"That is the law," answered his informant; "but the permission is never refused, unless the authorities suspect that the applicant intends to disturb the public peace, or when he is unable to obtain the necessary securities. The result is, that the foreign population of Java is of a better class than you find in most other parts of the East; the adventurers who have not a dollar in their pockets, and expect to make a living by means more or less questionable, do not come here. The Chinese are very numerous in Java; more than a quarter of a million are settled here; but they are of a better class than the majority of those who go to San Francisco, and they give very little trouble to the authorities. The security is required to protect the government against the applicant becoming a pauper, and to vouch for his good behavior; but it has no reference to private debts, which are treated just like private debts everywhere else.
ORDERED OUT OF THE COUNTRY.
"The government also reserves the right to send anybody out of the country in case he becomes troublesome, even after he has received permission to reside here. The rule applies to a citizen of Holland the same as to any other foreigner, but it is very rarely exercised, and only when all other means of adjusting the difficulty have failed. The local governors have the power of ordering anybody to leave their districts, if he has been found guilty of treating the natives improperly, and the Governor-general may restrict the movements of any individual whenever he thinks the good of the colony requires it."
Fred wished to know if a foreigner could hold land in Java like any subject of the King of Holland, and was answered in the negative.
"What a monstrous injustice!" he replied.
Doctor Bronson laughed at his nephew's remark, and the latter turned towards him with an inquiring look on his face.
"You may not be aware," said the Doctor, "that an alien in the United States is unable to hold real estate, and I believe that the same is the case in Great Britain."
"In that view of the matter," said Fred, "Java is not so bad as I thought it was. But can a foreigner be naturalized here, as in England and America, and then hold property?"