PRESENT
SITE IN THE YEAR I919.
In its new position the statue faces Anderson Bridge
and the sea ; but the head is turned to the right, and
by a strange hap of chance the musing eyes are directed
towards the river, not far from the spot where the landing
is supposed to have first taken place.
Meanwhile preparations at the racecourse proceeded
apace, and a regular town sprang into being, as if by
magic, consisting of innumerable pavilions and side-shows
for the delectation of both children and adults.
At last the eventful anniversary arrived. The
weather, which for several weeks previously had been
squally and rather unsettled, proved more than kind,
and throughout a long and historical day the sun
showed an almost unclouded face.
From before seven o'clock people began to arrive,
and the two stands erected for the public filled rapidly.
The balconies of the Theatre and Memorial Hall had
been utilised for sight-seeing purposes, and this wide
distribution of accommodation helped very largely in
maintaining the comfort with which the proceedings
were conducted. Various points of vantage in the
UNVEILING CEREMONY 575
Government Buildings were also occupied, and alto-
gether there was a very large gathering of sightseers.
Shortly after seven o'clock in the morning the guard
of honour from the Manchester Regiment arrived, and
fell in for inspection behind the Hall. The naval
guard of honour, from H.M.S. Suffolk y commanded
by Lieutenant-Commander Hervey, R.N., and headed
by their naval band, marched into the enclosed space,
and took up a position on the right. Almost im-
mediately thereafter the guard of honour of the Man-
chester Regiment, under command of Captain McKelvey,
marched through the archway and took up a position
on the left. This guard included a large proportion
of men who had seen active service in the War.
A number of representative persons gathered round
the statue, amongst whom were : His Excellency
Vice- Admiral Sir Frederick Tudor Tudor, K.C.B., Com-
manding China Station ; His Excellency Major-General
Dudley Ridout, C.B., C.M.G., General Officer Command-
ing the Troops, S.S. ; the Hon. Mr. W. G. Maxwell, C.M.G.;
the Hon. Mr. F. S. James, C.M.G. ; Sir Edward Brockman,
K.C.M.G., Chief Secretary, F.M.S. ; the Chief Justice,
Sir John Bucknill, K.C. ; and other members of the
Bench ; Tunku Ibrahim of Johore, Dato Mohamed and
Dato Ismail, representing the Johore Government ;
Major Daud and Hadji Mohamed Said, representing
His Highness the Sultan of Johore ; the Hon. Colonel
Sir Arthur Adams, K.B.E., commanding Penang Volun-
teers ; Colonel G. A. Derrick, C.B.E., commanding
Singapore Volunteers ; Colonel Fox, commanding
M.S.V.R. ; the Naval and Military Staffs ; the whole
of the Consular body ; members of the Executive and
Legislative Councils ; Municipal Commissioners ; Heads
of Government Departments ; the Venerable Arch-
deacon Swindell ; Mr. E. R. Koek, Doyen of the Bar ;
Miss Buckle, representing Raffles Girls' School ; Mr.
C. M. Phillips, representing Raffles Institution ; Mr. C.
S. Lechner, the acting Netherlands Consul ; and many
others.
576 CENTENARY DAY AND CELEBRATION
A few minutes before the arrival of His Excellency,
some drops of rain fell from a passing cloud ; and, in
the brilliant sunshine, this produced a superb rainbow,
which was seen by those in the stands opposite to
encircle the statue and the great crowd assembled to
do honour to the memory of Raffles. This happy
augury for the future of the Colony is in the nature
of a strange coincidence, for exactly lOO years previously
Sir Stamford thought it worth recording on first landing
on the island of Singapore that a beautiful rainbow
was visible in the skies.
Promptly at 7.30 a.m. His Excellency arrived with
Lady Evelyn Young and Mrs. Peel, and after the guards
had smartly given the salute and the National Anthem
had been played by the naval band, His Excellency
inspected the guards and thereafter proceeded to a
position in front of the statue, accompanied by Mr.
Peel.
The latter then made a few remarks, in which he
referred to the removal of the statue and to its new
setting. He concluded by asking His Excellency to
accept a gold Centenary medal, and to unveil the new
tablet on the pedestal.
His Excellency, in reply, said :
" Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank
you, Mr. Peel, and the members of the Centenary Com-
mittee, for giving me the honour and privilege of unveil-
ing this tablet to the memory of Sir Stamford Raffles,
who, 100 years ago, with wonderful foresight, founded
this Settlement, then a mangrove swamp, with some
150 inhabitants, and I thank the Committee for this
grateful memento which you have presented to me. It
seems incredible that anyone who was removed from
school at the ekrly age of 14 and appointed as an
extra clerk in the East India Company should stand
out as one of the most marvellous men the British Empire
has produced. It must be remembered that in those
days a man had great advantages if he belonged to
a family of social importance : Sir Stamford, although
of good origin, had not that advantage ; his success
THE GOVERNOR'S SPEECH 577
was entirely due to his own personal exertions and
the exceptional gifts with which he was endowed. His
work was not appreciated at the time ; he had many
enemies even in high places ; he had much to contend
with, and it was most fortunate for the Empire that
he founded Singapore, this child of his, without obtaining
the views of his superiors. A week after the founding
of Singapore Raffles wrote that he had accomplished
the fact, and the authorities were obliged to acquiesce
in adding Singapore to the Empire. His child has
grown, as he prophesied, a free port, the emporium and
pride of the East, and may the words he used when he
left the Colony on the 23rd June 1 823 never be forgotten.
" I must quote his words — they cannot be quoted
too often :
" ' That Singapore will long and always remain a
free port, and that no taxes on trade or industry
will be established to check its future rise and
prosperity, I can have no doubt.'
'^ In 1822 Sir Stamford stated that the total tonnage
arrived in 2 J years since the founding of Singapore
was 161,000 tons, and the estimated imports and exports
;£2 ,000,000. The tonnage that now enters this port
yearly is over six million, and the value of imports
and exports in 191 7 was 119 millions sterling. These
figures show how Sir Stamford's child has grown, and
they emphasise the extraordinary foresight of this
truly great man.
''It is pitiful how little those who have not been
out here know of one of England's greatest men, or
of Singapore. He seems to be known by many at
home merely as one who had something to do with
the founding of the Zoological Society, and Singapore
is known as a hot place with a fair amount of shipping.
I remember, when in 19 10 I was in Scotland on leave,
words to this effect being said to me. I stated that
Sir Stamford Raffles was the founder of the Zoological
Society, England, and its first President. I gave my
views with regard to him. I further remarked that the
tonnage of shipping that entered Singapore was double
that which entered Glasgow, Leith, Aberdeen, and
Dundee taken together.
578 CENTENARY DAY AND CELEBRATION
*' I confess that I had a Hking for the old site
where this statue was unveiled thirty-two years ago : it
was, I thought, in a commanding and dignified position.
I have no doubt, however, that the Committee are
right in having had Sir Stamford's statue moved to this
site ; they consider that he will in this place be brought
more prominently to the notice of the public, and a
change which will bring about a wider knowledge of
one of the greatest of the sons of Great Britain is a
change well conceived.
" I am indeed sorry that my friend His Highness the
Sultan of Johore is unable to be present to-day. I
received a telegram from him yesterday expressing
his regret that, owing to an attack of fever, he was
prevented from attending, and he wished ' every success
to the day's celebration.' It was his ancestor who signed
the treaty with Sir Stamford, a treaty which the British
Government has never regretted, and I am sure that
His Highness will say that he has never regretted it,
and that under British protection his State has pro-
gressed and prospered with Singapore.
" Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, the older
the world becomes, the greater will be the place assigned
in history to Sir Stamford Raffles. Appreciating
the honour which has devolved on me, I now unveil
this tablet to his memory."
The green and golden silk curtains having been drawn
aside, the presentation of six addresses followed. These
were handsomely printed on silk, in most cases enclosed
in silver caskets, and were presented by the following
representatives of the various bodies concerned :
Singapore Chamber of Commerce, the Hon. Mr.
C. W. Darbishire and Mr. F. L. Tomlin ; Chinese
Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Seet Teong Wah and Mr.
Tan Siang Cheng ; Straits Chinese British Association,
Mr. Koh San Hin and Mr. Tan Kheam Hock ; Mo-
hammedan Advisory Board, Haji Mohamed Eusope
and another ; Chinese Community of Penang, Mr. Lim
Eu To ; United Malaya Council, Colonel the Hon. Sir
A. R. Adams and the Hon. Mr. R. C. M. Kindersley.
PRESENTATION OF ADDRESSES 579
As an example of the addresses presented, the follow-
ing is the text of the address from the Singapore
Chamber of Commerce and the reply thereto :
" May it please Your Excellency,
** We, the members of the Singapore Chamber of
Commerce, as representing the mercantile interests of
the Port of Singapore, crave leave to tender to Your
Excellency our respectful congratulations on the occa-
sion of the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary
of the founding of the Settlement.
" We rejoice that it has fallen to the lot of Your
Excellency to be the holder, and the longest holder,
of the important office of Governor of the Straits
Settlements on this great day.
'' The illustrious man whose memory we are honouring,
in addressing the merchants of Singapore on the eve of
his final departure from the Colony, uttered the
following words :
" ' It has happily been consistent with the policy
of Great Britain, and accordant with the principles
of the East India Company, that Singapore should
be established a free port ; and that no sinister, no
sordid view, no consideration either of political im-
portance or pecuniary advantage, should interfere
with the broad and liberal principles on which the
British interests have been established.
" ' That Singapore will long and always remain a
free port, and that no taxes on trade or industry
will be established to check its future rise and
prosperity, I can have no doubt.'
" The wondrous growth of the trade of the Port
during the first century of its existence is in a very
large measure due to the fact that the wise and far-
seeing policy embarked upon in its early days had always
been adhered to in full integrity by those responsible
for the Government of the Colony.
" The whole civilised world is now faced with the
most momentous problems. We realise that the great
nations now gathered together in solemn conclave
in Europe have almost insuperable difficulties to over-
58o CENTENARY DAY AND CELEBRATION
come in their endeavour to improve the conditions
of hfe and to advance the prosperity of their peoples.
" We trust that their dehberations may have far-
reaching and beneficent results, and that, simultaneously
with the dawn of a new era, Singapore may enter upon
her second century assured of the blessings which
must inevitably flow from a bold and enlightened
policy, based on liberty and justice, the two guiding
principles of British rule.
" On behalf of the Singapore Chamber of Commerce.
" C. W. Darbishire, Chairman ; F. L. Tomlin, Vice-
Chairman; A. Agnew, R. J. Addie, W. F. Nutt, John
Greig, J. C. Peter, John Robertson, W. Lowther Kemp,
W. G. Hennings, Committee ; Gattey and Bateman,
Secretaries.
" 6th February, 1919."
In reply His Excellency said :
'' It is, as the Singapore Chamber of Commerce
states, a day for congratulation — a day to honour the
great Administrator, Sir Stamford Raffles, who prevented
the Settlement of Malacca from being abandoned
by us, and who by his great genius and foresight founded
Singapore. The words which he used when he left
the Colony on the 23rd June 1823, and which are quoted
in your address, cannot be quoted too often. They
must always be kept in remembrance, and this Chamber
of Commerce, established nineteen years after the
founding of Singapore, has been steadfast in watching
and ensuring for eighty-one years that the policy
laid down by Sir Stamford shall be adhered to. This
dreadful war has ended, as all Britishers were confident
it would, by the unconditional surrender of Germany,
and I am sure that Singapore will enter upon her second
century assured of the blessings which must be the out-
come of a victorious peace. I thank you warmly for
your address, and for the beautiful casket in which it
is contained."
At the conclusion of the acceptance of addresses
telegrams of congratulation were read from the Gov-
ernor-General of the Netherlands East Indies, from
the Governor of the East Coast of Sumatra, from the
SERVICE IN THE CATHEDRAL 581
Sultan of Perak, from the Singapore Community in
Selangor, and from Penang. Wreaths were then laid
at the foot of the statue from the Legislative Council,
the Civil Service, the Consular Corps, the Municipal
Commissioners, Raffles Institution, Raffles Girls' School,
the Chamber of Commerce, the Straits Settlements
Association, the Bar Committee, the Straits Chinese
British Association, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce,
the Chinese Advisory Board, the Sikh Advisory Board,
the Hindu Association, the Singapore Family Benefit
Society, the Cingalese Community, the Poh Leung
Kok Committee, the Convent School, Sri Guru Singh,
the Tamil Community, and Mr. Manasseh Meyer.
This act of reverence to the memory of a great man
completed the public ceremonial, and, as His Excellency
turned to leave, he paid a happy homage to the founder
of the Colony by saluting his statue before quitting
the place of honour. Thereafter the band played
the National Anthem, and His Excellency and party
left for the Cathedral, where a short service of thanks-
giving was conducted with a full choir. The Venerable
Archdeacon Swindell and the Revs. Dexter Allen, B. N.
Miles, and R. Richards officiated, and a large number
of naval and military officers, heads of departments,
and representatives of civil life attended. The service
opened with prayer, after which the hymn " All people
that on earth do dwell " was sung, and followed by
the Psalm " God be merciful unto us and bless us."
The Rev. Dexter Allen read the special lesson from
Ecclesiasticus xliv. 1-15 — the famous reading now so
well known. After this a special collect of. thanks-
giving was said, in which thanks were rendered for all
the mercies vouchsafed to the Colony, and particularly
for the labours of Thomas Stamford Raffles in its founda-
tion. The service closed with the hymn " Now thank
we all our God," the Blessing, and the singing of the
National Anthem.
During the forenoon a peal of rejoicing was rung
from the Cathedral bells, whilst all day the ships in
582 CENTENARY DAY AND CELEBRATION
port and various buildings in town flew flags and banners
in honour of the happy occasion.
The sea sports commenced soon after the unveiling
ceremony, and the usual New Year programme of
sailing and rowing races was successfully carried out
in the presence of great numbers of a brightly arrayed
populace, who viewed the scene from Johnston's Pier
and Fullerton Road. Glorious sunshine and a freshening
breeze added zest to the occasion, and heightened the
interest in the racing. Subscribers and their friends
were accommodated on s.s. Kinta, kindly lent for
the occasion by the Straits Steamship Company, from
which an excellent view could be obtained of the racing
and the gaily bedecked harbour.
Following the usual custom of New Year's Day,
the misogynistic portals of the Singapore Club opened
to welcome the fair sex to the hospitality of the tiffin-
table.
But perhaps the event of the day which was looked
forward to with most interest by the general public
was the procession of children of the various schools
in Singapore, which converged towards the Racecourse
shortly before 4 p.m.
The Johore band led the way, followed by four Raffles
boys bearing aloft the green, white, and black standard
of Raffles Institution. Next in succession came St.
Joseph's Institution, with its green and white banner
heading the long line of boys, flanked by the Brothers
and carrying numerous flags. Then followed the
Anglo-Chinese School (blue and gold) ; St. Andrew's,
with its beautiful banner of blue and white, held proudly
in the van ; the Victoria Bridge School ; St. Anthony's
Boys' School ; the Outram Road School ; the A.C.F.S.,
Adventist, and Pearl's Hill Schools. Then, as the last
four of the almost unending line had passed to their
places, the Volunteer band ushered in a long procession
of girls, who made a pretty sight, dressed in white, and
carrying a brave array of banners and flags. The pride
of place was accorded to Raffles Girls' School, who were
DEMONSTRATION AT RACECOURSE 583
followed by the Convent girls, with the Sisters on
either side, and bearing banners of exceptionally well-
executed design.
Among the schools which passed one after the other
were St. Anthony's Convent, with banners of brown
and pink ; the Methodist Girls' Schools, with pink
and green ; the Fairfield School, with blue and gold ;
and the Singapore Chinese Girls' School, with pink
and mauve.
The colour heightened as the various Malay schools
came into view with banners, a statue of Sir Stamford
Raffles, and flags innumerable ; while the Chinese
schools, with wonderfully conceived banners and shields,
contributed to the kaleidoscopic effects of the triumphal
progress.
Divorced for the day from its usual purpose, the
Racecourse presented such a scene as probably it had
never done before. All the afternoon and evening
there moved around and across it a multitude of people,
roughly estimated at 75,000. To the native the many
sheds proved the attraction. To the European there
was perhaps as much of interest in the crowd itself.
The dresses formed a web of colour that was finely
attractive in itself, and not the less so because they
were constantly changing. It would have greatly
cheered the founder of Singapore could he have seen
how, a hundred years after he landed, members of
nearly all races and all creeds were assembled to do
him honour.
There were several very attractive shows, including
native dancing and Malay ronggeng. In most of the
sheds ronggengs were given, and mention should be
made of those erected by the clubs of the Malaya Foot-
ball Association, twenty-four in number. The Moslem
community had a fine Durbar ; and the Malay Marine
Club had a miniature H.M.S. Mo7tmouth, manned by
smart-looking Malays in uniform. Smoke from the
funnels and an occasional shot from one of her guns
added to the attractiveness of the novelty. Nor was
11—38
584 CENTENARY DAY AND CELEBRATION
war by land forgotten. The Mohammedan StarUght
Club had erected a very business-like fort, with men
on guard keeping a sharp look-out. Boriak dances
in the shed erected by the Singapore Pranakan Club
were greatly appreciated. The Arab community had
two pavilions near the Golf Club, where refreshments
were pressed upon all comers. Each left, too, with
a souvenir of the occasion.
All the afternoon a continuous stream of people
passed through the various attap-sheds. Refreshments
were provided free, and the poorer classes were well
looked after. There were also innumerable side-shows,
which included swings, " Aunt Sally," joy- wheel, etc.
The roof of the joy- wheel shed collapsed, but fortunately
no one was injured. A specially erected shed was
allotted to the St. John's Ambulance Brigade, where
twenty-six men and two ladies were on duty ; but
fortunately there were no casualties. The boy scouts
were also in attendance.
And so the day waned. The schools remustered
and tramped away. The heat of the day gave place
to the cool breeze of a tropic starlight night.
About 9 p.m. the Racecourse took on a new lease
of life, when a display of fireworks for a couple of hours
once more attracted a vast concourse of people — thus
happily described by an onlooker :
" The scene at night when the fireworks were set
off was memorably picturesque. From the Club stand
it was soft and glowing, any little hint of garishness
being toned by distance. It was festival at its best,
without undue noise or the more ebullient manifestations
of joy, but with a quiet sense of happiness over all.
The chief feeling left in the mind by a walk round the
thronged sheds was that the various native communities
had splendidly realised the importance of the day,
and had risen to it finely. Were it for nothing more
than the fact that hospitality was generously dispensed
to all and sundry the occasion would be a memorable
one. But there was more than that : there was behind
all the celebration the pleasing thought that the native
THE FINAL NOTE 585
communities had risen, not less than the European,
to a conception of what the day meant to Singapore."
Perhaps it was with rehef, however, that many tired
Httle mortals — aye, and grown-ups, too — heard the strains
of the National Anthem played by the Johore band
at about 1 1 p.m.
Thus closed the birthday of Singapore, long to be
remembered, we hope, by the 8,000 or 9,000 school
children who took a joyous part in celebrating the
occasion.
The first century of its history, now ended, has been
a long romance, and Singapore stands on the threshold
of an unknown future pregnant with potential prosperity.
We can but hope that the dreams and efforts of the
past will prove to be an inspiration and stimulus to
those who, during the coming centuries, will shape
the destinies of the land which lay so near the heart
of its great founder —
SIR THOMAS STAMFORD RAFFLES.
FINIS
CHRONOLOGY
1819
Jan. 28 Raffles landed at Singapore.
Feb. 6 Treaty signed ; British flag hoisted.
Mar. Opium and spirit farms opened. PoHce force started.
182 1 Pohce force of twenty, under Mr. F. J. Barnard,
supported by the merchants.
1822
Oct. 28 Committee formed to draw up new plans for the town
Botanical Gardens, established at back of Fort
Canning.
Nov. Government House built on Fort Canning.
School opened for boys and girls near corner of Bras
Basah Road and New Bridge Road by Rev. G. H.
Thompson.
First bridge across the river (joining North and South
Bridge Roads).
First record of number of craft entering the harbour :
139 square-rigged vessels, 1,434 native craft.
1823
Jan. European burial-ground moved to slopes of Fort
Canning.
Feb. Twelve magistrates appointed.
Mar. II Colonel Farquhar stabbed by Syed Yassin.
April I Raffles called a meeting to found Singapore Institution.
15 First meeting of the Trustees of Singapore Institution.
May Colonel Farquhar deposed. John Crawf urd appointed
Resident. Singapore placed under Bengal. Gaming
licences stopped. Barracks of native soldiers
removed to Sepoy lines.
June 9 Raffles left Singapore.
1824
Jan. The Singapore Chronicle newspaper established.
First census taken, population 10,683 (including
seventy-four Europeans).
Feb. 6 First official dinner.
Aug. 2 Final treaty with Malay chiefs, in which they re
nounced all right and title to Singapore.
587
588 CHRONOLOGY
1826
Aug. 14 Robert FuUerton appointed Governor.
1827
Mar. 6 Court of Judicature opened for Prince of Wales Island,
Singapore, and Malacca.
April 17 First steamship, the Dutch Van der Capellan, called
at Singapore.
1828
June First Criminal Sessions in Singapore.
1829
Mar. Lord William Bentinck, the Governor-General of
India, visited Singapore.
Oct. Billiard Club foimded.
1830
Feb. Serious fire in Circular Road ; business suspended for
a week.
May 25 Singapore, Penang, and Malacca put under Bengal.
June 29 Court of Judicature closed. Business seriously incon-
venienced.
First public entertainment — a, violin recital.
1831
June Band of the 29th Madras Native Infantry allowed
to play once a week on the plain (the Esplanade).
1832
Oct. 18 Roman Catholics given a piece of land in Bras Basah
Road (now occupied by the Brothers' School) for
purposes of religious instruction.
Dec. Seat of government transferred from Penang to
Singapore.
In consequence of the Government inaction, Singa-
pore Chinese equipped four boats to deal with
the pirates.
1833
Mr. Coleman, Superintendent of Public Works :
North and South Bridge Roads constructed.
April 25 The new Recorder, Sir Benjamin Malkin, arrived.
Oct. Earthquake shock in Singapore.
Dec. 7 Mr. Murchison sworn in as Governor of the Settlements.
1834
Jan. I First regatta held.
Aug. I An elementary school opened at the foot of Fort
Canning (nearly opposite the end of High Street).
1835
April 23 A memorial sent to the Governor-General and to the
King in Council on the subject of piracy.
Oct. The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Adviser first
issued.
CHRONOLOGY 589
1835
Nov. 9 Foundation-stone of St. Andrew's Church laid.
30 St. Andrew's Day first celebrated by a dinner and by
a ball the day after.
1836
A fives court built.
Mar. 26 Armenian Church in Hill Street consecrated.
Aug. 31 Soda water made locally first advertised.
1837
Feb. 8 Chamber of Commerce established.
Dec. Singapore Institution (now Rafiles Institution) first
used as a school.
1839
May The first vessel built in Singapore launched.
1840
Oct. 30 H.C.S. Nemesis arrived, the first steamer via the Cape.
Dec. I A branch of the Union Bank of Calcutta opened, the
first bank in Singapore.
1841
Government survey of boundary claims.
1843
Feb.
23, 25 First race meeting and race ball.
Mar. A road completed to the top of Bukit Timah.
June 18 Foundation-stone of the Church of the Good Shepherd
laid.
Mar. 4 Girls' school opened in Raffles Institution.
1844
July 25 Foundation-stone of Tan Tock Seng's Pauper Hospital
laid at Pearl's Hill.
1845
First Masonic Lodge opened. Bukit Timah Road
extended to Kranji. The Esplanade enclosed with
posts and chains.
July 15 The Straits Times, a weekly morning paper, first
appeared.
Aug. 4 First P. and O. mail arrived.
1846
Dec. 18 Labuan ceded to the British. First Directory, com-
piled by R. C. Woods, published.
1847
Feb. 6 Foundation-stone of a new gaol laid.
1850
Feb. 17 Visit of the Marquis of Dalhousie, Governor-General.
May 24 Foundation-stone of Horsburgh Lighthouse laid.
1851
April Sailors' Home started.
590 CHRONOLOGY
1851
Sept. I Prince of Wales Island, Malacca, and Singapore placed
directly under the Supreme Government of India.
Dec. 14 Foundation-stone laid of the Church of St. Joseph.
1852
May I Brothers' School opened.
Aug. 18 A beginning of the present convent buildings made
with the corner house of Bras Basah Road and
Victoria Street.
1854
May 5-17 Serious riots amongst the Chinese.
24 Foundation-stone of Raffles Lighthouse laid.
July 8 Volunteer Rifle Corps started.
1856
Mar. 4 Foundation-stone of St. Andrew's Church (present
cathedral) laid by the Bishop of Calcutta.
1857
Feb. 14 Volunteer Rifle Corps presented with colours.
Tan Tock Seng's Hospital transferred to Balestier
Plain.
1859
May Fort Canning built.
Nov. 24 Telegraphic communication estabhshed between
Singapore and Batavia.
1862
Jan. 25 Consecration of St. Andrew's Church.
Sept. Library removed from the Raffles Institution to the
Town Hall.
1863
Jan. I Stamp Act brought into force.
1864
May 24 Gas lamps first used in the streets.
1865
Feb. Coleman's Bridge finished.
1867
April I Straits Settlements transferred to the Crown.
1871
Jan. I AU debtors in gaol discharged under new Debtors
Ordinance.
5 Penang-Madras cable opened. Netherlands India
S.N. Co. to Batavia established.
Feb. II First meeting of the Singapore Railway Co., Ltd.
Mar. Serious Ghee Hin-Hock Hin riots at Bukit Timah :
seventy-eight volunteers stationed at Fort Fullerton.
10 Kampong Glam Masonic Hall consecrated.
16 King of Siam visited Singapore.
June 10 Singapore and Hongkong united by telegi'aph cable.
CHRONOLOGY 591
1871
July 4 Selangor Forts destroyed by H.M.S. Rinaldo,
Oct.
21-26 Serious riots, Singapore.
Dec. 12 Concert in aid of Chicago fire sufferers, Tov/n Hall,
Singapore.
1872
Jan. First challenge for shooting match Shanghai v.
Singapore.
Feb. 28 PubHc meeting concerning the New Harbour Railway.
Mar. I Symbols first used on flag-staffs.
May 18 First issue of 5, 10, and 20-cent pieces.
June 25 Bronze elephant erected in front of Town Hall to
commemorate first visit of King of Siam to
Singapore.
Aug. 6 Malacca Weekly News established.
28 H.I.H. the Grand Duke Alexis Alexandrovitch visited
Singapore.
Oct. 29 Chinese riots, Singapore.
Nov. 6 Messrs. Joshua Brothers failed. Run on Chartered
Mercantile Bank, Singapore.
Dec. 28 Singapore declared under the Peace Preservation
Ordinance.
1873
Jan. I Import and Export Departments amalgamated.
8 Militia Bill introduced.
Feb. 4 Penang protests against abolition of oflftce of Lieu-
tenant-Governor.
Mar. 29 Clyde Terrace Market corner-stone laid with Masonic
honours.
April 30 Service of plate presented to Hon. T. Scott, M.L.C.,
by Tanjong Pagar Dock shareholders.
May 5 First professional dramatic company visits Singapore.
June II Demolition of Fort Fullerton begun.
July
17-31 Cholera epidemic in Singapore.
Aug. 19 Slight shock of earthquake.
Sept. 29 Three Unofficial Members of the Legislative Council
resigned on " The AboUtion of Grand Jury ques-
tion."
Nov. 18 Eastern and Australian line of mail steamers inau-
gurated.
Dec. I Cattle murrain, Singapore.
1874
The sovereign, $4-80 ; freight to London 55s. ; tin,
3i| ; Raffies School fee, 15 cents a month.
Feb.
3
Mar.
II
May
Aug.
Oct.
15
I
10
Dec.
18
1875
Jan.
Feb.
13
13
24
April
May
I
25
June
19
Sept.
Nov.
5
2
592 CHRONOLOGY
1874
Jan. 20 Treaty (determining powers of British Resident, Perak,
etc. etc.) signed at Pangkor.
Local postage reduced to 2 cents for half ounce.
E. & A.L.N. Co.'s steamer Sunfop wrecked near
Hongkong.
Light on North Sands first exhibited.
Post Office removed to Fort Fullerton.
Slight shocks of earthquake felt in Tanglin district.
Botanical Gardens opened to the public.
Mr. J. G. Davidson appointed Resident, Selangor.
Mutiny, Criminal Prison ; Mr. D. H. Dent, Superinten-
dent, mortally wounded.
E. & A. mail steamer Gothenburg wrecked ; 103 fives
lost.
Overland parcel post came into operation.
Stone beacon, Sultan Shoal, destroyed by lightning.
Nine convicts (gaol mutineers) executed, old Sepoy
lines.
Hack gharry strike.
Mr. J. W. W. Birch assassinated at Passir Salak,
Perak. '
Nov. 7 Captain Innes, R.E., killed in action in Perak.
1876
Feb. 8 Signalman's bungalow. Mount Faber, destroyed by
fire.
Mar. II Government schooner Horsburgh launched and chris-
tened by Miss Jervois.
27 S.P.C.A. formed with Mr. D. F. A. Hervey as Hon.
Secretary.
Dato Sagor, of Perak, lodged in Singapore Civil Prison.
Maharaja of Johore appointed G.C.M.G.
Mr. Whampoa publicly invested C.M.G.
Cheang Hong Lim presented $3,000 for planting the
green now bearing his name.
Singapore Amateur Dramatic Corps revived and
performed Helping Hands.
New steam sawmills opened at Sandy Point.
Fire at Messrs. Powell and Co.'s godown ; damage
$30,000.
Peace treaty signed with the Chiefs of Negri Sembilan.
Singapore Mutual Improvement Society established.
Sultan Abdullah of Perak deposed.
Straits Settlements admitted into Postal Union.
Cholera epidemic in Singapore.
28
May
Aug.
31
10
8
Sept.
25
Oct.
4
17
Nov.
28
1877
Feb. 3
Mar.
April
29
I
i877
April 7
i8
May
5
15
June
20
July
Aug.
Oct.
19
I
5
Nov.
4
Dec.
5
1878
April
May
8
24
26
Nov.
16
1879
Jan.
30
Feb.
Mar.
14
I
April
4
14
18
May
July
Sept.
I
4
29
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
24
14
2
27
1880
Feb.
I
16
April
20
CHRONOLOGY 593
Penang-Rangoon cable completed.
Great fire, Tanjong Pagar Dock.
Fire, Messrs. Jamie and Co.'s storerooms and Emmer-
son's Tiffin -rooms.
Foundation-stone of St. Andrew's Mission House laid.
Sultan AUie of Johore died at Umbye, Malacca.
The Perak chiefs deported to Mahe, Seychelles.
Foundation-stone laid, Presbyterian Church.
H. A. K. Whampoa, C.M.G., M.L.C., gazetted Chinese
Consul for Singapore.
Straits Branch Royal Asiatic Societj^ formed.
Singapore branch of Hongkong and Shanghai Bank
opened.
Singapore Volunteer Corps reorganisation commenced.
Collision between P. & O. steamer Khedive and Dutch
mail steamer Voorwarts.
Mr. C. H. Lloyd, Superintendent of Dindings, murdered.
Prussian Order of the Crown presented to the Maha-
raja of Johore. ,
Singapore new gaol foundation-stone laid by Sir
W. C. F. Robinson.
Debating Society formed.
Government schooner Horsburgh wrecked on the
Cyrene shoal.
General Grant entertained at Government House.
Foundation-stone of Masonic Hall,Coleman Street, laid.
Captain E. M. Shaw, Lieutenant-Governor of Malacca,
died.
Graving Dock, Tanjong Pagar, opened.
H.R.H. the Duke of Genoa visited Singapore.
Singapore Club, Chamber of Commerce and Exchange
building opened.
New light on flag-staff. Fort Canning, lit.
S.S. Braemar Castle caught fire at Tanjong Pagar.
First St. Andrew's Ball at Singapore Club.
Masonic Hall, Singapore, consecrated.
Packet service via Southampton ceased.
Jinrikishas imported from Shanghai.
Outbreak of beri-beri in the Criminal Gaol.
One hundred attap-houses destroyed by fire near New
Harbour Dock.
594 CHRONOLOGY
1880
April 27 Public banquet to W. H. Read, Esq.
31 Remains of H. A. K. Whampoa, C.M.G., M.L.C.,
shipped to China.
June 15 Council protested against payment of the whole of
Perak War expenses.
Prince Heinrich of Germany visited Singapore.
Cape St. James's light opened for semaphoric service.
Proposed 188 1 census caused a scare among the natives.
Signora Carlotta Patti at Singapore.
Singapore Steam Laundry opened.
Mr. G. M. Barclay, of Trafalgar Estate, killed by a fall
from Town Hall verandah.
Presentation of Perak War medal, Town Hall.
Messrs. McAlister and Co.'s store destroyed by fire.
First execution of a female in Singapore since it
came under British rule.
Sept.
Oct.
14
Nov.
Dec.
27
I
21
22
1881
Jan.
Mar.
16
2
28
April
May
3
6
June
I
10
General strike of hack gharry syces.
Singapore Fire Brigade organised.
Malay Vocabulary, by Mr. F. A. Swettenham (now Sir
Frank Swettenham), published.
English troops withdrawn from Malacca.
Singapore and Penang Chambers of Commerce advise
discontinuance of mail subsidy to B.LS.N. Co.
H.M. King David Kelakaua paid a visit to Singapore.
Telephone Exchange opened.
Petition submitted to H.E. the Governor, concerning
Indian immigration into Native States.
July I Postage between Singapore and Penang reduced to
4 cents per ounce.
Aug. 19 Presentation to Captain W. Joyce, s.s. Phya Pekhet,
by Government officers and others.
Charter for North Borneo Co. passed.
Masonic banquet to W. H. Read, Esq., on his return
to Singapore.
Chinese village of Seletar destroyed by a thunder-
storm.
Yacht Club formed.
Formosa lightship reached Singapore.
Royal Humane Society's medal presented to Mr. E. A.
Watson for saving and attempting to save life in
Johore Straits.
Perak War medal to W. A. Pickering.
First exhibition of Sketching Club.
Mr. John Cameron, proprietor and editor of Straits
Times, died.
Sept.
26
12
13
Oct.
Nov.
31
4
17
Dec.
6
29
i882
Jan.
10
Feb.
25
6
12
25
Mar.
2
6
CHRONOLOGY 595
Prince Albert Victor and Prince George of Wales at
Singapore.
Volunteers' Martini-Henry Rifle Club formed.
First regatta of Singapore Yacht Club.
Hon. W. Willans, Colonial Treasurer, retired.
Lord Harris, Lord Zouche, and Mr. Tufnell gave an
exhibition of cricket on the Esplanade.
Engineers' Association Rooms opened, High Street.
Official inspection of new Criminal Prison and Hospital,
Sepoy lines.
8 Singapore Sketching Club exhibition under .new title
of Singapore Art Club.
April 5 Purse presented to Mr. C. Stringer in appreciation of
services as Honorary Secretary, Singapore Cricket
Club.
Prisoners removed to new gaol.
Failure of Messrs. Maclaine, Eraser and Co.
Tan Kim Seng Memorial Fountain unveiled.
Sailors' Rest, Tanjong Pagar Road, opened.
Dangerous Societies Suppression Ordinance came into
force.
Chinese riot, Kampong Glam.
Old Post Office demolition commenced.
Combat with an escaped python at Raffles Museum.
Masonic dramatic performance. Town Hall.
First examination for Government Industrial Scholar-
ships.
1883
Jan. I Malay collection for Fisheries Exhibition on view in
Singapore.
9 Great fire, McAlister's, Battery Road.
27 Civil Service and Bar dinner to the Hon. Thos.
Braddell, C.M.G., on his leaving the Colony.
Mar. 16 Prospectus of Straits Insurance Company, Limited,
issued.
April 4 One hundred native houses destroyed by fire,
Kampong Kapor.
Penang petitioned that the title of its chief executive
officer be restored to Lieutenant-Governor.
May 29 Roman CathoUc Church dedicated, Johore.
June I Telephonic communication opened between Singapore
and Johore.
July 27 Fatal explosion. Mount Wallich.
Aug.
26, 27 Volcanic eruptions at Krakatoa.
13
May
9
19
20
June
I
Sept.
5
16
Oct.
22
Nov.
20
Dec.
13
596 CHRONOLOGY
Government s.s. Sea Belle left London.
$7,500 remitted to Batavia for relief of sufferers from
Krakatoa volcanic eruptions.
Nisero wrecked on Sumatra coast.
Singapore (Steam) Tramway Co. 's prospectus issued.
Ball to H.H. the Maharaja of Johore, Town Hall.
Exhibition of Dennys-Cuff system of electric lighting.
Mr. Robert Jamie, of dispensary fame, left Singapore.
Panther killed in Carrington House.
Tanjong Katong Hotel opened.
Widows' and Orphans' Government Pension Fund
established.
PubHc dinner to H.E. Sir F. Weld.
Sayle and Co. , Ltd. , prospectus issued.
Thirty-nine houses demolished by fire, Kampong Kapor.
Issue of 2-cent post-cards and newspaper rate reduced
to 2 cents.
Oriental Bank Corporation suspended payment.
Piracy outside New Harbour.
Five Malay pirates executed.
Survivors of Nisero crew arrived at Penang.
New Oriental Bank opened.
Ladies' Lawn Tennis Club opened.
First general meeting of Tanjong Pagar Land Co.
First issue of local post-cards.
Garrison Church opened.
Singapore Insurance Company established.
Serious riots, Trafalgar Estate.
New bungalow at Seletar finished.
First rails of steam tramways laid.
Straits Branch Imperial Federation League established.
Water first turned into 24-in. main by H.E. the
Acting Governor.
Children's Home opened, Sophia Road.
19 Singapore Amateur Dramatic and Musical Society
made its debut at the Town HaU in Freezing a
Mother-in-law and Lend me Five Shillings.
Oct. I Parcel post between Straits Settlements and United
Kingdom introduced.
Hon. J. F. Dickson, C.M.G., arrived from Colombo
and assumed duties of Colonial Secretary.
Nov. 10 Banquet to H.E. Cecil Clementi Smith, C.M.G.,
Acting Governor, previous to his departure to Ceylon.
1883
Aug. 30
Sept. 24
Nov.
Dec.
8
8
II
13
22
27
1884
Jan.
Mar.
I
I
18
April
May
26
I
5
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
2
I
10
Dec.
19
15
21
188
Jan.
Feb.
April
8
16
5
7
10
June
6
1885
Dec.
II
1886
Jan.
2
Feb.
7
Feb.
13
Mar.
2
May
3
22
June
29
July:
r-3
10
22
CHRONOLOGY 597
New agreement signed between H.M. the Queen and
the Maharaja of Johore.
Keppel (New Harbour) Road opened.
Cocos-KeeUng Islands transferred to Government of
Straits Settlements.
H.H. the Maharaja proclaimed Sultan of the State
and Territory of Johore.
Horse sales discontinued in Raffles Square.
Steam tramways, Singapore, commenced running.
First athletic sports of Raffles Institution.
Pulo Pisang Lighthouse completed.
First athletic sports of Singapore Recreation Club.
Coleman Bridge opened to trafflc.
Ord Bridge opened by H.E. Sir F. Weld.
Banquet to Major McCallum, R.E. (afterwards H.E.
Colonel Sir H. E. McCaUum, R.E., G.C.M.G.).
Aug. I Foundation-stone laid of the Church of Our Lady of
Lourdes, Ophir Road.
7 The Oder, first vessel of the N.D.L. mail steamers,
arrived at Singapore en route for China.
Penang Centenary celebrated.
Changi bungalow burnt down.
First cylinder of Read Bridge laid by Mr. W. H. Read,
C.M.G.
S.S. Bentan lost.
Queen Victoria's Jubilee celebrations, Singapore.
Statue of Sir Stamford Raffles unveiled.
Chinese Recreation Club opened.
First issue of Singapore Free Press as a daily.
H.E. Governor Sir F. Weld visited Sultan of Pahang.
Foundation-stone of Chinese Church, Bukit Timah,
laid.
New flashing light at Horsburgh Lighthouse used.
Municipal limits of Singapore town defined.
Raffles Library and Museum opened by Sir F. Weld.
A Bugis ran amok in Jalan Sultan, killing three and
wounding five.
Chinese flotilla visited Singapore.
Singapore Photographic Society instituted.
Singapore Rifle Volunteers disbanded.
10-14
Nov.
13
1887
Feb.
28
Mai.
31
June
27
-28
27
July
2
16
21
Aug.
3
22
30
Oct.
31
Nov.
6
10
Dec.
15
18
1888
Jan.
I
Repeal of C.D.O. came into force.
1888
Jan.
9
II
Feb.
17
22-
-23
22
Mar.
8
April
20
May
22
June
July
2
14
31
Aug.
i6
Sept.
6
598 CHRONOLOGY
Sir Andrew Clarke visited Singapore as Inspector-
General of Fortifications.
