IN JAVA

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Volume 58, Issue 69, 23 April 1929, Page 4

IN JAVA

(By Frederick Stubbs, F.R.G.S.)

10G0 MILES BY CAR.

(Riglits Eeservod.)

After the long day's motor journev i dt scribed in my Hst letter, my ctmi- ; iianion and niyself arrived, as tlie j siiades of evening fell, at the old 1 Dutch port of Eembang, where we were glarl to stav the niglit. Here. as 111 other towns, we found much that was heautif'il and interesting. hnt the : tliing that I recall most distinetiy is j a magnificent Banyan, 2o0 years old. ' It is .situated in the centre of n spa- i nons square. and scores of natives ; were resting heneath its sbadow, as | the natives of this town have douht- i less rested for many generations. One j tcels strongly lenipted to moralise here and to reflect how generation after I generation has been born, has lahonr- | eci, and passcd away while this an- i cient tree has remained. still green and heautifnl, still to give jov and grateful shade to inan and beast. "AVliat shadows we are. what shadows i we pursue." Bnt the fear of the editor is upon me, and I hnsten to descend from those exalted regions and to remark that acquninted as I am with so many tropical countries, I have never seen any — not even India — where the Banyan grows so splendidly and ahundantly. I once saw near Cal i outta a Banyan nnder whose branches, j it was said, a whole regiment liad once i rested. Those that I have seen in | Java have not been qnite as large as | that, hut there are far more big Ban- | yans than I. saw in my six months' journev through India. In front of every Rajah's palace, and to-dnv in front of every G'overnor's residence, there are at least two of these trees. at once declaring _ the dignity of its owner and embellisliing his place of residence. Jnly 1. From Rembang we departed early this morning for Koedoes where I was shown over a native Cigarotte Factory. The native cigarotte is different , from the European. It is made from j maize leaf and native tobacco, flav- j oiired with cloves, and instead of paper, is wrappod in maize leaf. It K I the cheapest oigarette I ever saw, heing put in pnckets of 20 and sold j for a penny. Tliev are consnmed, of j course, by the poorest class only, the more luxurious eignrette of which onlv 10 can be ohtained for a penny. All the inhahitants of .Java .smoke, the Dutch masters, the native servants. women, even small boys, It is an expensive hahit here; nevertlicless I donht if this constanfc smoking can he 2oocl for the health of a_ people, especially when the tobacco is of an mferior quality. During this day's journev we found flags flying every lialf-mile, and at last reached tents and a large gatliermg of officials — mainlv Dutch, and native head-men from tlie villages around. Inside the larger tent there was a native orchestra, and a dancmg girl, whilst the native officials arrayed in gorgeous cloths ornamented with much gold braid, looked on. It appeared that tlie Governor-Gencral was expected to officially visit the district. and all these preparations were in his honour— not ours, though we enjoyed the fun. Another thing that interested me greatly in this day's journev was the existence of watchhouses' every mile. They are used by the natives for shelter only, but at oue timo were really watch-houses, where watch was kept against danger or disorder, and where the tom-tum « as sounded in case of fire or other ticuble, instantly giving the alarm to die inhahitants for miles around. For being sounded at one watch-house, tlie tom-tum woukl easily he heard at the next, and so the alarm would sprend in a few minutes. Later, these watchhouses were used in sending letters ripidly through the district. The watehman could not run 10 miles quickly, but he could one, and so a letter or message would be given him wliich in a few minutes would he transferred to the next watcli-liouse, and so with great- rapidity to its distination. Tt is pretty certain tliat a letter would not be delivered so rapidly to a point, sav 10 miles distant, in

a European town. Our postnl facilities are not in all respects superior to those of days gone by. SAMARANG. On the aiternoon of this day we reached Samarang, situated on the nortli coast, the capital of Mid-Java and its commercial centre. The Ohinese do a thriving business here, and many large liandsome residences are to he seen in the suburbs. Here also Ohinese temples, theatres, and iestanrar.ts are more in evidence than m i'A her parts of Java. it is a busy, Lnnd.snme city, with wide thoroughfares and niodorn European stores, ihe mest mndern ancl the most beautifallv situated city I have yet seen in this country. being built on low hills ihat sloiie iowards the sea. It is also t c'uliarlv fortunate in pnssospinc a delitrhtful hill sulmrh called Ohandi. rUing nhout ,"00 feet ahnve sea-level and a flnrding an extensive view of ihe liarhour and surrounding country. Tlcre manv chnrniing residences are situated whilst iierfect roads ronneef i- with th» city The pnnnlnfion is nhout 100.000, of whom 10,000 are "Eurnpeans." It is tlie most Engaa AA «AA .

lish" town 1 havo seen and many Knglisli people live here. During the years 1S11-16 it was actually occupied bv an English garrison, but was, of course, given up when tlie British Government gava up Java for Ceylon. But though a hue city it has not a fine port. The Irirhour admits only small craft; large vessels liave to anchor out' in the sacam some distance away, and the stream is unprotected and frequently rough. But it is a port — the port for Central Java. ancl from it is exported much sngar, rice, tnpioea and copra. My eompanion happily liad a friencl, an army captain, living in the heautiful suhnrb which I have described, and he insisted that we should be his guests for the night. which we were glad to do, being most kindly and hospitablv entertained. Whilst in this h.ouse, I was much amused by a big lizard called the Toek Ka. There is a commoii. small green lizard known as ihe Chee Chuk— I suppose from the reculiar noise it makes, but tho Tock Ka is much larger and less frequently mct with. Nativas s.'iy that if it calls seven times you will have good luck : ii nine times, extremely good fortune if only l'our or five times, had luck. May Ihe roaclcr never liear it call fewer than -r.ine times.