Borneo

Borneo, a great island of the Malay Archipelago, extending from 7° N. to 4° 20′ S., and from 108° 53′ to 119° 22′ E. It is 830 m. long from N.E. to S.W., by 600 m. in maximum breadth. Its area according to the calculations of the Topographical Bureau of Batavia (1894) comprises 293,496 sq. m. These figures are admittedly approximate, and Meyer, who is generally accurate, gives the area of Borneo at 289,860 sq. m. It is roughly, however, five times as large as England and Wales. Politically Borneo is divided into four portions: (1) British North Borneo, the territory exploited and administered by the Chartered British North Borneo Company, to which a separate section of this article is devoted; (2) Brunei (q.v.), a Malayan sultanate under British protection; (3) Sarawak (q.v.), the large territory ruled by raja Brooke, and under British protection in so far as its foreign relations are concerned; and (4) Dutch Borneo, which comprises the remainder and by far the largest and most valuable portion of the island.

Physical Features.—The general character of the country is mountainous, though none of the ranges attains to any great elevation, and Kinabalu, the highest peak in the island, which is situated near its north-western extremity, is only 13,698 ft. above sea-level. There is no proper nucleus of mountains whence chains ramify in different directions. The central and west central parts of the island, however, are occupied by three mountain chains and a plateau. These chains are: (1) the folded chain of the upper Kapuas, which divides the western division of Dutch Borneo from Sarawak, extends west to east, and attains near the sources of the Kapuas river a height of 5000 to 6000 ft.; (2) the Schwaner chain, south of the Kapuas, whose summits range from 3000 to 7500 ft., the latter being the height of Bukit Raja, a plateau which divides the waters of the Kapuas from the rivers of southern Borneo; and (3) the Müller chain, between the eastern parts of the Madi plateau (presently to be mentioned) and the Kapuas chain, a volcanic region presenting heights, such as Bukit Terata (4700 ft.), which were once active but are now long extinct volcanos. The Madi plateau lies between the Kapuas and the Schwaner chains. Its height is from 3000 to 4000 ft., and it is clothed with tropical high fens. These mountain systems are homologous in structure with those, not of Celebes or of Halmahera, but of Malacca, Banka and Billiton. From the eastern end of the Kapuas mountains there are further to be observed: (1) A chain running north-north-east, which forms the boundary between Sarawak and Dutch Borneo, the highest peak of which, Gunong Tebang, approaches 10,000 ft. This chain can hardly be said to extend continuously to the extreme north of the island, but it carries on the line of elevation towards the mountains of Sarawak to the west, and those of British North Borneo to the north, of which latter Kinabalu is the most remarkable. The mountains of North Borneo are more particularly referred to in the portion of this article which deals with that territory. (2) A chain which runs eastward from the central mountains and terminates in the great promontory of the east coast, known variously as Cape Kanior or Kaniungan. (3) A well-marked chain running in a south-easterly direction among the congeries of hills that extend south-eastward from the central mountains, and attaining, near the southern part of the east coast, heights up to and exceeding 6000 ft.

Coasts.—Resting on a submarine plateau of no great depth, the coasts of Borneo are for the most part rimmed round by low alluvial lands, of a marshy, sandy and sometimes swampy character. In places the sands are fringed by long lines of Casuarina, trees; in others, and more especially in the neighbourhood of some of the river mouths, there are deep banks of black mud covered with mangroves; in others the coast presents to the sea bold headlands, cliffs, mostly of a reddish hue, sparsely clad with greenery, or rolling hills covered by a growth of rank grass. The depth of the sea around the shore rarely exceeds a maximum depth of 1 to 3 fathoms, and the coast as a whole offers few accessible ports. The towns and seaports are to be found as a rule at or near the mouths of those rivers which are not barricaded too efficiently by bars formed of mud or sand. All round the long coast-line of Dutch Borneo there are only seven ports of call, which are habitually made use of by the ships of the Dutch Packet Company. They are Pontianak, Banjermasin, Kota Bharu, Pasir, Samarinda, Beru and Bulungan. The islands off the coast are not numerous. Excluding some of alluvial formation at the mouths of many of the rivers, and others along the shore which owe their existence to volcanic upheaval, the principal islands are Banguey and Balambangan at the northern extremity, Labuan (q.v.), a British colony off the west coast of the territory of North Borneo, and the Karimata Islands off the south-west coast. On Great Karimata is situated the village of Palembang with a population of about 500 souls employed in fishing, mining for iron, and trading in forest produce.