Straits Eurasian Advocate first issued.
Prince Henry of Bourbon visited Singapore.
Verandah riots.
S.V.A. Corps embodied by proclamation.
Daring gang robbery at Tanjong Katong.
Cholera epidemic in gaol.
Collision of s.s. Arratoon Apcar and s.s. Hehe, Straits
of Malacca.
Straits Law Journal and Reports started.
Masonic Club inaugurated.
Fire at Collyer Quay.
Fall of Messrs. Austin and Co.'s godown, Kampong
Malacca ; two persons killed.
7-in. drill gun placed at Fort Fullerton.
Singapore and Straits Fire Insurance Companies
promise to defray cost of two fire-engines.
Oct. 17 Singapore Branch of Straits Settlements Association
recommenced.
Nov. 17 Chamber of Commerce petitioned for repeal of
" Foreign Mail Steamers Ordinance."
Dec. 5 S.S. Ban Whatt Hin wrecked.
1889
Jan. I Lines for steam tramway completed to Rochore.
13 S.S. Chow Phya and s.s. Phya Pekhet collision.
14 Great fire, Arab Street.
Feb. 6 Dedication of new peal of bells, St. Andrew's
Cathedral.
26 Statue of Her Majesty Queen Victoria unveiled at
Government House.
28 Garrison of Straits Settlements separated from that of
Hongkong.
Mar. 7 Subscription opened for maxim-guns, S.V.A.
15 Straits Independent and Penang Chronicle first issued.
April 3 Removal of 7-inch gun mountings. Fort Fullerton,
ordered.
18 Sir Hugh Low left the Colony. Read Bridge opened.
May 6 Sir Charles Warren, first G.O.C., arrived.
29 Cycling Club formed.
June 29 Government Savings Bank transferred to Post Office.
July 6 Police Commission appointed.
17 French and Russian transports forbidden to enter port
without permit.
29 Two 23-ton 9*2 B.L. guns arrived.
i889
Aug. 12
19
20
24
Sept.
II
Oct.
Nov.
17
23
31
2
I
CHRONOLOGY 599
Wig question with respect to the Bar settled.
Trial of new fire-engines.
Great public meeting concerning Town Hall, Singapore.
Administration of Labuan transferred to British
North Borneo Co.
Joint report of medical men concerning contagious
diseases.
Amateur performance of lolanthe.
Electric searchlight first used at Fort Siloso.
M.M. steamer Congo stranded on Tanjong Pagar Spit.
Secret Society proclamation posted throughout the
town (Singapore).
16 Pahang bar first crossed during the N.E. monsoon by
s.s. Pontianak, Captain Habekost.
Dec. 5 Sale of Singapore steam tramways.
1890
Jan. 8 Brunei Malay ran amok in Arab Street.
31 Government Rest House at Bukit Mandi burnt.
Feb. 10 Sir C. Smith, K.C.M.G., appointed Honorary Colonel
S.V.A.
Fisk Jubilee Singers visited Singapore.
13 Military Contributions debate.
17 First meeting of Chinese Advisory Board.
Mar. 13 Opening of new Singapore ice works.
17 Castlewood Planting Co. 's prospectus withdrawn.
20 Oaths Bill passed ; Unofficial Members protested.
25 Duke and Duchess of Conn aught arrived.
April I Tan Tock Seng's Hospital closed, except to worst
cases of diseases resulting from the repeal of the
C.D.O.
Fort Blakan Mati East called Fort Connaught.
8 Quarantine regulations for clogs issued.
18 Chinaman killed by tiger, seventh milestone, Thomson
Road.
28 Straits Medical Association founded.
May 14 Safe robbery, police court.
20 Appointment of Sir C. C. Smith as Consul-General for
Borneo and Protected States definitely announced.
30 Order issued that no foreign men-of-war are to enter
New Harbour.
June 9 Mr. Gentle took his seat as President of the Municipal
Commissioners.
July 9 Relics removed from foundation of Dalhousie Obelisk.
July 18 Alligator shot at mouth of Singapore River.
Aug. 12 Collision of s.s. Chow Phya and s.s. Sappho.
n— 39
6oo CHRONOLOGY
1890
Sept. 21 Tiger caught at Pulo Ubin.
Oct. 15 Football match at night by Wells lights.
29 First Russian Consul for the Straits Settlements arrived
in Singapore.
Prince Henry of Orleans passed through Singapore.
Nov. 22 Warships Order rescinded.
24 The new 9 •2-inch guns first fired.
Dec. I Visit of the Russian Grand Dukes to Singapore. .
13 Foreign Coins Ordinance published.
20 Deutsche Dampfschiffs Rhederei (Hamburg mail
steamers) established in Singapore.
24 First trade-mark case in the Straits.
30 Foreign Coins debate in Council.
31 Eight-inch gun burst at Tanjong Katong.
X891
Jan. I Rate of postage on letters reduced.
12 Rawang Tin Mining Liquidation.
Feb. 8 Mr. J. G. Davidson killed in a carriage accident.
13 Meeting held concerning hydrophobia.
Mar. 3 The Czarewitch landed in Singapore.
13 Military Exaction meeting held, Town Hall, Singa-
pore.
15 Terrible gunpowder explosion. Central Police Station.
27 First cycle race held in Singapore.
May 28 Maxim-guns presented to Singapore Volunteer Artillery
at the Queen's Birthday parade.
June 15 Dog muzzling came into force within municipal limits,
Singapore.
17 Inaugural meeting of Singapore Golf Club.
18 Philharmonic Society's first practice.
20 St. Andrew's Cathedral struck by lightning.
Aug. I Celebration of sexcentenary of Swiss independence,
Singapore.
13 Sir Charles Warren, G.C.M.G., installed District Grand
Master.
24 Funeral of Tunku AUum.
Sept. 7 St. Andrew's House opened by the Governor.
16 Trial of an electric tramway motor at New Harbour.
Oct. 21 Murder of Mr. Gerald Byrne on s.s. Ban Whatt Hin.
30 Bukit Timah Road filter beds opened by the Governor.
31 The new Chinese Consul-General arrived from London.
Nov. 10 Straits Masters' and Mates' Association formed.
24 Serious fire at Teluk Ayer; fourteen houses burnt
down.
Dec. 7 Philharmonic Society's first concert.
23 First news of Pahang disturbance.
CHRONOLOGY 6oi
Disastrous fire, Kampong Bugis, Rochore.
Two Europeans (Messrs. Harris and Stewart) murdered
in Pahang.
Slight shocks of earthquake felt throughout the
Peninsula.
Marine Club, Singapore, held its first anniversary dinner.
New Oriental Bank Corporation stopped payment.
Run on the Chartered Mercantile Bank.
The Governor opened new building belonging to the
Convent.
Boustead Institute opened.
First meeting of Singapore Missionary Conference.
Soldiers' Home, Bras Basah Road, opened.
Christian Institute buildings handed over to Women's
Christian Mission Society.
Electric railway public trial, Singapore.
Petroleum tank station, Pulo Bukom, opened.
Voluntary liquidation of Chartered Mercantile Bank
recommended by the Directors.
New Anglo-Chinese school foundation-stone laid.
Singapore Recreation Club House opened.
Shaieholders of Singapore Insurance Company, Ltd.,
agree to liquidate.
Hockey first played in Singapore.
New Tyersall opened.
1893
Jan. 19 Heavy rainstorm and floods in Singapore ; 8 '60 inches
fell in twenty-four hours.
26 Singapore Chamber of Commerce debate currency
question.
Feb. 28 Strike of hack gharry syces.
April 5 Anglo-Chinese Free School at Teluk Ayer opened.
May 17 Deputation of Straits Settlements Association in
London interview Lord Ripon re the military
contribution.
June 30 Fire in Battery Road; McAlister and McKerrow's
godowns burned down ; damage $190,000.
Aug. 23 Farewell banquet, in Town Hall, to Sir Cecil C.
Smith.
Sept. 8 Foundation-stone of St. Matthew's Church, Sepoy
lines, laid.
22 Wedding of the Crown Prince of Johore.
Mr. H. M. Becher drowned in the Pahang River, Ulu
Pahang.
Oct. 4 Straits cricket team leave for Ceylon.
17 Return of H.H. the Sultan of Johore from England.
189
Mar.
(2
26
April
5
May
17
June
I
J"iy
9
18
I
2
Aug.
4
24
29
Sept.
Oct.
10
16
I
Nov.
5
5
25
Dec,
28
3
6o2 CHRONOLOGY
Mr. A. Huttenbach elected M.L.C. for Penang.
Mr. Huttenbach's election declared null and void ;
Dr. Brown elected.
Tiger shot at Changi by Mr. Maw.
Fire at Kampong Glam.
Restrictions upon the entrance of foreign men-of-war
into New Harbour withdrawn.
The Swimming Club opened.
Visit of Admiral Fremantle and China Squadron.
Consecration of St. Matthew's Church, Sepoy lines.
Chamber of Commerce vote for a British dollar.
Malacca railway scheme sanctioned.
First plague proclamation against ships from Hong-
kong.
Sultan of Pahang at Singapore.
Pahang rebellion starts.
Pahang rebels at Jeram Ampai ; Mr. E. A. Wise
killed.
Resolution to wind up Straits Fire Insurance Co.
Retrenchment Committee Report issued.
Deputation to Governor re military contribution.
Lombok insurrection.
Impounding reservoir opened after enlargement.
Opening railway to Kuala Kubu, Selangor.
British dollar sanctioned for Straits and Hongkong.
Exchange compensation to civil servants, $115,000.
Visit of Lord Randolph Churchill to Singapore.
Hongkong and Shanghai Bank new premises opened.
Military contribution despatch.
Four Unofficial Members of Council, all the Visiting
Justices, and the Chinese Advisory Board resign, in
consequence of military contribution.
April 26 Death of Mr. James MacRitchie, M.LC.E., Municipal
Engineer.
(?) Burning of s.s. Billiton, all hands being lost.
Sultan of Johore died in London ; born 1831.
Sir Charles Mitchell installed R.W.D.G.M.
Military contribution 17J per cent, of revenue.
S.S. Ban Fo Soon launched ; the first steel steamer
built in Singapore.
Fall of building, Kling Street ; eleven men killed.
German s.s. Wieland on fire at Tanjong Pagar.
Preliminaries settled for Straits Turf Club.
Coronation of H.H. Ibrahim as Sultan of Johore.
1893
Nov. 21
25
1894
Jan. 5
24
Feb. 3
Mar.
5
20
16
April
May
22
17
26
June
II
28
July
19
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
26
29
29
6
16
20
Dec.
30
31
I
1895
Jan.
May
12
June
4
July
14
25
28
Sept.
Oct.
28
21
Nov.
I
2
1896
Jan.
I
20
s.
Mar.
2
25
April
7
8
June
8
20
27
July
I
31
Aug.
7
Oct.
31
Dec.
I
1897
Feb.
18
Mar.
I
June
9
22
Sept.
I
2
Nov.
6
Dec.
14
1898
Jan.
27
Mar.
24
April
5
July
13
Aug.
6
27
Sept.
24
Nov.
7
Dec.
5
25
1899
Jan.
13
April
2
12
July
26
Aug.
22
Sept.
13
Nov.
18
CHRONOLOGY 603
Sultan Shoal Lighthouse opened.
Fire Insurance Tariff Association rates came into
operation.
Farewell parade of S.V.A. to Major McCallum.
Fire guns discontinued.
Li Hung Chang arrived in Singapore.
Death of Bishop Gasnier.
Tigress shot at Mount Pleasant.
Earthquake shock in Singapore.
Two tigers shot on the Bukit Timah Road.
Federation of the Protected Malay States came into
operation.
Wreck of the s.s. Rajah Brooke.
Singapore Debating Society wound up.
Mid-day Herald ceased.
First general meeting of the Chess Club.
Floods in Singapore and Johore.
First issue of Straits Chinese Magazine.
P. and O. s.s. Aden wrecked on a reef off Socotra.
Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
Engineers' strike commenced, Singapore.
Shipping Commission appointed.
Electric light installed at Tanjong Pagar.
Death of Sir W. Maxwell, near Grand Canary.
Prospectus of Eraser and Neave, Limited, issued.
P. and O. s.s. China went ashore at Perim.
Starting machine used at the Racecourse.
Malacca Agricultural Show.
M.M. s.s. Indus reduced record from Colombo to four
days two and a half hours.
Singapore Land Company resolved to wind up.
Lord Charles Beresford at Singapore.
Discussion in Council on Singapore- Johore Railway.
Singapore Art Club resuscitated.
Imperial penny postage (4 cents) came into operation.
First children's concert.
Messrs. Rautenberg, Schmidt and Co. Jubilee.
Purchase of Holt's Bangkok boats by German syndi-
cate.
Mr. T. C. Bogaardt resigns Legislative Council.
Construction of Singapore- Johore Railway authorised.
Straits Insurance Co. agreed to wind up.
Raffles Hotel new building opened.
6o4 CHRONOLOGY
1899
Nov. 21 Mr. Hugh Clifford appointed Governor British North
Borneo.
Dec. 6 Amalgamation of Tanjong Pagar Dock Co. and New
Harbour Dock Co.
7 Death of H.E. Sir Charles MitcheD, G.C.M.G., at
Government House.
1900
Jan. 2 Official landing of H.R.H. Prince Henry of Prussia at
Johnston's Pier.
Arrival of the i6th Madras Native Infantry.
Opening of the Methodist Girls' School, Short Street.
St. Mary's Girls' Home, Hill Street, founded.
First sod cut for the Singapore- Johore Railway.
Ceremony of renaming New Harbour, Keppel
Harbour.
Municipal Commissioners decided to purchase Hotel
de I'Europe buildings.
Opening of the Catholic Club.
Singapore raises £18,642 for the South African War
Fund.
Five thousand foreign troops passed through for Boxer
troubles.
" At Home " at new Teutonia Club.
Pulo Bukom included in port area.
Gas Company purchased by the Municipality.
Straits Trading shares divided $100 to $10.
Temporary Courts of Justice occupied.
Queen Victoria died.
King Edward VH proclaimed.
Municipal Commission oppose overhead tram wires.
Duke and Duchess of Cornwall land.
First inspection of Volunteer Rifles.
Theft of $272,855 from Hongkong and Shanghai Bank.
Cocos telegraph party left Singapore.
Swearing-in of Chinese and Eurasian volunteers.
Masters' and Mates' strike. Dhobis' strike.
Eastern Shipping Conference Commission appointed.
Education Commission appointed.
B.I. mail service via Negapatam commenced.
New Fort Canning lighthouse used.
Mr. Geo. Rutherford murdered at Draycott.
Straits Coronation contingent leave for England.
International Banking Corporation opened in Singa-
pore.
teo.
Mar.
April
5
26
6
16
19
May
14
June
July
26
12
Aug.
31
Sept.
Nov.
21
I
Dec.
19
21
28
1901
Jan. 22
April
24
4
21
May
Aug.
Nov.
27
25
I
20
1902
Jan. I
28
Feb.
30
12
April
June
27
10
25
19
CHRONOLOGY 605
Children's Coronation Fete.
Collision between s.s. Ban Hin Guan and the Prince
Alexander in Malacca Straits.
Record coaling feat at Tanjong Pagar : 1,510 tons put
on board H.M.S. Terrible in five hours.
Water famine in Singapore.
Presentation to Mr. W. Grigor Taylor.
S.S. Kian Yang sunk in collision with s.s. Boon San II
off Pulo Pisang.
Opening of the Singapore-Kranji Railway.
Jinrikisha strike commenced.
Buckley's Anecdotal History published.
Investiture of H.H. the Sultan of Pahang as K.C.M.G.
First train to Kranji.
Sea Mew launched by Riley, Hargreaves and Co.
New screw-guns for S.V.A. arrived.
Report of the Committee on Local Currency.
Presentation of Coronation medals.
Y.M.C.A. corner of Armenian Street opened.
Consecration of Eastern Gate Lodge.
Inauguration of new Swiss Shooting Club.
Arrival of Koning Wilhelm, first steamer of Dutch
maTl line.
N.D.L. to Australia inaugurated.
Mail service from Europe to Far East inaugurated via
Siberia.
Arrival of new Straits dollars.
Public banquet to Sir Frank Swettenham.
Resignation of Sir Frank Swettenham.
Death of Sir Henry Keppel, aged 96.
Mr. Buckley appointed Financial and General Adviser
to Johore.
Telegraph steamer Scotia wrecked at Guam.
Sir John Anderson, K.C.M.G., arrived.
Mr. E. G. Broadrick appointed President, Municipal
Commission.
Foundation-stone of the Hokkien Chinese Church laid'
at Tanjong Pagar.
B.I. S.N. mail contract signed.
Foundation-stone laid of new Church of St. Joseph.
Nine o'clock gun fired for the last time.
Sept. 22 Chamber of Commerce condemns Harbour Scheme,
forty-nine votes to two.
Nov. Epidemic of European weddings, six in a week.
1902
June
25
July.
29
Aug.
4
Sept.
Oct.
5
Nov.
30
1903
Jan.
I
15
Feb.
II
April
2
10
12
27
May
7
July
2
7
16
18
Sept.
7
9
Oct.
I
3
7
1904
Jan.
12
17
20
Mar.
17
April
16
June
12
21
Aug.
18
21
31
6o6 CHRONOLOGY
Tanjong Pagar Dock expropriated.
First arrival of cold storage goods.
Trial of first electric tram.
Forty-seven vessels of the Baltic Fleet passed.
Kallang tunnel collapses ; five coolies buried,
Chinese merchants in Singapore boycott American
trade.
Subsidence of Robertson Quay, near Pulo Saigon.
Howarth Erskine amalgamated with Riley Hargreaves.
Government takes over Tanjong Pagar Dock Co.
Singapore electric trams start running.
Opening new Recreation Club Pavilion.
Serious fire at Tyersall.
Straits and F.M.S. Government Medical School opened.
Opening of Victoria Memorial Hall.
Garrison Golf Club opened.
Imperial Government takes over Brunei.
Governor-in-Council fixes the Straits dollar at 2s. ^d.
Prince Arthur of Connaught in Singapore.
Harbour scheme revised, south and east outer moles
cut out.
School in Outram Road opened.
Arrival of Dewey Dock on its way to Manila.
Jubilee of the Teutonia Club.
Arrival of Captain Arthur Young, C.M.G.
Tanjong Pagar Arbitration Award delivered.
The Singapore Free Press appears as a morning paper.
Singapore Agri-Horticultural Show.
Sovereigns legal tender.
Serious faction fights in Singapore.
Issue of one-dollar currency notes.
River improvement scheme dropped, Officials only
voting.
S.S. Rey flier sz destroyed by fire in Singapore Harbour.
Arrival of Duke and Duchess of Connaught.
Straits dollar of reduced size circulated.
New Singapore Cricket Club Pavilion opened.
Singapore Automobile Club formed.
Opening of Chinese Volunteer Club.
Opening of new Brothers' School.
Kallang Tunnel pierced after four years' work.
Nov. 23 Governor-General of the Netherlands visits Singapore.
1904
Dec. 22
1905
Mar. 30
April
31
8
June
13
20
21
July
29
I
Sept.
24
2
10
28
Oct.
18
Dec.
25
5
1906
Jan. 26
Feb.
3
22
26
June
21
25
28
July
Aug.
4
1
Oct.
17
Nov.
13
Dec.
12
1907
Jan.
Feb.
23
I
Mar.
7
21
28
May
4
Aug.
3
CHRONOLOGY 607
Death of Mr. George Mildmay Dare.
Dinner to Mr. C. E. Velge on retirement.
Reappearance of rabies in Singapore.
Bidadari Cemetery consecrated.
Farewell address to Bishop Hose, at Memorial Hall.
P. and O. mail arrives twenty days out.
Foundation-stone of St. Joseph's Church laid.
St. Andrew's Society formed.
Opening of new Maternity Hospital.
United States battleship fleet passed Singapore.
Oil-ship Kalomo on fire ; towed to Pasir Panjang and
sunk.
Polynesien collided with s.s. Djambi at East Wharf.
International opium conference at Shanghai.
Victoria Theatre finished.
Methodist Church dedicated by Bishop Oldham.
Treaty : Kelantan, Trengganu, Kedah, and Perils taken
under British protection.
Two shocks of earthquake in Singapore.
Johore State Railway opened.
Kedah and Langkawi protected.
Governor laid comer-stone of Y.M.C.A.
Lord Kitchener visited Singapore.
Education Board established.
Collision between s.s. Onda and La Seyne in Rhio
Straits.
Imposition of tax of 5 cents per gallon on petroleum.
The Arcade opened.
Dec. II Federal Council first meeting at Kuala Kangsar.
1910
Jan. I Monopolies Department established.
Subsidiary silver coins reduced to 600 fineness.
Feb. 27 Nine new rubber companies floated in London in one
day.
Mar. 8 Two hundred tons of rubber sold in Mincing Lane
at los. 6J^. per lb.
12 Governor opens Anderson Bridge.
April I Dr. Galloway moves that action be taken against the
Shipping Ring.
28 Treaty between Trengganu and Great Britain signed.
July I Formation of local Boy Scouts' Association.
Aug. 18 Singapore Agri-Horticultural Show.
Sept. II Opening of new Roman Catholic Church in Tank
Road.
Dec.
15
21
1908
Jan.
Feb.
4
May
21
June
18
Nov.
27
Dec.
2
6
16
1909
Jan.
16
Feb.
I
5
9
Mar.
10
June
7
25
Aug.
28
Sept.
21
30
Nov.
14
26
27
6o8 CHRONOLOGY
Opening of new premises of John Little and Co., Ltd.
Shipping Bill passes third reading.
Governor opens Y.M.C.A. building.
Meeting of protest against income-tax.
Girls' Friendly Society rooms opened.
Governor unveils a tablet in St. Andrew's Cathedral
in memory of Mr. W. H. Read.
Thirty-one merchants petition government re the
Freights Ordinance.
Great prevalence of malaria ; twenty deaths a day.
Compromise with Shipping Ring, abolishing the secret
rebate.
Oil-steamer Karang burnt out in harbour.
Children's Coronation Fete.
Sir Arthur Young, K.C.M.G., appointed Governor.
Mr. E. L. Brockman, C.M.G., appointed Chief Secre-
tary for the F.M.S.
Mr. R. J. Wilkinson appointed Colonial Secretary.
Ten inches of rain in twenty-four hours.
Coronation Durbar at Delhi.
Portraits of Raffles and Brookes added to Town Hall.
Katz Brothers' new building opened.
Kallang Reservoir opened.
Death in London of Mr. C. B. Buckley.
Church of St. Joseph opened.
S.S. Sea Mew sinks H.M.S. Waterwitch.
New Municipal Bill introduced.
F.M.S. offer warship Malaya.
Bookmakers' offices closed.
Singapore- Kranji Railway sold to F.M.S. for
$4,147,000.
Presentation in London of portrait of himself to Sir
John Anderson. Duplicate to Singapore.
The King's Dock opened.
Unveiling of Mr. C. B. Buckley's portrait.
Revision of treaty with Johore.
D. G. Campbell appointed General Adviser, Johore.
Outbreak of the Great War.
The Emden destroyed at Cocos.
The Singapore Mutiny.
Whiteaway Laidlaw's new building completed.
I9I0
Sept.
19
Oct.
14
1911
Jan. ■
16
24
Feb.
16
Feb.
27
April
3
May
June
5
10
24
Aug.
2
18
24
Nov.
24
Dec.
12
1912
Feb.
I
Mar.
9
26
May
22
June
30
Sept.
I
19
Nov.
1913
Jan.
I
April
17
July
Aug.
26
Sept.
1914
May
21
Aug.
4
Nov.
1915
Feb.
15
June
CHRONOLOGY 609
1916
Jan. The Sultan of Perak died.
May The Resident of Labuan, E. B. Maundrell, shot by
Sikh poHcemen.
Sept. S.S. Glenarty on fire at Main Wharf.
Nov. Two hundred huts burnt at Kampong Martin.
1917
Oct. 4 Mutiny tablet unveiled.
INDEX
Abbott, Dr. W. L., a generous bene-
factor of the Singapore Museum,
i, 562
Abbott, Mrs., in amateur theatri-
cals, ii, 398
Abdul Jafar, of the Johore Forces,
shot by mutineers, i, 410
Abdul Rahman, Temenggong of
Johore, ii, 521
Abdullah, Raffles's munshi, i, 43 ;
gives sketch of " Olivia," Raf-
fles's first wife, i, 47 ; describes
Sultan Hoosain of Johore, i, 58 ;
describes Raffles, i, 64 ; Hikayat,
the work of, i, 75 ; expresses his
■ opinion of John Crawfurd, i, 79 ;
ii, 467 ; on early Singapore, i, 342
Abdullah's School at Kampong
Glam, i, 462
Abdullah, Sultan of Perak, i, 103
Abdullah Syed, i, 578 ; ii, i
Abrams, Miss Edith, in amateur
theatricals, ii, 398
Abrams' Motor Hiring and Transport
Co., history of, ii, 180
Abrams, Mr., experiment in cacao
cultivation, ii, 93
Abrams, Mr. C. W., ii, 181 ; ii, 357
Abrams, Mr. H. (" Daddy "), career
of, ii, 1 80 ; ii, 506 ; and Maf eking
night, ii, 290 ; ii, 349 ; " last
race," ii, 359
Abubakar, Sultan, of Johore, ii, 522
Acheen, proposed British settle-
ment at, i, 14 ; Raffles entrusted
with a mission to, i, 51 ; disputed
succession to the Sultanate of,
I, 52 ; Dutch intrigue in, i, 53 ;
Sir William Maxwell's mission to,
ii. 435
Adam, Mr. Frank, ii, 226 ; ii, 304
Adams, Mr. A. P., ii, 206 ; ii, 350
Adams, Sir Arthur, i, in ; i, 154 ;
ii. 575
Adamson, Gilfillan & Co., history
of, ii, 181 ; ii, 192
Adamson, Mr. G. F., ii, 182
Adamson, Mr. John, ii, 292 ; ii, 386
Adamson, Sir W., i, 150 ; i, 254 ;
i, 400 ; career of, ii, i8i ; ii,
185 ; ii, 298 ; ii, 300 ; ii, 384 ;
and amateur theatricals, ii, 386
Addie, Mr. R. J., i, 155 ; ii, 191 ;
ii, 580
Addis, Mr. G. T., i, 152
Adelphi Hotel, ii, 183
Aden, P. & O. steamship, wrecked,
ii. 173
Adis, Mr. N. N., ii, 198
Admiralty and Tanjong Pagar
Dock, ii, 8
Admiralty Jurisdiction, lack of, at
Singapore, i, 177
Aeria, Mr. D. A., i, 370
Aeria, Mr. J. R., i, 374
Ager, Mr. A. P., ii, 282 ; ii, 410
Agnes, cable ship, ii, 167 ; ii, 168 ;
ii, 170
Agnew, Mr. A., i, 155 ; ii, 98 ; ii, 580
Agricultural and Horticultural
Society, petition in regard to land
tenure, i, 305 ; formation of the,
ii, 70
Agri-Horticultural Society, incep-
tion of the, ii, 72
Aguinaldo, Filipino leader, at Singa-
pore, ii, 292
Ah Chong, Sergt., distinguishes
himself, i, 269
Ah Piew, Sergt., a fine detective,
i, 272
Ainslie, Capt., ii, 331 ; ii, 394
Aird, Sir John, & Co., and the Tan-
jong Pagar Dock contract, ii, 14
Aitken, Donaldson & Burkinshaw,
foundation of the firm of, i, 204
Aitken, Miss, in Singapore orchestra,
ii, 407
Aitken, Mr. A. M., i, 194 ; career of,
i, 204 ; i, 225 ; i, 545 ; ii, 190
Aitken, Mr. James, i, 369
Aitken, Rev. Wm., ii, 262
Alabama, the, in Singapore, ii, 505
Albatross, H.M.S., i, 297
Albert Victor and George, Princes,
visit Singapore, ii, 595
611
6l2
INDEX
Albrand, Father E. R., ii, 244
Albuquerque captures Malacca, i, 18
Alexander, Mr. E. M,, ii, 213 ; ii, 223
Alexander, G., Superintending Sur-
geon, Head of Medical Dept., i,
488 ; i, 517
Alexis Alexandre vitch, H.I.H. the
Grand Duke, visits Singapore, ii,
591
Algerine, H.M.S. brig, i, 296
Ali bin Mahomed Syed, i, 496
Alien Enemy Ordinances, i, 420
Aliens question in the Legislative
Council, i, 151
Allamayo, Prince, of Abyssinia, ii,
526
Allan, Mr. A. D.-, ii, 209 ; ii, 356
Allan, Mr. John, i, 152 ; ii, 298
Allan, Mr, J. R., ii, 215
Allan, Mr. Robert, i, 379 ; i, 582 ;
ii. 215 ; ii, 314
Allen and Gledhill, i, 236
Allen, Dr. Hy. A., i, 500 ; ii, 384
Allen, Mr. C. H., ii, 81 ; ii. 84
Allen, Mr. Rowland, i, 236
Allen, Mr, W., manager telegraphs,
ii. 167 ; ii, 324
Allen, Rev, D,, ii, 581
AUinson, Mr, Garlics, ii, 184
Allinson, Mr, J. M., i, 154 ; ii, 184 ;
ii. 342 ; ii. 345
Alma, schooner, ii, 549
Almeida, Mr, E,, ii. 198 ; ii, 407
Amateur theatricals in Singapore,
ii, 381
A Midshipman in Search of Pro-
motion, i, 294
American Board of Commissioners
of Foreign Missions, Straits
agents of, ii, 235
AmericanMethodist Missions School,
i. 470
Americans and rubber planting, ii,
89
American ships debarred from visit-
ing Singapore, ii, 30
Amiens, Peace of, Malacca restored
to the Dutch by the, i, 19
Anderson Bridge, erection of, i, 324
Anderson, Dr, A, F., career of.
i. 517 ; member of Museum Com-
mittee, i, 543
Anderson, Mr, Edward, ii. 206
Anderson, Mr, R., ii. 199
Anderson. Sir John (of Guthrie &
Co.). speech of. at farewell ban-
quet to Sir Frank Swettenham. i.
127 ; member of Legislative Coun-
cil, i, 152 ; presides over Opium
Commission, ii. 59 ; and presenta-
tion to Mr, Noel Trotter, ii, 164 ;
long association of. with Guthrie
& Co.. ii, 196 ; director of the
Boustead Institute, ii, 307 ; as
cricketer, ii, 324 ; and the Re-
creation Club, ii, 365 ; character
sketch of, ii. 451 ; mother of, ii,
537 ; presentation to, ii, 610
Anderson, Sir John, Governor, ad-
ministration of, i, 133 ; portrait
of, i, 134 ; concludes agreement
for the creation of a Federal
Council for the Malay States, i,
138 ; opinions of the administra-
tion of, i, 138 ; an exceedingly
nervous speaker, i, 159 ; memor-
andum on law reforms presented
to, i, 233 ; opens Victoria Memor-
ial Theatre, i, 334 ; action of, in
regard to the King's Scholarships,
i, 369 ; hospital development dur-
ing the administration of. i. 496 ;
a petition to, in favour of a
medical school, i, 514 ; and Docks
Expropriation Scheme, ii. 13 ;
and the Shipping Conference,
ii, 43 ; lays foundation-stone of
Presbyterian Mission Church, ii,
267 ; patron of St. Andrew's
Society, ii, 304 ; opens Young
Men's-Christian Association build-
ing, ii. 310 ; President Automobile
Club, ii, 362
Andromache, H.M.S., i. 294
Anecdotal History of Singapore, the,
i, 79 ; i. 207 ; ii, 283 ; ii, 369 ; ii,
416 ; history of, ii, 455 ; ii, 606
Anglo-Chinese College, proposed
amalgamation of, with Raffles
College, i, 429
Anglo-Chinese Schools, i, 457 ; i, 450;
ii, 268
Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Co., ii, 98
Anglo-Siamese Treaty, 19 19. i, 137
Anglo-Swiss Milk Co,, and milk sup-
ply in the Great War, i, 406
Angus, Capt, (s.s. Will 0' the Wisp),
ii, 216
Angus family in Singapore, i, 368
Angus. Mr, C, S,. i, 369
Angus, Mr. J. W., ii, 81
Anna, Dutch schooner, attacked
by pirates, i. 290
Anson, Major-General. Lieut. -Gov-
ernot of Penang. retires, i, 25 ;
career of, i, 107 ; at first meeting
of the Legislative Council, i. 149 ;
opens the Albert Dock, ii, 6
INDEX
613
Anthonisz, Mr. J. O., i. 121 ; i, 320;
author of Currency Reform in the
Straits Settlements, ii, 51
Anti-Malarial Committee, i, 515
Apcar, Mr. M. T., and the Straits
Times, ii, 281
Apcar steamers commence running
to Singapore, ii, no
Appam, S.S., captured by German
raider Moewe, ii, 428
Apps, Mr. F., ii, 215
Arab travellers refer to Buddhist
rulers of Palembang, i, 2
Arathoon, Mr. M. S., ii, 277
Arbitrators in Tanjong Pagar Dock
expropriation, ii, 13
Archaeological and Heraldic Notes,
i. 567
Archdeacon, Mr. S. B., ii, 224
Archer, Mr. T. C, ii, 297
Armenian Church, the, ii, 258
Armistice, effects of the, at Singa-
pore, i, 425
Armstrong & Co., ii, 35
Armstrong, Mr. Alexander, takes
charge of Malacca School, i, 440
Armstrong, Mr. Farleigh, ii, 190 ;
ii, 326 ; ii, 383
Armstrong, Mr. George, ii, 185 ;
ii, 230 ; ii, 324 ; ii, 326
Arratoon Apcar, s.s., and s.s. Hehe
in collision, ii, 598
A Sailor's Life under Four Sover-
eigns, i. 583
A Scene in the Singapore Police
Court, i, 221
Ashness, Mr. J., ii, 365
Asiatic Petroleum Co., ii, 98
Asimont, Mr. W. F. C, a benefactor
of the Singapore Museum, i,
563
Association of Engineers, ii, 312
Atchison, Mr. J. S., the first lawyer
to be admitted at Singapore, i,
195 ; career of, i, 202 , ii, 298 ; ii,
533
Auchincloss, Mr. P. W., note by,
on the origin of the Borneo Co.,
ii. 185
Auckland, Lord, suggests abolition
of Recorder's Court, i, 176 ;
minute of, relating to Singapore
land tenure, i, 306
Augustine, Mr. S. W., ii, 297
Australian ship, H.M.S. Sydney,
sinks Emden, German cruiser, i,
408
A iistralind, s.s., ii, 209
Automobilism in Singapore, ii, 361
Baddeley, Mr. A. E., ii, 196
Baddeley, Mr. F. M., organises
Monopolies Department, ii, 57 ;
appointed Postmaster-General, ii,
162
Bagley, Mr. H. P., ii, 195 ; ii, 213
Bailey, Mr. A. S., ii, 400
Bailey, Mr. W. W. (" Tim "), an early
planter, ii, 81 ; ii, 90 ; ii, 93 ;
ii, 177 ; ii, 355
Bain, Mr. Gilbert A., i, 527 ; ii, 207
Bain, Mr. R., i, 534
Baker, Mr. A, C, won the Military
Cross in the Great War, i, 12-4
Baker, Mr. T. S., i, 154 ; ii, 164 ; ii,
178
Balestier, Mrs., presents bell to
St. Andrew's Church, ii, 487
Balestier, Mr., promoter of Agricul-
tural and Horticultural Society,
ii, 70 ; a sugar planter, ii, 72 ; first
American Consul in Singapore, ii,
504
Balhatchet, Mr., " Law Agent to the
Honourable Company," i, 183
Ball, Capt., and the Singapore Mu-
tiny, i, 410
Ball, Mr. B., Municipal Engineer for
Roads, etc., i, 321
Ban Foo Soon, s.s., launched, ii, 604
Ban Whatt Hin wrecked, ii, 598
Bangkok, Singapore trade with, ii,
41 ; railway opened to, ii, 121
Bangkok, Treaty of, i, 15
Banishment, power of, conferred on
the Government, i, 263
Banister, Mr. C. J. F., ii, 204
Bank of Taiwan, ii, 178
Banking in Singapore, ii, 174
Bankruptcy Ordinance of 1870 a
failure, ii, 40
Banks, Mr. C. W., ii, 204
Bannerman, Colonel, Governor of
Penang, opposition of, to Raffles,
i, 41 ; i, 51 ; i, 61
Banque de I'lndo-Chine, ii, 178
Bar Committee constituted at
Singapore, i, 216
Barclay, Mr. G. M., killed, ii, 594
Barillon, Bishop E., career of, ii, 246
Barker & Keng Chuan, ii, 183
Barker, F. W., & Co., ii, 183
Barker, Mrs. Arthur, as singer, ii,
411
Barker, Mr. Arthur, career of, ii,
183 ; ii, 309
Barker, Mrs. F. W., in amateur
theatricals, ii, 398 ; as singer, ii,
411
6i4
INDEX
Barker, Mr. F. W,, ii, 182 ; career
of. ii, 183 ; ii, 395
Barlow & Co. conduct the first sale
of Singapore rubber, ii, 85 ; his-
tory of, ii, 184
Barnes, Mr. F. D.. ii, 384
Barnes, Mr. Warren, i, 278
Barrett, Capt. E. I. M., ii, 330
Barter, Capt., ii, 341 ; ii, 348
Bartley, Mr. W., article by, on
" Singapore and the Great War,"
i. 405
Bastiani, Joseph, ii, 187
Batavia, effect of the founding of,
on Straits trade, i, 5 ; British
land near, i, 20
Battenberg & Silva, i, 374
Bauer, Mr. A., ii, 312
Baumgarten family in Singapore, i,
366
Baumgarten, Mr. Christian, por-
trait of, i, 194 , career of, i, 194 ;
i, 241 ; i, 545
Baxter, Mr. John, career of, i, 580 ;
association of, with Tan jong Pagar
Dock enterprise, ii, 2 ; a bene-
factor of the Presbyterian Church,
ii, 263
Bayley, Mr., head master of Singa-
pore Institution, i, 437 ; ii, 526
Baynes, Mr. Farrar, i, 368
Bazell, Mr. C, article by, on " Edu-
cation in Singapore," i, 427
Beach, Mr. John, killed in the Great
War, i, 123
Beagley, Sergt., R.G.A., shot by
mutineers, i, 411
Beal, Mrs., " presiding goddess of
fashion," ii, 513
Bean, Mr. A. W., ii, 215 ; ii, 319
Bean, Mr. M., and the Volunteer
movement,^ i. 385
Beatty, Mr., Protector of Chinese,
i.. 278
Becher, Mr. H. M., drowned, ii, 601
Becker, Mrs., ii, 410
Becker, Mr. A., ii, 197
Becker, Mr. Hans, ii, 188
Beckles, Rev.. Canon, a popular
cleric, ii, 535
Bedford, Mr. F. P., i. 563
Bednanda Kelang, notice of a set-
tlement of, i, 342
Begg, Mr. A. H., ii, 196
Behn, Madame, ii, 494
Behn, Meyer & Co., i, 403 ; i, 420 ;
ii, 35 ; ii. 87 ; ii, 170 ; history
of, ii. 186
Behn, Mr. Augu.st, ii. 187 j
Behn, Mr. T. A., ii, 187
Behn, Mr. V. L., ii, 187
Behr & Co., ii. 186
Behr, Mr. Max, ii, 201
Behr. Mr. Meyer, ii, 201
Belcher, Capt. Sir Edward, visits
Borneo, i, 30 ; on the Singapore
arms trade, ii. 489
Belgian, the, cable ship, ii, 167
Beir Mr.W. G., Postmaster-General,
ii, 162
Bellamy, Charles, a junior assistant
surgeon on Raffles's staff, i, 488
Bellamy, Mr. H. F., i, 564
Bellamy, Mrs. Louisa, great-grand-
daughter of Wm. Gordon. Vis-
count Kenmure, a noted Jacobite,
i. 488
Bell's Asbestos Limited, ii, 191
Bencalis, island of, struggle for pos-
session of. ii, 500
Bencoolen, factory established at,
i, 14 ; ceded to the Dutch, i, 20 ;
Raffles stationed at, i, 49 ; re-
turns to, after the occupation of
Singapore, i, 63 ; a poor station,
i, 71 ; Singapore placed under the
Government of. i. 75 ; convicts at.
