Netherlands India

Administration.—The Dutch possessions in Asia lie between 6° N. and 11° S. and 95° E. and 141° E. Politically they are divided into lands under the direct government of the Netherlands vassal lands and confederated lands. Administratively they are further divided into residencies, divisions, regencies, districts, and dessas or villages. In the principal towns and villages there are parish councils, and in some provinces county councils have been established. Natives, Chinese and Arabs, are given seats, and in certain instances some of the members are elected, but more generally they are appointed by government. The islands are often described as of two groups, Java and Madura forming one, and the other consisting of Sumatra, Borneo, Riouw-Lingga Archipelago, Banka, Billiton, Celebes, Molucca Archipelago, the small Sunda Islands, and a part of New Guinea—the Outposts as they are collectively named. The Outposts are divided into 20 provinces. A governor-general holds the superior administrative and executive authority, and is assisted by a council of five members, partly of a legislative and partly of an advisory character, but with no share in the executive work of the government. In 1907 a Bill was introduced to add four extraordinary members to the council, but no immediate action was taken. The governor-general not only has supreme executive authority, but can of his own accord pass laws and regulations, except in so far as these, from their nature, belong of right to the home government, and as he is bound by the constitutional principles on which, according to the Regulations for the Government of Netherlands India, passed by the king and States-General in 1854, the Dutch East Indies must be governed. There are nine departments, each under a director: namely, justice; interior; instruction, public worship and industry; agriculture (created in 1905); civil public works; government works (created in 1908); finance; war; marine. The administration of the larger territorial divisions (gouvernement, residentie) is in the hands of Dutch governors, residents, assistant residents and contrôleurs. In local government a wide use is made of natives, in the appointment of whom a primary consideration is that if possible the people should be under their own chieftains. In Surakarta and Jokjakarta in Java, and in many parts of the Outposts, native princes preserve their positions as vassals; they have limited power, and act generally under the supervision of a Dutch official. In concluding treaties with the vassal princes since 1905, the Dutch have kept in view the necessity of compelling them properly to administer the revenues of their states, which some of them formerly squandered in their personal uses. Provincial banks have been established which defray the cost of public works.

Population.—The following table gives the area and population of Java (including Madura) and of the Outposts:—

Area:
English
sq. m.		 Pop.
1900. 1905.
Java and Madura 50,970 28,746,688 30,098,008
Sumatra Sumatra, West Coast 31,649 1,527,297 4,029,505
Sumatra, East Coast 35,312 421,090
Benkulen 9,399 162,396
Lampong Districts 11,284 142,426
Palembang 53,497 804,299
Achin 20,471 110,804
Riouw-Lingga Archipelago 16,301 86,186 112,216
Banka 4,446 106,305 115,189
Billiton 1,863 43,386 36,858
Borneo, West Coast 55,825 413,067 1,233,655
Borneo, South and East Districts 156,912 716,822
Celebes Celebes 49,390 454,368 415,499
Menado 22,080 429,773 436,406
Molucca Islands 43,864 410,190 407,419
Timor Archipelago 17,698 119,239 308,600
Bali and Lombok 4,065 1,041,696 523,535
New Guinea to 141° E. 151,789 200,000 ....
Total 736,815 36,000,000 37,717,377*
* Including 487 in Merauke, the capital of Dutch New Guinea.

In no case are the above figures for population more than fairly accurate, and in some instances they are purely conjectural. The population is legally divided into Europeans and persons assimilated to them, and natives and persons assimilated to them. The first class includes half-castes (who are numerous, for the Dutch are in closer relationship with the natives than is the case with most colonizing peoples), and also Armenians, Japanese, &c. The total number of this class in 1900 was 75,833; 72,019 of these were called Dutch, but 61,022 of them were born in Netherlands India; there were also 1382 Germans, 441 British and 350 Belgians. Among the natives and persons assimilated to them were about 537,000 Chinese and 27,000 Arabs. In the decade 1890-1900 the increase of the European population was 30.9%, of the Arabs 26.6%, and of the Chinese 16.5%. A large proportion of the Europeans are government officials, or retired officials, for many of the Dutch, once established in the colonies, settle there for life. The remaining Europeans are mostly planters and heads of industrial establishments; the Arabs are nearly all traders, as are some of the Chinese, but a large number of the latter are labourers in the Sumatra tobacco plantations and the tin mines of Banka, Billiton, &c. The bulk of the natives are agriculturists.

Religion and Instruction.—Entire liberty is granted to the members of all religious confessions. The Reformed Church has about 40 ministers and 30 assistants, the Roman Catholic 35 curates and 20 priests, not salaried out of the public funds. There are about 170 Christian missionaries, and the progress of their work may be illustrated by showing that the number of Christians among the natives and foreign Orientals was:—

In 1873.In 1896.In 1903.
In Java and Madura5,67319,193About  34,000
In the Outposts148,672290,065About 390,000

About 10,000 natives go annually to Mecca on pilgrimage.

Both the government and private enterprise maintain vernacular schools. Large sums have been voted in Holland for the establishment of primary and secondary schools, and the government has undertaken to assist in the establishment of parochial schools, the object being that every village, at least in Java, should possess one. There are schools for higher education at Batavia, Surabaya and Semarang; at the first two of these towns are government schools for mechanical engineering, and at Batavia a crafts school and a medical school for natives. There are five colleges for native schoolmasters and four for sons of native officials. Government schools for the European education of Chinese children are established in the principal towns. Private mechanical and crafts schools are established at Jokjakarta, Surabaya and Semarang, and there is an agricultural school at Buitenzorg.

Justice.—As regards the administration of justice, the distinction is maintained between (1) Europeans and persons assimilated with them (who include Christians and Japanese), and (2) natives, together with Chinese, Arabs, &c. The former are subject to laws closely resembling those of the mother country, while the customs and institutions of natives are respected in connexion with the administration of justice to the latter. In 1906 a bill was passed somewhat modifying the existing status of the classes above mentioned, and especially directing new ordinances with regard to the judicial treatment of Christian natives. A general judicial revision being also in contemplation, this bill did not immediately come into force. Justice for Europeans is administered by European judges, but, as with administration at large so in judicial matters, native chiefs have extensive powers in native affairs. For European justice the High Court of Justice is established at Batavia; there are councils of justice at Batavia, Semarang and Surabaya, with authority not only over Java but over parts of the Outposts; there is a resident court of justice in each residency. For native justice there are courts in the districts and regencies; residents act as police judges; provincial councils have judicial powers, and there are councils of priests with powers in matrimonial disputes, questions of succession, &c.