Rivers.—The rivers play a very important part in the economy of Borneo, both as highways and as lines along which run the main arteries of population. Hydrographically the island may be divided into five principal versants. Of these the shortest embraces the north-western slope, north of the Kapuas range, and discharges its waters into the China Sea. The most important of its rivers are the Sarawak, the Batang-Lupar, the Sarebas, the Rejang (navigable for more than 100 m.), the Baram, the Limbang or Brunei river, and the Padas. The rivers of British North Borneo to the north of the Padas are of no importance and of scant practical utility, owing to the fact that the mountain range here approaches very closely to the coast with which it runs parallel. In the south-western versant the largest river is the Kapuas, which, rising near the centre of the island, falls into the sea between Mampawa and Sukadana after a long and winding course. This river, of volume varying with the tide and the amount of rainfall, is normally navigable by small steamers and native prahus, of a draught of 4 to 5 ft., for 300 to 400 m., that is to say, from Pontianak up to Sintang, and thence as far as Benut. The middle part of this river, wider and more shallow than the lower reaches, gives rise to a region of inundation and lakes which extend as far as the northern mountain chain. Among its considerable tributaries may be mentioned the southern Melawi with its affluent the Penuh. It reaches the sea through several channels in a wide marshy delta. The Sambas, north of the Kapuas, is navigable in its lower course for vessels drawing 25 ft. Rivers lying to the south of the Kapuas, but of less importance in the way of size, commerce and navigation, are the Simpang, Pawanand Kandawangan, in the neighbourhood of whose mouths, or upon the adjacent coast, the principal native villages are situated in each case. The Barito, which is the principal river of the southern versant, takes its rise in the Kuti Lama Lake, and falls into the Java Sea in 114° 30′ E. Its upper reaches are greatly impeded by rocks, rapids and waterfalls, but the lower part of its course is wide, and traverses a rich, alluvial district, much of which is marshy. Cross branches unite it with two rivers of considerable size towards the west, the Kapuas Murung or Little Dyak, and the Kahayan or Great Dyak. The Katingan or Mendawei, the Sampit, Pembuang or Surian and the Kota Waringin are rivers that fall into the sea farther to the west. The rivers of the southern versant are waters of capacious drainage, the basin of the Kahayan having, for instance, an area of 16,000 sq. m., and the Barito one of 38,000 sq. m. These rivers are navigable for two-thirds of their course by steamers of a fair size, but in many cases the bars at their mouths present considerable difficulties to ships drawing anything over 8 or 9 ft. Most of the larger affluents of the Barito are also navigable throughout the greater part of their courses. The south-eastern like the north-western corner of the island is watered by a considerable number of short mountain streams. The one great river of the eastern versant is the Kutei or Mahakan, which, rising in the central mountains, flows east with a sinuous course and falls by numerous mounts into the Straits of Madassar. At a great distance from its mouth it has still a depth of three fathoms, and in all its physical features it is comparable to the Kapuas and Barito. The Kayan or Bulungan river is the only other in the eastern versant that calls for mention. Most of the rivers of the northern versant are comparatively small, as the island narrows into a kind of promontory. Of these the Kinabatangan in the territory of British North Borneo is the most important. Lakes are neither numerous nor very large. In most cases they are more fittingly described as swamps. In the flood area of the upper Kapuas, of which mention has already been made, there occurs Lake Luar, and there are several lake expanses of a similar character in the basins of the Barito and Kutei rivers. The only really fine natural harbour in the island of which any use has been made is that of Sandakan, the principal settlement of the North Borneo Company on the north coast.