i, 283 ; descendants of officials
of, in Singapore, i, 364
Bendahara of Pahang. i, 8
Benjafield, Mr. E. N., ii, 205
Ben Mohr, s.s.. sunk off the Minicoys
by German cruiser Emden, i. 407
Benson, Mr. J. C, ii, 191
Bentan, s.s., lost, ii, 597
Bentinck, Lord Wm.. visits the
Straits, i, 22 ; i, 82 ; ii, 588
Bentley, Dr. A. J. McD., career of,
i. 503
Benzewell, s.s., sunk by German
cruiser Emden, i, 407
Benzie, Mr. A. E., ii, 199
Beresford. Lord Charles, in Singa-
pore, ii. 603
Beri-beri in Singapore, i, 511
Berkhuysen. Mr. J. G., ii, 206
Bernard & Co., ii, 170
Bernard, Mr. F. J., first head of the
Singapore Police, i, 244 ; notary
public, ii, 229 ; founder of the
Singapore Chronicle, ii. 278
Berwick. Mr. D. J., ii, 223
Betting Bill of 191 3, ii. 357
Beurel. Rev. Father, i, 297 ; i, 452 ;
ii. 244
Bidadari Cemetery, military funeral
at, closes the Mutiny, i, 414 ;
opened, i, 515 ; ii, 608
INDEX
613
Bidwell, Mr. R. A. J,, ii, 227
Biggs, Lieut. J. N., ii, 303 ; ii, 400
Billiton, S.S., lost with all hands, ii,
602
bin Salleh, Pte. Jacob, shot by-
mutineers, i, 411
Ding, Mr. A. C, pilot, i, 592 ; ii,
210
Bintang, s.s., launched, i, 579
Birch, Lady, ii, 523
Birch, Sir E. W., i, 121 ; career of,
i, 129 ; as cricketer, ii, 324 ; ii,
327 ; as lawn tennis player, ii,
331 ; as polo player, ii, 335 ; and
Recreation Club, ii, 365 ; in
amateur theatricals, ii, 389 ; lays
out lawn tennis grounds, ii, 520
Birch, Mr. J. W. W., murder of, i,
28 ; i, 128 ; ii, 592 ; career of, i,
100; i, 104 ; i, 121 ; i, 249; i, 288;
i. 330 ; ii. 349 ; ii, 527
Birdwood's, Sir George, reference
to Portuguese conquests, i, 18
Birrell, Mr. J., ii, 208
Births and Deaths Registration
Ordinance, i, 507
Bishop, Mr. F. C, i, 152 ; i, 544 ;
ii. 177
Bisley, Singapore Volunteers at, i,
405
Bitara, or Lord Protector, Leyden
suggests revival of the title of, i,
48
Black, Mr. John, ii, 185
Black, Mr. T., ii, 184
Blackmore, Miss, missionary, ii, 270;
ii, 311
Blackwell, Mr. F., ii, 184
Blagden, Mr. C. O., historical chap-
ter by, i, I ; chapter, " The
Foundation of the Settlement,"
by, i, 5 ; in amateur theatricals,
ii, 392
Blagrave & Gillespie's slanders of
Raffles, i, 39
Blair, Mr. F. Y., i, 581 ; ii, 191
Blair, Mr. John, career of, i, 579 ;
portrait of, i, 580 ; i, 581 ; ii, 17 ;
ii, 307
Blakan Mati fortified, i, 382 ; early
name of, i, 477 ; recreation at,
ii, 546
Bland, Dr. W., and the Singapore
monolith, i, 575
Bland, Mr. R. N., i, 121; career of,
i, 145 ; ii, 301 ; ii, 338 ; ii, 521
Blue Funnel Line, ships of the, trans-
port oil from Singapore to Eng-
land, ii, 1 01
II — 40
Blundell, Miss, appointed Municipal
Nurse, i, 510
Blundell, Mr. E. A., career of, i, 87 ;
i, 89 ; presents colours to the
Volunteers, i, 402 ; brings action
against the trustees of the Singa-
pore Institution, i, 433 ; and port
dues agitation, ii, 420
Blundell, Mr. Wm., i, 527
Blunn, Mr. W. G., ii, 204
Bodestyne, Mr. A. B., ii, 365
Bogaardt, Mr. T. C, i, 154 ; i, 401 ;
ii, 206 ; ii, 215 ; ii, 307 ; ii, 603
Bokhara, P. & O. steamer, lost, ii,
328
Bon-Accord Dock leased by the
Tanjong Pagar Dock Co., ii, 4 ;
owned by Buyers & Robb, ii,
189
Bona Fortuna, ketch, i, 290
Bond, Mr. I. S., i, 152 ; i, 173 ; i,
216 ; career of, i, 225
Bonham, Mr. S. G., one of the first
Assistant Residents, i, 81 ; assists
in the Court of Requests, i, 82 ;
career of, i, 84 ; i, 120 ; i, 294 ;
action of, as to land tenure, i, 306 ;
report of, on the census of 1829, i,
347 ; Singapore monolith des-
troyed during the administration
of, i. 575 ; grants site for French
Church, ii, 244 ; and the Press, ii,
280 ; daughters of, ii, 464 ;
famous for his entertainments, ii,
467
Bonser, Sir J. W., Attorney-General,
i, III ; i, 153 ; i, 158; portrait of,
i, 218 ; career of, i, 218 ; ii, 301 ;
ii, 339
Bookmakers in Singapore, ii, 357
Booth, Mr. A., ii, 184
Borneo Company, the, purchase of
the wharf of, by the Tanjong
Pagar Dock Co., ii, 8 ; early as-
sociated with the Singapore Cham-
ber of Commerce, ii, 35 ; and
telephones, ii, 170 ; and banking
in Singapore, ii, 175 ; history of,
ii, 185
Borneo, Sir James Brooke ap-
pointed British Agent in, i, 30
Borneo, Sultan of (Omar Ali
Saifudin), offers Labuan to the
British, i, 30
Botanic Gardens, in Singapore,
the, article on, ii, 63 ; opening of,
ii, 520 ; first plans for, ii, 587
Botanical collection in Singapore
Museum, i, 563
6i6
INDEX
Bott, Dr. W. N., Government Ana-
lyst, i, 512
Boucho, Bishop J. B., career of, 11,244
Bourdlllon, Mr. T. L., killed In the
Great War, 1, 123
Bourne, Mr. G. H. D., ii, 208 ; ii, 223
Boustead & Company, i, 175 ; i,
367; 1,581; 11,36; 11,87; 11, 170;
U, 177 ; history of, 11, 189
Boustead Institute, the, 11, 8 ; his-
tory of, U, 307 ; 11, 536 ; 11, 601
Boustead, Mr. E., arrival of, in
Singapore, 11, 189 ; one of the
founders of the Singapore Free
Press, 11, 283 ; connection of, with
Straits Settlements Association, 11,
298 ; bequest by, to the Boustead
Institute, 11, 307 ; and the Sports
Club, 11, 320 ; 11, 470 ; residence
of, 11, 487
Boustead, Schwabe & Co., 11, 189
Bovill, Sir Elliot, career of, i, 220 ;
ii. 341
Bowen, StafiE-Commander, R.N., 11,
273
Boyce, Capt., shot by mutineers, 1,
409
Boyd, Mr. D. T., 1, 154 ; 11, 190
Boyd, Mrs. J. G., Senior, in charge
of Raffles School, 11, 537
Bradbery, Mr. E., 11, 329
Braddell Bros., the firm of, 1, 196 ;
i. 373
Braddell family, the, sketch of,
ii. 423
Braddell, Lady, in amateur theatri-
cals, 11, 389
Braddell, Lieut. R. L. L., 1, 243 ;
11, 331 ; 11, 431
Braddell, Mrs. Roland, in amateur
theatricals, 11, 393 ; 11, 400
Braddell, Mr. Roland St. J.,
chapter " A Short History of
the Colony " by, 1, 12 ; chapter
" Law and Crime " by, 1, 160 ;
as member of Amateur Dramatic
Committee, ii, 399 ; joint author
of " The Rajah of Stengahpour,"
ii, 400 ; career of, 11, 430 ; article
" The Merry Past," by, 11, 465 ;
member of Housing Commission,
ii. 564
Braddell, Mr. R. W., 1, 197 ; ii, 293 ;
ii, 331 ; in amateur Aieatricals,
11, 388 ; ii, 392 ; career of, 11, 430
Braddell, Mr. Thomas, recounts
Xavier's curse of Malacca, 1, 19 ;
literary enthusiasm of, 1, 25 ;
references to, 1, 96 ; 1, 100 ; 1, 120 ;
1, 149 ; 1, 155 ; appointed Crown
Counsel, 1, 183 ; associated with
Mr. A. Logan, i, 196 ; career
of, as Attorney-General, 1, 204 ;
1, 209 ; reforms legal procedure,
1, 216 ; Mr. J. D. Vaughan's
valedictory appreciation of,
i, 224 ; evidence of, before the
Police Commission, 1, 251 ; mem-
ber of Chinese Secret Societies
Commission, 1, 277 ; member of
Prison Commission, 1, 288 ; a
member of the first Committee
of the Singapore Club, 11, 312 ;
character sketch of, 11, 423 ;
farewell dinner to, 11, 595
Braddell, Sir Thomas de Multon,
judgment of, in " Six Widows
Case," 1, 165 ; appointed Judge,
1,241; President of the Singapore
Golf Club, 11, 3.45 ; in amateur
theatricals, 11, 387 ; 11, 392 ;
character sketch of, 11, 429
Braddon, Dr., founds Sunjel Ujong
Race Club, 11, 359
Braemar Castle, s.s., fire on the, 11,
593
Bramall, Mr. E., 11, 184
Bramell. Mr. T.. 11, 228
Brandt, D., & Co., ii, 186
Brandt, Madame, 11, 411
Brasier, Mr. Paul, 11, 210
Bratt, Mr. E. H., ii, 353
Brauss & Co., 11, 187
Brennand & Wilkinson Co., 11, 170
Brett, Mr. F. A., 11, 326
Bricard, Mr. L., ii, 210
Brinkmann & Co., 11, 191
Brinkmann, Mr. J. G., 1, 544
Brinkworth, Mr. George, 11, 202 ;
ii. 319
Brison, Mr. C. S., 11, 193
British and Foreign Bible Society, 11,
305
British Australian Telegraph Co.
and cable communication with
Singapore, ii, 150
British Malaya, quotations from, i,
26 ; 1, 95 ; 1, 117 ; 1, 128 ; 1, 155
British Malaya, period of, 1, 124
British North Borneo, Governor of
the Straits British Agent for, 1, 13
Brittain, Mr. J. S., 11, 210
Broadrick, Mr. E. G., Chairman of
the Singapore Municipality, 1,
320 ; in command of the Volun-
teers, 1, 391 ; as motorist, 11,
362 ; appointed President, Muni-
cipal Commission, ii, 605
INDEX
617
Brockman, Sir E. L., i, 121 ; career
of, i, 141 ; ii, 575
Brooke, Dr. Gilbert E., article on
" Piracy " by, i, 290 ; article on
" The Science of Singapore," i,
477 ; article on " Medical Institu-
tions," i, 487 ; at farewell ban-
quet to Mr. W. R. Colly er, ii, 303 ;
article on " Botanic Gardens and
Economic Notes," ii, 63 ; article
on " The Centenary Day and
its Celebrations," ii, 570
Brooke, Mr. J. R., placed in charge
of the chandu factory, ii, 57
Brooke, Sir James, appointed
British Resident in Borneo, i, 30 ;
invested with the K.C.B., i, 174 ;
i. 531 ; i. 583 ; ii, 486 ; friend-
ship of, with Admiral Keppel, i,
296 ; gifts of, to the Singapore
Library, i, 530
Brown, Dr. W. C, i, 154
Brown, Miss, ii, 311
Brown, Mr. A. B., ii, 189
Brown, Mr. Balfour, and Tanjong
Pagar Dock Arbitration, ii, 13
Brown, Mr. D. A. M., i, 155 ; ii,
343
Brown, Mr. David, i, 152
Brown, Mr. E. A., ii, 191 ; ii, 394 ;
in amateur theatricals, ii, 396 ;
ii, 398 ; article by, on " Music,"
ii, 406 ; ii, 413
Brown, Mr. F. S., i, 149 ; i, 277
Brown, Mr. G. H., ii, i ; ii, 557
Brown, Mr. G. S., ii, 332
Brown, Mr. J. J. E., ii, 150
Brown, Rev. George, ii, 526 ; ii, 537
Brownlow, Lieut. -Col., R.G.A., and
the Singapore Mutiny, i, 412 ;
i. 413
Bruguidre, Mgr., visits Singapore, ii,
243
Brunei captured by the British, i,
30 ; treaty concluded with the
Sultan of, i, 137
Buchanan, Mr. C. S., ii, 309
Buchanan, Mr. H., i, 544 ; ii, 185
Buckingham and Chandos, Duke of,
and aliens question, i, 151
Buckland, Mrs., in amateur theatri-
cals, ii, 401
Buckland, Mr. H. W., ii, 174
Buckle, Miss, Raffles School, ii,
575
Buckley, Mr. C. B., author of Anec-
dotal History of Singapore, sup-
plies details of Singapore occupa-
tion, i, 57 ; quoted, i, 79 ; i, 85 ;
i, 90 ; unofficial adviser to the
Sultan of Johore, i, 137 ; a
partner in the firm of Rodyk &
Davidson, i, 200 ; on Mr. Dun-
man's success as Police Superin-
tendent, i, 246 ; on Major Mc
Nair, i, 287 ; on early municipal
expenditure, i, 318 ; on Lord
Elgin's decision to divert troops
from China to India during the
Mutiny, i, 378 ; misleading ac-
count of Queen's Scholarships of,
i, 472 ; correspondence with, rela-
tive to photographs of Raffles
Statue, i, 555 ; description of
Sir Henry Keppel by, i, 584 ;
sketches of old Singaporeans in
the handwriting of, i, 585 ; pur-
chases limelight apparatus from
the Tanjong Pagar Dock Co., ii, 6 ;
on the origin of " The Postal
Express," ii, 104 ; and Govern-
ment Savings Bank, ii, 145 ; and
submarine cables, ii, 149 I on
postage stamps, ii, 155 ; and
Guthrie & Co., ii, 195 ; and A. L.
Johnston & Co., ii, 201 ; liberality
of, to Church, ii, 241 ; and the
Singapore newspapers, ii, 278 ;
ii, 283 ; Straits Produce on, ii,
293 ; as cricketer, ii, 326 ; drives
first motor-car in Singapore, ii,
362 ; on Singapore tigers, ii,
369 ; on amateur theatricals, ii,
381 ; children's parties of, ii,
385 ; on music, ii, 406 ; on Mr,
W. H. Read, ii, 418 ; on Sir T.
Braddell, ii, 426 ; on Mr. W. R.
George, ii, 451 ; character sketch
of, ii, 453 ; unveils tablet to
Mr. Charles Phillips, ii, 460 ;
and Clubs, ii, 470 ; and Capt.
Marryat (the novelist), ii, • 497 ;
and motoring, ii, 510
Bucknill, Sir John, ii, 575
Budd, Mr. J. C, ii, 176
Buddhist rulers of Palembang, i, 2
Bugis, ascendancy of, at Riau, i, 8 ;
in Singapore, i, 345 ; import
slaves, ii, 28
Bukit Chermin, petroleum dep6t at,
ii, 97
Bukit Timah, tiger caught at, ii,
370 ; road completed to the top
of, ii, 589 ; serious riots at, ii, 591
Buresk, s.s., sunk by German cruiser
Emden, i, 407
Burgess, Mr. P. J., Government
Analyst, i, 512 ; ii, 303
6i8
INDEX
Burkill, Mr. I. H., Superintendent
of Botanic Gardens, ii, 77
Burkinshavv, Mr. John, i, 152 ;
career of, i, 225 ; caricature of,
i, 226 ; and coffee planting, ii, 91
Burleigh, Mr. J., i, 210 ; i, 578 ; ii,
214
Burn,- Rev. Robert, first Anglican
residency chaplain, Singapore, ii,
239
Burn, Rev. W. C, ii, 264
Burne, Mrs., on Malay puerperal
customs, i, 510
Burrows, Mr., pilot, i, 579 ; i, 591
Bush Whacking, i, 132
Busing, Schroder & Co., ii, 35
Butler, Dr. A. G., ii, 399
Butt, Mr. G. W., ii, 178
Butterworth, Colonel W. J., career
of, i, 87 ; references to, i, 224 ;
i. 334 ' i. 384 ; i. 524 ; presents
portrait of Sir James Brooke to
the Library, i, 538 ; and the
Singapore monolith, i, 575 ; and
social life, ii, 492
Butterworth, Mr., shot by Singapore
mutineers, i, 410
Button Island fortified, i, 382
Buyers & Riach, history of, ii, 188
Buyers & Robb build shops as
early as 1871, i, 579 ; Bon- Ac-
cord Dock leased from, ii, 4 ;
history of, ii, 188
Byatt, Mr. L. G., ii, 325
Byrne, Mr. G., murder of, ii, 600
Cables to Singapore, dates of laying,
ii, 168
Cacao planting on Pengerang, ii, 94
Cadell. Mr. W. A., ii. 186 ; ii, 350 ;
ii. 386
Cadets, the first, in the Malayan
Civil Service, i, 112
Cadonau, Mr. A., ii, 200
Cadmus, H.M.S., crew of, landed to
suppress Singapore Mutiny, i, 410
Calbeck, Capt.,and amateur theatri-
cals, ii, 381
Calcutta Museum, fragments of
old Singapore rock inscription
sent to, i, 4
Caldbeck, Capt., i, 544 ; ii, 174
Caldbeck, Macgregor & Co., ii, 192
Calder, Mr. E.. ii, i8o
Caldwell, Mr. H. C, Registrar of
the Court, i, 193 ; i, 524 ; i, 526 ;
i. 533 ; i. 534
Cama, B. H., & Co., ii, 35
Cambojan Kingdom overcome by
Siamese, i, 3
Cambrian, H.M.S., i, 295
Cameron & Co., John, failure of, i,
581
Cameron, Dunlop & Co., ii, 170 ; ii,
192
Cameron, Major- General, i, 383 ;
i. 385
Cameron, Mr. E., ii, 196 ; ii, 222
Cameron, Mr. John, on Colonel
Cavenagh's administration, i, 92 ;
member of Museum Committee,
i, 544 ; editor of Singapore
Daily Times, i, 581 ; at Tanjong
Pagar Dock meeting, ii, i ; career
of, ii, 192 ; ii, 282 ; ii, 298 ; and
racing, ii, 348 ; and amateur
theatricals, ii, 384 ; and local
history, ii, 425 ; ii, 501 ; death
of, ii, 594
Cameron, Pte., S.V.R., shot by
mutineers, i, 411
Campbell, Dr. J. A., first occupant
of the Chair of Physiology, i, 515
Campbell, Dr. R. A., ii, 345 ; ii,
348
Campbell, Mr. D. G., adviser to the
Johore State, i, 138 ; career of,
i, 146 ; ii, 455
Campbell, Mr. J. G., i, 197 ; ii, 382
Campbell, Mr. J. H., i, 534
Campbell, Mr. Robert, i, 252 ; i,
544; h 545
Canning on the future of Singa-
pore, ii, 29
Cantley, Mr. N., and rubber plant-
ing, ii, 64 ; appointed Superin-
tendent of the Botanic Gardens,
ii. 77
Cape Romania, piracy off, i, 299
Capper, Mr. A. H., ii, 331
Cardew, Mr. G. E., killed in the
Great War, i, 123
Carey, Mr. E. V., a pioneer of rubber
planting, ii, 90
Carew, Major, ii, 273
Cargill, Mr. T. C, i, 321 ; ii. 282
Carlos, Mr. A. H., article by, on "The
Eurasians of Singapore," i, 363 ;
article by, on the Eurasian Volun-
teers, i, 392 ; on the Press, ii,
294
Carlos, Mr. E. R., i, 373
Carmichael, Mr. A. T., ii, 182 ; ii,
298; ii, 349 ; ii. 510
Carnegie, Mr. Andrew, in Singa-
pore, ii, 504
Carnie, Mr. C, ii, 205 ; ii, 489
INDEX
619
Carpenter, Mr. Percy, artist, ii, 545
Carr, Mr. S. R., ii, 93 ; ii, 204 ; ii,
348 ; ii, 350
Carrington, Mr. W, T., Municipal
Engineer, i, 321 ; i, 544
Carroll, Mr. John, ii, 224
Carver, Mr. C. I., i, 155 ; i, 235 ; ii,
362 ; ii, 396 ; ii, 398
Carver, Mr. Gilbert, i, 231 ; i, 235 ;
i, 242
Cashin family in Singapore, i, 368
Cassiterite, block of, presented to
the Singapore Museum, i, 564
Casswall, Assistant Surgeon, i, 490
Castelyns, Mr. J., ii, 197
Catalogue of Literature relating to
China, i, 557
Catholic Church in Singapore, ii,
243
Caulfield, Mr. C. E. St. G., ii, 81
Gaunter, Mr. W., i, 183
Cavenagh Bridge, i, 324 ; ii, 503 ;
ii. 525
Cavenagh, Colonal Orfeur, portrait
of, I, 90 ; career of, i, 91 ; and
the Volunteer movement, i, 384 ;
i, 403 ; character sketch of, ii,
528
Cavendish, Mr. Alexander, Secre-
tary of Opium Commission, ii,
59
Cecil, Lord Robert, and Tanjong
Pagar Dock Arbitration, ii, 13
Cemetery at Fort Canning, i, 491 ;
at Bukit Timah Road, i, 507 ;
at Bidadari, i, 515
Censuses in Singapore, i, 347 ; re-
turns of, i, 355 ; ii, 587 ; ii, 594
Centenary Celebrations at Singapore,
ii. 570
Chads, Capt., of ^M.S.Ayidromache,
i. 294
Chalmers, Sir Robert, on the Straits
currency, ii, 45
Chamberlain, Mr. Joseph, and the
Civil Service, i, 122 ; and gambler
adulteration, ii, 95
Chamber of Commerce, Singapore,
ii. 33 ; and the postal arrange-
ments, ii, 104 ; first established,
ii, 113; address of, at Centenary
Celebration, ii, 579 ; ii, 589
Chambers, Bishop W., ii, 239
Chambers of Commerce of Singa-
pore and Malacca petition con-
cerning anarchy in the Malay
States, i, 26
Chancellor, Mr. A. R., i, 257 ; ii, 304
Chaney, Mr. G. A., ii, 201
Channer, Capt,. won the V.C. in
the Perak War, i, 28
Chantrey's bust of Raffles, i, 529 ;
i. 533
Chaplin, Mr. H. C, i, 522
Chartered Bank of India, Australia,
and China, ii, 35 ; ii, 175
Chartered Mercantile Bank of India
and Australia, ii, 35 ; ii, 171 ;
history of, ii, 176 ; finances tin
smelting, ii, 221 ; run on, ii, 591
Chasseriau Land & Planting Co., ii,
81
Chasseriau, Mr., owner of tapioca
estate, ii, 92
Chater, Mr. R. W., at Bisley, i, 405 ;
of Kelly & Walsh, ii, 202
Chau Ju Kua, Chinese writer, i, 3
Che Sang, a rich Chinese implicated
in a murder case, i, 168 ; dispute
as to the will of, i, 169
Cheang Jim Hean, school kept by,
i, 448
Cherry, Rev. W. T., ii, 269 ; ii, 277 ;
ii. 309
Chilkana, s.s., sunk off the Minicoys
by the German cruiser Emden,
i. 407
Chinese Chamber of Commerce, i,
278 ; opposes registration of part-
nerships, ii, 42 ; represented at
Centenary Celebration, ii, 581
Chinese Commercial Bank, the, ii,
179
Chinese Girls' School, Singapore, i,
461
Chinese Sub Post Office, the, ii, 133
Chinese, the, factions in Perak, i, 27;
Mr. Fullerton's differences with,
i, 82 ; secret societies, i, 99 ; i,
III ; i, 245 ; i, 275 ; address to
Sir John Claridge, i, 169 ; in the
Singapore Police Force, i, 254 ;
piracy of, i, 297 ; population, i,
344 ; i, 374 ; Volunteers, i, 388 ; as
traders, ii, 27 ; as rubber planters,
ii, 85 ; churches, ii, 247 ; ii, 275 ;
riots, i, 384 ; ii, 424 ; ii, 590 ; ii,
595
Choa Ah Sick assaults Mr. Pickering,
i, 279
Cholera epidemics in Singapore, i,
504 ; ii, 592
Chong Long, Mr., ii, 381 ; ii, 500
Choo Eng Choon, Mr., disputed will
of, i, 208
Chope, Mr. H. I., killed, ii, 174
Chopard, Capt. (s.s. Billiton), ii, 216
Chopard, Mr. H. D., i, 367
620
INDEX
Chow Phya. action concerning the, i,
2IO ; probably introduces cholera
to Singapore, i, 505; ii, 213 ; ii,
598 ; ii, 599
Chowtai, German ship, seized in
Singapore Harbour, i, 407
Christie, Mr. W. H. M., and the New
Observatory, i, 481
Christmas Island, comprised in the
Straits Settlements, i, 13 ; an-
nexed by the British, i, 29 ; ex-
hibits in Singapore Museum, i, 564
Chronology, ii, 587
Chu, Father John, ii, 247
Chua Hong Kay, Mr., i, 557
Chulalongkorn, King of Siam, Sir
Andrew Clarke's friendship with,
i. 98
Chulias in Singapore, i, 344
Church of England in Singapore, ii,
238
Church Missionary Society estab-
lished at Singapore, ii, 235
Church, Miss, launches the s.s.
Ranee, ii, 485
Church, Mr. Thomas, career of, i,
86 ; disputed decree of, i, 181 ;
action of, concerning land tenure,
i, 309 ; and the Singapore Library,
i, 524 ; and the Singapore mono-
lith, i, 576 ; residence of, ii, 487
Churchill, Lord Randolph, visits
Singapore, ii, 602
Chusan, P. & O. steamship, opens
service from Singapore to Aus-
tralia, ii, 174
Civil Service of the Straits Settle-
ments, i, 69 ; i, 120
Clan Grant, s.s., sunk by German
cruiser Emden, i, 407
Claridge, Sir J. T., Recorder, re-
fuses to go on circuit, i, 167 ;
recalled, i, 169 ; Mr.- Gladstone
champions the cause of, i, 169
Clark, Mr. S. F.. ii, 192
Clarke family in Singapore, i, 368
Clarke, Mr. A. W., ii, 365
Clarke, Mr. C. H., makes gifts to
the Singapore Museum, i, 562
Clarke, Mr. N. L., i, 372 ; i, 394
Clarke, Mr. W., ii, 365
Clarke, Sir Andrew, appointed
Governor of the Straits Settle-
ments, i, 27 ; administration of,
i, 97 ; appointed to the Council
of the Viceroy of India, i, 102 ;
offers to reinstate unofficial mem-
bers of the Legislative Council
who had resigned, i, 152 ; ru-
moured action of, relative to the
defences of Singapore, i, 379 ;
interest of, in education, i, 438 ;
action of, relative to the Museum,
i, 542 ; presents a rhinoceros to
the Museum, i, 561 ; ii, 76 ; and
the Treaty of Pangkor, ii, 426 ;
and " Daddy " Abrams, ii, 506 ;
visits Singapore as Inspector-
General of Fortifications, ii, 598
Clarke, Warder, shot by mutineers,
i, 411
Claymore, clipperschooner launched ,
ii. 549
Clemenceau, Father, first French
missionary in Singapore, ii, 244
Clifford, Sir Hugh, appointed Resi-
dent of Pahang, i, 28 ; writes
preface to Life of Governor Weld,
i, 106 ; despatched on a mission
to Pahang, i, 108 ; career of, i,
132 ; as a writer, ii, 288 ; ap-
pointed Governor of BritishNorth
Borneo, ii, 604
Cloughton, Mr. W., i, 210 ; and
the New Harbour venture, i, 578 ;
career of, i, 584
" Cloughton's Hole," dock con-
struction on the site of, ii, 1 1
Clumeck, Mr. V., ii, 187
Clunies-Ross, Mr. J. G., succeeds
to overlordship of the Cocos
Islands, i, 29
Clunis, J., the first Singapore pilot,
i, 578 ; i, 591; ii, 2 ; novel use
of gambier suggested by, ii, 71
Clyde Terrace Market, Singapore,
i. 333
Cobb, Capt. H., ii, 217
Cochin, H.M.S., i, 293
Cochrane, Admiral Sir T., captures
Brunei, i, 30
Coco -nut planting in Singapore, ii, 69
Cocos Islands, comprised in the
Straits Settlements, i, 13 ; ii, 597;
history of the, i, 29; Emden,
German cruiser, destroyed off the,
i, 29 ; i, 408
Coe, Mr. T. P., won the Military
Cross in the Great War, i, 124
Coffee planting in Singapore, ii, 68 ;
ii, 91
Coghlan & Co. offer produce at first
rubber sales in Singapore, ii, 87
Coghlan, Mr. H. L., ii, 214
Coining and forgery, i, 274
Colborne, Major-Gen. the Hon. F.,
commanded British forces in the
Perak War, i. 28
INDEX
621
Coleman Bridge, erection of the,
i, 324 ; ii, 598 ; opened to tra£&c,
ii- 597
Coleman, Mr. G. D., architect,
i, 175 ; i, 179 ; i, 284 ; i, 233 ;
i, 491 ; ii, 259 ; ii, 283 ; ii, 588
Collection of Malay Proverbs, ii, 288
Collie, Dr., Professor of Chinese and
Librarian, i, 520
Collier, Mr. A. J., ii, 168
Collier, Mr. E., ii, 403
Collins, Mr. F. W., i, 155
Collins, Mr. James, first official
Secretary of Library and Museum,
i, 544 ; dismissal of, i, 550 ; on
the rubber industry, ii, 63 ; an
expert on rubber, ii, 75
Collins, Mr., of the Straits Bulletin,
shot by mutineers, i, 410
Collinson, Capt., as sportsman, ii,
372
Collyer, Admiral Sir Francis, i, 174
Collyer, Colonel, submits scheme for
graving dock, ii, 2
Collyer, Mr. W. R., career of, i, 228 ;
ii, 302 ; ii, 309
Commerce, article on the machinery
of, by Mr. W. Makepeace, ii, 166
Commercial classes in Singapore,
i. 472
Commercial firms in Singapore,
ii, 180
Commercial Union Assurance Co.,
Ltd., ii, 192
Congalton, Capt. S., i, 294 ; i, 528
Conington, Mr. C. W., i, 153 ; ii, 218 ;
ii, 232
Connaught, Prince Arthur of, in
Singapore, ii, 606
Conservancy and Police Acts, unrest
caused by the, ii, 549
Constitution, American ship, i, 295
Contagious Diseases Ordinance, i,
507 ; ii, 299
Convent, the, i, 453 ; ii, 253 ; ii, 590
Convict Gao'l and surroundings,
view of, in 1857, i, 512
Convicts at Singapore, i, 282
Conwell, Assistant-Surgeon W. E. E.,
i, 491 ; i, 517
Coode, Son & Matthews, Messrs.,
dock scheme referred to, ii, 13
Cook, Mr. W. W., i, 155 ; ii, 223 ;
ii, 226 ; ii, 304
Cook, Rev. J. A. B., ii, 265
Cooke, Miss Sophia, devoted nursing
service of, i, 499 ; ii, 243 ; ii, 306 ;
ii, 310 ; character sketch of, ii,
460 ; temperance work of, ii, 536
Cooke- Yarborough, Mr. H. C, i, 236 ;
1,243
Cope, Mr. H., ii, 177
Copland, Rev. M. J., ii, 262
Copley, Mr., appointed Curator and
Librarian, i, 554
Coquette, yacht, built in Singapore,
ii, 548
Cordeiros family in Singapore, i, 368
Cork, Mr. F. T., a well-known
character, i, 203
Cornelis, Java, General Janssens
defeated by the British at, i, 20 ;
i. 37
Cornelius family in Singapore, i, 368
Cornelius, Mr. M. A., ii, 299
Coromandel, Tamil dynasty of, i, 2
Cotton, Major, and the Singapore
Mutiny, i, 409
Cotton planting in Singapore, ii, 68 ;
ii. 83
Courtney, Mr. H. A., ii, 401
Court of Requests, Major Farquhar
suggests the establishment of a,
at Singapore, i, 77 ; Mr. Bonham
and Mr. Presgrave sit in the, i, 82 ;
the only Court at Singapore, i, 1 70
Courts Ordinance of 1878 introduced
present style of advocates and
solicitors, i, 173
Courvezy, Bishop J. P., career of,
ii. 244
Coutts, Mr. W. S.,ii, 182
Couvreur, Rev. N, J., ii, 277
Cowan, Mr. W., i, 277
Cowap, Mr. J. C, in charge of the
chandu factory at Penang, ii, 57
Cox, Mr. A. D., ii, 332
Cox, Sir Lionel, career of, i, 227
Coyshe, Capt. J. H. (s.s. Neera), ii,
216
Craig, Capt. J., ii, 316
Craig, Mr. J. F., ii, 232
Craig, Mr, Robert, ii, 190
Craig, Mr. William, ii, 284
Craik, Mr. D. M., ii, 228
Cramer, Mr. G., ii, i
Crane Bros., ii, 171 ; history of,
ii, 193 ; ii, 217 ; ii, 442
Crane, Mr. Arthur, ii, 193 ; ii, 408 ;
ii. 443
Crane, Mr. C. E., ii, 185 ; ii, 193 ;
ii, 324 ; ii, 406 ; ii, 442
Crane, Mr. C. S., ii, 193 ; ii, 226 ;
ii, 321 ; ii, 443
Crane, Mr. Frank, ii, 443
Crane, Mr. H. A., ii, 193 ; ii, 319 ;
ii. 443
Crane, Mr. T. O., Trustee of Singa-
622
INDEX
pore Institution, i, 433 ; Library
meeting at the offices of, i, 524 ;
original shareholder in Library,
i, 527 ; associated with Chamber
of Commerce, ii, 35 ; an enthusi-
astic cotton planter, ii, 68 ; ii, 83 ;
Secretary of Agricultural and
Horticultural Society, ii, 70 ; a
residence of, ii, 176 ; career of,
ii, 193 ; ii, 442
Crane, Mr. W., ii, 442
Cranna, Mr. L. G., ii, 310
Crawfurd, Mr. John, references to, i,
25 ; i, 76 ; details of career of, i, 79;
report of, on the administration
of the law, i, 164 ; on the preva-
lence of crime in Singapore, i, 244 ;
action of, relative to piracy, i,
290 ; and the water supply of
Singapore, i, 326 ; on the early
inhabitants of Singapore, i, 342 ;
hostility of, to Raffles College,
i, 429 ; as a medical man, i, 487 ;
describes an ancient monolith
which stood at the mouth of
Singapore River, i, 573 ; slighted
by the Governor-General of Java,
ii, 32 ; establishes liquor, gaming,
and opium monopolies, ii, 56 ;
principal contributor to the
Singapore Chronicle, ii, 278 ; as
host, ii, 467 ; appointed Resident,
ii. 587
Crichton, Mr. R. W., ii, 227
Cricket in Singapore, ii, 321
Crime, article on, i, 244
Criminal Registration Department
organised in Singapore, i, 260
Crockford, Mr. H., pilot, i, 592
Crocodile, H.M.S., i, 293
Cross, Mr. A. B., ii, 397
Cross, Rev. William, chapter by,
on "Raffles, the Man," i, 32;
minister of Presbyterian Church,
ii, 262
Cross Street School, i, 470
Croucher, Dr. F. B., career of, i, 519
Crown Colony, position of the Straits
Settlements as a, i, 12
Crown Lands (Grants Fee Simple)
Ordinance, the, i, 313
Cuff, Mr. J. C, ii, 168 ; ii, 273
CuUimore, Capt., killed by mutin-
eers, i, 410
Cumming, Beaver & Co., ii, 35
Gumming, Mr. A. S., Hon. Secretary
Singapore Library, i, 545
Cumming, Mr. George, ii, 223 ;
ii, 359
Cumming, Mr. J. B., i, 52 ; ii, 195 ;
ii, 421 ; ii, 458
Cumming, Mr. Malcolm, a pioneer
of rubber planting, ii, 90
Cunliffe, Mr. P., ii, 191
Cuppage, Mr. William, Postmaster,
ii, 107 ; ii, 161
Currency question, ii, 44 ; ii, 50
Currie, Mr. A., i, 152 ; ii, 185 ; ii, 264
Currie, Mr. C. D. H., ii, 181
Curry, Forweg & Co., ii, 87
Cursetjee Fromerzee, Mr., ii, 204
Curteis, Dr. C. J., Coroner, career of,
i. 500
Cuscaden, Capt. W. A., portrait of,
i, 256 ; career of, i, 256 ; ii, 362
Cuscaden, Mr. R. L., ii, 325
Cuthbertson, Mr. J. R., ii, 190 ; ii,
338 ; ii, 348
Cuthbertson, Mr. T., i, 152 ; ii, 17;
ii, 190 ; ii, 263 ; ii, 284 ; ii, 455
Czarewitch, the (afterwards the
Emperor Nicholas), visits Singa-
pore, ii, 600
da Cunha, Father Jose Pedro Sta
Anna, i, 456 ; ii, 257
Daendels, Marshal, defeated in
Java by the British, i, 20
Dale, Rev. W., i, 544 ; ii, 262 ; ii,
305
Dalhousie, the Marquis of, memorial
to, at Singapore, i, 335 ; Chinese
deputation to, i, 376 ; visit of, to
Singapore, ii, 497 ; ii, 589
Dalhousie Pier and the Old Town
Hall (illustration), i, 336
Dalian, Mr. W., ii, 180
D 'Almeida family, the, sketch of,
ii, 446
d' Almeida, J., & Sons, ii, 35
d'Almeida, Jose, a pioneer planter
in Singapore, ii, 68 ; ii, 83
d'Almeida, Mr. Joaquim, i, 527 ;
i. 545 ; i. 578 ; introduces sugar
cultivation into Singapore, ii, 72
d'Almeida, Mr. J. R., ii, 331
d'Almeida, Sir Jose, i, 210 ; i, 366 ;
career of, i, 487 ; i, 491 ; i, 578 ;
ii, 488
Daly, Capt. (s.s. Malacca), ii. 216
d'Aranjo, Mr. B., ii, 295 ; ii, 365
Darbishire, Mr. C. W., i, 1551;
article by, on "The Commerce of
Singapore," ii, 22 ; director of
Paterson, Simons & Co., ii, 213 ;
presents Chamber of Commerce
address at Centenary Celebration,
ii. 578
INDEX
623
Darby, Mr. H. M., i, 155
Darby, Mr. J. C. H., ii, 168 ; ii, 390 ;
ii, 399
Dare, Capt. G. J., ii, 184
Dare, G. J., & Co., i, 579
Dare. Mrs. G. M. (now Mrs. G. P.
Owen, whom see)
Dare, Mr. G. M., the first to be
buried in Bidadari Cemetery,
i, 515 ; an assistant of Syme &
Co., ii, 230 ; a photographic
exhibitor, ii, 319 ; in amateur
theatricals, ii, 383 ; and the
Krakatau eruption, ii, 537; career
of, ii, 542 ; ii, 607
Dare, Mr. J. J., ii, 554
Darke, Capt., pilot, i, 582 ; i, 592 ;
ii, 207 ; ii, 216
Darke, Mr. Arthur, ii, 191
Darke, Mr. F. H., ii, 191
Darke, Mr. W. A., ii, 186 .
Darrak, Rev. Mr., ii, 68
da Silva. Mr. C. H., i, 374
da Silva, Mr. J. C. J., i, 371
Davidson, Mr. F. G., of the P. & O.
