"We have had a busy day at Singapore. Singapore means 'place of lions;' and probably it is so called because there are no lions here. It stands on an island about twenty miles long and six or eight wide, and is separated from the main-land by a narrow strait. On the main-land there are plenty of tigers, and they sometimes swim over to the island in search of food. Formerly they killed an average of one man a day; but of late years they have not done so well. They are becoming more and more scarce every year, as they have been hunted down till there are not many of them left.
"We had a stroll through the town this morning, and then we went to a banking-house to draw some money. The banker gave us a check on one of the large establishments, and we went there expecting to find an Englishman in charge. We looked around as we entered the door, and not an Englishman or other European was to be seen!
"All the employés of the bank were Chinese—at least as far as we could ascertain. A Chinese paying-teller took the check, and passed it to a Chinese book-keeper, who sat in a little box at the end of the counter. He examined the check, and stamped it after making an entry in a book; and then he returned it to the teller, who counted out the money and gave it to us without saying a word. There were piles of silver and bank notes in sight, and all in charge of Chinese. We looked into another bank, where the same arrangement existed; and we went into a business-house where there were at least a dozen Chinese clerks to one European.
"The business of Singapore is centred around what is called The Square, and in a walk of ten minutes you can pass by the most of the large houses for banking and commerce. Here they have also the consulates and the telegraph and steamship offices; and all these establishments imitate the example of the banks in employing Chinese clerks and compradors. On the whole, it seems to us that there is very little business of any kind at Singapore that the Chinese have not something to do with.
"The Chinese seem to be crowding the Europeans out of everything; and there is no branch of business that they are not perfectly familiar with. They might send all the English and other foreigners away some pleasant morning, take Singapore into their own hands, and run it just as well as it is run now.
"After we had finished our business with the bank, we took a garri for a drive to the outside of the city.
CHINESE GARDEN AT SINGAPORE.
"There is a famous garden here, belonging to a wealthy Chinese merchant: it is said to be one of the finest gardens in the world, and must have cost a great deal of money. No visitor to Singapore should omit it, even if he has not more than a few hours on land.