sentiment in Holland has forced a change in this primary motive from economic exploitation to economic and social betterment, but the method of attainment, through the institutions indigenous to the native race, remains unchanged. Americans, forced by the logic of their own political system, which is wholly antagonistic to that of the Orient, have been driven to a radical reconstruction of native institutions in the Philippines, at least in form, and have installed quite new political machinery with which to attain their ultimate object of social betterment. If the leaven of representative government takes among oriental races, the recent growth of American influence in the East may mark the beginning of a conflict of social and political ideals among those peoples that will have far-reaching consequences. For this reason alone a study of the Dutch policy will be wholesome for us, because its guiding principles are distinctly the reverse of our own. Holland's war of independence with Spain in the sixteenth century. was accompanied by the rapid expansion of her commerce and the formation of a number of trading corporations whose special purpose usually was to invade the markets of the two Indies, over which that nation's present antagonist and former suzerain preserved such a jealous monopoly. In 1602 six of these corporations, representing as many different towns of Holland, were united to form the Dutch East Indies Company, which purchased a monopoly of the Eastern.trade from the states-general. At first the Government reserved some rights of supervision over the powerful company, requiring that its governor should be appointed subject to the consent and approval of the State authorities, but with the lapse of time the effectiveness of this supervision decreased. The company possessed powers almost as extensive as those of a sovereign state and could make treaties with foreign governments, levy war, and maintain fleets and armies. During the two centuries of its existence Portugal and Spain were deprived of most of their possessions in what are now the Netherlands Indies, and the present colonial domain of Holland in the East was founded. At the time of the Napoleonic wars, almost two centuries after the formation of the company, the control of the colonies passed into the hands of the Government, and they later fell an easy prey to England. They were returned to Holland in 1815, and since then have been continuously administered by the Netherlands Government. The object of the Dutch East Indies Company was exclusively commercial. The promoters cared nothing for the welfare of the people with whom they dealt. Oftentimes they looked for immediate returns rather than for distant but more permanent profits. Still, the administrators of the company in the Orient were as a rule practical men, not without a degree of foresight and of that self-interested humanity that prevents masters from starving their servants. Unnecessary war and disorder, piracy, and unprofitable oppression went counter to the

commercial ends of the company. Among the earliest regulations were provisions to prevent overcrowding of habitations, uncleanliness, and the plague. The company ruled directly but small areas around its principal factories, which were obtained by treaty from the native rulers. Its influence over the native states was moral rather than mandatory. It subsidized petty despots in return for trade privileges, always driving bargains redounding many-fold to its own. advantage; it intervened in disputed successions, supporting the weaker aspirant to the throne and making him the real if not nominal vassal of the company; and when wars broke out unavoidably or in accordance with its own intentions, employed these to weaken too powerful or hostile potentates, and to multiply the number rather than to strengthen the individual dominion of its own allies. Therefore for 200 years the Dutch authorities did not concern themselves with problems of government-with the direct administration of the affairs of the natives-except in the rather limited but ever growing territories owned in fee simple by the company. The precedent of operating through native officials and of preserving unimpaired local and indigenous institutions was established, not in response to theory but in compliance with necessity. Political authority was exercised for the sole purpose of earning dividends.

When the Netherlands Government assumed control of the East Indian colonies there was more recognition of the national aspect of colonization of the need of having a policy and the duties incurred by European rulers toward the subjects thus mediately included within the boundaries of the suzerain State. But Dutch writers give the English governor (Raffles) who ruled Java during the period of British control and later founded Singapore, credit for having introduced the principle that the welfare of the natives was the first object of colonial government. Certainly the influence of the few years of English administration was far-reaching, and modified the whole spirit with which Holland viewed her colonial obligations thereafter, though it did not cause an entire break with the earlier theory of economic. exploitation.

Briefly, the subsequent history of Java may be divided into two periods, from the restoration of Dutch sovereignty in 1815 to the publication of "Max Havelaar," by "Multatuli," in 1860; and from the latter date to the present time. The novel just mentioned, written by a former employee of the East Indian civil service, revealed many of the abuses that had continued or had grown up in Java and Holland's other possessions in the East, and did much to awaken the conscience of the people in the home country and to stimulate their sense of responsibility for the welfare of the nation's brown subjects in the Orient. In this sense it was the starting point for many reforms, and though it was a result rather than a cause of the growing colonial

altruism of the Dutch nation, it marks conveniently the time when the modern attitude toward the problem of governing dependent races was assumed by the authorities.

care.

Speaking broadly, and allowing-as in all general statements-for many exceptions and qualifications, the policy of the Dutch East Indies Company was economic exploitation without accepting moral responsibility for the welfare of the natives; from 1815 to 1860 or thereabouts the Dutch Government directly administering the colonies followed a policy of economic exploitation, at the same time accepting moral responsibility for the welfare of native subjects; since 1860-or at least for several decades-Holland has ruled the East Indies as a national duty, deriving very little profit from their administration, and considering primarily the welfare of the people intrusted to its The theory of economic exploitation is no longer accepted. When the Netherlands Government became universal heir of the East Indies Company, and the property was turned over by the English Government as temporary administrator, no one seems to have questioned the propriety of making this new domain return the largest possible revenue for the home treasury. It was looked upon as a national asset. But the usual method of raising revenue from a country by direct taxation or some form of tribute was ineffective when enforced against a people who lived from hand to mouth and were for the most part hidden in the jungle. Therefore the Dutch authorities, following a suggestion derived from the practice of native princes, inaugurated the form of forced cultivation known as the "culture system."