Company, ii, 93 ; ii, 174 ; ii, 452
Davidson, Mr. James, manager
Mercantile Bank, ii, 177
Davidson, Mr. J. G., appointed
Resident of Selangor, i, 28 ; ii, 592 ;
and the Presbyterian Church, ii,
264 ; ii, 533 ; lulled, ii, 600
Davidson, Mr. M. F., i, 527 ; i, 533 ;
i, 534 ; ii, I ; ii, 190 ; ii, 201
Davidson, Mr. William, appointed
Curator of the Museum, i, 554 ;
death of, i, 556
Davidson v. Ord, an amusing
episode in, i, 201
Davies, Capt. J. C, pilot, attacks
pirates, i, 299 ; i, 592
Davies, Mr. C. J., ii, 186 ; ii, 196 ;
ii, 320
Davies, Mr. R. D., official shorthand
writer to Opium Commission, ii,
59 ; connection of, with the
Singapore Free Press, ii, 284
Davy, Sir Humphrey, friendship of,
with Raffles, i, 66
Dean, Mr. J. A., ii, 333
Deason, Mr. F., ii, 324
de Bure, M., ii, 210
de Courtois, M., ii, 210
de Fontaine, Mr. P. M., taxidermist
in the Museum, i, 557
Delay, Mr. J. A., i, 237
Denniston, Mr. J., ii, 186
Dennys, Dr. N. B., i, 550 ; ii, 177 ;
ii, 289
Dennys, Mr. Allan, ii, 324
Dennys, Mr. F. O. B., ii, 324
Dent & Co., failure of, ii, 178
Dent, Dr. Frankland, i, 512
Dent, Mr., Superintendent of Prison,
killed, i, 288 ; ii, 592
de Paula, Mr. F. E., ii, 223
Derrick & Co., ii, 193
Derrick, Lieut.-Col. G. A., article
by, on Singapore Volunteers,
i, 384 ; ii, 193 ; assistant Martin,
Dyce & Co., ii, 206 ; ii, 226 ; ii, 575
Derrick, Mr. C. P., ii, 214
Derrick, Mr. W. H., ii, 214
de Silva, Mr. G. F., ii, 365
Descriptive Dictionary of the Indian
Isles, i, 80
Desker family in Singapore, i, 368
de Souza familv in Singapore, i, 367
de Souza, Mr. L. F., ii, 286
Deutschland, German cruiser, ii, 336
de Vries, Mr. Cores, Netherlands
India Mail Line of, ii, 188
Dewar, Mr. J., ii, 404
Diamond Jubilee Celebrations, de-
tachment of Malay Police at the,
i. 255
Diana, steamer, used against pirates,
i, 295 ; and the Post Office, ii, 104
Dickens, Mr. John, magistrate at
Penang, i, 17 ; i, 177
Dickenson, Lieut. C, i, 243
Dickinson, the Rev. J. T., i, 436
Dickson, Major-General J. B. B.,
i. 383
Dickson, Sir J. F., career of, i, 112 ;
ii. 597; death of, i, 153 ; ii, 436;
debating qualities of, i, 157 ; and
the Military Contribution, i, 399 ;
as a writer, ii, 288
Dictionary of the Malay Language,
i. 145
Dido, H.M.S., i, 296 ; i, 583
Diehn, Mr. A., ii, 188
Diethelm, Mr. W. H.. ii, 200
Diggles, Mr. R., ii, 229
Dindings, the, comprised in the
Straits Settlements, i, 13; trans-
ferred to the British, i, 21 ; police
stations attacked in, i, 27 ; a
pirate stronghold in, i, 177
Diplomat, s.s., captured by German
cruiser Emden, i, 407
Diss, Mrs. H. G., ii, 397
Diss, Mr. H. G., ii, 204 ; ii, 397
Dissertation on Penang, Low's,
quoted, ii, 45
Djamhi, s.s., sunk at Tanjong Pagar,
624
INDEX
Donaldson & Burkinshaw, i, 225
Donaldson, Mr. A. L., i, 154 ; i, 204 ;
i, 215 ; I, 222 ; career of, i, 225 ;
ii. 337
Dorvvard, Major-General Sir A. R. F.,
i. 383
Dossett, Mr. J. W., ii, 399
Dougal, Mr. W., ii, 176 ; ii, 221
Douglas, Lieut, and Commander
H. P., i. 480
Douglas, Mr. W. W., ii, 360
Dow, Mr. W. N., ii, 319
Down, Mr. St. V. B., ii, 186
Drake, Sir Francis, the first English-
man through Malayan waters,
i. 13
Drew & Napier, i, 225 ; i, 231
Drysdale, Mr. J. C., i, 527 ; ii, 72
Drysdale, Mr. J. H., ii, 312 ; ar-
ticle by, ii, 538
Drysdale, Private, S.V.R., shot by
mutineers, i, 411
Duff, Mr. A., i, 545
Duff, Mr. C. L., ii, 193
Duff, Mr. David, ii, 175
Duff, Mr. R. W., starts his develop-
ment enterprise in Kelantan,
i, 127 ; presents Kelantan min-
eral specimens to the Singapore
Museum, i, 564
Dufferin, Lord, and Sir Benson
Maxwell, ii, 432
Dumbleton, Dr. E. C, Municipal
Health Officer, i, 321 ; i, 509
Dumonteil, M. A., ii, 210
Duncan, Walter, author of
" Diary," ii, 446
Duncan's diary, reference in, to
Singapore opium trade, ii, 28
Dundas, Mr. Philip, first Governor
of Penang, i, 17 ; i, 73
Dunkerley, Archdeacon, ii, 309
Dunlop, Colonel Samuel, career of,
as head of the Police Force, i, 249;
and Chinese secret societies,
i, 276 ; and the Presbyterian
Church, ii, 264 ; ii, 533
Dunlop, Mr. Charles, ii, 192 ; ii,
207 ; ii, 214 ; ii, 349
Dunlop Rubber Co., ii, 87 ; ii, 195
Dunmall, Capt., of Sherard Osborn
cable ship, ii, 168
Dunman family, sketch of the,
ii. 443
Dunman, Major R., in command of
the Volunteers, i, 391 ; i, 403 ;
ii, 81 ; ii, 390 ; ii, 394 ; as
musician, ii, 407
Dunman, Mr. Thomas, Superintend-
ent of Police, i, 88 ; i, 188 ; i, 244 ;
i, 246 ; i, 319 ; i, 527 ; gives site
of Presbyterian Church, ii, 262 ;
in amateur theatricals, ii, 382 ;
marriage of, ii, 443 ; career of,
ii. 443
Dunman, Mr. William, ii. 222 ; ii,
330 ; ii. 359 ; ii. 394 ; ii. 398
Dunn, Mr., shot by mutineers,
i. 410
Dunn, Mr. S., ii, 191
Dupire & Co., ii, 194
Duport, Mr. W. J., appointed
engineer Tanjong Pagar Dock
Co., ii, 2
Dutch, the, Malacca restored to, i,
6 ; occupy Riau, i, 7 ; dispute the
succession to the Sultanate of
Riau with the British, i, 9 ; claim
to supremacy over Singapore,
i, 10 ; withdraw their objections
to the occupation of Singapore,
i, II ; at Malacca, i, 14 ; besiege
Malacca, i, 18 ; capitulate to the
British at Malacca, i, 19 ; Java
restored to, i, 20 ; i, 50 ; recog-
nise occupation of Singapore and
cede Malacca, i, 20 ; Bencoolen
ceded to, i, 20 ; policy of, in the
Napoleonic period, i, 35 ; occupy
Malacca and Pontianak, i, 50 ;
aggressive policy of, i, 53 ;
threaten to attack Singapore,
i, 61 ; ships owned by the, seized
in Singapore Harbour during the
Great War, i, 415 ; monopolistic
policy of, ii, 23 ; acknowledge
British rights in Singapore, ii, 25 ;
restrictive trade regulations of, ii,
31; ii, 298 ; and rubber planting,
ii, 89 ; and Mr. W. H. Read, ii, 418
Duties of Straits Magistrates, the,
i, 209
Dutronquoy, Mr., ii, 382 ; ii, 494
Dyce, Mr. Alexander, ii, 205
Dyce, Mr. C. A., i, 524 ; i, 527 ; ii,
383
Dyer, Rev. Samuel, ii, 237
Dyne, Mr. H. R. L., i, 235
Dyson, Mr. C. V., shot by mutineers,
i. 410
Fames, Mr. W. S., killed in the
Great War, i, 123
Earl, Mr. G. W. ii, 425
Earl, Mr. W., as a writer on Singa-
pore, ii, 471
Earle, Mr. T. E., i, 154 ; ii, 182 ;
ii, 226 ; ii, 342 ; ii, 350
INDEX
625
Early Colonial Records, i, 205
Earnshaw, Mr. Justice, i, 223
East Asiatic Co., ii, 87
East India Company, the, conclude
treaty with the younger son of
the late Sultan of Riau, i, 9 ;
formed to trade in Malaya, i, 14 ;
action of, in regard to Singapore
land tenure, i, 305 ; attitude of,
towards education at Singapore,
i, 461 ; foundation of, i, 568 ; and
the Straits currency, ii, 45 ; postal
arrangements in the Straits dur-
ing the control of, ii, 102
East Indies Trading Co., the, ii, 87
Eastern Cadetships, system of,
introduced, i, 122
Eastern Daily Mail, the, ii, 284 ;
ii, 296
Eastern School, the, foundation of,
i. 449
Eastern Telegraph Co., the. early
notice concerning, ii, 150 ; devel-
opment of, ii, 169 ; and tele-
phones, ii, 171
Eber, Mr. R. L., i, 373 ; ii, 404 ;
ii, 410
Edelmann, Mr. W., ii, 188
Edgar & Co., ii, 194
Edgar, Mr. G., ii, 259
Edge, Major, and the Singapore
Mutiny, i, 413
Edgerton, Mr. E, A., on the Postal
service, ii, 105 ; ii, 285
Edinburgh, the, cable ship, ii, 168
Edinburgh, the Duke of, visits
Singapore, i, 403 ; ii, 529
Edlin, Mr. E. F. H., career of, i,236 ;
member of Opium Commission,
ii. 59 ; director of Hammer &
Co., ii, 199 ; in amateur theatri-
cals, ii, 398
Edoana, the s.s., lands British bat-
talions to suppress Singapore
Mutiny, i, 413
Education Committee of 1870, the,
i, 462
" Education in Singapore," article
by Mr. C. Bazell, i, 427
Edwards, Mr., of Guthrie & Co.,
shot by mutineers, i, 410
Effendi murder case, the, i, 189
Egbert, s.s., sunk by German cruiser
Emden, i, 407
Egerton, Sir Walter, career of, i,
131 ; Chairman of the Singapore
Municipality, i, 320 ; presents
coin collection to the Museum,
i. 566
Elcum, Mr. J. B., and reformatory
work, i, 475 ; and photography,
ii, 319
Electric lighting in Singapore, i, 331 ;
ii, 6
Elgin Bridge, the erection of, i, 324 ;
ii, 203
Elgin, Lord, consults Mr. Blundell
as to diversion of troops to India
during the Mutiny, i, 90 ; i, 378
Elias, Mr. J. A., ii, 564
Ellenborough Market, Singapore,
i. 333
Elliot, Lieut., shot by mutineers,
i, 410
Elliot, Mr. F. M., i, 155 ; i, 200 ;
i, 405 ; ii, 319 ; ii, 342 ; ii, 399
Elliot, Second-Lieut. C. M., estab-
lishes the Observatory at Singa-
pore, i, 478 ; death of, i, 479
Ellis, Dr. W. Gilmore, of the Muni-
cipal Health Department, i, 321 ;
i, 500 ; i, 513 ; i, 518
Ellis, Lieut. -Col. Leslie, coin collec-
tions of, acquired for the Singa-
pore Museum, i, 565
Ellis, Miss, ii, 311
Ellis, Mr, Henry, Assistant Master
Attendant, suggests establishment
of a lazaretto, i, 505
Ellis, Mrs. W, G., in amateur
theatricals, ii, 396
Ellis, Sir E. C, i, 154 ; career of, i,
235 ; ii, 344 ; ii. 356 ; ii. 362 ;
portrait of, i, 236
Elphick, Mr. J. E., ii, 180
Elphinstone, Sir Graham, an early
planter of coffee in Perak, ii, 91
Emden, the, German cruiser, de-
stroyed off the Cocos Islands,
i, 29 ; ravages of, i, 407 ; raids
Penang, i, 408
Emerson, Mr. Charles (of Sisson &
Delay), i, 237 ; ii, 303 ; ii, 399
Emmerson, Mr. Charles (of Emmer-
son's Tiffin Rooms), ii, 385 ;
ii, 505 : ii, 540
Empire Dock, the, opened, ii, 15
Engel, Mr. L., ii, 211
England, the s.s., falls over in the
Tanjong Pagar Co.'s dock, ii, 5
Enterprise, the s.s., the first steam
vessel from England to India,
ii, 108
Erskine, Mr. Samuel, ii, 199; ii, 214
Erskine, the Hon. J. J., ii, 199
Essays relating to Indo-China, ii, 289
Ethnological collections in Singa-
pOTQ Museum, i, 564
626
INDEX
Eurasians in Singapore, i, 352 ;
article on the, i, 363
Eurasian Volunteers, i, 388 ; i, 392
European and Australian Co., the,
fails to secure mail contract, ii,
172
European contingent introduced
into the Singapore Police Force,
i. 253
European population of Singapore,
i. 344
Eusope, Haji Mahomed, ii, 578
Evans, Mr. A. H., of the Borneo Co.,
shot by mutineers, i, 410
Evans, Mr. W., i, 121 ; career of,
i, 140; Chairman of the Singapore
Municipality, i, 320
Evatt, Mr. P. T., i, 226 ; ii, 230 ;
ii. 327
Evens, Mr. A. S., ii, 210
Everitt, Mr. Clement, i, 237 ; ii, 399
Exchange controversy, the, ii, 50
" Exchange Prices Current," ii, 214
Export, the s.s., sunk by German
cruiser Emden, i, 407
Eyre, Miss, Young Women's Chris-
tian Association, ii, 311
Faber, Mr. A. G., ii, 188
Fabris, Mr. J. M., ii, 324 ; ii, 386 ;
in light opera, ii, 393
Fairlie, Mr. John, ii, 288
Falshaw, Mr. P. S., ii, 180
Fame, the, destruction of, off Ben-
coolen with Raffles's collections,
i. 65
Farebrother, Mr. G. S., ii, 194
Farquhar, Capt., of H.M.S. Alba-
tross, i, 297
Farquhar, Maior(afterwards Colonel)
Wm., accompanies Raffles on his
mission, i, 7; despatched by Raffles
on a mission to Riau, i, 9 ; assumes
charge of the Government of Sing-
apore on the departure of Raffles,
i, 10; associates with Raffles in
the furtherance of his plans
against Dutch domination, i, 53 ;
co-operates with Raffles in the oc-
cupation of Singapore, i, 58 ;
Bannerman refuses reinforce-
ments to, i, 61 ; Raffles not
justified in sending to Singapore,
i, 62 ; appointed first Resident
of Singapore, i, 77 ; superseded,
i, 78 ; death of, i, 78 ; Raffles's
instructions to, i, 301 ; action of,
in reference to the defences of
Singapore, i, 378 ; daughter of,
marries Mr. W. R. George, ii,
451
Farquhar, Mr. Robert, Governor of
Penang, advises destruction of
the fortifications of Malacca
i, 19 ; i. 73 ; i. 77
Farrao, Thomas, the earliest re-
membered Eurasian in Singapore,
i.363
Farrer, Mr. R. J., i, 320 ; i, 463
Fawcus, Capt. W. S., of the
SherardOshorn, cable ship, ii, 168 ;
ii, 217
Fazilka, the s.s., ii, 351
Federated Malay States, the. Gov-
ernor of the Straits Settlements,
also High Commissioner of, i, 13 ;
Treaty of Pangkor forms the
legal foundations of the system
of administration of, i, 28 ; i, 100 ;
formation of, i, 28 ; final adop-
tion of the scheme of federation
for, i, 114 ; introduction of the
scheme of federation in, i, 116;
constitution of the Federal Coun-
cil of, i, 138 ; contribution of, to
the B. I. mail route, ii, 121 ;
postal service of, organised, ii,
161
Federated Malay States Hospital,
Sir E. W. Birch identified with,
i, 131 ; Sir William Taylor mainly
responsible for, i, 139
Fee, Bishop R., career of, ii, 245
Fentum, Mr. E. B., ii, 407
Ferguson, Mr. F., a great supporter
of golf, ii, 344 ; ii, 348
Ferguson-Davie, Mrs., M.D., ii, 242
Ferguson-Davie, Rev. C. J., Bishop
of Singapore, ii, 239
Fernandez, Mr. L. A., the taxider-
mist, i, 368 : i, 550
Ferrier, the Hon. Islay, donor of old
tombstones to the Singapore
Museum, i, 536
Findlay, John, the first man buried
in Bukit Timah Cemetery, i, 507
Finlayson, Mrs., in oratorio, ii, 408
Finlayson, Dr., ii, 338 ; ii, 348 ;
ii. 564
Finlayson, Mr. John, i, 153 ; ii, 17;
ii, 190 ; ii, 307
Fire Brigade, the Singapore, i, 337
Fire Queen, the, ii, 115
Firmstone, Mr. H. W., ii, 573
Fischer, Huber & Co., history of,
ii, 200
Fisher, Mr. H. K. C. (Telegraph
Co.), ii, 168
INDEX
627
Fisher, Mr. J., a lemon grass culti-
vator in Singapore, i, 543 ; ii, 84 ;
associated with telegraphs, ii, 167
Fisher, Mr. Justice, i, 240
Fitch, Ralph, the first Englishman
to travel in Malaya, i, 13
Fittock, Mr. Charles, i, 580
Fitzgerald, Miss, ii, 242
Flak, Sergt., success of finger-print
department largely due to, i, 260
Flint, Capt. R. N., and the Singa-
pore monolith, i. 574
Flint, Mr. W. C. Raffles, ii, 421
Flower, Mr. V. A., ii, 227
Fombertaux, Mr. A., ii, 210
Foo Teng Quee, Mr., ii, 266
Foot, Mr. C. J., ii, 347
Football in Singapore, ii, 333
Ford, Sir Theodore, career of, i, 215
Forde, Mr. W. R., ii, 347
Foreshore and Sea-Bed Ordinance,
the, i, 313
Fort Canning, outbreak of fire
signalled from, i, 338 ; construc-
tion of, i, 378 ; ii, 475 ; time ball
at, i, 480 ; military hospital at,
i, 489 ; photograph of, i, 490 ;
completion of, ii, 507
Fort Canning Hill, site for reservoir
acquired on, i, 329 ; cemetery at,
i, 491 ; ii, 587 ; ancient tomb on,
i, 576 ; first Botanic Garden at,
ii, 65 ; description of, ii, 470 ;
Government House built on,
ii, 587 ; school opened at, ii, 588
Fort Connaught, ii, 599
Fort Cornwallis, Penang, i, 25
Fort Faber constructed, i, 380
Fort Fullerton, Singapore, i, 25 ;
construction of, i, 379 ; removal
of the Post Office to, ii, 104 ;
demolition of, ii, 591
Fort Marlborough, Bencoolen, i, 75
Fort Palmer, i, 378
Fort, Sir Hugh, i, 154 ; i, 159 ;
portrait of, i, 234 ; career of,
i, 234 ; as President of Sporting
Club, ii, 344 ; ii, 352
Fort Tanjong Katong, i, 382
Fort York, Bencoolen, constructed,
" Foweraker, Miss, from Lxjndon,"
ii, 514
Fowlie, Dr. P., ii, 342 ; ii, 348
Fowlie, Mrs., ii, 311
Fox, Mr. Walter, appointed Assis-
tant Superintendent of the Bo-
tanic Gardens, ii, 76 ; article by,
on " Early Planting Days," ii, 91
Foyle, the s.s., sunk by German
cruiser Emden, i, 407
Francis, Mr. John, opens first hotel
in Singapore, ii, 481
Franklin, Capt., makes a survey of
Singapore, i, 477
Eraser, John, & Co., ii, 170
Eraser & Gumming, history of, ii,
195
Eraser & Neave, Ltd., history of,
ii, 194 ; ii, 603
Eraser, Mr. Alexander, ii, 150
Eraser, Mr. D. A., ii, 207
Eraser, Mr. James, ii, 175 ; ii, 207 ;
ii, 298 ; ii, 381
Eraser, Mr. John, ii, 171 ; ii, 194 ;
ii, 197 ; ii, 284 ; ii, 349 ; ii, 455 ;
career of, ii, 457
Eraser, Mr. L., i, 524 ; i, 526 ; i,
534 ; ii. 207
Eraser, Rev. T. M., ii, 262
Eraser, Sir John Goldney's negro
butler, i, 223
Freeman, Mr. H., ii, 208
Freemasonry in Singapore, Mr.
Napier the first to be initiated
into, i, 176 ; Sir Harry Keppel
entertained at the Masonic Hall,
i, 583 ; first lodge opened in
Singapore, ii, 589 ; Masonic
dramatic performance, ii, 387 ;
ii, 595 ; Masonic Hall, Kampong
Glam, consecrated, ii, 590 ; Masonic
Hall,Coleman Street, consecrated,
ii, 591 ; Masonic banquet to Mr.
W. H. Read, ii, 594 ; Masonic
Club inaugurated, ii, 598 ; conse-
cration of Eastern Gate Lodge,
ii, 605
Freer, Dr. G. D., first Principal of
the Medical School, i, 514
Freight and Steamship Bill, the,
ii. 43
French Indo-China, protest against
the tariff of, ii, 40
Erizell, Mr. W. H., ii, 176
Erizell, Mrs. W. H., ii, 311
Erois, Mr. J. M., ii, 296
Erolick, Mr. C, ii, 189
Frost, Mr. Meadows, won the
Military Cross in the Great War,
i, 124 ; makes gifts to the
Singapore Museum, i, 565
Fry, Mr. R. S., suggests removal of
the Observatory, i, 481
Fuller, Mr. J. W., first telegraph
manager in Singapore, ii, 167
Fullerton, Mr. Robert, the first
governor of the Straits Settle-
628
INDEX
ments, i, 22 ; i, 82 ; holds the
first Assizes in Singapore, i, 167 ;
refers to lack of Admiralty juris-
diction, i, 177 ; recommends
abolition of Recorder's Court,
i, 180 ; action of, in regard to land
tenure, i, 304
Gaetan, Rev. Mother, ii, 254
Gage-Brown, Miss, ii, 311
Gaggino, Mr., forms opposition
water supply company, ii, 198
Gahagan, Mr. A. Y., i, 221 ; i,
552 ; ii, 168 ; ii, 389 ; ii, 398 ; ii,
412
Galistan, Mr., conductor of Singa-
pore orchestra, ii, 407
Galloway, Dr. D. J., i, 154 ; i, 502 ;
portrait of, i, 504 ; i, 513 ; ii, 299 ;
ii, 301 ; ii, 303 ; ii, 304 ; ii, 317 ;
ii, 362
Gallwey, Mr. H. P., ii, 177 ; ii, 351 ;
ii. 458
Galmel, Father L., ii, 248
Galway, Major, shot bymutineers,
i, 411
Gambier planting, i, 376 ; ii, 71 ;
ii, 79
Gambier, Sir Edward, i, 179
Gambling, Mr. Crawfurd's efforts to
legalise, i, 80 ; one of the curses
of the Colony, i, 264 ; Commission,
i. 279
Gan Eng Seng, Mr., opens a school
at Tanjong Pagar, i, 457
Ganges, brig, at Singapore, i, 62
Ganno, Mr. J., ii, 365
Gansloser, Mr. G., ii, 201
Gardner, Mr., cable foreman, dies of
hydrophobia, ii, 169
Gardner, Mr. J. P. Wade, ii, 178 ;
ii, 222
Garling, Mr. Samuel, i, 212
Garrard, Mr. Charles, compiler of
Garrard's Ordinances, i, 197
Garrett, Mr. J. H., ii, 362
Gas in Singapore, i, 330
Gasnier, Bishop !£douard, career of,
ii, 245 ; ii, 603
Gatty, Sir Stephen, career of, i, 229
Gaunt, Mr. L. E., i, 236 ; i, 243 ;
ii. 332
Gawthorne, Mr. T,, i, 213
Gazeau, Father V., ii, 248
Geiger, Mr. H. W., i, 153 ; ii, 174
Gemmill, Mr. John, Singapore's first
auctioneer, ii, 481
Gemmill 's Hill, Malay College moved
to, i, 468
General Hospital established at
Singapore, i, 497
General Hospital, the, view of, i, 498
Genoa, Duke of, visits Singapore,
ii. 593
Gentle, Mr. A., Chairman of the
Singapore Municipality, portrait
of, i, 320 ; ii, 298 ; ii, 342 ;
ii. 457 ; ii. 599
Geography of the Malay Peninsula,
ii, 288
Geok Teat & Co., history of, ii, 197
Geological section in the Singapore
Museum, i, 563
George, Mr. J., ii, 451
George, Mr. J. C. F., ii, 451
George, Mr. W. R., sells the Singa-
pore Free Press, i, 195 ; secretary
of the first Sports Club, ii, 320 ;
career of, ii, 451 ; ii, 470 ;
residence of, ii, 488
Georgetown, Penang, a private ferry
from, i, 83
German railway scheme for connect-
ing Siam with Malaya, i, 137 ; mail
service to Singapore, ii, no;
ii, 130 ; ships in Singapore
Harbour seized, i, 407
Gerrard, Capt., killed by mutineers,
i, 410
Ghee Hok Society, i, 279
Gibbons, Mr. V., ii, 191
Gibbs, Mr. P. H., ii, 171
Gilfillan, Mr. S., i, 152 ; ii, i ;
ii, 181 ; ii, 185 ; ii, 324 ; ii, 349
Gilfillan, Wood & Co., ii, 171
Gillespie, General, brings charges
against Rafiies, i, 39 ; death of,
i. 45
Gillespie, Mr. P. A., ii, 341
Gilman, Mr. E. J., i, 528
Gimlette, Dr., i, 564
Gladstone, Mr. W. E., supports Sir
John Claridge's grievances, i, 169
Glass, Mr. C. C. N., ii, 209
Glass, Mr. L. R., ii, 196 ; ii, 320 ;
ii, 326
Gledhill, Mr. J. J., i, 236
Glengarry, s.s., i, 299
Glennie, Dr. J. A. R., i, 322 ; i, 509
Glinz, Mr. C, ii, 187
Globe Hotel murders, i, 266
Gnoh Lien Tuck, Dr., i, 472
Go Quans (the five tribes), a Chinese
faction in Perak, i, 27
Gold, Mr. Percy, ii, 334
Goldie, Mr. R. M., ii, 215
Goldney, Mr. Justice, career of,
i, 221 ; i, 254 ; ii, 338 ; ii, 521
Gomes, Rev. W. H., i, 455 ; ii, 241
Goodall & Co., ii, 87
Gosling, Mr. T. L., ii, 391
Goss, Mr. F. M., ii, 384
Gothenburg, the s.s., wrecked, ii, 592
Gottlieb, Mr. F. H. V., i, 241
Gottlieb. Mr. G. S. H., i, 241
Gouldring, Rainold, buried at Pe-
nang, i, 13
Government Gazette of Prince of
Wales's Island, Singapore and
Malacca, ii, 279 ; ii, 285
Government Monopolies Depart-
ment instituted, i, 135
Government Printing Press, the,
ii, 286 ; apprentice scholarships,
i. 474
Governor-General of India com-
missions Sir Stamford Raffles to
establish a port south of Malacca,
i, 6
Graham, Lieut. W. M., i, 243
Graham, Mr, F., ii, 399
Graham, Mr. J., i, 152 ; i, 556 ;
career of, ii, 231
Graham, Rev. P. G., ii, 306
Grand Jury urges re-establishment
of Pork Farm, i, 495 ; suggests
removal of Post Office, ii, 104
Grange Road, construction of, i, 324
Grant, General, visits Singapore,
ii, 520
Grant, Miss, missionary, ii, 241
Grant, Mr. Alexander, ii, 264 ;
ii, 273 ; ii, 275
Granville, Lord, alters conditions
for selection of cadets, i, 120
Gray, Mr. B. C. T., ii, 212
Gray, Rev. J, A., ii, 262
Grayburn, Mrs., in amateur theatri-
cals, ii, 405
Great Liverpool, s.s., ii, 172
Great War, the, Civil Service condi-
tions during, i, 122 ; civil servants
who fought in, i, 123 ; Mr. R. J.
Wilkinson administers the Gov-
ernment at the outbreak of, i,
145 ; gives a fillip to Singapore
Volunteer movement, i, 389 ;
mutiny of Indian regiment at
Singapore during, i, 389 ; Singa-
pore Volunteers in, i, 390 ;
Eurasians offer assistance in, i,
393 ; Singapore and, article by
Mr. W. Bartley, i, 405 ; Straits
Settlements Association and, ii,
301 ; Scotsmen and, ii, 304 ;
Singapore 6n the outbreak of,
ii, 562
INDEX 629
Green, Mr. H. T. S., ii, 179
Greenfield, Mr. T. J, M., i, 197 ; ii,
345
Greenshields, Mr. J. J., i, 150 ; ii,
150 ; ii, 196 ; ii, 298
Greer, H. & W., history of, ii, 195
Greig, Mr, G. T., ii, 397
Greig, Mr. J., ii, 573 ; ii, 580
Greig, Mr. Walter, ii, 180 ; ii, 190
Greig, Mr. W. G., ii, 221
Grey, Leopold J. H., grandson of
Earl Grey, buried at Fort Can-
ning, i, 491
Grey, Major W, R., career of, i, 289 ;
i, 385
Grey, Miss, in oratorio, ii, 408
Grifflth, Dr., ii, 70
Groom, Mr. S. R., caricature of,
i, 226 ; i, 227
Groskamp, Mr. C. W. A. M., ii, 211
Grummit, Mr. F. H., ii, 210
Gryfervale, s.s., sunk by German
cruiser Emden, i, 407
Guest, Sergt. (afterwards Major),
gymnastic instructor, ii, 414
Gulland, Mr. W. G.. i, 152 ; i. 585 ;
ii, 212
Gunn, Mr, H. W., ii, 190
Gunn, Mr. J. W., ii, 222
Gunn, Mr. R, J., ii, 201
Gunong Pantei, early planting
schemes at, ii, 93
Gunong Pulai, coffee planting at,
ii, 91
Gunong Tahan, Sir Arthur Young
visits, i, 143 ; explored in 1855,
ii, 203
Guntzel, Mr. Gustav, ii, 222
Guthrie, Alexander and James, in-
terest of, in education, i, 435 ;
founders of Guthrie & Co., ii,
195
Guthrie & Co., ii, 35 ; ii, 87 ; ii, 171 ;
history of, ii, 195
Guthrie & Shaw scholarships, i, 445
Guthrie family, the, i, 590
Guthrie, James, i, 527 ; ii, 195 ;
ii, 297
Guthrie, Rev. Dr., selects minister
for Presbyterian Church, ii, 262
Guthrie School at Tanjong Pagar,
i. 447
Gutta percha trade at Singapore,
ii, 63
Hackett, Sir Wm., attends meetings
of the Legislative Council, i, 149 ;
holds Court Ordinance of 1868
to be ultra vires, i, 173 ; and Mr.
630
INDEX
Van Someren's admission to the
Bar, i, 211
Haffenden, Mr. Jnc, ii, 273 ; ii, 306 ;
ii. 309
Hafifter, Mr. P., ii, 218
Hailes, Major C, ii, 273
Haliotis, s.s., makes the first trial
run with liquid fuel, ii, 97
Hall, Capt., and the Singapore
Mutiny, i, 409
Hall, George, first manager of
Botanic Gardens, ii, 67
Hallaway, Mr. J. P., Gas Engineer,
i, 321
Halliday, Mr. J., an early planter,
ii, 81
Hallifax, Mr. F. J., adviser to the
Johore State, i, 138 ; article by,
on " Municipal Government," i,
315 ; Chairman of the Singapore
Municipality, i, 320
Hallpike, Mr., opens first boarding
house in Singapore, ii, 481
Hamilton, Alexander, offered the
Island of Singapore by the Sultan
of Johore, i, 6
Hamilton, Gray & Co., Messrs., i,
245 ; i. 367 ; ii. 35 ; ii. 171 ."
history of, ii, 200
Hammer & Co., history of, ii, 198
Hammer, Mr. W., fatal accident to,
ii, 198
Hanitsch, Dr. R., article on " Raf-
fles Library and Museum," i, 520 ;
appointed Curator and Librarian,
i. 556 ; portrait of, i, 566 ; career
of, i, 567 ; ii, 303
Hannaford, Mr. L. B., ii, 329
Hansen, Mr. John, ii, 294
Harbour Scheme projected by Sir
Frank Swettenham, i, 127
Hare, Alexander, settled at the
Cocos Islands, i, 29
Hare, Mr. G. T., i, 121 ; career of,
i, 133 ; as Protector of Chinese, i,
279
Hargreaves, William, career of, ii,
214
Harper, Corpl., S.V.R., shot by
mutineers, i, 411
Harper, Mr. R. I., ii, 176 ; ii, 349
Harrier, H.M.S., i, 293
Harrington & Guthrie, ii, 195
Harrington, Chief Warder, attempt
on the life of, i, 279
Harris, Lieut. J. S., i, 480
Harris, Lord, in Singapore, ii, 327 ;
ii. 595
Harris, Mr. Montagu, i, 239
Harrison, Mr. C. H., i, 527 ; ii, i
ii, 312
Hart, Mr. A. J. C, ii, 182 ;
Hart, Mr. J. M., ii, 309
Hartnell, Mr. E. F. G., ii, 186
Hartwig & Co., history of, ii, 197
Hartwig, Mr., submits plans for new
graving dock, ii, 9
Harvey, Mr. C. D., ii, 192
Harvey, Mr. John, i, 319 ; i, 539 ; ii,
185 ; ii, 298
Harvey, Mr. Robert, ii, 325 ; ii, 326
Haselfoot, Lieut. F. E. B., i, 480
Hastings, Lord, interviewed by
Raffles at Calcutta, i, 51 ; i, 74 ;
commissions Raffles to create a
trading station south of Malacca,
i, 51 ; directs Raffles to desist
from attempt to establish a trading
station, i, 62 ; i, 75 ; finally sanc-
tions the occupation of Singapore,
i, 62
Hastings, Warren, Capt. Francis
Light a friend of, i, 71
Haviland, Dr. G. D., appointed
Curator of Museum, i, 556 ; ii, 301
Hay, Mr. C. H. P., ii, 402
Hay, Mrs. C. H. P., ii, 402
Hayashi, Mr. T., ii, 207
Hayes, George, first shipwright of
Tanjong Pagar Dock Co., ii, 3
Hecla, H.M.S., attacks pirates, i, 297
Heim, Mr. J., ii, 200
Heinrich of Germany, Prince, visits
Singapore, ii, 594
Henderson, Assistant-Surgeon B. C,
i. 490
Henderson, Mr. D. M., ii, 7
Henderson, Mr. I., ii, 305
Hendon, Raffles settles at, i, 66
Hennings, Mr. W. G., ii, 206; ii, 580
Henry, Mr. J., ii, 304 ; ii, 346
Henry of Bourbon, Prince, visits
Singapore, ii, 599
Henry of Orleans, Prince, passed
through Singapore, ii, 600
Henry of Prussia's, Prince, official
landing at Johnston's Pier, ii, 604
Heriot, Mr. S., ii, 298
Herschell, Lord, presides over Cur-
rency Committee, ii, 49
Hervey, Mr. D. F. A., career of,
i, 112 ; the first cadet in the
Straits Civil Service, i, 120 ; makes
• presentation of whale to Singa-
pore Museum, i, 562 ; as a writer,
ii, 288
Hewan, Mr. E. D., i, 155 ; ii, 191
Hewetson, Mr. H., Secretary of
INDEX
631
the Singapore Municipality, i,32o;
ii. 533
Hewetson, Mr. T., ii, 489
Hicks-Beach, Sir Michael, on the
Residential system, i, 105 ; um-
pire in Tanjong Pagar Dock
Arbitration, ii, 13
Highlands and Lowlands Estate,
the famous, ii, 94
Hikayat, the, work by Abdullah,
Raifles's servant, i, 75 ; i, 573
Hill, Mr. E. C, i, 121 ; ii, 309
Hilterman Bros., ii, 191
Hilton, Mr. F., ii, 186
Hinde, Surgeon-Capt., ii, 348
Hindustan, the P. & O. steamship,
opens service east of Suez, ii, 172
Hindustan, the sailing ship, ii, 189
Hinnekindt Freres & L. Cateaux,
ii. 35
Hinnekindt, Mr. L., ii, 184
History of the Indian Archipelago,
the, written by Mr. John Craw-
furd, i, 79
Hitachu Maru, the, i, 243
Hoefeld, Mr. L., ii, 186
Hogan & Co., Ltd., ii, 200
Hogan family in Singapore, the, i,
364
Hoghton, Brig. -Gen., presides over
Commission to inquire into the
Singapore Mutiny, i, 414
Hokkiens and Teo-chews, fighting
between the, i, 247
Hokkien Vernacular, the, Mr. G. T.