Minerals.—The mineral wealth of Borneo is great and varied. It includes diamonds, the majority of which, however, are of a somewhat yellow colour, gold, quicksilver, cinnabar, copper, iron, tin, antimony, mineral oils, sulphur, rock-salt, marble and coal. The exploitation of the mines suffers in many cases from the difficulties and expense of transport, the high duties payable in Dutch Borneo to the native princes, the competition among the rival companies, and often the limited quantities of the minerals found in the mines. The districts of Sambas and Landak in the west, the Kahayan river, the mountain valleys of the extreme south-east and parts of Sarawak furnish the largest quantities of gold, which is obtained for the most part from alluvial washings. The Borneo Company is engaged in working gold-mines in the upper part of the Sarawak valley, and the prospects of the enterprise, which is conducted on a fairly extensive scale, are known to be encouraging. Diamonds are also found widely distributed and mainly in the same regions as the gold. The Kapuas valley has so far yielded the largest quantity, and Pontianak is, for diamonds, the principal port of export. Considerable progress has been made in the development of the oil-fields in Dutch Borneo, and the Nederlandsch Indische Industrie en Handel Maatschappij, the Dutch business of the Shell Transport and Trading Company, increased its output from 123,592 tons in 1901 to 285,720 tons in 1904, and showed further satisfactory increase thereafter. This company owns extensive oil-fields at Balik Papan and Sanga-Sanga. The quality of the oil varies in a remarkable way according to the depth. The upper stratum is struck at a depth of 600 to 700 ft., and yields a natural liquid fuel of heavy specific gravity. The next source is met with at about 1200 ft., yielding an oil which is much lighter in weight and, as such, more suitable for treatment in the refinery. The former oil is almost invariably of an asphalte basis, whereas the latter sometimes is found to contain a considerable percentage of paraffin wax. The average daily production is very high, owing to a large number of the wells flowing under the natural pressure of the gas. There is every reason to believe that the oil-fields of Dutch Borneo have a great future. Coal mines have, in many instances, been opened and abandoned, failure being due to the difficulty of production. Coal of good quality has been found in Pengaron and elsewhere in the Banjermasin district, but most Borneo coal is considerably below this average of excellence. It has also been found in fair quantities at various places in the Kutei valley and in Sarawak. The coalmines of Labuan have been worked spasmodically, but success has never attended the venture. Sadong yields something under 130 tons a day, and the Brooketown mine, the property of the raja of Sarawak, yields some 50 tons a day of rather indifferent coal. The discovery that Borneo produced antimony was made in 1825 by John Crawfurd, the orientalist, who learned in that year that a quantity had been brought to Singapore by a native trader as ballast. The supply is practically unlimited and widely distributed. The principal mine is at Bidi in Sarawak.

Climate and Health.—As is to be anticipated, having regard to its insular position and to the fact that the equator passes through the very middle of the island, the climate is at once hot and very damp. In the hills and in the interior regions are found which may almost be described as temperate, but on the coasts the atmosphere is dense, humid and oppressive. Throughout the average temperature is from 78° to 80° F., but the thermometer rarely falls below 70°, except in the hills, and occasionally on exceptional days mounts as high as 96° in the shade. The rainy westerly winds (S.W. and N.W.) prevail at all the meteorological stations, not the comparatively dry south-east wind. Even at Banjermasin, near the south coast, the north-west wind brings annually a rainfall of 60 in., as against 33 in. of rain carried by the south-east wind. The difference between the seasons is not rigidly marked. The climate is practically unchanging all the year round, the atmosphere being uniformly moist, and though days of continuous downpour are rare, comparatively few days pass without a shower. Most rain falls between November and May, and at this season the torrents are tremendous while they last, and squalls of wind are frequent and violent, almost invariably preceding a downpour. Over such an extensive area there is, of course, great variety in the climatic character of different districts, especially when viewed in relation to health. Some places, such as Bidi in Sarawak, for instance, are notoriously unhealthy; but from the statistics of the Dutch government, and the records of Sarawak and British North Borneo, it would appear that the European in Borneo has in general not appreciably more to fear than his fellow in Java, or in the Federated Malay States of the Malayan Peninsula. Among the native races the prevailing diseases, apart from those of a malarial origin, are chiefly such as arise from bad and insufficient food, from intemperance, and from want of cleanliness. The habit of allowing their meat to putrefy before regarding it as fit for food, and of encouraging children of tender age to drink to intoxication, accounts for absence of old folk and the heavy mortality which are to be observed among the Muruts of British North Borneo and some of the other more debased tribes of the interior of the island. Scrofula and various forms of lupus are common among the natives throughout the country and especially in the interior; elephantiasis is frequently met with on the coast. Smallpox, dysentery and fevers, frequently of a bilious character, are endemic and occasionally epidemic. Cholera breaks out from time to time and works great havoc, as was the case in 1903 when one of the raja of Sarawak’s punitive expeditions was stricken while ascending the Limbang river by boat, and lost many hundreds of its numbers before the coast could be regained. Ophthalmia is common and sometimes will attack whole tribes. About one sixth of the native population of the interior, and a smaller proportion of those living on the coast, suffer from a kind of ringworm called kurap, which also prevails almost universally among the Sakai and Semang, the aboriginal hill tribes of the Malayan Peninsula. The disease is believed to be aggravated by chronic anaemia. Consumption is not uncommon.

