The difficulties he had to struggle with, and the peculiar habits and character formed by his profession, seem to have determined his proceedings, more than any matured scheme of general administration, or any deliberate principles of government. He thus describes the situation of the colony on his arrival: "A powerful enemy threatened us by sea, and the Javan princes, acquiring audacity in proportion as they saw proofs of our weakness, thought the moment had arrived for prescribing the law to their former superiors. The very existence of our dominions on Java was thus in the greatest danger. Our internal resources of finance were exhausted, while a stagnation of trade, caused by the blockade of our shores, cut off all hopes of procuring assistance from without. In the midst of such disastrous circumstances, and the failure of so many attempts to introduce reform, and to maintain the dignity of government, I found it necessary to place myself above the usual formalities, and to disregard every law, but that which enjoined the preservation of the colony entrusted to my management. The verbal order which I received, at my departure from Holland, had this for its object, and the approbation bestowed upon my attempts to carry it into execution, encouraged me in the course of proceeding which I had began."
The situation in which the Marshal found the colony is justly drawn; but the result of his operations, and the condition in which he left the government to his successor, are described in colours by far too flattering. His partiality for his own work, and the consciousness of having made great exertions to accomplish it, seems to have influenced his mind too easily, in convincing him of the advantage and success of the measures he had adopted. "In spite," says he, "of all the obstacles I encountered, I obtained the following results. I made the general government the centre of authority, from which every inferior authority descended in a determined proportion, with a definite responsibility and a salutary controul. Into all the local and subordinate administrations, clearness and simplicity were introduced; agriculture was encouraged, protected, and extended; general industry was promoted; the administration of justice and of the police was put on a sure footing; the means of defence were increased as much as possible; many works were undertaken, both for the service of government and other useful ends; new roads were made and old ones improved; the condition of all the inhabitants, as well native as European, was ameliorated, and every cause of misunderstanding removed; the relations of the colonial government with the courts of the native princes were regulated on principles, conformable to the dignity, and conducive to the interests of the former; and, in fine, the revenues of the colony were so augmented, that after every deduction for internal expenditure, they will furnish a surplus of five millions, free of all charge, as a nett return to Holland."
Marshal Daendels, in his memoir, sufficiently showed the fallacy contained in the report of the Commissioners, concerning the estimated revenue and profits of the Company. Instead of the receipt of 1,250,000 florins, accruing from the profit of the sale of opium (as marked in the table which I have transcribed), he assures us that not one farthing was actually obtained. Many of the conclusions of the Commissioners, concerning the temper of the inhabitants, the nature of the soil of particular districts, and the general resources of the island, he satisfactorily proved to be founded on erroneous information or mistake; and it is only to be regretted, that he did not carry the same spirit of impartiality into the formation of his own reports, which he requires in those of his predecessors, or anticipates from his successors, an examination equally rigorous, and a measure of justice equally strict as that to which they were subjected. Had this been the case, we should not have been offered such financial results as make the revenue of the island amount to 10,789,000 rix-dollars, and its expenditure only 5,790,000, leaving a balance of five millions of profit. It may be interesting to compare his estimate with the table already exhibited.
| ESTIMATED RECEIPTS. | ESTIMATED EXPENDITURE. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rix-dollars. | Rix-dollars. | ||
| Rent of land | 2,000,000 | Civil appointments | 1,000,000 |
| Produce of land unfarmed | 500,000 | Land forces | 1,227,000 |
| Sale of opium[10] | 1,120,000 | Manufactory of powder, foundery of balls, and arsenals | 180,000 |
| Money | 360,000 | Hospitals | 80,000 |
| Coffee, 300,000 pikuls, at 20 rix-dollars | 4,500,000 | Marine | 250,000 |
| Pepper, 30,000 pikuls | 160,000 | Fortifications, &c. | 200,000 |
| Tin, 35,000 pikuls | 400,000 | New works | 400,000 |
| Japan Copper, 25,000 pikuls | 250,000 | Justice and police | 150,000 |
| Spices | 1,000,000 | Transports and freights | 300,000 |
| Forests | 250,000 | Transport of Company's servants, recruits, &c. from Europe | 300,000 |
| Sale of rice | 250,000 | Purchase of native articles | 300,000 |
| Package | 100,000 | ||
| Interest | 400,000 | ||
| Unforeseen charges | 903,000 | ||
| 5,790,000 | |||
| 10,790,000 | Which being subtracted from | 10,790,000 | |
| Leaves a nett profit, Rix-dollars | 5,000,000 | ||
FOOTNOTES:
[2] Barros, Decada 3, chap. 6, book 3.
[3] Probably Grésik.
[4] Barros, Decada 3, book 5, chapter 6.
[5] Barros, Decada 3, book 5, chap. 7.