Hare, editor of, i, 133
Holdsworth, Mr. R., ii, 212
Hole, Mr. W., ii, 407
Holland, Mr. H., ii, 400
Holmyard, Inspector, detective
force organised under, i, 259
Holt Bangkok boats bought by
Germans, ii, 603
Holt Line, the, coi;ivey parcel mails
during the Great War, ii. 131
Holt, Pte., S.V.R., shot by muti-
neers, i, 411
Hongkong & Shanghai Bank, the,
robbery of, i, 272 ; ii, 171 ; his-
tory of, ii, 177 ; and financing
of tin smelting, ii, 221 ; ii, 593
Honywell, Mr. and Mrs., mission-
aries, ii, 273
Hoo (or Hoh) Ah Kay Whampoa,
i, 150 ; i, 210 ; i, 543 ; ii, 72 ;
ii, 477 ; ii, 498 ; ii, 593 ; ii, 594
Hoo Siak Kuan, Mr., i, 281
Hoo Wing Chong, Mr., i, 277
Hooghly, the, i, 224 ; i, 298 ; i, 381
II— 41
Hooglandt & Co., ii, 98 ; history of,
ii, 200
Hooker, Sir Joseph, faith of, in
rubber, ii, 64
Hooper, Mrs. W. E., ii, 394 ; ii,
523
Hooper, Mr. W. E., ii, 201 ; ii, 299 ;
ii, 339 ; ii, 342 ; ii, 416
Hope, Mr. H. S., ii, 210
Hope, Mr. J. L., ii, 215
Hornaday, Mr., ii, 499 ; ii, 518
Horsburgh, the. Government schoon-
er launched, ii, 592
Horsburgh Lighthouse, the, founda-
tion-stone of, laid, ii, 589
Hose, Bishop, i, 544 ; ii, 238 ; ii,
309 ; ii, 607
Hose, Dr. Charles, i, 565 ; ii, 607
Hose, Mrs., ii, 311
Hotel de I'Europe, the, history of,
ii, 197
Housing Commission, the, report
of, ii, 564
Houtsma, Mr. G. J., ii, 211
Howarth, Erskine & Co., history of,
ii, 199 ; ii, 539
Howarth, Mr. J., ii, 214
Hubback, Mr. A. B., ii, 329
Hubback, Mr. T. R., ii, 329
Huga, Mr. P., ii, 179
Hughes, Miss, ii, 311
Hullett, Mr. R., appointed head
master of Singapore Institution,
i, 438 ; career of, i, 476 ; i,544 ;
ii, 301
Humphreys, Mr. J. L., ii, 347
Hup Choon, Sergt., a clever detec-
tive, i, 271
Hutchings, Rev. Mr., i, 522
Hutchinson, Mr. G., ii, 215
Huttenbach Bros. & Co., ii, 200
Huttenbach, Mr. A., i, 154 ; i, 157 ;
and the mail service, ii, 119 ;
career of, ii. 200 ; ii, 603
Huttenbach, Mr. E., ii, 200
Hutton, Mr. W., ii, 204
Huxtable, Mr. W., ii, 207
Hyacinth, H.M.S., ii, 472
Hydaspe, the s.s., commences
French mail service at Singa-
pore, ii, no
Hyndman- Jones, Sir Wm., i, 165 ;
i, 178 ; i, 208 ; portrait of, i, 238 ;
career of, i, 238
Ibbetson, Mr., succeeds Mr. Robert
Fullerton, i, 82 ; career of, i, 83
632
INDEX
Iberia, s.s., commences P. & O.
service, ii, 171
Ibrahim, Temenggong of Johore,
ii, 522
Imbert, Father, first Roman Catholic
missionary at Singapore, ii, 243
Impiratfice, the s.s., brings first
French mail to Singapore, ii, 1 10 ;
ii, 209
Imports and Exports War Ordi-
nances, i, 423
In Court and Kampong, i, 132
In Malayan Forests, ii, 288
Indians in Singapore, i, 347
Indigo cultivation in Singapore, ii,
83
Indo-Chinese Sugar Co., the, ii, 178
Indrapoer, fort and factory estab-
lished at, i, 14
Indus, the s.s., captured by German
cruiser Emden, i, 407 ; quick
passage of, ii, 603
Industrial education in Singapore,
i. 473
Inglis, Mr. J. C, arbitrator for the
Government in the Tanjong
Pagar Dock Arbitration, ii, 13
Ingorgolie, Rev. E., ii, 259
Innes, Capt., killed at Perak, ii, 592
Innes, Mr. J. R., i, 121 ; i, 260
Institutions and clubs in Singa-
pore, ii, 278
International Banking Corporation,
the, history of, ii, 1 79
International trade route between
East and West, i, i
Ipoh, the s.s., women and children
take refuge on, during the Singa-
pore Mutiny, i, 413
Ireland, Brigadier C, at first meet-
ing of the Legislative Council, i, 149
Irving, Mr. C. J., Chairman of
Museum Committee, i, 551
Isemonger, Mr. E. E., Postmaster-
General, ii, 162
Isenstein, ptto & Co., ii, 87
Issaly, Father F., ii, 247
Izard, Capt., R.G.A., shot by
mutineers, i, 411
Jack, Dr., friend of Raffles, death of,
i. 63
Jackson, Mr. A., ii, 206
Jackson, Mr. R. D., ii, 228
Jackson, Mr., Resident Engineer
Tanjong Pagar Dock, ii, 5
Jackson, Sir John, Ltd., and Tan-
jong Pagar Dock contract, ii,
19 : ii. 301
Jackson, Sir Thomas, ii, 177
Jacob, Padre, obtains site for a
chapel from Raffles, ii, 256
Jago, Mr. F. E., and the oil trade
in Singapore, ii, 98 ; in the service
of Boustead & Co., ii, 190
James, Mr. F. S., career of, i, 145 ;
ii, 391 ; ii. 575
James, Mr. Henry, i, 293
Jamie & Co., fire at the premises
of, ii, 593
Jamie, Mr. R., i, 544 ; i, 547 ; ii, 204 ;
ii, 510
Janion, Mr. E. M., ii, 176
Jansz, Dr., i, 513
Japanese assist to suppress the
Singapore Mutiny, i, 413
Jardine, Matheson & Co. commence
running Apcar steamers, ii, no
Jardine, Mr. Robert, ii, 230 ; ii, 326
Jardine, the s.s., first steamship to
arrive in Singapore, ii, 109
Java Expedition assembled at
Malacca, i, 20
Java, frigate, i, 295
Java handed back to the Dutch
under the Treaty of Vienna, i, 20
Raffles draws Lord Minto's atten-
tion to the importance of, i, 36 ;
Raffles's administration of, i, 37 ;
i, 74 ; Raffles's dreams of, at
Bencoolen, i, 49 ; importation of
British goods into, prohibited.
ii. 33
Javanese in Singapore, i, 353
Javanese of Majapahit raid anl
devastate Singapura, i, 3
Jawi Peranakan, the, ii, 284
Jawi Peranakan Printing Press, the,
i. 473
Jeffcott, Sir Wm., discontinues ap-
pointment of Special Agents, i,
173 ; career of, i, 186
Jeffrey, Rev. W., ii, 262
Jelebu, tin-smelting operations in,
ii, 222
Jellicoe, Capt. J, G., ii, 174
Jenkins, Mr. A., ii, 331
Jennings, Chief Inspector, and
Hongkong and Shanghai Bank
robbery, i, 273
Jervois, Sir Wm., administration
of, i, 102 ; directs Capt. McCallum
to prepare a plan for the defence
of Singapore, i, 381
Jewesses murdered in Singapore, i,
266
Jewish Synagogue in Singapore, ii,
274
INDEX
633
Jinrikishas in Singapore, i, 331
Joaquim Bros., i, 236
Joaquim, Mrs. J. P., ii, 503
Joaquim, Mr. J. P., i, 153 ; i, 196 ;
ii, 318 ; ii, 387 ; ii, 428
Jocjokarta, Battle of, British troops
out of hand at the, i, 40
John Adam, ii, 67
John Bagshaw, saiUng ship, ii, 544
John, Mr. M. H., pilot, i, 592
Johnston, A. L., & Co., i, 534 ; ii,
35 ; history of, ii, 201
Johnston, Capt., of the ketch Bona
Fortuna, i, 290
Johnston, Mr. Alexander, ii, 196 ;
ii, ^264
Johnston, Mr. A. L., ii, 201 ; ii, 485
Johor, King, Sultan of Acheen, i, 52
Johore Mining and Tin Co., the,
ii, 222
Johore Piracy Case, i, 261
Johore State, the, Malay dynasty
established in, i, 4 ; Sultan of,
offers the island of Singapore to
Alexander Hamilton, i, 6 ; Sir
Stamford Raffles turns to, as a
possible alternative to Riau, i,
7 ; connection of the Sultanate or
Empire of, with Singapore, i, 8 ;
indicated by Lord Hastings as
a possible trading station, i, 51 ;
Sultan of, supports the British
occupation of Singapore, i, 58 ;
railway commenced, i, 125 ; i,
135 ; enters into closer relations
with Great Britain, i, 137 ; ques-
tion of appointment of British
Resident at, discussed in the
Legislative Council, i, 152 ; first
treaty concluded with, i, 161 ;
Gambling Farm of, i, 265 ; gift
of coins to the Singapore Museum
from, i, 531 ; completion of the
railway of, ii, 121 ; postal com-
munication with, established, ii,
159
Johore Steam Saw Mills, lease of,
ii. 195
Johore, steam yacht, accident on
the, ii, 558
Johore Straits, proposed bridge
across, i, 127
Johore, the Sultan of (Abubakar),
gives his residence for use as
a school, i, 467 ; establishes the
Malay Printing Press, i, 473 ;
and telephones, ii, 171 ; forms a
polo ground, ii, 336 ; and racing,
ii. 349 '» cartoon of, ii, 431 ;
popularity of, ii, 522 ; G.C.M.G.
conferred upon, ii, 592 ; Prussian
Order of the Crown conferred
upon, ii, 593 ; ball to, 596 ; new
agreement with, signed, ii, 597 ;
proclaimed Sultan, ii, 597 ; re-
turns from England, ii, 601
Johore, the Sultan of (Ibrahim),
accession of, ii, 522 ; ii, 602 ;
revision of treaty with, ii, 608
Johore, the Temenggong of, position
of, i, 8 ; arrangement with, for
the occupation of Singapore, i, 9 ;
i, 57 ; rule of, i, 341 ; history of,
ii, 521
Jones, Major-General,R. Inigo, 1,383
Jones, Mr. H. I., ii, 184
Jones, Mr. J. C. D., ii, 168 ; ii, 386 ;
ii, 394 ; ii, 398
Jones, Mr. J. H. D., ii, 168
Jones, Mrs. O. P. Griffiths, ii,
392 ; ii, 464
Joshua Bros., failure of, ii, 177
Joshua, Mr. J. R., ii, 274
Jourdan, Sullivan & de Souza, of
Madras, Capt. Light employed by,
i, 16
Journal of Eastern A sia, the, started
by Dr. James Collins, ii, 75
Journal of the Indian Archipelago,
the, on the early Singapore
population, i, 242 ; references to,
i, 283 ; i, 350 ; i, 551
Journalism in Singapore, ii, 289
Joyce, Capt. W., presentation to,
ii. 594
Judicature, Court of, established at
Penang, i, 17 ; established for the
Straits Settlements, i, 21
Juno, H.M.S., visits the Cocos
Islands, i, 29
Juries Bill, resignation of unofficial
members of the Legislative Coun-
cil concerning the, i, 151
Kalang River reservoir constructed,
i. 327
Kampong Glam, pirates resort to,
for arms, i, 177 ; branch English
school opened at, i, 439 ; Abdul-
lah's school at, i, 462; English
school at, i, 470 ; at one time a
favourite residential district, i,
526; Masonic Hall at, consecrated,
ii. 590
Kampong Kerbau, General Hospital
at, i, 499
Kandang Kerbau, General Hospital
at, i, 497 ; view of, i, 506
634
INDEX
Kandang Kerbau Market, the, i, 333
Kangaroo, the cable ship, ii, 167
Karakatia, the s.s., ii, 209
Kassim Mansoor, prominent Indian
merchant, tried for high treason,
i. 414
Katz Bros., ii, 171 ; history of, ii,
201 ; introduce first motor-car,
ii, 362
Kawamura, Mr. G., ii, 207
Keasberry, Rev. B. P., educational
efforts of, i, 448 ; career of, ii,
194 ; ii, 236 ; ii, 264 ; ii, 305 ;
ii. 534
Keaughran, Mr. T. J., ii, 286
Kedah, one of the Palembang
Empire's most important out-
stations, i, 2 ; an outstanding
port of call in old times, i, 4 ; King
of, cedes Penang to the British,
i, 14; King of, cedes Province
Wellesley, i, 16 ; Capt. Light on
excellent terms with the ruler of,
i, 71 ; Siamese invasion and
devastation of, i, 73 ; suzerainty
of, transferred from Siam to Great
Britain, i, 137
Keeling, Capt., discoverer of the
Cocos or Keeling Islands, i, 29
Keemun, the s.s., carries notable oil
cargo in war time, ii, loi
Keith, Dr. R. D., progress of
Medical School under, i, 515
Kekewich, Mr. Thomas, extra-
ordinary case concerning the will
of, i, 172
Kelantan State, the, British in-
fluence in, i, 127; suzerainty of,
transferred from Siam to Great
Britain, i, 137 ; railway opened
to, i, 143 ; ii, 121
Kellock, Mr. J. R., ii, 174 ; ii, 205
Kelly & Walsh, history of, ii, 202
Kemp, Mr. W. L., ii, 183 ; ii, 362 ;
ii, 580
Kennedy, Mr. J. Y., i, 153
Keppel, Admiral Sir H., friendship
of, with Mr. Napier, i, 174 ; com-
mences career in the East, i, 296 ;
general career of, i, 582 ; portrait
of, i, 584 ; reference to, ii, 115 ;
death of, ii, 605
Keppel Harbour in the Mutiny, i,
412 ; naming of, i, 583 ; cable
depot at, ii, 170
Ker, Rawson & Co., ii, 175
Ker, Mr. H., ii, 450
Ker, Mr. J. C., i, 403 ; ii, 450
Ker, Mr. J. Paton, ii, 350 ; ii, 450
Ker, Mr. Robert, career of, ii, 229 ;
ii, 450
Ker, Mr. T. B., ii, 450
Ker, Mr. T. R., i, 527 ; ii, 450
Ker, Mr. Wm., Junior, ii, 229; ii,
450
Ker, Mr. W. P. W., ii, 213 ; ii, 347 ;
ii. 450
Ker, Mr. W. W., i, 210 ; i, 578 ;
i, 590 ; ii, 150 ; ii, 212 ; career
of, ii, 449
Kerimon (or Karimun) Islands, the.
Raffles visits, on his way to
Singapore, i, 7 ; Major Farquhar
recommends occupation of, i, 53
Kerr, Dr. T, S., career of, i, 502 ;
i, 518 ; golf champion, ii, 341 ;
ii, 450
Kerr, Mr. A. J., Registrar of the
Court, i, 193 ; ii, 450
Kerr, Mr. C. D., ii, 450
Kerr, Mr. D., ii, 450 ; ii, 455
Kerr, Mr. J., ii, 450 ; ii, 458
Kerr. Mr. W. G., ii, 450
Kesting, Mr. G. A., ii, 200 ; ii, 215
Keun, Mr. A. H., i, 371 ; ii, 535
Keun, Mr. H. C, i, 371
Keun, Mr. W. C. P., ii, 535
Key, Lieut. (H.M.S. Coquette), ii, 273
Khedive, s.s., and s.s. Voorwarts in
collision, ii, 593
Khedive, P. & O. steamship, ii, 173
Khory, Mr. Edaljee, i, 213
Kidd, Mr. G. M., won the Military
Cross in the Great War, i, 124
Killin, s.s., captured by German
cruiser Emden, i, 407
Kimberley, Lord, instructions of, to
Sir Andrew Clarke, i, 27 ; i, 98 ;
open competition for Civil Service
inthe Straitsintroduced duringthe
Secretaryship of State of, i, I2i ;
orders of, relative to Singapore
prison reform, i, 288
Kimmel, Mr. O., ii, 184 ; ii, 399 ;
ii, 400
Kindersley, Mr. R. C. M., ii, 578
Kindervater, Mr. R., ii, 408
King Lud, the s.s., sunk by German
cruiser Emden, i, 407
King, Mr. Geo., ii, 174
King, Mrs. F. W., ii, 404
Kingdon, Mr. R. C. K., kUled in the
Great War, i, 123
King's Dock, the, opened, ii, 14
King's Own Yorkshire Light In-
fantry in Singapore, ii, 415
Kinloch, a Mr., conducts mission to
the King of Acheen, i, 14
INDEX
635
Kinta, the s.s., and Centenary
Celebrations, ii, 582
Kirby, Mr. J. L., "average adjuster,"
i, 592; association of, with Tanjong
Pagar Dock scheme, ii, 2
Kirk, Mr. J. G., ii, 411 ; ii, 412
Kirkwood, Capt., ii, 345
Kirwan, Mr. H. S., ii, 180
Kitchener, Lord, visits Singapore,
ii, 607
Klings in the PoUce Force, i, 251 ;
early position of, in Singapore, i,
345
Klinteberg, Mr. S. af., ii, 227
Kloss, Mr. C. B., i, 565
Knight, Mr. Arthur, probable re-
porter of the Legislative Council,
i, 155 ; meteorological observa-
tions by, i, 479 ; Acting Secretary
of Library and Museum, i, 551 ;
prepares catalogue of Museum,
i, 552 ; and the Presbyterian
Church, ii, 264 ; books of, ii, 285 ;
connection of with Philosophical
Society, ii, 301 ; first came out, ii,
406 ; on the death of Mr. C. Phil-
lips, ii, 460 ; residence of, ii, 557
Knight, Mr. Valentine, prepares
collection of stuffed fish for the
Museum, i, 552
Knowles, Mr. V. D., successful
defence in a piracy case, i, 178
Koehn, Dr., i, 513
Koek, Mr. Edwin, i, 216 ; i, 237 ;
i, 242 ; ii, 92 ; ii, 575
Koek, Mr. Lionel, ii, 396
Koenitz, Mr. A. L., ii, 273 ; ii, 309
Koh San Hin, Mr., ii, 578
Kolf, Capt., in charge of an anti-
pirate flotilla, i, 292
Kong Tian Cheng, Mr., compiles
Chinese Library catalogue, i, 557
Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschap-
pij, the, history of, ii, 201
Krakatoa eruptions, the, effects of,
in Singapore, ii, 536
Krausse, Dr., i, 502
Krohn, Mr. W. W., i, 544 ; ii, 76
Kuala Lumpur adopted as the
headquarters of the P.M. S., i, 118;
railway from, to Klang opened,
ii, 121 ; finger-print registry
established at, i, 261
Kugelman, horse breaker, ii, 506
Kunstler, Mr., osteologist to Singa-
pore Museum, i, 550
Kwong Wai Sin Hospital, the, i, 493
Kwong Woh Pit Soi Society, the,'
i, 276
Kwong Yik Bank, the, ii, 179
Kynnersley, Mr. C. W. S.. i, 108 ;
i, 121 ; career of, i, 129 ; ii, 301
Kyshe, Mr. J. W. N., career of, i, 226
la Brooy, Mr. Claud, ii, 276
Labour on the plantations, ii, 90
Labuan comprised in the Straits
Settlements, i, 13; i, 136; history
of, i, 30 ; misgivings on the
ces.sion of, ii, 34 ; ceded, ii, 589
Ladies' Bible and Tract Society, ii,
305
Lady Brockleigh — Jim Gosper in-
cident, ii, 356
Lady Mary Wood, the, first P. & O.
mail boat at Singapore, ii, 112 ;
ii. 173
Laidlaw, Sir Robert, ii, 310
Laidley, Mr. J. W., and the Singa-
pore monolith, i, 575
Laird, Mr. C. W., i, 154
Lalla, Mr. C. P., ii, i
Lamb, Charles, a contemporary of
Raffles at India House, i, 33
Lamont, Rev. A., takes over the
Eastern School, i, 449 ; as mis-
sionary, ii, 265 ; and the Daily
Advertiser, ii, 296
Lancaster's first voyage to Malaya,
i. 13
Lanchester, Mr. W. P., i, 563
" Land Tenure," article on, i, 301
Lane, Lieut. Hector Alan, i, 242
Langley, Mr. F. A., ii, 398
Lanz, Mr. E., ii, 408
Larkin, Mr., planter, ii, 90 ; ii, 95
Lame, H.M.S., Capt. Marryat's ship,
i, 296
Laspe, Mr. A., ii, 188
Lat Pau, the, ii, 284
Latham, Mr. H., ii, 214
Laugher, Mr. H., ii, 407 ; ii, 411
Law, Sir Archibald, i, 207 ; career
of, i, 230
Lawson, Corporal, S.V.R., shot by
mutineers, i, 411
Lawson, Mr. J., ii, 333
Lawson, Mr. W., ii, 207
Layton, Mr. H. B., i, 235
Lazarus Island (see St. John's
Island)
Le Cain, Mr. W. J. C, i, 372
Leach, Mr. Justice, career of, i, 237 ;
ii. 343
Leask, Dr., i, 513 ; i, 518
Lechner, Mr. C. S., ii, 575
Lecky, Miss, missionary, ii, 266
Lee Choon Guan, Mr., ii, 564
636
INDEX
Lee, Mr. J. B., ii, 179
Lee, Rev, J. R., i, 455 ; ii, 242
Legge, Dr., ii, 237
Legge, Lieut., killed during the
Singapore Mutiny, i, 413
Legislative Council, the, of 1873,
i, 94 ; unofficial members of,
resign, i, 401 ; ii, 591 ; ii, 602
Lehrenkransz, Mr. E., ii, 188 ; ii,
410
Leicester family in Singapore, the,
I 363
Leicester, Mr. H. B., ii, 296 ;
" personal recollections " of, ii,
525
Leicester, Mr. W. S., i, 372
Leigh-Clare, Mr., i, 236
Leigh, Private M., S.V.R., shot by
mutineers, i, 410
Leisk, Capt. W. C, suggests intro-
duction of a time ball, i, 480 ;
i, 592
Leisk, Mr. W. R., ii, 558
Leith, Sir George, first Lieutenant-
Governor of Penang, i, 16
Lemon grass cultivation in Singa-
pore, ii, 84
Leo XIII, the, incident of, ii, 313
Lepers in Singapore, i, 491 ; i, 4
Lermit, Mr. A. A., ii, 228
Leveson, Mr. E. J., ii, 298
Leveson, Mr. E. S., ii, 74
Lewis, Mr. L. S., ii, 174
Leyden, John, friendship of, for
Raffles's wife Olivia, i, 46 ; death
of, in Java, i, 48
Li Hung Chang visits Singapore, ii,
603
Life of Governor Weld, the, quotation
from, i, 106
Light, Capt. Francis, secures cession
of Penang, i, 14 ; death of, i, 15 ;
details of career of, i, 71
Light, Colonel Wm., of Adelaide, a
son of Francis Light, i, 16
Light, Mr. J. E., ii, 407
Lightfoot, Mr., ii, 324 ; ii, 333
Ligor, Siamese attack Malays near,
i. 3
Lily, H.M.S.. i, 247
Lim Boon Keng, Dr., i, 154 ; i, 471 ;
as a writer, ii, 287 ; ii, 302
Lim Koon Kee, a Chinese Charles
Peace, i, 273
Lim Tek Wee, Mr., ii, 282
Lindsay, the Hon. C. R., buried at
Fort Canning, i, 491
Lingard, Captain, career of, ii, 518
Linton, Mr. A. R., ii, 177
Lion City at Singapura, i, 3
Lipscombe, Mr. G., ii, 189
Lister, the Hon. Martin, career of,
i, T09 ; i, 118 ; ii, 95 ; ii, 202
Little, Dr. R., i, 149 ; portrait of,
i, 500 ; career of, i, 501 ; i, 527 ;
i. 534 ; i. 543 ; ". 75
Little, John, & Co., i, 196; i, 501 ;
ii, 171 ; history of, ii, 202 ; ii, 540
Little, Miss, i, 545
Little, Mr. A, M., career of, ii, 203
Little, Mr. J. M., career of, ii, 204 ;
ii, 326
Little, Mr. John, ii, 492
Little, Mr. Robert, ii, 203
Llewellyn, Mr. H. R., ii, 193; ii,
199
Lloyd, Capt. (Brigade Major),
member of Museum Committee,
i, 543
Lloyd, Mr. C. H., murdered, ii, 593
Lloyd, Mr. J. T., ii, 214
Locke, Mr. P. V. S., i, 370
Lodge Zetland, the, Mr. Napier the
first initiate of, i, 176 ; Mr. John
Eraser, Secretary of, ii, 458
Logan & Braddell, firm of, i, 197 ;
ii. 424
Logan, Mr. A., succeeds Napier as
Editor of the Singapore Free Press,
i, 195 ; ii, 283 ; career of, i, 196 ;
i, 213 ; i, 534 ; i, 541 ; ii, 150 ;
ii, 278 ; obituary notice of, ii, 287 ;
and port dues agitation, ii, 420 ;
commences partnership with Mr.
T. Braddell, ii, 424
Logan, Mr. D., i, 154 ; i, 183
Logan, Mr. James Richard, literary
enthusiasm of, i, 26 ; founder of
Logan's Journal, i, 195 ; original
shareholder in Library, i, 527 ;
suggests formation of Museum,
i, 532 ; member of first Museum
Committee, i, 533 ; library collec-
tion of, purchased, i, 551 ; as a
writer, ii, 289
Logan's Journal, quotations from,
i, 19; i, 182; ii, 235; history of,
ii, 288 ; contributed to by Mr.
John Crawfurd, i, 80 ; founded
by Mr. J. R. Logan, i, 195 I I^r.
Little a frequent contributor to,
ii, 204 ; Mr. T. Braddell a con-
tributor to, ii, 425
Lohmann, Mr. J. T., ii, 179
Loke Yew, Mr., a hospital bene-
factor, i, 496
London Agency, Tanjong Pagar
Dock Co., established, ii, 7
INDEX
637
London Missionary Society, the,
established in the Straits, ii, 235
Longmuir, Mr. T. F., ii, 345
" Long and the Short Line " the,
controversy in Singapore, ii, 38
Lonsdale, Mrs., in The Pirates of
Penzance, ii, 394
Lornie, Mr. James, article on " Land
Tenure" by, i, 301 ; and the
Housing Commission, ii, 564
Lorrain, Mr., one of the founders of
the Singapore Free Press, ii, 283
Lose, Mr. E., i, 545
Lothaire, Rev. Brother, ii, 252
Lotteries in Singapore, i, 265
Lovat, the s.s., captured by German
cruiser Emden, i, 407
Lovell, Mr. D. W., ii, 208
Loveridge, Mr. T. C, ii, 215 ; ii,
299
Low, Colonel, protests against the
destruction of the Singapore
monolith, i, 575
Low, Major, career of, i, 86 ; and
social life in Singapore, ii, 491
Low, Mr. D., ii, 174
Low, Mr. H. A., ii, 182
Low Peng Soy, ii, 87
Low, Sir Hugh, career of, i, 109 ;
Secretary to Mr. Napier when
Governor of Labuan, i, 175 ;
leaves the Colony, ii, 598
Lowell, Mr. John, ii, 506
Lucie-Smith, Captain J. A., i, 243
Lucy, Dr. S. H. R., career of, i, 519
Lunatic Asylum established at
Singapore, i, 499
Luscombe, Mr. F. M., ii, 573
Lutyens, Mr. J., ii, 187
Lyall & Evatt, i, 226
Lyall, Mr, James, ii, 230 ; ii, 324
Lyon, D., an early Singapore ship-
wright, i, 578
Lyon, J. M., &Co., history of, ii, 205
Lyon, Mr. Edward, ii, 205
Lyon, Mr. George, engaged to build
graving dock, ii, 2 ; manager
Tanjong Pagar Dock Co., ii, 17 ;
career of, ii, 205
Lyon, Mr. J. L., ii, 179
Mpxao, Bishop of, lays foundation-
stone of Portuguese church at
Singapore, ii, 258
MacArthur, Mr. J. R,, i, 152; ii, 407
Macbain, Mr. G., i, 155 ; ii, 190
Macbean, Mr. J. J., ii, 199 ; ii, 304 ;
ii 314
MacClaverty, Mr. G. A., i, 403
Macdonald, Major, Superintendent
of Penang, criticised, i, 72
Macdonald, Mr. A. J., ii, 182
Macdonald, Mr. Donald, ii, 200
Macdonald, Mr. J. E., ii, 75
Macdonald, Mr. W., ii, 273
Macdonald, William, & Co., ii, 35
Macdougall, Mr. D. P., ii, 212 ;
ii. 355
Macgregor, Mr. W. H., ii, 190
Machado, Mr. A. D., makes presen-
tation to Singapore Museum,
i, 561 ; i, 565
Mackail, Mr. J. H., electrical engin-
eer, i, 321
Mackay, Mr. G. D., ii, 184
Mackay, Mr. W., ii, 190
Mackenzie, Rev. H. L., ii, 266
Mackie, Mr. D. D., ii, 353
Mackie, Mr. F. W., ii, 190
Maclaine, Eraser & Co., ii, 35 ; ii,
171 ; history of, ii, 207 ; failure
of, ii, 595
Maclaine, Watson & Co., and early
postal arrangements, ii, no
Maclaren, Mr. J. W. B., ii, 227 ; ii,
341
MacLaverty, Mr. G. A., ii, 205
Maclean, Capt., R.G.A., the first
victim of the Singapore Mutiny,
i, 409
Maclean, Capt. W., a benefactor
of the Museum, i, 563
Maclennan, Mr. D. G., ii, 179
Macmahon, Miss, missionary, ii, 266
Macmillan, Mr. W. W., ii, 197
Macphail, Mr. L. R., ii, 179
Macpherson, Colonel, first Colonial
Secretary, career of, i, 96 ; at first
meeting of Legislative Council,
i, 149 ; on prison reforms, i, 286 ;
connection of, with the Singapore
Municipality, i, 319
MacRitchie, Mr. James, Municipal
Engineer, i, 321 ;. ii, 192 ; ii, 341 ;
ii, 604
Mactaggart, Captain of the barque
Singapore, ii, 545
Mactaggart, Mr. F. D., ii, 190
Mactaggart, Mr. J. G., ii, 329 ; ii, 332
Mactaggart, Mr. William, i, 578 ;
ii, 230 ; ii, 298
Macvicar, Mr. Neil, ii, 406
McAlister & Co., ii, 171 ; history of,
ii, 208 ; ii, 594
McAlister, Dr., progress of the
Medical School under, i, 515
McAlister, Mr. Alexander, ii, 208
McAlister, Mr. Ebenezer, ii, 208
638
INDEX
McArthur, Mr. C, i, 154 ; ii, 164 ;
ii, 182 ; ii, 226
McArthur, Mr. M. S. H., i, 393
McAuliff e, Davis & Hope, history of,
ii, 210
McCallum, Sir H. E., Chairman of
the Singapore Municipality, i,
320 ; officer of the Fire Brigade,
i. 337 I builds Volunteer Drill
Hall, i, 379 ; commences his
career,' i, 381 ; in command of the
Volunteers, i, 391 ; dock pro-
posals of, ii, 7 ; and the Golf Club,
ii, 338 ; and the Recreation Club,
ii» 365 ; in amateur theatricals,
ii, 395 ; career of, ii, 461 ; ii, 597
McCausland, Sir Richard, career of,
i, 191 ; i, 210 ; eulogy of Mr.
W. H. Read by, ii, 418 ; succeeded
by Sir Benson Maxwell, ii, 432
McCleland, Mr. R. H., i, 372
McCullagh, Mrs., as singer, ii, 411
McDougall, Bishop, consecrates
Cemetery, i, 507 ; a familiar
figure in the homes of the people,
ii, 535
McDowell, Dr. D. K., career of,
i. 518
" McElvey's boys," ii, 414
McEwen & Co., ii, 185
McEwen, Mr. R., i, 524 ; i, 527
McFarlane, Mr. J. R., ii, 365
McGill, Capt. H., i, 565
McGilvray, Mr., shot by mutineers,
i, 410
Mc II wraith, McEacharn & Co.,ii, 209
McKenzie, Mr. James, ii, 333
McKerrow, Mr. William, career of,
ii, 212 ; ii, 264
McKerrow, William, & Co., ii, 171 ;
history of, ii, 208
McKillop, Mr. John, ii, 224 ; ii, 301
McMicking, Mr. G., i, 527 ; i, 533 ;
ii, 230 ; ii, 281
McMicking, Mr. Thomas, ii, 229 ;
ii, 230
McNair, Major, Private Secretary
to Mr. Blundell, i, 90 ; Colonial
Engineer, i, 96 ; career of, i, 97 ;
i, 287 ; present at the signing of
the Treaty of Pangkor, i, 100 ;
at first meeting of Legislative
Council, i, 149 ; member of
Museum Committee, i, 543 ; and
the Treaty of Pangkor, ii, 426
McNeil, Mr. A. M., ii, 233
McPhee, Rev. A. S., ii, 262
Madge, Capt. C, V., of Sherard
Osborn cable ship, ii, 168 |
Madras, news of shelling of, reaches
Singapore, i, 407
Magicienne, H.M.S., blockades the
Linggi and Kesang Rivers, i, 22 ;
Sir Henry Keppel Lieutenant on
the, i, 582
Magnet cable ship, ii, 170
Mah Tow Kuan, a notorious
criminal leader, i, 271
Maistre, Father, ii, 250
Majapahit, Javanese of, destroy
Singapura, i, 3
Makepeace, Mr. Walter, article by,
on " The Legislative Council," i,
149 ; article by, on " Singapore's
Military History," i, 377 ; article
by, on " Volunteer Recollections,"
i. 394 ; article by, on " The Mili-
tary Contribution s,"i, 339 ; article
by, on " Early Volunteering and
Shooting," i, 402 ; article by, on
" The Machinery of Commerce,"
ii, 166 ; article by, on " Institu-
tions and Clubs," ii, 278 ; con-
nection of, with the Singapore
Free Press, ii, 284 ; Vice-President
Straits Settlements Association,
ii, 299 ; Treasurer of the Merchant
Service Guild, ii, 317 ; member of
the defunct Cycling Club, ii, 317 ;
article by, " Concerning Known
Persons," ii, 416
Malacca Observer, the, and early
steam navigation, ii, 108 ; refer-
ence to, i, 168 ; history of, ii, 278
Malacca, rise of, i, 4 ; transferred by
the British to the Dutch in 181 8,
i, 6 ; comprised in the Straits
Settlements, i, 12 ; tradition
relating to, in the Malay Annals,
i, 18 ; Chinese annals mention,
i, 18 ; Portuguese occupation of,
i, 18 ; Dutch occupation of, 1, 19 ;
St. Francis Xavier's curse relating
to, i, 19 ; Dutch capitulate to the
British at, i, 19 ; restored to the
Dutch by the Peace of Amiens,
i, 19 ; fortifications of, destroyed
hy advice of the Governor, Lieut. -
Col. Farquhar, i, 20 ; i, 74 ;
Raffles protests against the evacu-
ation of, i, 20 ; Java expedition
assembled at, i, 20 ; restored to
the Dutch by the Treaty of
Vienna, i, 20 ; finally ceded to
the British by the Dutch, i, 20 ;
governed by a Resident, i, 20 ;
early trade of, i, 24 ; Raffles
urges the retention of, i, 35 ;
INDEX
639
Dutch occupy in consonance with
the Treaty of Vienna, i, 50 ;
Legislative Council meets at,
i, 149 ; Land Ordinances, i, 152 ;
position of Roman Catholic
Church in, under the Portuguese,
ii. 255
Malacca, s.s., Mr. J. D. Vaughan's
disappearance from the, i, 224
Malacca Weekly News, ii, 279 ; ii,
591
Malacca Weekly Reporter, the,
history of, ii, 278
Malan, Major, and " Bethesda,"
ii. 273 ; ii, 535
Malaria in Singapore, i, 515
Malay Annals, the (Sejarah
Malaya), i, 17
Malay Empire, a, under British
guidance, Raffles's dream, i, 47
Malay Girls' Schools, i, 469
Malay Hymnal, the, ii, 459
Malay Mail, ii, 279
Malay Sketches, i, 128
Malay States, the, federated (see
Federated Malay States)
Malay States, the, pacification of,
i. 25
Malay States, the. Protected or
Non-federated, organisation of,
i, 124 ; first step towards the
establishment of British influence
in, i, 127 ; transferred to the
suzerainty of Great Britain, i,
137
Malay States Volunteer Rifles and
the Singapore Mutiny, i, 409
Malay Training College, i, 463
Malay Volunteers, i, 388
Malaya, first Englishman buried in,
i, 14
Malaya, H.M.S., i, 131 ; i, 141
Malaya Tribune, ii, 279 ; ii, 284 ;
ii, 296
Malayan Civil Service, the, i, 123
Malays in the Police Force, opinions
on the, i, 251
Malaysia Mission, i, 457 ; ii, 270
Malkin, Sir Benjamin, establishes
Savings Bank in Penang, ii, 145 ;
arrives in Singapore, ii, 588
Man, Colonel Henry, Resident
Councillor of Penang, i, 96 ;
Superintendent of Convicts, i,
284 ; career of, i, 286 ; member
of first Museum Committee, i, 533
Manchester Regiment provides guard
of honour for Centenary Celebra-
tions, ii, 575
Manila Expedition assembled at
Penang, i, 16
Manisty, ' Mr. Edward, advises
Tanjong Pagar Dock Co., ii, 10
Mann Nephews, Messrs., i, 540
Mansfield, Mr. Walter, career of,
ii, 206
Mansfield, W., & Co., ii, 117 ; his-
tory of, ii, 206 ; take over man-
agement of Straits Steamship Co.,
ii, 216
Mantri of Perak espouses the cause
of the Go Kuans, i, 27
Manual of the Malay Language, ii,
288 ; ii, 437
Markets in Singapore, i, 333
Markomania, the, German ship,
sunk by H.M.S. Yarmouth, i, 407
Marks, Mr. O., ii, 345
Marriott, Mr. Hayes, article by, on
" The Peoples of Singapore," i, 341
Marryat, Capt. (the novelist), ap-
proves of Capt.Congalton's action,
i, 296 ; and Singapore life, ii;
497
Marsden, barque, ii, 542
Marsden, Rafiies's letter to, indicat-
ing Singapore as the objective of
his expedition, i, 58 ; Raffles's
letter to, announcing the occupa-
tion of Singapore, i, 58
Marshall, Capt. H. T., first Chair-
man of the Singapore Municipal
Council, i, 319 ; first Superin-
tendent of the P. & O. Company,
ii, 172
Marshall, Mr., of the China Mutual
Insurance Co., shot by Singapore
mutineers, i, 410
Marshall, Mr. Jno., Editor Straits
Times, ii, 282
Marshall, Mr. William, P. and O.
pilot, i, 592
Martens, Mr. F. R., i, 373
Martin, Colonel, and the Singapore
Mutiny, i, 409 ; i, 412
Martin, Dr. Alexander, i, 500 ;
ii, 203
Martin, Dr. M. J., i, 500 ; i, 563 ;
ii, 203
Martin, Dyce & Co., ii, 35 ; ii, 171 ;
history of, ii, 205
Martin, Mr. A. M., ii, 204
Martin, Mr, M. J., i, 527
Martin, Mr. William, ii, 185
Mason, Mr. H. A., ii, 334
Masonic celebration at the laying of
foundation-stone of the Horsburgh
Light, ii, 196
640
INDEX
Masonic Hall, Coleman Street,
foundation-stone laid, ii, 593
Masonic Hall, Sir Harry Keppel
entertained at, i, 583
Masonic Lodge, first, opened in
Singapore, ii, 589
Masonic Lodges, resemblance of
meetings of Chinese Secret
Societies to the gatherings of,
i, 278
Masonic theatrical performance,
ii, 387
Massy, Capt,, ii, 395
Mathison, Rev. John, ii, 262
Matthews, Mr. D. J., ii, 216
Matthews, Mr. George H. B., Govern-
ment Analyst, i, 512
Matthews, Sir J. B., i, 154 ; i, 197 ;
ii, 301 ; ii, 395 ; ii, 408
Maudit, Father A., ii, 247
Mauldon, Mr. E. F., ii, 226
Maundrell, Lieut. E. B., shot, ii, 609
Maw, Mr. D., ii, 204 ; ii, 208 ; ii, 373
Maxia, Father Francisco da Silva
Pinto, career of, ii, 256
Maxwell, Capt. P. B., ii, 434 ; ii,
442
Maxwell, C. B., ii, 442
Maxwell, Mr. C. N., career of, ii,
441
Maxwell, Mr. D. W., ii, 441
Maxwell, Mr. Eric, career of, ii, 441
Maxwell, Mr. F. R. O., career of, ii,
439
Maxwell, Mr. G. V., ii, 441
Maxwell, Mr. John A., i, 430
Maxwell, Mr. R. W., Inspector-
General of Police, i, 255 ; i, 403 ;
assaulted, ii, 138 ; as cricketer,
ii, 327 ; career of, ii, 438
Maxwell, Mr. T., i, 520
Maxwell, Mr. T. C, ii, 391
Maxwell, V. S., ii, 442
Maxwell, Mr. W, G,, career of, ii,
440 ; ii, 564 ; ii, 575
Maxwell, Sir Benson, administers
oaths to members of the Legis-
lative Council, i, 149 ; debating
skill of, i, 155 ; decision of, as to
English Law, i, 160 ; career of,
i, 191 ; retirement of, i, 206 ;
author of legal works, i, 209 ; as
Recorder of Penang, i, 209 ;
career of, ii, 431 ; and Raffles
School, ii, 527
Maxwell, Sir W. E., and the first
Societies Ordinance debate, i,
III ; appointment of as Land
Commissioner, i, 312 ; and the
Singapore monolith, i, 576;
Presiding Magistrate, Malacca, ii,
279 ; as a writer, ii, 288 ; char-
acter sketch of, ii, 434 ; ii, 533 ;
death of, ii, 603
Mayson, Mrs. W. J., in amateur
theatricals, ii, 392 ; ii, 398 ; ii,
464
Mayson, Mr. W. J., ii, 202 ; ii, 346 ;
ii. 399
Meander, H.M.S., Keppel returns
to Singapore in, i, 583
Medical Association, the Singapore,
formed, i, 513
Medical Registration Ordinance, i,
514
Medical School at Singapore, the,
i, 474
" Medical Work and Institutions,"
article on, i, 487
Meikle, Mr. J., ii, 227 ; ii, 339
Melchior Tretib, the s.s., ii, 202
Melville, Mr. T. A., article on " The
Post Office and Its History," ii,
102
Memoir of Captain Light, ii, 286
Meneuvrier, Father J., ii, 249
Menzies, Mr. R. S., ii, 233
Mercantile Bank of India; London
& China, the, opens in Singapore,
ii, 175 ; history of, ii, 176
Merchant Service Guild, the, ii, 316
Meredith, Inspector, attacked by
mutineers, i, 411
Merewether, Lady, in amateur
theatricals, ii, 389 ; ii, 428
Merewether, Sir E. M., i, 121 ;
career of, i, 131 ; i, 290 ; i, 337 ;
ii, 324 ; ii, 327 ; ii, 389 ; ii, 428
Messageries Maritimes Cie, the, ii,
171 ; history of, ii, 209
Methodist Church, the, in Singapore,
ii, 267
Meyer Bros., history of, ii, 207
Meyer, Mr. A. O., ii, 187
Meyer, Mr. E. L., presents service
of communion plate to St.