Fauna.—The fauna of Borneo comprises a large variety of species, many of which are numerically of great importance. Among the quadrupeds the most remarkable is the orang-utan (Malay, ôrang ûtan, i.e. jungle man), as the huge ape, called mias or mâyas by the natives, is named by Europeans. Numerous species of monkey are found in Borneo, including the wahwah, a kind of gibbon, a creature far more human in appearance and habits than the orang-utan, and several Semnopitheci, such as the long-nosed ape and the golden-black or chrysomelas. The large-eyed Stenops tardigradus also deserves mention. The larger beasts of prey are not met with, and little check is therefore put on the natural fecundity of the graminivorous species. A small panther and the clouded tiger (so called)—Felis macroscelis—are the largest animals of the cat kind that occur in Borneo. The Bengal tiger is not found. The Malay or honey-bear is very common. The rhinoceros and the elephant both occur in the northern part of the island, though both are somewhat rare, and in this connexion it should be noted that the distribution of quadrupeds as between Borneo, Sumatra and the Malayan Peninsula is somewhat peculiar and seemingly somewhat capricious. Many quadrupeds, such as the honey-bear and the rhinoceros, are common to all, but while the tiger is common both in the Malayan Peninsula and in Sumatra, it does not occur in Borneo; the elephant, so common in the peninsula, and found in Borneo, is unknown in Sumatra; and the orang-utan, so plentiful in parts of Borneo and parts of Sumatra, has never been discovered in the Malay Peninsula. It has been suggested, but with very scant measure of probability, that the existence of elephants in Borneo, whose confinement to a single district is remarkable and unexplained, is due to importation; and the fact is on record that when Magellan’s ships visited Brunei in 1522 tame elephants were in use at the court of the sultan of Brunei. Wild oxen of the Sunda race, not to be in any way confounded with the Malayan seladang or gaur, are rare, but the whole country swarms with wild swine, and the babirusa, a pig with curious horn-like tusks, is not uncommon. Alligators are found in most of the rivers, and the gavial is less frequently met with. Three or four species of deer are common, including the mouse-deer, or plandok, an animal of remarkable grace and beauty, about the size of a hare but considerably less heavy. Squirrels, flying-squirrels, porcupines, civet-cats, rats, bats, flying-foxes and lizards are found in great variety; snakes of various kinds, from the boa-constrictor downward, are abundant, while the forests swarm with tree-leeches, and the marshes with horse-leeches and frogs. A remarkable flying-frog was discovered by Professor A.R. Wallace. Birds are somewhat rare in some quarters. The most important are eagles, kites, vultures, falcons, owls, horn-bills, cranes, pheasants (notably the argus, fire-back and peacock-pheasants), partridges, ravens, crows, parrots, pigeons, woodpeckers, doves, snipe, quail and swallows. Of most of these birds several varieties are met with. The Cypselus esculentus, or edible-nest swift, is very common, and the nests, which are built mostly in limestone caves, are esteemed the best in the archipelago. Mosquitoes and sand-flies are the chief insect pests, and in some districts are very troublesome. Several kinds of parasitic jungle ticks cause much annoyance to men and to beasts. There are also two kinds of ants, the sěmut âpi (“fire ant”) and the sěmut lâda (“pepper ant”), whose bites are peculiarly painful. Hornets, bees and wasps of many varieties abound. The honey and the wax of the wild bee are collected by the natives. Butterflies and moths are remarkable for their number, size, variety and beauty. Beetles are no less numerously represented, as is to be expected in a country so richly wooded as Borneo. The swamps and rivers, as well as the surrounding seas, swarm with fish. The siawan is a species of fish found in the rivers and valued for its spawn, which is salted. The natives are expert and ingenious fishermen. Turtles, trepang and pearl-shell are of some commercial importance.

The dog, the cat, the pig, the domestic fowl (which is not very obviously related to the bantam of the woods), the buffalo, a smaller breed than that met with in the Malayan Peninsula, and in some districts bullocks of the Brahmin breed and small horses, are the principal domestic animals. The character of the country and the nomadic habits of many of the natives of the interior, who rarely occupy their villages for more than a few years in succession, have not proved favourable to pastoral modes of life. The buffaloes are used not only in agriculture, but also as beasts of burden, as draught-animals and for the saddle. Horses, introduced by Europeans and owned only by the wealthier classes, are found in Banjermasin and in Sarawak. In British North Borneo, and especially in the district of Tempasuk on the north-west coast, Borneo ponies, bred originally, it is supposed, from the stock which is indigenous to the Sulu archipelago, are common.