This system is distinguished from similar institutions at other periods and places chiefly by its more efficient administration. The tobacco monopoly in the Philippines antedated forced culture in Java by 30 years, and was in principle and detail identical with the latter, though confined to a single crop. The germs of the system appear in the long-established privilege of native rulers to control the crops and the trade of their subjects, which still persists in the Javanese sultanates of Djokjokarta and Soerakarta, and manifested itself in a half Europeanized form in the alcalde monopoly, which controlled the interior commerce of the Philippines until about 1850, and is not yet entirely abolished. The essential feature of this system is that the ruler requires the subject to sell all or a portion of his produce to him at a fixed price. This is still a condition of tenancy in many parts of the Philippine Islands. The Netherlands Government also required that the native should cultivate a minimum amount of land in a manner prescribed by the authorities, so that he might have something to sell to the Government. Coffee was the crop that received the most attention, and our familiar market term, "old government Java," dates from this period. On account of its gradual derivation

from native sources the exact time when forced culture was inaugurated is difficult to determine, but it was not fully established until 1830. The obligations which it imposed rested upon village communities rather than upon individuals, and the earliest ordinances required that one-fifth of the communal land should be planted in government crop, for which the villagers received payment for all excess above the value of the rice that might be raised upon the ground thus occupied. If the value of the government crop was less than the estimated value of an equal area of rice, the cultivators received nothing. In other words, the result of the system was to impose a double tithe upon village lands. As early as 1810 an ordinance in Java relieved permanently-employed mechanics in country districts from the obligations of forced culture. Indigo, coffee, sugar, tobacco, pepper, tea, and some minor crops were cultivated under this system. An ordinance passed in 1832 fixed the area that should be cultivated for government profit in each district, limited the competition of private enterprises with these official undertakings, and fixed a per cent upon the income from forced culture to be paid to native officials and European administrators engaged in supervising this department of taxation. In these last provisions, which placed a premium upon the profits of government cultivation wrung from the laborers for the administrators, were the germs of evils that later contributed largely to arouse public sentiment in the home country against the entire system.

When at is height forced culture employed nearly 800,000 families in cultivating over 101,000 acres. The fixed price at which coffee was received by the government was sometimes less than 30 per cent of the export price. But if each family working under the system cultivated on an average but one-eighth of an acre the burden could not have been a heavy one. The earlier regulations of the Preanger district required that every four families or 22 persons should cultivate 12 coffee trees, whose product should be sold to the government at the official price. In a modified form, and in restricted districts, this system of tax still continues in Java, although it is disappearing. When forced culture was applied to sugar production the people were required to devote a certain area of land and a certain amount of labor to the cultivation of cane in the districts where this crop was most profitable, and private sugar mills were required to sell their product to the government. In 1879 one-third of the cane area was free from this form of government control, and one-thirteenth of the remainder was freed every successive year, so that forced culture ceased in this industry in 1891. Even earlier the manufacturers were allowed to market one-third of their product privately. Within 5 years of the time that the production of sugar was left entirely to voluntary effort the amount made increased from 453,342 to 607,243 long tons per annum, thus repeating almost exactly the experience of the Philip

pines with tobacco after the abolition of the government monopoly in those islands. From 1840 to 1871 the revenue of the government from forced culture was about $8,800,000 yearly, 78 per cent of which was derived from coffee alone.

The following description of the system of forced culture in actual operation is from a Dutch colonial writer:

Everything was under forced culture, and before daybreak high and low officials and their attendants appeared in the village to drive the men, often by force, to their work in the pepper, coffee, and rice fields, or to their labor upon the roads, bridges, and irrigation ditches, where they must toil arduously, under strict supervision, often 14 days in succession. Laziness or neglect were punished by extra work, fines, penal labor, or arrest. Until 1852 the workers must furnish their own food while in service, and if their relatives brought them no food, were compelled to purchase it from the gendarmes or wardens at high prices, or else go hungry.(")

Flogging was common. The native headmen were made directly responsible for the remissness of their villagers. If the latter were indolent, soldiers were quartered upon them. As showing another side of the picture, a recent writer, who has resided in the Netherlands Indies for 28 years, says, in speaking of certain provinces in Sumatra:

In relation to these people, Holland as the ruling power has the moral duty of a teacher, to lead the people to labor, and, if necessary, to compel them. Experience teaches the justice of this policy. Compulsion is necessary in order to bring the "grown up child" to a realization of the blessing of labor. We see now, for instance, in the province of Palembang, that a single district and only the particular district which for generations groaned under the burden of forced culturenow recognizes the advantages of coffee cultivation and voluntary labor. In other portions of the province, which because they were independent were never subject to forced culture, the conditions are not far above those which mark the lowest stage of civilization, and the great treasures that rest in the bosom of the earth remain unutilized.()

The system of forced culture was intended to yield a revenue or direct profit to Holland, to make the colonies pay. In other words, it was a labor tax. In the native's mind it was probably confused with other communal obligations, the so-called dessa and herren dienst, a form of corvee reproducing many of the feudal burdens of Europe, and surviving in our own country in the road tax.

The constitution of Holland applies to her colonies only where this is expressly stated. The Netherlands Indies have a total area of about 680,000 square miles and a population of between 35,000,000 and 40,000,000, and are divided into some 37 territorial districts or residencies, of which 17 are in Java. These districts are created by order Breitenstein, iii, 189, 190.

a P. F. Kooreman, Indische Gids, 1890.