Andrew's Cathedral, ii, 187
Meyer, Mr. J. A., ii, 207
Meyer, Mr. M., and the Jewish
Synagogue, ii, 274 ; and the
Philharmonic Society, ii, 410 ;
character sketch of, ii, 463 ; and
the Centenary Celebration, ii,
581
Meyer, Mr. V. L., ii, 187
Michael, Rev. Brother, ii, 252
Michell, Mrs. W. C, in amateur
theatricals, ii, 398
INDEX
641
Michell. Mr. W. C. i. 561
Mid-day Herald, the, ii, 297
Middleton. Dr. W. R. C, Municipal
Health Officer, i, 320 ; i, 322 ;
i. 509 ; ii, 59
Middleton, Harrison & Co., ii, 35
Middleton, Mr. Alfred, i, 527
Midge, H.M.S., attacked by the Si
Kuans of Perak, i, 27
Miles, Mr. C. V., ii, 345
Military contribution, the. Lord
Ripon's decision as to, i, 114 ;
debate in the Legislative Council
on, i, 153 ; Sir Walter Napier's
speech on, i, 232 ; petition as to,
i, 380 ; article on, i, 399 ; Straits
Settlements action on, ii, 299 ; in-
terview with Lord Ripon regard-
ing, ii, 601 ; amount of fixed, ii, 602
Military history of Singapore, i, 377
Military hospitals in Singapore, i,
489
Military training regulations in the
Great War, i, 418
Militia Bill introduced, ii, 591
Millar, Mr. Jackson, ii, 215 ; ii, 313 ;
ii. 539
Millard, Mr. Harold, i, 235 ; i, 242
Miller, Mr. James, ii, 181 ; ii, 293 ;
ii, 307 ; ii, 339 ; ii, 350 ; ii, 378
Miller, Mr. T. C. B., ii, 215
Milne, Rev. W., appointed Chaplain,
ii. 235
Milton, the s.s., introduces cholera
into Singapore, i, 506
" Mineral Oil Trade, the," article
on, ii, 97
Minia, the cable ship, ii, 167
Minicoys, the, British ships sunk
off, by the German cruiser
Emden, i, 407
Minnitt, Mr. C. F., ii, 182
Minto, Lord, Raffles's representa-
tions to, regarding Malacca, i,
35 ; appoints Raffles Agent to
the Governor - General in the
Malay States, i, 36
Minto, the ship, a unit of the
squadron which occupied Singa-
pore, i, 56
Missionary Schools in Singapore, i,
447
Mitchell, Lieut. -Col. Sir C. H. B.,
administration of, i, 113 ; de-
bating qualities of, i, 159 ; makes
presentation to the Museum, i,
564 ; memorial of, i, 570 ; deputa-
tion to, relative to military con-
tribution, ii, 299 ; death of, ii, 604
Mitchell, Mr. J. C, ii, 317
Mitchell, Mr. John, i, 155 ; ii, 184
Mitchelmore, Mr. E. V., ii, 309
Mitsui Bussan Kaisha, the, history
of the Singapore branch of, ii, 207
Modern Currency Reforms, Kem-
merer's, ii, 51
Moding, Mr. F., ii, 333
Moir, Mr. J. K., ii, 179
Moira, Lord, prejudiced against
Raffles, i, 42 ; minute by, dealing .
with the charges against Raffles,
i, 45
Molucca Islands, the, Raffles men-
tioned as a possible Governor of,
i. 36
Molyneux, Capt. C. R., ii, 335
Moneka, the s.s., the first ship
repaired by the Tanjong Pagar
Dock Co., ii, 3
Moniot, Mr. J. M., ii, 464
Moniteur des Indes Orientales, i, 292
Monmouth, H.M.S., Malay model
of, ii, 583
Monopolies Department organised,
ii, 57
Monro, Mrs., in amateur theatricals,
ii, 404
Montcalm, the French cruiser, and
the Singapore Mutiny, i, 409 ; i,
413
Montgomerie, Dr., in medical charge
at Singapore in Raffles's time, i,
488 ; i. 517 ; and the Singapore
monolith, i, 574 ; and the Botanic
Gardens, ii, 67 ; ii, 70 ; owner of
a nutmeg plantation, ii, 82 ; com-
plimentary dinner to, ii, 320 ;
presides at St. Andrew's Dinner,
ii, 483 ; residence of, ii, 487
Montgomerie, Mr. W., a pioneer
sugar planter in Singapore, ii, 72
Montgomerie, Second - Lieut. J. L.,
killed by mutineers, i, 410; ii, 208
Moore, Mr, H. A. D., i, 371
Moore, Mr. J. R., ii, 403
Moorhouse, Mr. S. W., an early
planter, ii, 81
Mooyer, Mr. Oscar, ii, 181 ; ii, 298
Moquette, Mr. J. P., i, 565
Moraux & Co., ii, 87
Morell. Capt. W. G. H., ii, 217
Mornington, Earl of, i, 16
Morphia, illicit trade in, i, 274
Morphy, Mr. E. A., ii, 282
Morris, Mr. C. J., ii, 189
Morrison, Dr., i, 428 ; i, 520
Morrison, Mr. M., ii, 176
Moses, Mr. C, ii, 281
642
INDEX
Moss, Capt. J., i, 580
Moss, Mr, Mark, career of, i, 580
Moss, Mr. S, H., ii, 194
Martin, James & Co., history of,
ii, 207
Motor Car and Athletic Journal, ii,
362 ; ii, 510
Mouat, Dr., on Singapore prison
reforms, i, 286
Moule, Rev. Horatio, a pioneer in
sanitation, i, 504
Moulsdale, Mr. W. E., ii, 17
Mounsey, Rev. W. R., ii, 239
Mount Austin, origin of, ii, 96
Mount Emily, service reservoir
constructed on, i, 328
Mount Faber, Observatory removed
to, i, 481
Mount Palmer, lands purchased
by Tanjong Pagar Dock Co.,
ii, 6
Mount Wallich called after Dr.
Nathaniel Wallich, ii, 65
Mousquet, the French torpedo-boat,
sunk by German cruiser Emden
in Penang Harbour, i, 408
Mugford, Capt. S. (s.s. Lady
Mitchell), ii, 216
Mugliston, Dr. T. C, and forma-
tion of the Medical Association,
i. 513 ; career of, i, 518 ; as
cricketer, ii, 327 ; as golfer, ii,
341 ; ii, 346
Mugliston, Mrs., ii, 503
Mughston, Mr. G. R. K.. i. 196
Muhlenbein, Mr. O., ii, 197
Muhlinghaus, Mr. F. C, ii, 182
Muhlinghaus, Mr. H., ii, 215 ; ii,
219 et seq.
Muhry, Mr. O., ii, 188
Muir, Mr. Geo., ii, 212
Muir, Mr. John, ii, 209
MulhoUand, Mr. Wm., ii, 185 ; ii,
384
Mundell, Mr, H. D., i, 237
Mundy, Capt., on Singapore's pros-
perity, ii, 31
Municipal Commissioners in 1890
(portrait group), i, 322
" Municipal Government," article
on, i, 315
Municipal Officers in 191 5 (portrait
group), i, 324
Municipal Ordinance, debate on,
i, 153 ; i, 157 ; ii, 300
Murchie, Mr. James, ii, 205
Murchison, Mr. Kenneth, career of,
i, 83 ; assists at the first Assizes
in Singapore, i, 167 ; reprimanded
for holding a Court at Singapore,
i, 170 ; sworn in, ii, 588
Murex, the s.s., brings cargo of
Russian kerosene to Singapore, ii,
97
Murray, Colonel A., in command of
the Volunteers, i, 391 ; in ama-
teur theatricals, ii, 396
Murray, Lady, in amateur theatri-
cals, ii, 389 ; ii, 395
Murray, Rev. W., article on " Reli-
gious Singapore," ii, 235 ; career
of, ii, 266 ; ii, 303
Murray, Sir George, i, 153 ; i, 158 ;
career of, ii, 177 ; ii, 338
Murton, Mr., and rubber planting,
ii, 64 ; appointment of, to the
charge of the Botanic Gardens,
ii, 76
Mutiny of the 5th Light Infantry
in Singapore, i, 247 ; Sikh Police
loyal in the, i, 254 ; article by
Mr. W. Bartley describing the,
i. 405
Myrtle, Mr. John, original share-
holder in Library, i, 527
Naef, Mr. W., ii, 200
Nain, Rev, Father, ii, 252
Nairne, Mr. Law, ii, 150
Nalin, Mr. P., ii, 210
Naning War, the, i, 22 ; i, 83 ; i,
582
Nanson, Mr. Wm., i, 222 ; anec-
• dotes relating to, i, 233
Nanson, W. & E., Mr. C. B. Buckley
in partnership with, ii, 454
Napier & Scott, i, 168
Napier, Lady, as motorist, ii, 365
Napier, Mr. Wm., the first law
agent, i, 172 ; one of the best-
known characters in Singapore, i,
174 ; trustee of Singapore In-
stitution, i, 433 ; presides at
meeting to establish a Library, i,
524 ; original shareholder of
Library, i, 526 ; interest of, in
Museum, i, 536 ; founder of the
Singapore Free Press, ii, 283 ;
Chairman Straits Settlements
Association, ii, 297 ; in amateur
theatricals, ii, 382 ; presides at
St. Andrew's Dinner, ii, 483
Napier, Mr. W. G., i, 154 ; ii, 299 ;
ii, 362
Napier, Sir Walter, i, 158 ; i, 217 ;
i, 225 ; career of i, 231 ; on the
power of banishment, i, 263 ; and
the military contribution, i, 400 ;
INDEX
643
and the presentation to Mr. Noel
Trotter, ii, 164 ; ii, 301
Navine, Mr. G., ii, 298
Nearchus, the, Raffles sails in, on
his mission to Singapore, i, 51 ;
i, 62
Neave, Mr. D. C, ii, 194"; ii, 284 ;
ii, 293 ; ii, 319 ; ii, 350
Neave, Mr. T., ii, 176
Nederlandsch Indische Handels-
bank, the, history of, ii, 179
Nederlandsche Handel Maatschap-
pij the (the Netherlands Trading
Co.), history of, ii, 210
Negapatam route, the, mail service
by, ii, 119
Negri Sembilan, formation of the,
i, 28 ; becomes a unit of the
Federated Malay States, i, 28 ;
peace treaty signed with the
Chiefs of, ii, 593
Nemesis, the fighting, i, 223 ; i, 479
Nemesis, the s.s., the first steamer
from England to Singapore, via
the Cape, ii, 30 ; ii, 589
Nestl6 Company and milk supply in
the Great War, i, 406
Netherlands India Postal Agency,
ii, 155
Netherlands Trading Society, the,
ii, 171
Neubronner, Mr. A. W., ii, 185
Neubronner, Mr. J. L., ii, 185
Newbold on the early population of
Singapore, i, 348
Newcome, Capt., commands Brit-
ish squadron which captures
Malacca from the Dutch, i, 19
New Harbour Dock Co., the, a keen
competitor of the Tanjong Pagar
Dock, ii, 7 ; acquired by the
Tanjong Pagar Dock Co., ii, 10 ;
origin of the, ii, 38 ; and tele-
phones, ii, 171 ; formation of, ii,
213
New Harbour, Singapore, i, 578 ;
ii, 664
New Oriental Bank, The, in Singa-
pore, ii, 176 ; ii, 596 ; ii, 601
Newton, Mr. Howard, Municipal
Engineer, i, 321 ; ii, 392 ; ii, 401
Newton, Mrs. Howard, ii, 464
Nichol, Mr. G. G., i, 334 ; ii, 200
Nicholson, Mr. Francis, i, 364
Nicholson, Mr. J. C, ii, 178
Nicholson, Mr. John, ii, 294
Nicholson, Sir J. R., article on
" Singapore Harbour," ii, i ;
career of, ii, 19
Nile, s.s. , used by refugees during the
Singapore Mutiny, i, 413
Nind House, Singapore, ii, 270
Nippon Yussen Kaisha, the, his-
tory of, ii, 212
Nisero, the, captive crew of, in
Acheen, ii, 435 ; ii, 596
Niven, Mr. C. H., i, 155
Niven, Mr. J. P., ii, 208
Niven, Mr. Lawrence, develops the
Botanic Gardens, ii, 74 ; death
of, ii, 76
Nodes Orientates, ii, 302
Nolan, Chief Detective Inspector, i,
269
Noon, Mr. H. W., ii, 182 ; ii, 329
Nore, the troopship, 5th Light In-
fantry under orders to embark in
the, i, 409
Normanton Training Camp, the,
troops in, at the time of the Mu-
tiny, i, 409
Noronha, Mr. H. L., ii, 286
Norris, Mr. C. V., ii, 365
Norris, Sir. Wm., orders the dis-
continuance of the appointment
of general agents, i, 173 ; career
of, i, 178 ; has dispute with
the Executive, i, 181 ; eccentricity
of language of, i, 182
North China Assurance Co., the,
history of, ii, 212
North- West Bank of India, the,
opens branch in Singapore, ii, 175
Numismatic Collection in the Singa-
pore Museum, i,*565
Nunn, Mr. Bernard, writes chapter,
" The Government : Some Ac-
count of our Governors and
Civil Service," i, 69
Nutmeg plantations in Singapore,
ii, 66 ; ii, 82 ; ii, 490
Nutt,Mr.W.F.,ii,223; ii, 226; ii, 580
Gates, Colonel, ii, 344
O'Brien, Mr. H. A., i, 121 ; ii, 162
Observatory established at Singa-
pore, i, 478
Ocean Queen wrecked near Singa-
pore, ii, 71
Oder, S.S., ii, 597
Oertlop, Mr. O., ii, 222
Ohmora, Mr., Manager Mitsui Bus-
san Kaisha, ii, 207
O'Laughlin, Mr., i, 403
Oldham, Rev. Bishop W. F., mem-
ber of Opium Commission, ii, 59 ;
career of, ii, 267 ; eulogy of Mr.
C. Phillips by, ii, 459 ; ii, 535
644
INDEX
Oldman, Mrs., and war entertain-
ments, ii, 405
Oliver. Mr. R. E. H„ ii, 331
" Olivia " {the first wife of Raffles),
indignant at the charges brought
against her husband, i, 44 ; char-
acter sketch of, by Abdullah,
i, 47 ; death of, i, 48
Olsen, Capt. R. T. (s.s. Ban Whatt
Hin), ii, 216
O'Malley, Sir E. L., career of, i, 219 ;
eulogy of Mr. T. Braddeli by,
ii, 428
Oman, Mr. W. C, ii, 573
Ommaney, Mr., evidence of, before
the Police Commission, i, 251
Ophir, H.M.S., visits Singapore with
the King and Queen, i, 125 ; i, 134
Opium clippers, ii, 492
Opium Commission, i, 135 ; ii, 56 ;
ii, 58 ; ii, 452
Opium question in Singapore, ii, 55
Opium steamers, ii, 56
Orang Laut, i, 342 ; ii, 486
Orchard Road Market, i, 333
Orchard Road Police Station, at-
tacked during the Mutiny, i, 412
Ord Bridge, the erection of, i, 324 ;
ii. 597
Ord, Sir Harry, first Governor of the
Straits Settlements under Crown
rule, i, 24 ; reply of, to petition
regarding anarchy in the Malay
States, i, • 26 ; arranges peace at
Selangor, i, 27 ; career of, i, 94 ;
memorandum by, on the Police
Force, i, 249 ; action of, relative
to the Museum, i, 542 ; opens the
Victoria Dock, ii, 3 ; and Malayan
trade, ii, 38 ; and the Agri-
Horticultural Society, ii, 75 ;
conduct of, at the Transfer
meeting, ii, 204 ; Straits Produce
on the Government of, ii, 293 ;
character sketch of, ii, 529
Orel, the Russian cruiser, lands men
during the Singapore Mutiny,
i. 413
Oriental Bank Corporation, the,
ii. 35 ; ii. ^7^ '. ii. ^75 ; ii. 596
Oriental Telephone Co., the, ii, 168 ;
ii. 170
Oriental, the, P. & O. steamship,
ii. 171
Ormiston, Mr. Evan, ii, 451
Ormiston, Mr. Walter, ii, 175 ;
ii. 451
Orpheus, H.M.S., off Malacca in
1795. i. 19
Orton, Geo. (brother of Tichborne
claimant), action against, i, no ;
ii, 210 ; ii, 213
Osborn, Capt. Sherard, book on
Singapore by, ii, 471
O'Sullivan, Mr. A. W. S.. i, 121 ;
career of, i, 132
Our Lady of Lourdes Anglo-Tamil
School, i, 450
Overland route, ii, 172
Owen, Lieut. -Col., and the Singa-
pore Volunteers, i, 393
Owen, Mr. G. P., makes presenta-
tion to the Singapore Museum,
i, 562 ; assistant Adamson, Gil-
fiUan & Co., ii, 182 ; as cricketer,
ii, 324 ; as lawn tennis player,
ii, 331 ; as polo player, ii. 336 ;
and the Golf Club, ii, 338 ; and
racing, ii, 358 ; article on
" Shikar " by, ii, 367; in amateur
theatricals, ii, 390 ; ii, 394
Owen, Mrs. G. P., and Ladies'
Lawn Tennis Club, ii, 337 ; the
first lady motorist in Singapore,
ii, 364 ; and Mr. C. B. Buckley's
portrait, ii, 387 ; as musician,
ii, 389 ; as song writer, ii, 391 ;
in orchestra, ii, 407 ; "A Mid-
Century Diary " by, ii, 542
Owen, Mr. H., ii, 169
Oxley, Dr. T., and hospital accom-
modation, i, 497 ; and vaccina-
tion, i, 536 ; member of first
Museum Committee, i, 533 ; career
of, i, 517 ; letters of, relating
to Museum, i, 536 ; subscriber
to Museum, i, 538 ; presides at
meetings of Agricultural and
Horticultural Society, ii, 70 ; sup-
ports the Bible Society, ii, 305 ;
residence of, ii, 489
Padday, Mr. H. J. D., ii, 298
Padday, Mr. Jonathan, ii, 298
Padday, Mr. Reginald, ii, 200 ;
ii, 298
Page, Father L., ii, 250
Page, Mr, Richard, i, 236
Paget, Sir Ralph, presents cricket
trophy, ii, 331
Pahang, murder of British subject
in, i, 28 ; Mr. J. P. Rodger ap-
pointed British Resident in, i, 28 ;
disturbances in, i, 28 ; becomes
a unit of the Federated Malay
States, i, 28 ; Sir F. Weld visits
the Sultan of, ii, 597 ; investiture
of the Sultanof , as K.C.M.G., ii, 605
INDEX
645
Pahill, L., of the Singapore Munici-
pality, i. 319
Palembang, Hindu-Buddhist State
founded with capital near, 2 ;
dissolution of the Empire of, 3
Pangkor, the Treaty of, i, 21 ;
i, 27 ; i, 99
Paris, the Rev. Father Pierre, a
school run by, i, 447 ; career of,
ii, 247
Park, Mr. Robert, ii, 314
Parliament and the military con-
tribution, i, 400
Parsons, Mr. Dudley, i, 235
Pascha, the derelict, brought into
New Harbour, ii, 548
Pash, Mr. R. G., ii, 325
Pasir Panjang murder, i, 268
Pasir Panjang, mutineers at, i, 410
Pasir Salak, Mr. J. W. W. Birch
murdered at, i, 103
Patchitt, Mr. W., ii, 186
Patent Slipway & Dock Co., the, ii, 3
Paterson, Mr. Cosmo G., ii, 212 ;
ii, 339
Paterson, Mr. W., i, 210 ; i, 578 ;
ii, 150 ; ii, 212 ; ii, 298
Paterson, Simons & Co., i, 579 ;
i. 585 ; ii. 35 ; ii, 87 ; ii, 171 ;
history of, ii, 212
Paterson, W. R., & Co., and the
Borneo Co., ii, 185
Paton, Mr. John, ii, 286
Patrol, cable ship, ii, 170
Paul, Mr. S., ii, 260
Paul, Mr. T., ii, 260
Paya Lebar Wireless Station, ii,
154
Peace, Charles, a Singapore proto-
type of, i, 273
Peacock, Mr., Protector of Chinese,
i, 278
Peake, Mr. R. T., ii, 182
Pearce, Mr. F. H., ii, 186
Pearl, Capt. (of Pearl's Hill Planta-
tion), ii, 468
Pearl's Hill, service reservoir con-
structed on, i, 328 ; school at,
i, 470 ; view of, in 1875, i, 494
Peel, Mr. W., Chairman of the Singa-
pore Municipality, i, 320 ; Presi-
dent of Golf Club, ii, 347 ;
President of a Centenary Celebra-
tion Committee, ii, 573
Peiho, the colonial steamer, in
Victoria Dock, ii, 3
Peirce, Mr. R., Municipal Engineer,
i, 321 ; prepares sewage scheme,
i, 326
Pekin, the s.s., and the Naval
Authorities, ii, 114
Pell, Mr. B., telegraph manager,
ii, 167
Pellereau, Mr. Justice, career of, i,
221
Penang attracts the trade of the
Straits, i, 5 ; Sir Stamford Raf-
fles organises expedition to Singa-
pore at, i, 7 ; Governor of, dis-
approves of Sir Stamford Raffles 's
mission, i, 7 ; comprised in the
Straits Settlements, i, 12 ; Lan-
caster anchors at, i, 13 ; first
Englishman buried at, i, 13 ;
Capt. Francis Light secures ces-
sion of, i, 14 ; i, 72 ; i, 161 ;
occupied and named " Prince of
Wales's Island," i, 14; early
success of, i, 15 ; Colonel Welles-
ley's (afterwards Lord Wellington)
memoir on, i, 16 ; Sir George
Leith,Bart., first Lieutenant-Gov-
ernor of, i, 16 ; Mr. John Dickens
appointed magistrate at, i, 17 ;
raised to the rank of an Indian
presidency, i, 17 ; Mr. Philip
Dundas, first Governor of,
i, 17 ; Court of Judicature
established at, i, 17 ; i, 161 ;
Stamford Raffles at, i, 1 7 ; second
Charter of Justice relating to,
i, 21 ; lavish establishment at,
i, 21 ; Lord Wm. Bentinck visits,
i, 22 ; Presidency established at,
i, 22 ; early trade of, i, 23 ; de-
fences of, i, 24 ; agitation at,
against abolition of Lieutenant-
Governorship, i, 25 ; Raffles 's early
career at, i, 33 ; Raffles at, on
his way to Singapore, i, 51 ;
Legislative Council meets at,
i, 149 ; Emden, German cruiser,
raids, i, 408 ; mail service to,
from Europe via India opened,
ii, 119; savings bank established
at, by Sir B. Malkin, ii, 145 ;
smelting works opened at, ii, 226 ;
cable to Madras opened, ii, 590 ;
cable to Rangoon completed, ii,
593 ; Centenary celebrated, ii, 597
Penang, the s.s., used by refugees
during the Singapore Mutiny,
i. 413
Penfold, Mr. H. L., ii, 228
Penghulu Dool Syed of Naning
rebels, i, 22
Peninsular & Oriental Co., the,
heavy postal charges of, i, 539 ;
646
INDEX
early member of Chamber of
Commerce, ii, 35 ; mail service
to Singapore by, ii, 1 1 1 ; history
of, ii, 171
Pennefather, Lieut. -Col., Inspector-
General of Police, i, 255 ; ii, 303
Penney, Mr. F. G., i, 121 ; career
of, i, 140 ; ii, 193
Pennington, Mr. H. E., killed in
the Great War, i, 123
Penny, Mr. G. J., i, 222 ; ii, 397
" Peoples of Singapore," article on
the, i, 341
Pepper cultivation in Singapore,
ii, 71 ; ii, 81
Perak and the Malays, i, 287
Perak Pioneer, the, ii, 279 ; ii, 357
Perak, the State of, treaty with,
relating to Province Wellesley,
i, 17 ; i, 21 ; disputed succession
to Sultanship in, i, 27 ; Mantri
of, espouses the cause of the Go-
Kuans, i, 27 ; Mr. W. A. Picker-
ing settles dispute in, i, 27 ; war
in, i, 28 ; becomes a unit of the
Federated Malay States, i, 28 ;
the first State to come under the
new policy, i, 98 ; account of
the trouble in, in 1875, i, 103 ;
willing to contribute to the cost of
the mail service via India, ii, 119 ;
branch of the Straits Trading
Co. opened in, ii, 223 ; Dato
Sagor of, lodged in Singapore
Civil Prison, ii, 592 ; Sultan
Abdullah of, deposed, ii, 592 ;
chiefs of, deported, ii, 593 ; death
of Sultan of, ii, 609
Pereira family in Singapore, i, 366
Perham, Archdeacon, ii, 309
Perkins, Mr. D. Y., i, 155 ; i, 236
Perlis, the State of, suzerainty of,
transferred to Great Britain,
i. 137
Perreau, Mr. D. C, offers services
of Eurasians for local defence,
i. 393 I a-s journalist, ii, 296
Perreau, Mr. W., i, 502
Perrett, Chief Inspector, i, 259
Perrott, Major-General T., i, 383
Fertile & Co., Messrs., ii, 87
Pestana family in Singapore, i, 367
Pestana, Mr. J. C, ii, 297
Pestonjee, Mr. Byramjee, ii, 35
Pestonjee, Mr. Pochajee, ii, i
Peter, Mr. J. C, ii, 178 ; ii, 580
Petroleum Depot Commission, ii, 97
Pfeiffer, Miss, visits Singapore,
ii, 494
Philippo, Mr. Justice, i, 214
Phillips, Mr. Charles, and early
Volunteering, i, 402 ; i, 403 ;
and the Presbyterian Church,
ii, 264 ; ii, 266 ; ii, 273 ; career of,
ii, 459 ; ii, 501 ; and temperance
work, ii, 535
Phillips, Mr. C. M., Principal of
Raffles Institution, i, 405 ; i, 553 ;
ii, 460 ; ii, 575
Phillips, Mr. Justice, i, 217
Phoenix Press, the, ii, 296
Photographic Society, the, ii, 319
Pickering, Mr. W. A., settles dispute
in Perak, i, 27 ; career of, i, 98 ;
first Protector of Chinese, i, 276 ;
as a Chinese linguist, i, 277 ;
death of, i, 279
Pierrepont, Mr. J. D.. ii, 171
Pilots of Singapore, i, 591
Pilots Ordinance, i, 592
Pinang (see Penang)
Pinang Gazette, ii, 279
Pinang Register and Missellany,
the, 279
Pineapple Industry ruined by the
Great War, i, 415 ; origin of,
ii, 69
Pinigad, Island of, i, 58
Piracy, prevalence of, i, 177; article
by Dr. Gilbert E, Brooke on,
i, 290 : outcry against, in Singa-
pore, ii, 30 ; li, 588 ; execution
of men convicted of, ii, 596
Plague in Singapore, i, 513 ; ii, 602
Planters' and Miners' Gazette on
Sir E. W. Birch, i, 130
Planting, early experiments in
Singapore, ii, 29 ; ii, 68 ; article
on by Mr. H. Price, ii, 79
Play and Politics, by Mr. W. H.
Read, i, 580 ; ii, 418
Plow, Mr. H. F., j&rst Clerk of
Councils, i, 149
Plumpton, Mr. M. E., ii, 182
Plummer, Mr. W. P., ii, 193 ; ii, 347
Pluto, Government yacht, first to
enter Albert Dock, ii, 6 ; and
Chinese riots, ii, 138
Poh Leong Keuk Home for Chinese
women, i, 278
Poisons Ordinance, i, 514
Polglase, Mr. J., Secretary of the
Singapore Municipality, i, 320 ;
ii. 309
Police Acts riots at Singapore,
i, 89
Police Commission, report of the,
i. 252
INDEX 647
Police Commission, second, recom-
mendations of the, i, 254
Police Force, the Singapore, account
of the, i, 244
Pontianak, the s.s., crosses Pahang
Bar in the monsoon, ii, 599
PontopoYos, the s.s., German prize
captured and brought to Singa-
pore, i, 407
Population of Singapore, i, 339 ;
i, 341 ; i. 492
Pork Tax abolished, i, 494
Portuguese, the, at Malacca, i, 4 ;
i, 18 ; Mission in Singapore,
ii. 255
Post Office, the, early charges of,
i, 539 ; ii. 36 ; history of,
ii, 102
Pountney, Mr. A. M., Secretary of
Opium Commission, ii, 59
Poynton, Capt., i, 296
Powell & Co., ii, 87 ; ii, 171 ; his-
tory of, ii, 214 ; ii, 592
Powell, Mr. H. T., ii, 214
Prai, at. King of Kedah assembles
force to attack Penang, i, 15
Pratt, Mr. Spencer, ii, 292
Prendergast, Thomas, Sub-Assistant
Surgeon, i, 488 ; i, 517
Presbyterian Church, the, in Singa-
pore, foundation of, ii, 203 ;
history of, ii, 261 ; ii, 593
Presgrave, Mr., assists in the Court
of Requests, i, 82
Presgrave, Mr. D. G., Secretary of
the Singapore Municipality, i, 320
Presgrave, Mr. E. W., i, 154
Press restrictions under Mr. Fuller-
ton's Government, i, 82 ; ii, 280
Press, supply of reports of meetings
of the Legislative Council to,
i, 150
Preston, Mr. G. M,, ii, 215
Price, H., & Co., ii, 87
Price, Mr. H., article by, on " Plant-
ing in Singapore," ii, 79 ; article
by, on " Growth of the Rubber
Trade," ii, 84 ; article by, on
" Rubber and Rubber Planting,"
ii, 88
Prince Henry of Prussia presents
polo cup, ii, 336
Prince, Mr., Resident of Singapore
in succession to Mr. Crawfurd,
i, 80 ; interest of, in Botanic
Gardens, ii, 67
Prince of Wales's Island Gazette,
ii, 278
Prince of Wales's Island, Penang so
11—42
named on its occupation, i, 144 ;
early postal arrangements at,
ii, 104
Prince's Street Church built, ii, 237
Pringle, Mr. R. D., ii, 309
Prinsep, Mr. James, and the Singa-
pore monolith, i, 574
Prinsep Street, origin of the name
of, i, 324
Prior, Mr., Superintendent ol the
Reformatory, i, 475
Prison Commission's Report, i, 287
Prisoners Their Own Warders,
i, 284
Prisons and convicts, i, 282
Proctor, Mr. A., ii, 304
Protection of Women and Girls
Ordinance, i, 509
Protector of Chinese, Mr. W. A.
Pickering the first, i, 99 ; i, 276
Protheroe, Capt., ii, 312
Province Wellesley comprised in
the Straits Settlements, i, 13 ;
ceded by the King of Kedah,
i, 16 ; area of, defined by treaty
with Siam, i, 17 ; area of, ex-
tended by treaty with Perak,
i, 17 ; police stations attacked
in, i, 27 ; colonisation of, i, 73
Prye Dock property purchased by
Tanjong Pagar Dock Co., ii, 10
Ptolemy's references to Malay Penin-
sula, i, I
Public Works Department, convicts
and the, i, 283
Puhlman, Mr. A., ii, 183
Pullar, Mr. E, J., ii, 227
Pulo Brani fortified, i, 382 ; early
name of, i, 477 ; time ball
erected at, i, 481 ; tin smelting
at, ii, 225
Pulo Bukom, petroleum depot at,
li. 97
Pulo Bulang, American ships anchor
at, ii, 30
Pulo Jerejak, Leper Asylum at,
i. 491
Pulo Samboe, oil trade at, ii, 98
Pulo Tambakul (or Goa Island),
signal station first on, i, 478
Pulo Tinggi, i, 293
Purvis, Mr. Joe, ii, 559
Purvis, Mr. John, i, 527 ; i, 584 ;
ii, 171 ; ii, 324 ; ii, 326
Puttfarcken, Mr. C, ii, i
Puttfarcken, Rheiner & Co., ii, 35 ;
ii, 171 ; history of, ii, 217
Quarantine Ordinance, i, 506
648
INDEX
QtMrta, German ' ship, seized in
Singapore Harbour, i, 407
Quedah, or Stray Leaves from a
Journal in Malayan Waters, ii, 288
Queen's and King's scholarships and
scholars, i, 369 ; i, 471
Quin, Capt. Michael, i, 295
Quin, Mr. T, S., appointed to assist
in the Raffles Library, i, 556
Quine, Capt. W. S. (s.s. Hye Leong),
ii, 216
Rabies in Singapore, i, 512
Radcliffe, Commander, R.N., i, 233
Radford, Miss, ii, 311
Raeburn, Mrs., ii, 464
Raeburn, Mr. A. H., ii, 196
Raffles Hotel, the, history of, ii, 214
Raffles Library and Museum, the
(view of), i, 546
Raffles Lighthouse, the (view of),
i, 590 ; ii, 590
Raffles, Sir Stamford, portrait of
(frontispiece), familiar with old
Singapura, i, 5 ; obtains a com-
mission from the Governor-Gen-
eral to establish a port south of
Malacca, i, 6 ; arrives at Penang
to carry out his mission, i, 7 ;
leaves for the south on the 19th
January, 1819, i, 7 ; writes to
Marsden mentioning Singapore
as the destination of his mission,
i, 7 ; puts in at the Kerimon
Islands, i, 7 ; lands at Singapore
and decides to occupy the island,
i, 8 ; despatches Major Farquhar
on a mission to Riau, i, 8 ; con-
cludes provisional agreement with
the Temenggong for the occupa-
tion of Singapore, i, 9 ; con-
cludes definite treaty withTengku
Long (Sultan Husain Muhammad
Shah), i, 10 ; leaves Singapore
in charge of Major Farquhar, i,
ID ; the action of, in occupying
Singapore vindicated, i, 12 ;
appointed Registrar of the Court
of Judicature at Penang, i, 17 ;
bust of, by Chantrey (illustra-
tion), i, 32
Chapter, " Raffles the Man,"
by the Rev. Wm. Cross, M.A.,
i, 32 ; [birth and early training
of, i, 33 ; offered secretaryship
to the Presidency at Penang, i, 33;
urges the retention of Malacca,
i. 35 I appointed the Governor-
General's Agent in the Malay
States, i, 36 ; administers Java
after its capture by the British,
i, 37 ; accused of irregularities
in his Javan Government, i, 39 ;
the charges formulated, i, 42 ; ex-
planations regarding the charges
demanded of, i, 43 ; dramatic
scene following the reception
of the Governor-General's letter
by, i, 43 ; reply of, to the charges,
i, 45 ; appointed Governor oif
Bencoolen, i, 45 ; proceeds to
England and memorialises the
Company for a full acquittal,
i, 45 ; Olivia, the first wife of,
i, 44 ; story of the first marriage
of, i, 46 ; friendship of Olivia
and John Leyden and, i, 47 ;
stationed at Bencoolen, i, 49 ;
dreams of Java, his Lost Paradise,
i, 49 ; takes " steps towards
Singapore," i, 50 ; proceeds to
Calcutta and interviews Lord
Hastings, i, 51 ; sails in the
Nearchus for Penang, i, 51 ;
hostility of Governor Bannerman
to, i, 52 ; finds a kindred spirit
in Major Farquhar, i, 53 ; post-
pones mission to Acheen and
leaves Penang roads for the
south, i, 56 ; puts in at Kerimon
Islands, i, 57; occupies Singapore,
i, 57 ; instructs Major Farquhar
as to development of Singapore,
i. 59 ; spent few of the days of
his life in Singapore, i, 60 ;
farsightedness of, i, 61 ; de-
nunciation of, by Bannerman,
i, 61 ; opposition of the Secret
Committee to the action of,
i, 62 ; proceeds to Bencoolen
on leaving Singapore, i, 63 ;
domestic bereavements of, i, 63 ;
personal traits of, i, 64 ; pre-
pares to leave the East, i, 65 ;
destruction of the Fame with all
the scientific collections of, i, 65 ;
lands in England and settles at
Hendon, i, 66 ; .financial difficul-
ties of, i, 67 ; last days and death
of, i, 67]
Statue of, in Westminster Abbey
(illustration), i, 66; official career
of, detailed, i, 74 ; statue of, un-
veiled at Singapore, i, 141 ; pro-
clamation defining legal rights of
inhabitants at Singapore issued
by, i, 163 ; action of, relative to
piracy, i, 290 ; instructions of.
INDEX
649
to Major Farquhar concerning
land tenure, i, 301 ; statue of, at
Singapore, i, 335 ; plans of, for
the development of Singapore,
i, 338 ; on the early inhabitants
of Singapore, i, 343 ; instructions
of, concerning the Chinese, i, 375;
recommendations concerning the
defences of Singapore, i, 347 ;
house of (old Government House),
demolished, i, 378; views of, on
education, i, 427 ; on the rapid
development of Singapore, i, 492 ;
foresight of, in making Singapore
a free port, ii, 25 ; on the Opium
and Liquor Farms, ii, 55 ; estab-
lishes the first Botanic Garden
at Singapore, ii, 65 ; makes
postal regulations, ii, 107 ; and
the Bible Society, ii, 305
Rafflesian, the, ii, 297
Raikes, Dr., medical officer. Quar-
antine Station, dies of plague,
i. 514
Railways, Johore line commenced,
i, 125 ; ii, 604 ; first effort to
organise a trunk line from Singa-
pore to India, i, 127 ; through
communication between Singa-
pore and Bangkok established,
i, 143 ; Tanjong Pagar Dock Co.
lay a line in Singapore, ii, 4 ;
ii, 38 ; development of, ii, 121 ;
Singapore- Kranji line opened,
ii, 605
Rainbow, colonial steamer, in Vic-
toria Dock, ii, 3
Raleigh, H.M.S., i, 295 ; i, 584
Ralfe, Lieut., appointed Assistant
Engineer to Colonel Farquhar,
i. 377
Ramasamy's School, i, 447
Randell, Dr. H. L., i, 288 ; i, 517 ;
i. 542
Ranee, German ship, seized in
Singapore Harbour, i, 407
Rankin, Mr. H. F., ii, 266 ; ii, 303
Raper, Mr. H., Hon. Secretary Golf
Club, ii, 347
Rapid, H.M.S., i, 247
Rappa, Mr. George, jun., ii, S15
Rauch, Mr. C. A., ii,. 218 ; as
musician, ii, 408
Rautenberg, Schmidt & Co., ii, 35 ;
ii, 171 ; history of, ii, 218 ; ii,
603
Rawlinson, Sir Christopher, career
of. i, 183
Rayner, Mr. W. E., ii, 193
Read Bridge, erection of, i, 324 ;
ii. 597
Read, Mr. C. R., ii, 201 ; career
of, ii, 416
Read, Mr. R. B., i, 152 ; ii, 201 ;
ii, 326 ; ii, 384 ; ii, 392 ; career
oif, ii, 419
Read, Mr. W. H., i, 149 ; i, 174 ;
i, 250 ; i, 277 ; i, 320 ; i, 402 ;
i, 524 ; i, 527 ; attacks Library
Committee, i, 552 ; author of
Play and Politics, i, 580 ; pre-
sides at traders' meeting to
frame rules for sales of goods,
ii, 32 ; director Eastern Tele-
graph Co., ii, 150 ; member of
firm of A. L. Johnston & Co.,
ii, 201 ; a prominent contributor
to the Signapore Free Press,
ii, 284 ; Chairman Straits Settle-
ments Association, ii, 298 ; and
the Singapore Club, ii, 312 ;
and the Yacht Club, ii, 318 ; and
racing, ii, 348 ; ii, 496 ; and the
Recreation Club, ii, 365 ; and
amateur theatricals, ii, 381 ; as
freemason, ii, 387 ; character
sketch of, ii, 417 ; and Mr. C. B.
Buckley, ii, 454 ; and Volunteer-
ing, ii, 530 ; banquet to, ii, 594 ;
masonic banquet to, ii, 594 ;
memorial tablet to, ii, 608
Reade, Major-General R. N. R.,
i. 384
Reade, Staff -Surgeon H. T., i, 489
Reardon, Mr. S. A., apothecary,
i, 506
Recorder, appointed at Singapore,
ii. 32 ;
Recorder, cable ship, ii, 168
Recorder's Court set up by the
Charter of 1826, peculiar char-
acter of the, i, 167
Reek, Mr. D. J., ii, 199
Rees, Mr. N. P., ii, 232
Reeve, Mr. J. W., first Municipal
Engineer, i, 320
Registration of Partnerships, con-
troversy as to, ii, 41
Reid, Mr. Arnot, accident to,
ii, 180 ; ii, 209 ; editor Straits
Times, ii, 282 ; ii, 290 ; ii, 300.
Reid, Mr. R. T., as cricketer,
ii, 328 ; as golfer, ii, 347
Reid, Mr. Thomas H. (and Mr.
Arnold Wright), quotations from
The Malay Peninsula by, i, 100 ;
i, 104 ; i, 118 ; i. 135 ; i, 137: i.
138 ; editor Straits Times, ii, 282
650
INDEX
Reith, Rev. G. M., ii, 262 ; ii. 287 ;
ii, 301
Rembau drawn into quarrel at
Selangor, i, 26
Reme, Leveson & Co., ii, 35
Reme, Mr. G. H., ii, 298
Reporters' Advertiser, the, ii, 284
Reserve Force and Civil Guard
Ordinance, i, 390
Residential system. Sir Frank Swet-
tenham on the, i, 117
Retrenchment policy. Sir Charles
Mitchell's mission to carry out,
i, 114
Reutens family in Singapore, i, 364
Reutens, Mr. G. S., career of, i, 365 ;
as a Volunteer, i, 392
Reyniersz, s.s., destroyed by fire in
Siingapore, ii, 202 ; ii, 606
Riau, or Rhio, first considered as
a port for occupation, i, 7 ; Sir
Stamford Raffles despatches
Major Farquhar on a mission to,
i, 9 ; indicated by Lord Hastings
as a possible trading station,
i, 51 ; condition of, after the
occupation of Singapore, ii, 24 ;
Riau-Lingga Archipelago a part
of the Sultanate of Johore, i, 8
Ribeiro «& Co., history of, ii, 217
Ribera, s.s., sunk by German
cruiser Emden, i, 407
Rich, Major, ii, 338
Richards, Inspector, head of the
detective police, i, 251 ; i, 259
Richards, Mr. Alwyn, ii, 179
Richards, Rev. R., ii, 242 ; ii, 581
Richardson, Mr. A., ii, 215
Richmond, Mr. H. S., killed in the
Great War, i, 123
Rideout. Lieut. J. W., ii. 325
Ridley, H. N., makes gifts to Singa-
pore Museum, i, 561 ; and rubber
planting, ii, 64 ; appointed Super-
intendent Botanic Gardens, ii, 77 ;
career of, ii, 78 ; rubber industry
owes a great debt to, ii, 90; ii, 301
Ridout, Major-General Sir D. H.,
i. 384 ; i. 394 ; ii» 575
Riedtmann, Mr. J. R., ii, 200
Rigg, Mr. C. R.. first Secretary of
the Singapore Municipal Council,
i, 319
Riley, Hargreaves & Co., Messrs.,
i, 579 ; ii, 167 ; history of, ii, 214 ;
ii. 538
Riley, Mr. R., ii, i ; ii, 214
Riley, Mrs., launches the Bintang,
h 579
Riots at Singapore, i, 247
Ripon's, Lord, decision as to the
military contribution, i, 114;
i, 402
Risk, Mr. R., ii, 215
Ritchie, Major, ii, 303
Ritchie, Mr. D., ii, 191
Ritchie, Mr. Frank, ii, 174
Roberts, Mr. H. B., i, 561
Robertson, Dr. J. H., career of,
i, 500 ; i, 501 ; protrait of,
i, 502 ; as musician, ii, 406
Robertson, Dr. T. M., Coroner,
i, 501 ; i, 513 ; ii, 171 ; ii, 319
Robertson, Mr. C. H., ii, 464
Robertson, Mr. E. J., ii, 192; ii, 319;
ii, 464 ; ii, 491 ; ii, 536
Robertson, Mr. Farleigh, i, 502
Robertson, Mr. G. H. M., killed in
the Great War, i, 123
Robertson, Mr. J., ii, 197 ; ii, 580
Robertson, Mr. J. A., i, 502
Robertson, Mr. J. B., ii, 339 ; ii, 348 ;
ii, 464
Robertson, Mr. K. B. S.. i, 248 ;
career of, ii, 464
Robertson, Mr. W. M., manager
Tanjong Pagar Dock Co., ii, 17;
connected with Riley, Hargreaves
& Co., ii, 215
Robinson & Co., history of, ii,
215
Robinson, Bishop J. E., ii, 271
Robinson, Mr. H., ii, 228
Robinson, Mr. H. O., i, 370
Robinson, Mr. P., career of, ii, 215 ;
ii, 272 ; ii, 535
Robinson, Mr. S. R., ii, 215 ; ii, 299
Robinson, Sir Hercules, reports on
the Government of the Straits
Settlements, i, 23 ; ii, 45 ; on
the postal service, ii, 105
Robinson, Sir W. C. F., administra-
tion of, i, 105 ; commends At-
torney-General's law reform
scheme, i, 217; lays foundation-
stone of new prison at Singapore,
i, 289 ; ii, 593 ; appoints Mr.
Walter Fox as Assistant Super-
intendent of the Singapore Bo-
tanic Gardens, ii, 91
Rochore, Grand Lodge of Chinese
Secret Societies at, i, 279
Rochore Market, i, 333
Rode-sse, Mr. Maurice, i, 244
Rodger, Sir J. P., appointed Resi-
dent of Pahang, i, 28 ; career
of, i, 108 ; i, 109 ; a Resident in
the year of Federation, i, 118;
INDEX
651
makes presentation to the Singa-
pore Museum, i, 561
Rodyk & Davidson, firm of, estab-
lished, i, 200 ; Mr. C. B. Buckley
joins, ii, 454
Rodyk family, the, i, 214
Rodyk, Mr. A., i, 193 ; i, 212
Rodyk, Mr. B., i, 200 ; ii, 533
Rodyk, Mr. C, i, 213
Rodyk, Mr. J., i, 212
Roger, Mr. David, ii, 205
Romenij, Mr. J. E., i, 562 ; ii, 206
Rose, Dr., and hospital accommo-
dation, i, 498 ; career of, i, 517
Rose, H.M.S., i, 294
Rose, Mr. W. H., ii, 179
Rosenbaum, Mr. S., ii, 186
Ross, Capt., colonises the Cocos
Islands, i, 29 ; advises on the
defences of Singapore, i, 377
Ross, Capt. (father of J. Dill Ross),
• sea experiences of, i, 580 ; career
of, ii, 517
Ross, Mr. A. J., ii, 196
Ross, Mr. J. D., jun., ii, 171 ;
ii, 186 ; ii, 190 ; ii, 517
Ross, Mr. J. G. C, appointed Super-
intendent of the Cocos Islands,
i, 29
Rost. Dr., ii, 289
Rowe, Mr. H. O., an early planter,
ii, 81
Rowell, Dr. T. I., P.C.M.O., i, 498 ;
career of, i, 518 ; prepares col-
lection of stuffed fish for the
Museum, i, 552
Rowland, Mr. W. R., an early
planter, ii, 95
Royal AsiaticSociety, Straits branch,
formed, i, 105 ; ii, 593 > Mr. A. M.
Skinner, Secretary of the, i, 113 ;
Journal of, quoted, i, 342 ; ii, 288 ;
quarters of, at the Museum, i, 558 ;
early coins described in the
Journal of the, i, 566 ; papers
relating to the Singa'pore mono-
lith published by the, i, 576 ;
Mr. H. N. Ridley's work for
the, ii, 78 ; Sir W' E. Maxwell's
connection with the, ii, 437
Royal Shepherdess, barque, ii, 544
Royalist, s.s., ii, 538
Rubber, war regulations relating
to, i, 415 ; Singapore the market
for, ii, 54 ; account of Singapore's
association with, ii, 63 ; article
on the growth of the trade in,
ii, 84 ; article on " Rubber
Planting," ii, 88
Rumphius, s.s., ii, 202
Runciman, Rev. W., ii, 262
Rushton, Capt., of Sherard Osborn,
cable ship, ii, 168
Russell, Mr. E. S., ii, 204
Russell, Mr. George, i, 374
Rutherford, Mr. George, murder
of, i, 268 ; ii, 12 ; ii, 17 ; ii, 604
Rutledge, Mr. W. P., ii, 309
Ryan, Miss, Chinese Girls' School,
ii, 243 ; ii, 311
Ryott, Mr. T. G., i, 243
Saffar Ally murder case, i, 188
Sago planting in Singapore, ii, 83
Saif , son of Syed Hussain of Penang,
claims Acheen Sultanate, i, 52
Saigon duties relaxed during the
Great War, ii, 41
St. Andrew's Cathedral struck by
lightning, i, 480 ; burial register
at, i, 491 ; memorial brass in
the, i, 570 ; service of commu-
nion plate presented to, by Mr.
E. L. Meyer, ii, 187 ; picture of,
ii, 238 ; history of, ii, 240 ;
organist of, ii, 407 ; opened,
ii, 5^6 ; Centenary service at,
ii, 581
St. Andrew's Church, ii, 487 ; ii, 589
St. Andrew's School, i, 455
St. Andrew's Society, ii, 303 ; ii,
482 ; ii, 589
St. Anthony's Bread, ii, 258
St. Anthony's School, i, 456 ; ii, 257
St. Clair, Mr. W. G., i, 232 ; and the
armament of Singapore, i, 383 ;
advocates strengthening of the
Volunteer movement, i, 385 ;
encourages rifle shooting, i, 404 ;
long resident at the Hotel de
I'Europe, ii, 197 ; at musical
party, ii, 218 ; appointed editor
of the Singapore Free Press, ii,
284 ; career of, ii, 291 ; ii, 298 ;
portrait of, ii, 292 ; as cricketer,
ii, 328 ; as amateur actor, ii, 390 ;
ii. 397 ; first appearance in
music, ii, 407 ; concert given by,
ii, 409 ; retirement of, ii, 410
St. Helena, Raffles visits, i, 66
St. Hombeline, Rev. Mother, ii, 254
St. John's (or Lazarus) Island,
Singapore, Raffles anchors off,
i. 8 ; i, 57 ; signal station moved
to, i, 478 ; used as a station for
the " report boat " of the Marine
Department, i, 492 ; lazaretto
established at, i, 506 ; beri-beri
652
INDEX
sufferers sent to, i, 512 ; pine-
apple culture at, ii, 69
St. Joseph's Institution, Singapore,
history of, i, 452, ii, 251
St. Louis, the French s.s., arrives
in Singapore on fire, ii, 554
St. Mathilde, Mother, head of
Convent School, i, 454 ; ii, 254
Saladin; s.s., ii, 209
Saleh, a Study and a Sequel, i, 132
Saleilles, Father C, ii, 250
Sally, the sailing boat, successful in
Regatta, ii, 551
Salmond, Capt., friend of Raffles,
death of, i, 63
Salmond, Mr., Judge of Malacca,
undignified conduct of, i, 181
Salzmann, Mr. F., ii, 332
Salzmann, Mrs., in amateur theatri-
cals, ii, 387 ; portrait of, ii, 388
Salzmann, Mr. Edward, ii, 243 ;
ii, 389 ; portrait of, ii, 406 ; first
public notice of, in music, ii, 407
" Salzmann's Choir,'' ii, 407
Samarang, H.M.S., visit to Borneo,
i, 30 ; attacked by pirates,
i, 297 ; ii, 495
Sames's, Rev. Mr., School, closing
of, i. 447
Sanderson, Capt. R. H. D., ii, 217
Sanderson, Mr. C. E. F., ii, 215
Sandilands, Mr. G. M., i, 152
Sang Superba, legends of, i, 71
Sankey, Lieut. -Col., ii, 303
Sant, Mr. J., R.A., paints portrait
of Mr. W. H. Read, ii, 419
Sarawak, wireless communication
with, ii, 154
Sargent, Major-General, J. N.,
i. 383
Sarie Borneo, the s.s., the largest
steel steamer built in Singapore,
ii. 539
Sarkies & Moses, history of, ii, 217
Sarkies, Mr. A., ii, 217
Sarkies, Mr. J. S., ii, 194 ; ii, 260
Sarkies, Mr. T. H., ii, 260
Sarkies, the brothers, ii, 214
Satellite, H.M.S. and P. & O.
steamer, ii, 115
Satterthwaite, Capt., i, 544
Saul, Mr. R. P., i, 527
Saunders, Mr. C. J., i, 278
Saunders, Mr. J. B., ii, 170
Saunders, Mr. J. D., ii, 328
Saunders, Mrs. J. D., ii, 344 ; ii, 389
Savings Bank Ordinances, the,
ii, 147
Sayle & Co., ii, 171 ; ii, 458 ; ii, 596
Schabert, Mr. P., ii, 408
Schaefer, Mr. H., ii, 218
Schafer, Lieut. J. S., i, 480
Scharenquival, Dr., ii, 230
Scheerder family, the, i, 366
Schreiber, Mr. F. A., ii, 187
Schreider, Mr. A., ii, 312
Schwabe, Mr. G. C, ii, 189
Schwabe, Mr. S. M., i, 565
Scotia, the s.s., wrecked, ii, 605
Scott, Capt. J. D.. ii, 383
Scott, Dr. John, i, 502 ; i, 541
Scott, Mr. A. L. M., ii, 340
Scott, Mr. Charles, an early Singa-
pore planter, ii, 68
Scott, Mr. H. A., i. 370
Scott, Mr. R. F. McNair, ii, 197
Scott, Mr. T., i, 149 ; i, 249 ; i, 277 ;
i, 287 ; i, 400 ; i, 467 ; ii, i ;
death of, ii, 11 ; career of, as
Chairman of the Tanjong Pagar
Dock Co., ii, 17 ; general career
of, ii, 195 ; portrait of, ii, 196 ;
ii, 300 ; ii, 326 ; ii, 349 ; ii. 591
Scott, Mr. William, in charge of the
Post Office, ii, 113
Scott, Mr. William, Master At-
tendant, a relative of the
novelist, i, 491
Scott, Mr. W. R., i, 150 ; i, 250 ;
i. 543 J career of, ii, 184 ; ii, 349 ;
ii, 558
Scott, Sir Ernest, ii, 349
Scott, W. R., & Co., ii, 171 ; ii, 184
Scoular, Mr, R., ii, 204; ii, 317;
ii. 333
Scrivenor, Mr, J. B., discovery of
fossils by, i, 564
Scrymgeour, Mr. J., ii, 451
Scrymgeour, Mr. J. S., ii, 451 ;
ii, 503
Sea Belle, s.y., ii, 316 ; ii, 596
Sea Mew, Government steamer,
launched, i, 579 ; ii, 606 ; sinks
H.M.S. Waterwitch, ii, 608
Seah Eu Chin, Mr. estimates,
Chinese population of Singapore,
i, 350 ; one of the earliest Singa-
pore settlers, i, 376
Seah Liang Sheah, i, 152 ; i, 155 ;
i, 376 ; ii, 299 ; ii, 499
Secret Committee of the East India
Co., Raffles in disfavour with the,
i, 50 ; apprehensions of, in regard
to the occupation of Singapore,
i, 62
Secret societies, i, 275
Seet Teong Wah, Mr., ii, 578
Selangor, the State of, disturbances
INDEX
653
in, i, 26 ; dynastic quarrel in,
i, 27 ; Mr. J. G. Davidson
appointed Resident of, i, 28 ;
becomes a unit of the Federated
Malay States, i, 28 ; branch of
Straits Trading Co. opened in,
ii, 222 ; forts in, destroyed by
H.M.S. Rinaldo, ii, 591
Seletar, naval wireless station at,
ii. 154
Seletar village destroyed by a
thunderstorm, ii, 594
Sellar, Mr. J., Manager Tanjong
Pagar Dock Co., ii, 17
Sells, Mr. H. C, i, 463
Sembilan Islands transferred to the
British, i, 21
Seng Poh, the, ii, 284
Sequel to Life in the Far East, ii, 443
Seremban, railway extensions to,
ii, 121
Seth, Mr. P. J., ii, 218
" Settlers" without licence objected
to by Mr. Fullerton, i, 82
Seu Pe Ke, Chinese remittance men,
ii. 134
Seumenicht, Mr. A., ii, 218 ; ii, 408
Seventh Day Adventist Mission
School, i, 461
Severn, Mr. Claud, ii, 399
Sewage system of Singapore, i, 326
Sexton, Sergt., A.S.C., shot by
mutineers, i, 411
Shadwell, Admiral Sir Charles, and
Treaty of Pangkor, ii, 426
Shahbandar (harbour master) of
Singapore, i, 4
Sharp, Archdeacon, i, 565
Shaw, Capt. E. M., death of,
i, 25 ; ii, 279
Shaw, Mr, W. W., gift of, to educa-
tion, i, 445 ; connection of, with
Boustead & Co., ii, 189 ; ii, 298 ;
marriage of, ii, 443
Shaw, Walker & Co., ii, 35
Shelford family, the, sketch of,
ii. 447
Shelford, Mr. R., i, 565
Shelford, Mr. T., i, iii ; 1, 151 ;
i, 158 ; i, 250 ; i, 400 ; i. 544 ;
i, 560 ; ii, 13 ; ii, 42 ; ii, 212 ;
ii, 284 ; ii, 294 ; ii, 298 ; ii, 301 ;
career of, ii, 447 ; ii, 455
Shelford, Mr. W. H., i, 154 ; ii, 212 ;
ii. 343 '> career of, ii, 449
Shell Transport & Trading Co., ii, 97
Shellabear, Mrs., ii, 311
Shellabear, Rev. W. G., portrait of,
ii, 268 ; ii, 307 ; ii, 309
Sherard O shorn, cable ship, ii, 168 ;
deep soundings by, ii, 169 ; sale
of, ii, 170
Sheriff, Mr. Justice, i, 221
Sheriffs, system of appointing, in
Singapore, i, 184
Shipping Conference, the, con-
troversy as to, ii, 43
Shipping Gazette, the, ii, 284
Siam, arrangement with, in reference
to Kelantan, i, 127 ; treaty con-
cluded with, by Great Britain in
1909, i, 137 ; Singapore trade
with, ii, 28 ; railway extensions
to, ii, 121 ; first postage stamps
in, ii, 157 ; Post Ofi&ce opened in,
ii, 159 ; King of, visits Singapore,
ii. 590
Siamese, the, press down upon
Malay outposts near Ligor, i, 3 ;
acknowledge British rights over
Penang, i, 15 ; treaty with,
relating to Province Wellesley,
i. 17
Siang, Mr. Song Ong, career of,
i, 242
Sibary, Mr. Thomas, ii, 195
Sibbons, Mr. John, ii, 170
Sidgreaves, Sir Thomas, the last
Chief Justice to sit on the
Legislative Council, i, 204 ; career
of, i, 210 ; presides at farewell
dinner to Mr. Braddell, ii, 427 .
Si Kuans (the four tribes), a Chinese
faction in Perak, i, 27
Sikhs in the Police Force at Singa-
pore, i, 253
Simangka Bay, a possible rival to
Batavia, ii, 23
Sime, Mr. J. M., ii, 223 ; ii, 347
Simmonds, Mr. P. L., ii, 285
Simon, Dr., Resident Surgeon
General Hospital, i, 498; starts
manufacture of vaccine lymph,
i, 503 ; original member of
Medical Association, i, 513 ; a
pioneer of the Medical School,
i, 514 ; career of, i, 518
Simon, Mrs., in amateur theatricals ;
ii. 390 ', ii. 393 J ill oratorio, ii, 408
Simpson, Professor W. J., reports on
the sanitary condition of Singa-
pore, i, 322 ; i, 509
Sims, Mr. W. A., ii, 193 ; ii, 318
Singapore, founding of the Malay
city of, i, 3 ; refounding of, by
Sir Stamford Raffles, i, 6 ; Sir
Stamford Raffles's lands at, i, 8 ;
tangled local politics at, i, 8 ;
654
INDEX
provisional agreement with the
Temenggong for the occupation
of, i, 9 ; treaty concluded with
Tengku Long (Sultan Husain
Muhammad Shah) for the occupa-
tion of, i, ID ; subsequent treaties
relating to, i, lo ; i, 74 ; i, 80 ;
6th February, 1919, the true birth-
day of, i, 10 ; the occupation of,
an act of State, i, 1 1 ; the Dutch
withdraw their objections to the
occupation of, i, 11 ; foundation
of, fatal to the Dutch monopolistic
policy, i, II ; British Govern-
ment's disapproval of the occupa-
tion of, i, 12 ; capital of the
Straits Settlements, i, 12 ; occu-
pation of, confirmed by the
Dutch, i, 20 ; Charter of Justice
establishes Court of Judicature at,
i, 21 ; early trade of, i, 23 ;
military establishment of, i, 24 ;
steps towards the occupation of,
i, 50 ; constitution of the squad-
ron charged with the occupation
of, i, 56 ; Raffles's instructions to
Farquhar concerning the develop-
ment of, i, 59 ; foundations of,
laid, i, 60 ; opposition to the
establishment of, i, 61 ; early
days of, described by Mr. Bernard
Nunn, i, 75 ; government of,
placed under Bengal Govern-
ment, i, 78 ; opposition to intro-
duction of port dues at, i, 89 ;
Police Acts riots at, i, 89 ; founda-
tion of Town Hall laid at, i, 105 ;
visit of the King and Queen to,
i, 125 ; statue of Raffles unveiled
at, i, 141 ; Empire and King's
Docks opened at, i, 142 ; early
system of justice at, i, 162 ;
Commission of Peace issued at,
i, 163 ; Charter of Justice
obtained for, i, 164 ; first Assizes
at, i, 167 ; piracy at, i, 177 ;
Supreme Court House at, i, 179;
first Seal of Court of Judicature
at, i, 210 ; reconstitution of the
Supreme Court of Judicature at,
i, 214 ; Police Force of, i, 244 ;
Volunteer Rifle Corps founded at,
i, 249 ; notable crimes at, i, 262 ;
gaols, old and new, at, i, 282 ;
i, 289 ; Land Tenure at, i, 301
Municipal Government,
article by Mr. F. J. Hallifax,
i. .315; [early Municipal Com-
mittee or Watch Committee.
i, 316 ; Municipality established,
i, 317 ; early financial position,
i, 318 ; a Municipal Council
created, i, 319; Municipal officials,
i, 319 ; Health Department
created, i, 322 ; roads and town
planning, i, 323 ; Conservancy,
i, 325 ; sewage disposal, i, 325 ;
water supply, i, 326 ; lighting,
i, 330 ; traffic, i, 321 ; markets,
i. 333 » Town Halls, i, 334 ;
public amenities, i, 335 : Fire
Brigade, i, 336 ; municipal area,
i, 339 ; population, i, 339]
Article on the Peoples of, by
Mr. Hayes Marriott, i, 341
Article on the Eurasians of,
by Mr. A. H. Carlos, i, 363
Article on the Chinese of,
i. 374
Article on Military History
of, by Mr. Walter Makepeace, i, 377
Volunteers of, article on the,
by Lieut. -Col. G. A. Derrick, i, 384
The Great War, article by
Mr. W. Bartley, i, 405 ; [war
history the history of restrictive
legislation, i, 406 ; events follow-
ing the declaration of war, i, 406 ;
military arrangements, i, 408 ;
Mutiny of the 5th Light Infantry,
i, 408 ; circumstances attending
the outbreak, i, 409 ; final
suppression of the Mutiny, i, 413 ;
shipping difficulties owing to the
submarine campaign, i, 414 ;
Dutch ships seized in Singapore
Harbour, i, 415 ; local British
tonnage requisitioned, i, 415 ;
war regulations affecting rubber
and tin, i, 415 ; war charities and
food control, i, 416 ; war legisla-
tion, i, 417 ; effects of the Armis-
tice, i, 425]
Education in, article by Mr.
C. Bazell, i, 427 ; [Raffles's
views, i, 427 ; foundation of
Raffles College, i, 428 ; Mr.
Crawfurd's hostility to the Raffles
scheme, i, 429 ; early educational
facilities, i, 431 ; Singapore Free
School established and ultimately
amalgamated with the Institution
founded by Raffles, i, 432 ; action
brought against the trustees of
Singapore Institution, i, 433 ;
appointment of new trustees,
i, 434 ; organisation of the
Institution, i, 435 ; appointment
INDEX
655
of Mr. R. W. Hullett as head-
master, i, 438 ; introduction of
new methods, i, 439 ; progressive
poUcy justified by results, i, 440 ;
financial difficulties, i, 441 ; Edu-
cation Commission recommend
the transfer of the Institution to
Government, i, 442 ; Govern-
ment assume control, i, 442 ;
subsequent changes, i, 442 ;
Raffles Girls' School, i, 443 ;
Missionary Schools (and others),
i, 447 ; St. Joseph's Institution,
i, 452 ; the Convent, i, 453 ; St.
Andrew's School, i, 455 ; St.
Anthony's School, i, 456 ; the
Malaysia Mission of the Method-
ist Episcopal Church, i, 457 ;
other schools, i, 461 ; Govern-
ment policy, i, 461 ; Vernacular
Schools, Boys, i, 466 ; Malay
Girls' Schools, i, 469 ; English
Schools, i, 469 ; Queen's Scholar-
ships, i, 471 ; commercial classes,
i, 472 ; industrial education,
i, 473 ; training of teachers,
i, 474 ; the Reformatory, i, 475 ;
career of Mr. R. W. Hullett,
i. 476]
The Science of, by Dr. Gilbert
E. Brooke, i, 477 ; [establish-
ment of the Observatory, i, 478 ;
meteorological observations, i,
479 ; earthquakes and storms,
i, 479 ; hydrographic surveys,
i, 480 ; observations and time-
ball work, i, 480 ; new Observa-
tory built, i, 481 ; Observatory
removed to Mount Faber, i, 481 ;
standard time adopted, i, 481 ;
notes on the meteorological tables,
i, 482 ; the monsoons, i, 486]
Medical Institutions of,
article by Dr. Gilbert E. Brooke,
i, 487 ; [military hospitals, i, 489 ;
vaccination introduced, i, 490 ;
early medical staff, i, 490 ; notable
burials at Fort Canning, i, 491 ;
register of Anglican burials, i, 491 ;
establishment of a Pauper
Hospital, i, 493 ; history of Tan
Tock Seng's Hospital, i, 493 ; the
General Hospital, i, 497 ; the
Lunatic Asylum, i, 499 ; promin-
ent medical practitioners, i, 500 ;
epidemics, i, 503 ; lazaretto
established at St. John's Island,
i, 506 ; hot spring discovered,
i. 507 ; cemetery in Bukit Timah
Road opened, i, 507 ; births and
deaths registration, i, 507 ; Con-
tagious Diseases Ordinance, i,
507 ; Health Officer appointed,
i. 509 ', infantile mortality, i, 510 ;
vital statistics, i, 511 ; Govern-
ment Analyst, i, 512 ; rabies
outbreak, i, 512 ; Medical Associ-
ation established, i, 513 ; influ-
enza and plague, i, 513 ; Medical
School established, i, 514 ; ceme-
tery opened at Bidadari, i, 515 ;
campaign against malaria, i, 515]
Raffles Library and Mu-
seum, article by Dr. R. Hanitsch,
i, 520 ; [meeting under Raffles's
presidency decides to establish
a Library and Museum, i, 520 ;
early officials, i, 520 ; references
to the institution in early reports,
i, 520 ; meeting to establish a
Public Library, i, 524 ; names
of original shareholders in the
Library, i, 526 ; early donations
of books, i, 528 ; proceedings at
first annual meeting, i, 528 ; later
history, i, 529 ; donation of coins
leads to the foundation of the
Museum, i, 533 ; early records of
the Museum, i, 536 ; heavy postal
charges, i, 539 ; files of local
newspapers, i, 541 ; proposed
establishment of Library and
Museum under Government con-
trol, i, 542 ; committee appointed
to consider the scheme, i, 544 ;
transfer of the old institution to
the Government, i, 545 ; opening
of Library under the new auspices,
i, 546 ; list of members of orig-
inal Committee, i, 547 ; change of
name, i, 548 ; acquisition of the
Logan collection, i, 551 ; other
acquisitions, i, 552 ; transfer of
Library and Museum to new
buildings, i, 555 ; recent history
of the institution, i, 556 ; exten-
sions of building, i, 557 ; Govern-
ment grant, i, 558 ; books, i, 558 ;
catalogues, i, 559 ; subscribers,
i, 560 ; Museum, zoological col-
lection, i, 560 ; botanical collec-
tion, i, 563 ; geological section,
i. 563 ; ethnographical collec-
tions, i, 564 ; numismatic collec-
tion, i, 565 ; visitors, i, 566 ;
career of Dr. Hanitsch, i, 567]
Arch^ological and Heraldic
Notes by Dr. Gilbert E. Brooke,
656
INDEX
i. 567 ; [early records, i, 567 ;
arms of the Colony, i, 569 ;
Raffles's arms, i, 570 ; arms on
church monuments, i, 570 ; public
seals of the Colony, i, 571 ; badge
and flags, i, 571 ; an ancient tomb
on Fort Canning Hill, and a
fragmentary monolith at the
mouth of Singapore River, i, 575 ;
descriptions of the monolith by
Crawfurd and Abdullah, i, 575 ;
destruction of the monolith, i,
575 ; subsequent investigations
concerning the monolith, i, 575 ;
ancient tomb on Fort Canning
Hill, i, 576]
" The Port of Singapore,"
article by Mr. Walter Makepeace,
i. 578 ; [early records, i, 578 ;
New Harbour venture, i, 578 ;
John Baxter, i, 580 ; E. M.
Smith, i, 581 ; John Blair, i, 581 ;
Charles Wishart, i, 582 ; Sir
Harry Keppel, i, 582 ; William
Cloughton, i, 584 ; pilots, i,
591]
" Singapore Harbour," arti-
cle by Sir J. R. Nicholson, Kt.,
C.M.G., ii, I ; [The Tanjong
Pagar Dock Co., ii, i ; Company
registered, ii, 2 ; Victoria Dock
opened, ii, 3 ; chequered early
history of Company, ii, 3 ; serious
fire at the dock, ii, 5 ; Albert
Dock opened, ii, 6 ; keen rivalry
for business, ii, 7 ; Admiralty
Dock scheme mooted, ii, 8 ;
purchase of Singapore Tramway
Co.'s undertaking, ii, 8 ; failure
of tramway enterprise, ii, 9 ;
Lighterage Department formed,
ii, 9 ; scheme for large new
graving dock abandoned owing
to failure of negotiations with the
Admiralty, ii, 10 ; formation of
new company and purchase of
the New Harbour Company's
interests, ii, 10 ; vacillating
policies, ii, n ; appointment of
Managing Director, ii, 12 ; plans
for new graving dock, ii, 12 ;
expropriation of the Company,
ii, 13 ; arbitration to decide value
of Company's interest, ii, 13 ;
contract given to Sir John Aird
& Co. for new wet dock, ii, 14 ;
dispute over contract, ii, 14 ;
King's Dock opened, ii, 14 ;
Empire Dock constructed and
opened, ii, 15 ; employees of the
Company and their salaries, ii, 15 ;
Company's financial position
from 1865 to 1904, ii, 18 ; harbour
improvements, ii, 18 ; career of
Sir John Nicholson, ii, 19]
Article, " The Commerce of
Singapore," by Mr. C. W. Darbi-
shire, ii, 22 ; [Raffles's foresight
in making Singapore a free port,
ii, 26 ; early conditions of trade
in Singapore, ii, 26 ; Chinese as
traders, ii, 27 ; Singapore soon
supreme as an entrepot, ii, 29 ;
planting experiments, ii, 29 ;
first steamers in the Straits,
ii, 30 ; merchants combine to
defend their interests, ii, 30 ;
embargo on American ships visit-
ing Singapore, ii, 30 ; Dutch
antagonism, 3ii, i ; Chamber of
Commerce established, ii, 33 ;
list of members in 1862, ii, 35 ;
trade development due to opening
of Suez Canal, ii, 37 ; early
railway project at, ii, 38 ; de-
velopment of Peninsular trade,
ii, 38 ; silting up of Singapore
River, ii, 39 ; Chamber given
right of representation on the
Legislative Council, ii, 40 ; de-
cline of bankruptcy, ii, 40 ;
French Indo-Chinese tariff, ii, 40 ;
Registration of Partnerships, ii,
41 ; Registration of Trade Marks,
ii, 42 ; the Shipping Conference,
ii, 43 ; currency problems, ii, 44 ;
the exchange controversy, ii, 50 ;
the rubber trade, ii, 54 ; opium,
liquor farms and the monopoly,
ii, 55 ; the Opium Commission,
ii. 58]
" Botanic Gardens and Eco-
nomic Notes," article by Dr.
Gilbert E. Brooke, ii, 63 ; [in-
troduction of rubber into Singa-
pore, ii, 64 ; the first Botanic
Garden, ii, 65 ; agricultural ex-
periments, ii, 68; cotton, coffee,
cinnamon, cocoa, indigo, coco-
nuts, pineapples, ii, 68 ; Agricul-
tural and Horticultural Society
formed, ii, 70 ; gambler and
pepper, ii, 71 ; sugar, ii, 72 ;
new Agri-Horticultural Society
formed, ii, 72 ; the present Gar-
dens formed, ii, 73 ; Gardens
taken over by the Government,
ii, 75 ; zoological collection
INDEX 657
formed, ii, 76 ; Mr. H. N. Ridley,
C.M.G., F.R.S., career of, ii, 78]
Article, " Planting," by Mr.
H. Price, ii, 79 ; [early European
planters, ii, 81 ; nutmegs, ii, 82 ;
tapioca, sago, cotton, indigo,
ii, 83 ; lemon grass, ii, 84]
Article, " Growth of the
Rubber Trade," by Mr. H. Price,
ii, 84 ; [an early sale of rubber,
ii, 85 ; Chinese planters, ii, 85 ;
Singapore sales of rubber, ii, 86 ;
the Rubber Association, ii, 87]
Article, " Rubber and Rubber
Planting," by Mr. H. Price,
ii, 88 ; [pioneers of planting,
ii, 90 ; plantations of the island
of Singapore, ii, 90 ; vast rubber
trade in Singapore, ii, 91]
Article, " Early Planting
Days," by Mr. Walter Fox, ii, 91 ;
[coffee planting started at Gunong
Pulai, ii, 91 ; Mr. Chasseriau's
tapioca estate adjoining Bukit
Timah, ii, 92 ; planting develop-
ment at Gunong Pantei, ii, 93 ;
cocoa planting at Pengerang,
ii, 94 ; early planters, ii, 95 ;
distribution of rubber seeds,
ii, 96 ; origin of Mount Austin,
ii, 96 ; rubber trees planted in
the Botanic Gardens at Singa-
pore, the progenitors of the
rubber industry, ii, 96]
The Mineral Oil Trade of.
ii, 97
The Post Office of, article
by Mr. T. A. Melville, ii, 102 ;
[early arrangments, ii, 102 ; origin
of the " Postal Express," or
" Mail Notice," ii, 104 ; Post
Office removed to Fort Fullerton,
ii, 104 ; separate Postmaster
appointed for Singapore, ii, 105 ;
position at the time of the transfer
to the Colonial Office, ii, 105 ;
mails by steam packets, ii, 107 ;
the overland route, ii, 109 ; the
French and German mail services,
ii, no ; the service during the
Great War, ii, in ; the P. & O.
mail, ii, in ; the first contract
for the Eastern mails, ii, 112 ;
arrival of the first mail at Singa-
pore, ii, 112 ; fortnightly mail
established, ii, 115 ; parcel post
service arranged, ii, 116; ac-
celeration of mails, ii, 117 ; mails
during the Great War, ii, 118; the
British India mail, ii, 118 ; rail-
v/ay mail services, ii, 121 ; postage
rates, ii, 122 ; cheap postage,
ii, 124; Local Postage Union
established, ii, 125 ; Imperial
penny postage, ii, 126 ; local
newspaper rates, ii, 128 ; post
cards, ii, 128 ; parcel post, ii, 128 ;
registration, ii, 131 ; insurance,
ii, 132 ; cash on delivery, ii, 133 ;
Chinese sub-post office, ii, 133 ;
remittances to China, ii, 134 ;
riot at the opening of the Chinese
Post Ofiice, ii, 138 ; letter smug-
gling, ii, 139 ; money orders, ii,
140 ; abuse of the money order
system, ii, 143 ; British postal
orders, ii, 144 ; local post
orders, ii, 145 ; Government
Savings Bank, ii, 145 ; telegraphs,
ii, 148 ; submarine cables, ii, 148;
Government telegraphs, ii, 152 ;
telephones, ii, 152 ; wireless,
ii, 154 ; Netherlands-India Postal
Agency, ii, 155 ; stamps, ii, 155 ;
relations with neighbouring
States,ii,i59; Postmaster-General,
ii, 161]
Article on Commerce at, by
Mr. Walter Makepeace ; [tele-
graph and telephone at, ii, 167 ;
first authenticated case of hydro-
phobia at, ii, 169 ; early tele-
phone subscribers, ii, 170 ; P. &
O. Company established at, ii, 1 73 ;
banking, ii, 174 ; leading firms,
ii, 180]
Article, " Religious Singa-
pore," by the Rev. W. Murray,
M.A., ii, 235 ; [churches and
missions, ii, 235 ; the Church
of England, ii, 238 ; the Catholic
Church, ii, 243 ; the Chinese
Church of SS. Peter and Paul,
Queen Street, ii, 247 ; the Chinese
Church of the Sacred Heart,
Tank Road, ii, 248 ; the Tamil
Church of Our Lady of Lourdes,
Ophir Road, ii, 249 ; Singapore
Island, the Chinese Parish of
Bukit Timah, St. Joseph's Church,
ii, 249 ; the Chinese priests of
Seranggong, Church of the Na-
tivity of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
ii, 259 ; St. Joseph's Institution,
ii, 251 ; Convent of the Holy
Infant Jesus, ii, 253 ; the Por-
tuguese Mission, ii, 255 ; the
Armenian Church, ii, 259 ; the
658
INDEX
Presbyterian Church, ii, 261 ; the
Presbyterian Mission, ii, 264 ;
the Methodist Episcopal Church
and Mission, ii, 267 ; Bethesda,
ii, 271 ; the Jewish Synagogue,
ii, 274 ; the Chinese Gospel
House, ii, 275 ; the Chinese
Gospel Hall, Upper Serangoon
Road, ii, 276]
Article, " Institutions and
Clubs," by Mr. Walter Make-
peace, ii, 278 ; [early history
of the Press, ii, 278 ; the Straits
Times, ii, 281 ; the Singapore Free
Press, ii, 283 ; other newspapers,
ii, 284 ; the Singapore Review
and Monthly Magazine, ii, 285 ;
the Government Printing Press,
ii, 286 ; literature, ii, 286 ;
journalism, ii, 289 ; " Straits
Produce," ii, 292 ; the Press of
the domiciled community, ii, 294;
the Straits Settlements Associa-
tion, ii, 297 ; the Straits Philoso-
phical Society, ii, 301 ; St.
Andrew's Society, ii, 303 ; British
and Foreign Bible Society, ii, 305 ;
the Boustead Institute, ii, 307 ;
Young Men's Christian Associa-
tion, ii, 308 ; Young Women's
Christian Association, ii, 310 ;
the Singapore Club, ii, 312 ;
Association of Engineers, ii, 312 ;
the Merchant Service Guild,
ii, 316 ; Miscellaneous Associa-
tions, ii, 317 ; the Swimming
Club, ii, 318; Singapore Yacht
Clubs, ii, 318 ; Photographic
Society, ii, 319]
Article, " A Century of
Sport"; [the first sport club,
ii, 320 ; Cricket Club and cricket,
ii, 323 ; lawn tennis, ii, 331 ;
football, ii, 333 ; hockey, ii, 334 ;
lawn bowls, ii, 335 ; polo, ii, 335 ;
Ladies' Lawn Tennis Club, ii, 337 ;
the Singapore Golf Club, ii, 338 ;
racing, ii, 348 ; automobilism,
ii, 361 ; Recreation Club, ii, 365]
" Shikar," article by Mr. G. P.
Owen, ii, 367
" Amateur Theatricals and
Music," ii, 381
" Music," by Mr. Edwin A.
Brown, ii, 406 ; [Mr. Edward
Salzmann, ii, 407 ; Singapore
Philharmonic Society, ii, 408 ;
Cathedral Glee Society, ii, 413 ;
Regimental Bands, ii, 414]
" Leading Personalities,"
article by Mr. Walter Makepeace,
ii, 416 ; [Mr. C. R. Read, ii. 416 ;
Mr. W. H. Read, ii, 417 ; Mr.
R. B. Read, ii, 419 ; port duties
agitation, ii, 420 ; the Braddell
family, ii, 423 ; the Maxwells,
ii, 431 ; the Cranes, ii, 442 ; the
Dunmans, ii, 443 ; the d'Al-
meidas, ii, 446 ; the Shelfords,
ii, 447 ; the Kers and Kerrs,
ii, 449 ; the Georges, ii, 451 ; the
Scrymgeours, ii, 451 ; the Orrais-
tons, ii, 451 ; Sir John Anderson
(of Guthrie & Co.), ii, 451 ; Mr.
C. B. Buckley, ii, 453 ; Mr.
John Eraser, " Our Jolly Old
Octopus," ii, 457 ; Mr. Charles
Phillips, ii, 459 ; Miss Sophia
Cooke, ii, 460 ; ^ Sir Henry
McCallum, ii, 461 ; * Mr, Manas-
seh Meyer, ii, 463 ; Mr. K. B. S.
Robertson, ii, 464]
Article, " The Merry Past,"
by Mr. Roland St. John Braddell,
ii, 465 ; [Scotsmen as Singa-
poreans, ii, 466 ; Governor Bon-
ham's hospitality, ii, 467 ; early
Singapore described, ii, 469 ;
Government House, ii, 474 ;
Fort Canning, ii, 475 ; social
life in the mid-century period,
ii, 476 ; the first hotel, ii, 481 ;
Feast of St. Andrew, ii, 482 ;
map of 1846, ii, 484 ; the Orang
Laut, ii, 486 ; old residences,
ii, 488 ; nutmeg and sugar
plantations, ii, 490 ; in the 'Forties
ii, 490 ; convicts as servants,
ii, 491 ; opium clippers, ii, 493 ;
early hotels, ii, 494 ; music on
the Esplanade, ii, 495 ; horse
racing, ii, 496 ; in the 'Fifties,
ii, 496 ; duels, ii, 497 ; Wham-
poa's hospitality, ii, 498 ; Ameri-
can Consuls, ii, 503 ; the Ala-
bama in Singapore, ii, 505 ;
Emmerson's Tifhn Rooms, ii, 505;
changed social conditions, ii, 507 ;
cycling and motoring, ii, 510 ;
lighting, ii, 511 ; Government
bungalows, ii, 514 ; new Govern-
ment House, ii, 516 ; Suez Canal
influences, ii, 516 ; modern life,
ii, 521 ; Raffles Statue unveiled,
ii, 523]
" Personal Recollections,"
by Mr. H. B. Leicester, ii, 525 ;
[domestic slaves, ii, 525 ; edu-
INDEX
659
cation, ii, 526 ; a school vendetta,
ii, 527 ; a popular and an un-
popular Governor, ii, 528 ; Volun-
teering, ii, 530 ; advent of a
Highland regiment, ii, 531 ;
office customs, ii, 532 ; first
census, ii, 533 ; religious life,
ii. 534 l temperance work, ii, 535;
the Krakatoa eruption, ii, 536]
" Awakening Old Memor-
ies," by Mr. J. H. Drysdale,
ii, 538 ; [engineering firms, ii, 538 ;
Scotch engineers, ii, 539 ; social
life, ii, 540 ; Arab ship owners,
ii, 541]
" A Mid-Century Diary,"
by Mrs. G. P. Owen, ii, 542 ;
[wreck of the Viscount Melbourne,
ii, 542 ; map of Singapore in
1846, ii, 543 ; social life, ii, 544 ;
sport at Blakan Mati, ii, 546 ;
a local strike, ii, 549 ; regattas,
ii, 550 ; fears of a mutiny,
ii. 553 I depredations of tigers,
ii, 554 ; pic-nics, ii, 555 ; a
water-spout, ii, 556 ; snake
stories, ii, 557 ; introduction of
gas-lighting, ii, 559]
" Singapore's Future," arti-
cle by Mr. A. W. Still, ii, 560 ;
[Sir Frank Swettenham's fore-
cast, ii, 561 ; a matchless strategic
position, ii, 562 ; a vision of
future greatness, ii, 563 ; the
Housing Commission's recom-
mendations, ii, 564 ; educational
requirements, ii, 566 ; meeting
of East and West, ii, 567]
" The Centenary Day and
Its Celebrations," article by
Dr. G. E. Brooke, ii, 570 ;
[Centenary Committee's report,
ii, 570 ; committee for developing
higher education, ii, 572 ; re-
moval of Raffles Statue to a
new site, ii, 573 ; inscription
on the tablet, ii, 574 ; unveiling
ceremony, ii, 575 ; Sir Arthur
Young's speech, ii, 576 ; presen-
tation of addresses, ii, 578 ;
Thanksgiving Service, ii, 581 ;
demonstration at the Racecourse,
ii, 582 ; display of fireworks,
ii, 584]
Chronology of Singapore
History, ii, 587
Singapore Institutions : the Chris-
tian Union, ii, 236 ; the Club,
history of, ii, 312 ; Cricket Club,
i, 335 '< Cycling Club, ii, 317 ;
Debating Society, ii, 317 ; De-
fence Corps, i, 391 ; Diocesan
Association, ii, 242 ; Electric
Tramways, i, 331 ; ii, 217 ;
Exchange, ii, 171 ; Institution,
i, 176 ; Philharmonic Society,
ii, 408 ; Yacht Club, ii, 318
Singapore Newspapers and Pub-
lications :
Singai Nesan, the, ii, 284
Singapore and the Straits Direc-
tory, the, ii, 194
Singapore Chronicle, the, i, 168;
i, 291 ; i, 493 ; ii, 107 ; history
of, ii, 278 ; ii, 369 ; ii, 587
Singapore and the Straits Settle-
ments Described (pamphlet), ii, 424
Singapore Eurasian Advocate,
the, history of, ii, 294
Singapore Free Press, quota-
tions from, i, 87 ; i, 89 ; i, 127 ;
i, 129 ; i, 138 ; i, 155 ; founded
by Mr. Napier, i, 175 ; ii, 588 ;
Mr. Logan, editor of, i, 195 ; sale
of, i, 195 ; harshly criticises Sir
John Bonser's appointment as
Chief Justice, i, 219 ; and the
Volunteer movement, i, 385 ;
i, 393 ; and Raffles College, i, 431;
and the Singapore Library, i, 525 ;
Mr. W. R. George, proprietor of,
i, 526 ; end of early series of,
i, 541 ; Admiral Keppel's narra-
tive in, i, 583 ; obituary notice
of Mr. J. Graham, ii, 231 ;
resumed publication of, ii, 279 ;
history of, ii, 283 ; ii, 400 ; and
Mr. W. H. Read, ii, 418 ; obituary
notice of Sir T. Braddell, ii, 428 ;
first issued as a daily, ii, 597
Singapore Herald, the, ii, 284
Singapore Monthly Circular
and Price Current, the, ii, 282
Singapore Review and Monthly
Magazine, the, ii, 105 ; ii, 149 ;
ii, 285 ; ii, 513
Singapore, the, ship built in Singa-
pore, ii, 188
Singapura, old, traditions of, i, i ;
an Indian name reminiscent of
some other " Lion City " in
Kalinga, i, 3 ; a Siamese ex-
pedition fails to take, i, 3 ; raided
and devastated by the Javanese
of Majapahit, i, 3 ; eclipsed by
Malacca, i, 4 ; never a big place,
i, 4 ; historic relic of, wantonly
destroyed by the head of the
66o
INDEX
Public Works Department, i, 4 ;
becoming independent of Palem-
bang, grows into an important
trade depot, i, 5 ; fugitive King
of, establishes himself at the
mouth of the Malacca River,
Sir David Scott, ii, 66
Sir James Brooke, s.s., ii, 551
Sisson & Delay, i, 237
Sisson, Mr. A. J., i, 237
Six Widows Case, the, i, 165 ;
i, 190 ; facts of, i, 208 ; judgment
in, i, 230 ; incident in the ap-
peal in, i, 239
Sixty Years' Travel and Adventure
in the Far East, i, 580 ; ii, 190 ;
ii, 288 ; ii, 518
Skinner, Mr. A. M., takes part in
debate on first Societies Ordinance
i. III ; career of, i, 113 ; i, 120 ;
i, 466 ; makes presentation to
the Singapore Museum, i, 562 ;
on Straits literature, ii, 286 ; as
cricketer, ii, 327
Skinner, Mr. Archibald, pilot, i, 592
Skinner, Mr. P. M., editor Straits
Times, ii, 282
Slavery in the Straits, last remnant
of, abolished, i, 85
Slipway Co. at Tanjong Rhu, ii, 8
Smallpox in Singapore, i, 503
Smith, Bell & Co., ii, 35
Smith, Capt. Sydney, and the
Singapore mutineers, i, 409
Smith, Eld§r & Co., Ltd., appointed
London Agents of the Singapore
Library, i, 528
Smith, Miss Clementi, in oratorio,
ii, 408
Smith, Mr. E. M., career of, i, 581 ;
ii, 2 ; ii, 3 ; ii, 17 ; ii, 192 ; ii, 282
Smith, Mr. George, replaces Mr.
Niven at the Botanic Gardens,
ii, 76
Smith, Mr. J. C, Headmaster,
Singapore Institution, i, 524 ;
i, 528 ; i, 534 ; i, 540
Smith, Mr. J. K., ii, i
Smith, Mr. Justice Sercombe, i, 208
Smith, Mr. R. E., i, 371
Smith, Sir Cecil Clementi, demands
satisfaction for murder of British
subject in Pahang, i, 28 ; por-
trait of, i, no ; career of, i, no ;
a fine speaker, i, 158 ; a member
of the Police Commission, i, 250 ;
and Chinese Secret Societies,
i, 279 ; founds Queen's Scholar-
ships, i, 369 ; and the Volunteer
movement, i, 385 ; opens Chinese
School at Tanjong Pagar, ii, 457 ;
opens the Boustead Institute, ii,
308 ; and the Recreation Club,
ii, 366 ; ii, 448 ; ii, 603
Smithson, Mr. Wm., ii, 212
Snagge, Mr. H. E., ii, 191
Snodgrass, Mr. A., ii, 199
Snow, Mr. A., doyen of the Singa-
pore Pilots' Association, i, 592
Snowden, Mr., Senior Magistrate
at Singapore, i, 214
Societies Ordinance, debate on,
i. III ; i, 153
SohSt, Mr. Th., ii, 218 ; ii, 348
Somerville, Mr. A. C, ii, 213
Somerville, Mr, John, ii, 182
Song Ong Siang, Mr., career of,
i, 242 ; work of, on the Chinese
of Singapore, i, 375 ; as Queen's
Scholar, i, 472
Sorabjee, Mr, F., i, 527
Souper, Mr. E, B,, ii, 324
Southall, Mr, V., ii, 357
Southampton, H.M.S,, i, 292
Southern Ocean, cable store-ship,
ii, 169
Sparkes, Mr. John, Agent P. & O.
Co,, i, 539 ; ii, 326
Speedy, Capt., Assistant Resident
of Perak, ii, 435 ; ii, 526
Sport in Singapore, ii, 320
Spottiswoode & Co., ii, 35
Spottiswoode & Connelly, the first
P. & O. Agents, ii, 174
Spottiswoode, Mr, A, J,, ii, 326 ;
ii. 383
Spriggs, Mr. C. W., ii, 345
Stallwood, Mr. H. A., prepares
register of burials at Fort Can-
ning, i, 491 ; in amateur thea-
tricals, ii, 404
Stanley, Capt. Edward, i, 293
Stanley, Sir Edmund, first Recorder
of Penang, i, 17
Staples, Mr. J. H. M., an early
planter, ii, 81
Stark, Mr. James, ii, 227
Steadman, Mr. V., ii, 228
Steamships in the Straits, first
tale of, i, 168 ; advent of, ii, 108
Steel, Mr. Wm., ii, 384
Steele, Rev. J., ii, 266
Stephenson, Major-General T. E.,
i. 383
Stephenson, Miss E. M,, ii, 242
Stephenson, Mr. G. H.*, first Govern-
ment Analyst, i, 512
INDEX
66i
Stephenson, Mr, Walter, one of
the earliest planters in the F.M.S,,
ii, 95
Stevens, Mr., Assistant Superinten-
dent Police, i, 253
Stevens, Mr. F. G., i, 464
Stevens, Mr. G. P., ii, 329
Stevens, Mr. K. A., ii, 192 ; ii, 362
Stevenson, Capt. D. H., i, 526
Stiefel, Mr. W., ii, 200
Still, Mr. A. W., ii, 282 ; ii, 302 ;
article by, on " Singapore's Fu-
ture," ii, 560
Stiven, Mr. A. W., ii, 200 ; ii, 339 ;
ii. 348
Stiven, Mr. W. G., i, 367 ; ii, 324
Straits Advocate, the, ii, 284
Straits A Imanac and Directory, ii, 156
Straits Banking Co., the, ii, 179
Straits Budget, the, ii, 282
Straits Bulletin, the, i, 410
Straits Chinese Magazine, the, quo-
tation from, i. Ill ; i, 263 ; on
Sir Charles Mitchell's administra-
tion, i, 114; on Sir J. A. Swet-
tenham, i, 125 ; on Sir Frank
Swettenham, i, 128 ; quoted,
i, 280 ; i, 402 ; ii, 501
Straits Chronicle, the, ii, 279
Straits dollar, value of fixed, i, 35
Straits Echo, the, i, 371 ; ii, 279
Straits Eurasian Advocate first issued,
ii, 598
Straits Guardian, the, ii, 284
Straits Independent and Penang
Chronicle, the, ii, 598
Straits Intelligence, the, ii, 284 ;
ii, 294
Straits Land Act, the, i, 308
Straits Law Journal, the, i, 224; i,226
Straits Law Journal and Reports
started, ii, 598
Straits Memories, ii, 524 ; ii, 536
Straits of Malacca, the, Ptolemy-
refers to places in, i, i ; irregular
history of, i, 4 ; position of
affairs in, in 181 8, i, 6; steamships
in, i, 168 ; piracy in, i, 177
Straits Philosophical Society, the,
history of, ii, 301 ; dinner group,
ii, 302
Straits Produce, i, 230 ; ii, 292 ;
ii, 294 ; ii, 385 ; ii, 431 ; ii, 458
Straits Racing Calendar, the, ii, 351
Straits Settlements Association, the,
supports Sir Andrew Clarke's
policy ; i, 100 ; Mr. Napier first
chairman of, i, 176 ; i, 232;
protest against the military con-
tribution, i, 400 ; defeats scheme
of compulsory pilotage, i, 591 ;
history of, ii, 297
Straits Settlements Gazette, the, i, 573
Straits Settlements, the, descrip-
tion of, i, 12 ; population of, i, 13 ;
administration of, i, 13 ; forma-
tion of, i, 20 ; Charter of Justice
relating to, i, 21 ; placed under
the Government of Bengal, i, 22 ;
i, 170; placed under the Govern-
ment of India on the abolition
of the East India Company, i, 22 ;
agitation for the direct govern-
ment of, by the Crown, i, 23 ;
Crown Colony Government estab-
lished in, I, 23 ; i, 82 ; i, 91 ;
i, 192 ; i, 385 ; early trade of , i, 23 ;
military establishment of, i, 24 ;
administrative system under
Crown rule, i, 25 ; chapter on the
Government of the, by Mr.
Bernard Nunn, Resident of Malac-
ca, i, 69 ; incorporation of the,
i, 81 ; Recorder appointed to,
i, 82 ; Volunteer Corps estab-
blished at, i, 88 ; income or
war tax introduced in, i, 142 ;
article on, " The Legislative
Council" of, by Mr. Walter Make-
peace, i, 149 ; article, " Law
and Crime," in, by Mr. Roland
St. J. Braddell, i, 160 ; changed
land policy after the transfer
of, to the Colonial Office, i, 311;
Singapore Chamber of Commerce
and transfer of to the Colonial
Office, ii, 37 ; admitted into the
Postal Union, ii, 592
Straits Steamship Co., Ltd., the,
history of, ii, 215
Straits Telegraph, the, ii, 297
Straits Times, the, foundation of,
i, 195; ii, 589; supports Sir
John Bonser's appointment as
Chief Justice, i, 219 ; inquiry of,
as to Eurasians of Singapore,
i, 364 ; files of, in the Singapore
Library, i, 541 ; Capt. Clough-
ton's announcement in, i, 589 ;
and the mails, ii, 115 ; Mr. John
Cameron editor of, ii, 192 ;
history of, ii, 281 ; news room
at the office of, ii, 500
Straits Trading Co., the owners
of Pulo Brani, i, 382 ; first
mention of, ii, 8 ; Mr. C. S. Crane
secretary of, ii, 193 ; history of,
ii, 219
662
INDEX
Stringer, Mr. C, i, 154 ; i, 287 ;
ii, 212; ii, 324; presentation
to, ii, 327 ; ii, 339 ; ii, 350 ;
ii, 521 ; ii, 595
Stuart, Mr. J. D., ii, 365
Studer, Major, ii, 503
Suez Canal, effect of opening of
the, on Singapore trade, ii, 37
Sugar industry in the Straits, ii, 424;
ii, 490
Sugden, Mr. C, ii, 186 ; ii, 307 ;
ii, 336 ; ii, 350
Sugden, Mr. G. H., killed in the
Great War, i, 123
Suffolk, H.M.S., provides guard of
honour for Centenary Celebra-
tion, ii, 575
Suhl, Mr. M., ii, 218
Sui Lok Peng On, or Broken Coffin
Society, i, 276
Sumatra, Hindu-Buddhist State
founded in, i, 2 ; Northern
Settlements in, adopt Islam, i, 3 ;
Raffles's views on, presented to
Lord Hastings, i, 51; largest
rubber estate in the world in,
ii, 89
Sunfoo, the s.s., wrecked, ii, 592
Sungei Ujong drawn into quarrel
at Selangor, i, 26 ; merged in the
Negri Sembilan State, i, 28 ;
branch of Straits Trading Co.
opened in, ii, 221
Sunner, Mr. J. H., ii, 216
Supreme Court of Judicature, re-
constituted, i, 214
Sutherland, Rev. D., ii, 266
Swales, Mr. T., ii, 227
Swan & Maclaren, ii, 178 ; history
of, ii, 227
Swan, Mr. A. A., drives first steam
tramcar, ii, 217
Sweeting, Mr. Samuel, tombstone
to, at Fort Canning, ii, 229
Swettenham, Sir Frank, on the
position of the Malay States in
the early years of the Colony's
existence, i, 26 ; discredits Major
Farquhar's claims to the honour
of founding Singapore, i, 75 ;
tribute of, to Raffles, i, 76 ; on
Sir Harry Ord's Government,
i. 95 '' present at the signing of
the Treaty of Pangkor, i, 100 ;
participates in the negotiations
with Sultan Abdullah of Perak,
i, 103; appointed first Resident-
General, F.M.S., i, 117 ; one of
the first cadets under the revised
system, i, 121 ; career of, i, 125 ;
portrait of, i, 126 ; debating
qualities of, i, 159 ; lays founda-
tion-stone of Victoria Memorial
Theatre, i, 334 ; member of the
Fire Brigade, i, 337 ; collection
of Malayweaponsof, purchased for
the Singapore Museum, i, 552 ;
on shipbuilding at Singapore,
i, 579 ; as a writer, ii, 288 ; as
cricketer, ii, 327 ; a supporter of
polo, ii, 335 ; farewell dinner to,
ii, 452 ; early career of, ii, 532 ;
on Singapore's future, ii, 560 ;
public banquet to, ii, 605 ; re-
signation of, ii. 605
Swettenham, Sir J. A., career of,
i, 125 ; Sir Harry Keppel the
guest of, i, 583 ; and maffickers,
ii, 290
Swindell, Ven. Archdeacon, ii, 575
Sword & Muhlinghaus, Bon-Accord
property leased to, ii, 8 ; tin
smelting carried on by, ii, 219
Sword, Mr. James, ii, 182 ; ii, 219
Syhille, H.M.S., i, 247
Sydney, H.M.A.S., destroys the
Emden off the Cocos Islands,
i, 29 ; i, 408
Syers, Capt. H. C, makes presenta-
tion to Singapore Museum, i, 561
Sykes, Mr. Adam, ii, 189
Sykes, Mr. E. E., ii, 398
Syme & Co., ii, 35 ; and the mineral
oil trade, ii, 97 ; and telephones,
ii, 171 ; and Singapore banking,
ii, 175 ; history of, ii, 228
Syme, Mr. Hugh, career and por-
trait of, ii, 228
Symes, Mr. W. C, ii, 335
Sze Hai Tong Bank, the, ii, 178
Tabu captured by British forces, i, 22
Talbot &' Fort's Index of Cases, i, 235
Talbot, Mr. A. P., i, 121 ; i, 156 ;
ii, 339 ; ii. 533
Talbot, Mr. H. L., ii, 328
Tamil Church, Ophir Road, ii, 249
Tamil dynasty of Coromandel, i, 2
Tampenis Clearwater Dairy Farm
started by Mr. C. E. Crane, ii, 193
Tanah Merah, the s.s., ii, 538
Tan Beng Swee and the Pauper
Hospital, i, 496
Tanglin Barracks, the, nutmeg
plantation on the site of, i, 89 ;
Johore troops quartered at, in the
Great War, i, 409 ; mutineers at,
i, 410
INDEX
663
Tanglin Club established, ii, 322
Tanglin, military hospital at, i, 489 ;
Botanic Gardens formed at, ii, 72
Tan Jiak Kim, the Hon., i, 153 ;
i, 514 ; ii, 59 ; ii, 270
Tanjong Katong district, part of,
included in municipal area, i, 339
Tanjong Katong Hotel opened,
ii, 596
Tanjong Pagar, beginning of (illus-
tration), i, 578 ; ii, 491
Tanjong Pagar Dock Co., the,
graving dock opened, i, 105 ;
ii, 593 '. expropriation of, i, 134 ;
i, 154 ; Malay apprentices to,
i, 473 ; Mr. E. M. Smith, manager
of, i, 581 ; Mr. John Blair succeeds
Mr. Smith in the management of,
i, 581 ; Capt. Cloughton and
the promotion of, i, 589 ; article
on, by Sir J. R. Nicholson, ii, i ;
and railway development, ii, 38 ;
and telephones, ii, 171 ; purchase
tramway undertaking, ii, 217 ;
Arbitration Court and racing,
ii, 354 ; influence of the opening
of the Suez Canal on, ii, 517 ; and
the Boustead Institute, ii, 536 ;
great fire at the premises of,
ii, 593
Tanjong Pagar School supported by
Mr. Guthrie, i, 447 ; i, 467
Tan Keong Siak, Mr., ii, 270
Tan Kheam Hock, Mr., ii, 578
Tan Kim Ching, Mr., a hospital
benefactor, i, 496; on the Museum
Committee, i, 544
Tan Kim Seng, i, 319 ; i, 327
Tan Kim Seng Memorial, ii, 595
Tan Kim Tian Steamship Co., ii, 216
Tan Kong Wee, Mr., ii, 266
Tan See Boo, Mr., ii, 264 ; ii, 275
Tan Siang Cheng, ]V^,, ii, 578
Tan Teck Guan, Mr., i, 515 ; ii, i
Tan Teck Soon, Mr., ii, 301 ; ii, 303
Tan Tock Seng, Mr., career of, i, 495
Tan Tock Seng Hospital, i, 493 ;
ii, 589 ; ii, 599
Tapioca cultivation in Singapore,
ii, 83 ; ii, 92
Tarn, Capt. E. B., ii, 273
Tatham, Capt. R. A., Assistant
Resident of Sungei Ujong, i, loi
Tatlock, Mr. H., ii, 223
Tay Kim Swee, Mr., Chinese Sub-
Inspector, i, 260
Taylor, Chief Detective-Inspector,
and finger-print system, i, 261 ;
career of, i, 261 ; i, 270
n— 43
Taylor, Mr. J. D., ii, 342
Taylor, Mr. W. Grigor, manager oi
the Telephone Co. in Singapore,
ii, 168 ; ii, 264 ; ii, 343 ; ii, 605
Taylor, Mr. Worsley, ii, 219
Taylor, Sir William, career of , i, 1 19 ;
i, 231 ; Vice-President Automo-
bile Club, ii, 362
Tay Sek Tin, Rev., ii, 265
Tea trade in Singapore, ii, 27
Telegraphs at Singapore, ii, 148 ;
ii, 167
Telephones in Singapore, ii, 152
Telok Ayer, branch English school
opened at, i, 439 ; shipbuilding
at, i, 579 ; first reclamation in,
ii, 39
Telok Ayer Market, i, 333
Telok Ayer reclamation, ii, 301
Telok Blanga, Maharaja of Johore
gives his residence at, for use as a
school, i, 467 ; Malay Printing
Press established at, i, 473 ; coins
discovered near, i, 532 ; chandu
factory at, ii, 57 ; P. & O.
Company at, ii, 174 ; wharves of
Borneo Co. at, ii, 185
Teluk Anson, tin smelting at, ii, 224
Teluk Ayer (illustration), i, 332
Teluksamoy, the Dutch brig, i, 53
Temasek, or Tumasik, old native
name of Singapore, i, 3
Temenggong of Johore, the, position
of, i, 8 ; provisional arrangement
concluded with, for the occupa-
tion of Singapore, i, 9 ; i, 57 I
rule of, i, 341 ; history of, ii, 521
Tenasserim, the, i, 223 ; i, 479
T6ngku Husain (or Tengku Long)
recognised by Sir Stamford
Raffles as the Sultan of Riau, i, 9 ;
definite treaty concluded with, for
the occupation of Singapore, i, 10
Terrell, Capt. A. K. k Beckett,
i, 242
Terrell, Capt. C. R. k Beckett,
i, 243
Terrible, H.M.S., at Singapore, li,
397
Tessensohn family in Singapore,
the, i, 367
Tessensohn, Mr. E., suggests pro-
motion of Eurasian Volunteer
Company, i, 393 ; and the
Recreation Club, ii, 366
I Teutonia Club, the, ii, 187 ; ii, 219 ;
ii, 406 ; ii, 604
i Text Book of Documentary Chinese,
1 the, i, 133
664
INDEX
The Malay Peninsula, quotations
from, i, IOC ; i, 104; i, 118;
i, 135 ; i. 137 ; i. 138
The Real Malay, i, 128
Thistle, the s.s.. cut off by pirates,
ii, 551
Theunissen, Mr. G. H., ii, 179 ;
ii, 551
Thien-Ti-Hui, or Hung League, i, 275
Thobum, the Rev, Dr., ii, 267
Thomas Coutts, the, quick passage
by, ii, 109
Thomas, ISIr. G. E. V., ii, 199 ;
ii, 303
Thompson, the Rev. G. H., a
pioneer of education in Singapore,
i, 431 ; ii, 587
Thomson, Mr. H. A. E., ii, 324
Thomson, Mr. J, T., cites Light as a
proof of the superiority of the
Uncovenanted Civil Service, i, 72 ;
refers to Mr. Murchison's land
transactions, i, 83 ; attacks the
E. I. Company's Civil Service, i,
84 ; character sketch of Mr. S. G.
Bonham by, i, 85 ; on the preva-
lence of crime in Singapore, i, 244 ;
circumstances relative to the
appointment of, i, 309 ; and the
water supply of Singapore, i, 327 ;
plans new Pauper Hospital, i, 495 ;
as a writer, ii, 287 ; ii, 425 ;
ii, 471 ; ii, 496 ; ii, 499
Thomson, Mr. T. S., ii, 184 ; ii, 321 ;
ii. 371 ; ii. 510 ; ii. 559
Thorburn, Mr. A. R., ii, 273 ; ii, 309
Thornton, Mr. Justice, career of,
i, 240
Thornton, Mr. M. R., i, 154
Tidman, Mr. P. F., ii, 298 ; ii, 392
Tilly, Mr. A. H., pilot, i, 592
Times of Malaya, the, ii, 278
Tin, war regulations affecting, i, 416 ;
smelting, ii, 219
ringel-tangel at Singapore, ii, 183
rireman, Capt., ii, 312
Tisdall, Mr. C. E. G., ii, 306
Tivendale & Co., i, 580
Tomlin, Mr. F. L., ii, 182; ii, 578
Tomlinson & Lermit, history of,
ii, 233
Tomlinson, Mr. S., municipal engin-
eer, i, 321 ; ii, 233 ; ii, 309
Tongkah branch of the Straits
Trading Co., ii, 224
Topham, Jones & Railton, Messrs.,
and Tanjong Pagar Dock con-
tract, ii, 15
Tournaire, M., ii, 210
Town Hall, Singapore, i, 334
Town Planning for Singapore, i, 323
Trabboch, the s.s., captured by
German cruiser Emden, i, 407
Trafalgar Tapioca Estate, ii, 92
Traill, Assistant Surgeon, urges
removal of Tan Tock Seng
Hospital, i, 495 ; member of first
Museum Committee, i, 533
Transport, illustration of past and
present, ii, 10
Treacher, Mr. W. H., a Resident in
the year of federation, i, 118
Treadgold, Mr. T, G., ii, 399
Treaties relating to Singapore, i, 8
(illustration) ; i, 10 ; i, 20 ; i, 80 ;
i, 301 ; ii, 455 ; ii. 587
Treaty of Bangkok, the, i, 15
Treaty of Pangkor, the, i, 21 ; i, 27 ;
i, 99 ; ii, 426 ; ii, 592
Treaty of Vienna, the, Java and
Malacca handed back to the
Dutch by the, i, 20 ; i, 74
Treaty with Brunei, i, 137
Treaty with Negri Sembilan chiefs,
ii. 592
Treaty with Siam in 1909, i, 137
Trengganu, the State of, suzerainty
of, transferred to Great Britain,
i, 137 ; accepts appointment of a
British adviser, i, 143
Treweeke, Capt. L. (s.s. Lady
Weld), ii, 216
Triad Societies, i, 275
Tripp, Dr., i, 500 ; i, 513
Troilus, S.S., sunk off the Minicoys
by German cruiser Emden, i, 407
Trotter, Mr. Henry, Postmaster-
General, ii, 161 ; ii, 532
Trotter, Mr. Noel, reports on mail
service between Penang and
India, ii, 119 ; opens Chinese
post office, ii, 138 ; on the
telephone service, ii, 153 ; reports
on F.M.S. Postal Service, ii, 161 ;
portrait and retirement of, ii, 162 ;
gift by, to Philharmonic Society,
ii. 409
Tsushima, the Japanese cruiser,
lands men during the Singapore
Mutiny, i, 413
Tuck, Colonel J., ii, 311
Tudor, Vice- Admiral, Sir F. T. T.,
ii, 575
Tuik, Mr. J. E., submits plans for
new graving dock, ii, 9
Turner, Capt. F. A. (s.s. Sappho).
ii, 216
Turner, Mr. A. E., ii, 206
INDEX
665
Turner, Mr. John, i, 154
Twentieth Century Impressions of
British Malaya, quotations from,
i, 105
Twenty -one Days in India, ii, 437
Tyersall, first meet of the Singapore
Automobile Club at, ii, 364
Tyler, IVIr. J. E., Government
printer, ii, 202 ; ii, 286
Tymeric, the s.s., sunk by German
cruiser Emden, i, 407
Tyrell, Inspector, head of police
training depot at Malacca, i, 256
Unfederated Malay States, Governor
of the Straits Settlements also
High Commissioner of the, i, 13
Ungku Anda, interest of, in educa-
tion, i, 469
Union Bank of Calcutta opens
branch in Singapore, ii, 175 ;
ii, 589
United Engineers Limited, ii, 200
United States Government and
rubber during the Great War,
i, 415
Unofficial members of Legislative
Council resign, i, 401 ; ii, 591 ; ii,
602
Upcott, Mr. M. J., i, 236
Upton, Capt. R., ii, 217
Upton, Mr. P. H., ii, 318
Utusan Malayu, the, ii, 284
Vaccination introduced into Singa-
pore, i, 490
Vade & Co., history of, ii, 218
Vade, Mr. H. V. M., ii, 342
Valdura, the s.s., first ship to enter
the Empire Dock, ii, 15
Van Aalst, Mr. C. J. K., ii, 211
Van Cuylenberg, Mr. C. M., ii, 214
Vance, Rev. J., ii, 262
Van Delden, Mr. E. J. H., ii, 179
Van de Stadt, Mr. J. W., ii, 211
Van den* Bosch, Governor-General
of the Netherlands India, takes
action against pirates, i, 292
Van der Beek, Mr. J. N., career of,
i, 369
Van der Capellan, the s.s., the
first steamer in the Straits, ii, 30 ;
ii, 588
Van Henkelom, Mr. W. E., ii, 179
Van Hulstijn, Mr. S., ii, 150
Van Lohuizen, Mr. J., ii, 200
Van Papendricht, Mr. H., ii, 200
Van Rijnbeck, Mr. W. E,, ii, 200
Van Santen, Mr. R. A., ii, 179
Van Someren, Lieut. C. D., i, 214
Van Someren, Lieut. -Col., i, 214
Van Someren, Major A. G. V., i, 213
Van Someren, Mr. R. A., i, 213
Van Someren, Mr. R. G., career of,
i, 211 ; portrait of, i, 212
Van Someren, Mr. V. G., i, 214
Van Someren, Mr. W. N., i, 213
Vaughan, Major-General H, T. J.,
i. 383
Vaughan, Mr. J. D., portrait of,
i, 222 ; career of, i, 223 ; i, 479 ;
evidence of, before the Police
Commission, i, 251 ; on the Singa-
pore population, i, 341 ; i, 349 ;
editor of the Singapore Free Press,
ii, 283 ; ii, 298 ; in amateur
theatricals, ii, 383 ; eulogy of
Mr. T. Braddell by, ii, 428
Velge family in Singapore, i, 366
Velge, Mr. C. E., portrait of, i, 218 ;
i, 241 ; i, 403 ; ii, 353 ; residence
of, ii, 488 ; dinner to, ii, 607
Venn, Rev. E. S., starts schools for
Chinese boys and Eurasians,
i, 447 ; ii, 241
Verloop, Mr. H. C, ii, 197
Vermont, Mr. J. M. B., i, 152
Veterans' Company Singapore
Volunteer Rifles formed, i, 408
Victoria Dock, Singapore, opened,
ii. 3
Victoria Memorial Hall, construc-
tion of the, i, 127
Victoria Memorial Theatre, i, 334 ;
ii, 404
Victoria, Queen, statue of, unveiled,
ii, 598
Vida, S.S., ii, 541
Vignol, Father F., ii, 248
Viscount Melbourne, the wreck of,
ii, 542
Volunteer Corps established at
Singapore, i, 88 ; ii, 590
Volunteer Drill Hall built, i, 379 ;
i, 387
Volunteers, the Singapore, article
on, i, 384 ; attitude of Tanjong
Pagar Company's European
employees towards, ii, 9 ; Major
St. Clair's support of, ii, 292
Von der Heyde, Lieut., i, 402 ;
ii, 187
Von Hartwig & Co., i, 579
Von Lendenfeld, Dr. R., applies for
post of Curator of the Museum,
i. 554
Von Pustau, Mr. R., makes presen-
tation to Museum, i, 561
666
INDEX
Von Tunzelmann, Dr., i, 513
Voyage dans I'Archipel Indien, i, 183
Waddell, Mr. W. P., i, 154 ; i, 249 ;
ii, 13 ; ii. 17 ; ii, 190 ; ii. 345
Waghorn & Co., W. C. Crane
Singapore agent for, ii, 172
Wagner, Mr. Th., ii, i
Wah Hong Keng Kee, ii, 87
Wahl, Capt. (s.s. Sappho), ii. 216
Wald and Smith, Messrs., Eastern
Extension Telegraph Co., shot by
mutineers, i, 411
Wald, Mr. G., and the Swimming
Club, ii, 318
Walker, Lieut.-Col. R. S. F., i, 255
Walker. Mr. C. R. S., ii, 192
Walker, Mr. H. W., makes gifts to
Singapore Museum, i, 562
Walker, Mr. Noel, ii, 356
Walker, Rev. S. S., ii, 262 ; ii, 309
Wallace, Mr. E., ii, 317
Wallich, Nathaniel, i, 487 ; career
and portrait of, ii, 65 .
Walton, Mr. Philip, i, 242
Ward, Mr. D. J., ii, 194
Warrack, Mr. F., ii, 209; ii, 213
Warrand, Assistant Surgeon A.,
i, 490
Warren, Sir Charles, i, 156 ; i, 254 ;
portrait of, i, 290 ; i, 382 ; i, 383 ;
ii, 301 ; ii, 598 ; ii, 600
Water Supply of Singapore, i, 326 ;
ii, 199
Waterwitch, H.M.S., surveys made
by, i, 480
Watkins, Mr. A. J. W., ii, 227
Watson, Mr. E. J., an early coffee
planter, ii, 91
Watson, Mr. J., ii, i ; ii, 196 ; ii, 326
Watson, Mr. J. R., an early planter,
ii, 14 ; ii, 81 ; ii, 196 ; ii, 326
Watson, Mr. R. G., i, 121
Watt, Mr. Crabb, ii, 346
Watt, Mr. M. K., at Bisley, i, 405
Watts, Mr. E. H., Acting Assistant
Colonial Secretary, i, 543
Waylen, Mr. F. A., ii, 191
Weare, Mr. E. R., ii, 206
Weaver, Mr. A. C. M., ii, 168
Webb, Mr. John, ii, 296
Webster, Mr. Bruce, and the Volun-
teer Movement, i, 385 ; and golf,
ii. 339
Webster, Mr. J. A., ii, 201
Webster, Mr. Wm., ii, 232
Wee Boon Teck, Mr., a hospital
benefactor, i, 496
Wcerekoon, Dr., i, 489
Wei Kow. Mr., ii, i
Wei Seng lotteries, i, 265
Weld, Sir Frederick A., adminis-
tration of, i, 106 ; a moderately
good speaker, i, 156 ; opens the
new Library and Museum, i, 555 ;
and the Raffles Statue, ii, 573 ;
public dinner to, ii, 595 ; opens
Ord Bridge, ii, 597; visits the
Sultan of Pahang, ii, 597
Wellesley, Colonel (afterwards Duke
of Wellington), writes memoir on
Penang, i, 16
Wells, Mr. E. J., ii, 215
Wertermanns, legends of, i, 71
Wesley Church, Singapore, ii, 267
West Kent Regiment in Singapore,
ii, 414
West, Mr. F. O., ii, 223
Westerhout family in Singapore,
i, 366
Westerhout, Mr. A. W., ii, 296
Westerhout, Mr. N. B., ii, 407
Westlake, Mr. C. H., sub-editor
Straits Times, ii, 282
Whampoa & Co., i, 368 ; history
of, ii, 334
Whampoa, Hoo (or Hoh) Ah Kay,
Mr., and the site of the Botanic
Gardens, i, 150 ; i, 210 ; i, 543 ;
ii, 72 ; ii, 477 ; hospitality of,
ii, 498 ; invested with the CM. G.,
ii, 592 ; gazetted Chinese Consul
for Singapore, ii, 593 ; remains
of, shipped to China, ii, 594
Wheatley, Mr. J. L., ii, 272
Whitaker, Mr. W. H., ii, 297
White, Mr. H. T., ii, 215
Whiteaway, Laidlaw & Co., his-
tory of, ii, 234
WTiitefield, Mr. F., ii, 309 ; ii, 409 ;
ii, 411
Whitehead, Mr. T. H., ii, 176
Whitley, Mr. M. H., ii, 329
Whittle, Dr., shot by mutineers,
i. 411
Whittle, Mrs., schoolmistress, i, 501
Wickham, Mr., and rubber culti-
vation, ii, 88
Wilberforce, Wm., a neighbour of
Raffles at Hendon, i, 66
Wilkinson, Mr. R. J., on the Malay
Annals, i, 17 ; career of, i, 144 ;
educational proposal of, i, 451 ;
makes gifts to the Singapore
Museum, i, 562
Wilkinson, Tivendale & Co., ii, 485
Willans, Mr. Wm., career of, i, 88 ;
i, 96 ; first official assignee,
INDEX
667
i, 184 ; a member of the Police
Commission, i, 250 ; an old
servant of the East India Co.,
i, 287 ; Tanjong Pagar Dock Co.,
ii, 214 ; ii, 464 ; ii, 532
Wniett, Lieut. E. W., i, 243
William Cory, ship, ii, 186
Williams, Mr. P. L., ii, 206
Williams,Mr. S., Municipal Engineer
for Waterworks, i, 321
Wilson, Dr., Bishop of Calcutta,
lays foundation-stone of St.
Andrew's Cathedral, i, 297 ; ii,
240 ; portrait of, ii, 240
Wilson, Mr. Adam, ii, 500
Wilson, Mr. Alan, ii, 227
Wilsone, Capt. Commandant, H.E.,
i, 402
Wilsone, Mr. C. H. H., i, 150;
ii, I ; ii, 1 7 ; as Secretary Agri-
Horticultural Society, ii, 75 ;
partner Hamilton, Grey & Co.,
ii, 200 ; and racing, ii, 348
Winter, Mr. C. E., ii, 347 ; ii, 348
Winter, Rev. C, ii, 239
Wireless telegraphy in Singapore,
ii, 154
Wise, Mr. E. A., killed, ii, 602
Wise, Mr. Joseph, ii, 189
Wishart, Mr. Charles, career of,
i, 582 ; portrait of, i, 582 ; ii, 189
Witthoeft, Mr. F. H., ii, 188
Wizard, the schooner, ii, 548
Woldringh, Mr. C, ii, 179
Wolf, the sloop, attacks pirate
stronghold, i, 178 ; i, 293
Wolf, the German raider, i, 243
Wood, Mr. H. W., i, 152 ; i, 541 ;
i, 545 ; ii, 181 ; ii, 384 ; ii, 443
Wood, Mr. Justice T. L,, career of,
i, 217
Wood, Sir Charles, and port dues
agitation, ii, 421
Woodford & Scheerder, i, 366
Woodford family in Singapore,
i, 366
Woodford, S. C, chemist, i, 500
Woodroffe, Mr. A. J., ii, 329
Woods, Mr. R. C, in charge of the
Straits Times, i, 195 ; career of,
i, 198 ; ii, 72 ; ii, 281 ; ii, 590
Woolcombe, Mr. and Mrs. B. M.,
shot by the Singapore mutineers,
i, 410
Worsley, Capt., of Sherard 0 shorn
cable ship, ii, 168
Wragge, Mr. W. R. M., ii, 222
Wray, Assistant-Surgeon, dies of
plague, i, 514
Wray, Mr. G. C, i, 278
Wreford, Mr. F. C, ii. 186; ii, 204
Wright, Capt. G. T., ii, 464
Wright, Mr. Alan Austin, killed in
the Great War, i, 123
Wright, Mr. Arnold, on the Residen-
tial system, i, 105
Wright, Mr. Arnold, and Mr. T. H.
Reid, quotations from The Malay
Peninsula by, i, 100 ; i, 104 ;
i, 118 ; i, 135 ; i, 137 ; i, 138
Wright, Mr. R. J., ii, 206
Wright, Mr. T. O., ii, 324
Wynter, Capt., in amateur theatri-
cals, ii, 396
Xavier, St. Francis, publicly curses
Malacca, i, 19
Yang-di-pertuan Muda (or Viceroy)
of Riau, i, 8
Yarmouth, H.M.S., sinks the German
ship Markomania, i, 407
Yi, Mr. Joseph Chan Tek erects
St. Joseph's Houses, ii, 248
Ying Yai Sheng Lan, Chinese work
called, i, 18
York, Duke and Duchess (their
Majesties the King and Queen),
visit Singapore, ii, 413 ; ii, 523
Young & Mooyer, Messrs., provide
endowment for Malay education,
i, 437
Young Men's Christian Association,
ii, 308
Young, Mr., Commissioner on land
tenure, report of, i, 307
Young, Mr. Arthur, ii, 191
Young, Mr. Jasper, ii, 189 ; ii, 298
Young, Mr. J. B., ii, 191
Young, Mr. J. S., ii, 189
Young, Mr. R., i, 155
Young, Rev. Wm., ii, 264
Young, Sir Arthur, administration
of, i, 141 ; portrait of, i, 142 ;
ii, frontispiece ; opens King's
Dock, ii, 14 ; opens Empire
Dock, ii, 15 ; President of St.
Andrew's Society, ii, 304 ; Presi-
dent of Golf Club, ii, 345 ; speech
of, at Centenary Celebration,
ii, 576
Young Women's Christian Associa-
tion, ii, 310
Yzelman family in Singapore, i, 368
Yzelman, Mr. E. T., ii, 526 ; ii,
537
668
INDEX
Zaleski, Monseigneur, Papal Dele-
gate, ii, 246
Zapp, Rittershaus & Co., Messrs.,
ii. 35
Zehnder. Mr. H. R. S., i, 394
Zemchug, Russian cruiser, sunk
in Penang Harbour by German
cruiser Emden, i, 408
Zephyr, Government schooner, i,
293
Zetland Lodge, original members
of, i, 500
Zoological collection at Singapore,
i, 560 ; ii, 76
Zoological Gardens, London, Raf-
fles and the, i, 66
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