Flora.—The flora of Borneo is very rich, the greater portion of the surface of the island being clothed in luxuriant vegetation. The king of the forest is the tapan, which, rising to a great height without fork or branch, culminates in a splendid dome of foliage. The official seats of some of the chiefs are constructed from the wood of this tree. Iron-wood, remarkable for the durability of its timber, is abundant; it is used by the natives for the pillars of their homes and forms an article of export, chiefly to Hong-Kong. It is rivalled in hardness by the kâyu těmběsu. In all, about sixty kinds of timber of marketable quality are furnished in more or less profusion, but the difficulty of extraction, even in the regions situated in close proximity to the large waterways, renders it improbable that the timber trade of Borneo will attain to any very great dimensions until other and easier sources of supply have become exhausted. Palm-trees are abundant in great variety, including the nîpah, which is much used for thatching, the cabbage, fan, sugar, coco and sago palms. The last two furnish large supplies of food to the natives, some copra is exported, and sago factories, mostly in the hands of Chinese, prepare sago for the Dutch and British markets. Gutta-percha (gětah pěrcha in the vernacular), camphor, cinnamon, cloves, nutmegs, gambir and betel, or areca-nuts, are all produced in the island; most of the tropical fruits flourish, including the much-admired but, to the uninitiated, most evil-smelling durian, a large fruit with an exceedingly strong outer covering composed of stout pyramidal spikes, which grows upon the branches of a tall tree and occasionally in falling inflicts considerable injuries upon passers-by. Yams, several kinds of sweet potatoes, melons, pumpkins, cucumbers, pineapples, bananas and mangosteens are cultivated, as also are a large number of other fruits. Rice is grown in irrigated lands near the rivers and in the swamps, and also in rude clearings in the interior; sugar-cane of superior quality in Sambas and Montrado; cotton, sometimes exported in small quantities, on the banks of the Negara, a tributary of the Barito; tobacco, used very largely now in the production of cigars, in various parts of northern Borneo; and tobacco for native consumption, which is of small commercial importance, is cultivated in most parts of the island. Indigo, coffee and pepper have been cultivated since 1855 in the western division of Dutch Borneo. Among the more beautiful of the flowering plants are rhododendrons, orchids and pitcher-plants—the latter reaching extraordinary development, especially in the northern districts about Kinabalu. Epiphytous plants are very common, many that are usually independent assuming here the parasitic character; the Vanda lowii, for example, grows on the lower branches of trees, and its strange pendent flower-stalks often hang down so as almost to reach the ground. Ferns are abundant, but not so varied as in Java.

Population.—The population of Borneo is not known with any approach to accuracy, but according to the political divisions of the island it is estimated as follows:—

Dutch Borneo	1,130,000
British North Borneo	200,000
Sarawak	500,000
Brunei	20,000

No effective census of the population has ever been taken, and vast areas in Dutch Borneo and in British North Borneo remain unexplored, and free from any practical authority or control. In Sarawak, owing to the high administrative genius of the first raja and his successor, the natives have been brought far more completely under control, but the raja has never found occasion to utilize the machinery of his government for the accurate enumeration of his subjects.

Dutch Borneo is divided for administrative purposes into two divisions, the western and the south and eastern respectively. Of the two, the former is under the more complete and effective control. The estimated population in the western division is 413,000 and in the south and eastern 717,000. Europeans number barely 1000; Arabs about 3000, and Chinese, mainly in the western division, over 40,000. In both divisions there is an average density of little more than 1 to every 2 sq. m. The sparseness of the population throughout the Dutch territory is due to a variety of causes—to the physical character of the country, which for the most part restricts the area of population to the near neighbourhood of the rivers; to the low standard of civilization to which the majority of the natives have attained and the consequent disregard of sanitation and hygiene; to wars, piracy and head-hunting, the last of which has not even yet been effectually checked among some of the tribes of the interior; and to the aggression and oppressions in earlier times of Malayan, Arab and Bugis settlers. Among the natives, more especially of the interior, an innate restlessness which leads to a life of spasmodic nomadism, poverty, insufficient nourishment, an incredible improvidence which induces them to convert into intoxicating liquor a large portion of their annual crops, feasts of a semi-religious character which are invariably accompanied by prolonged drunken orgies, and certain superstitions which necessitate the frequent procuration of abortion, have contributed to check the growth of population. In Sambas, Montrado and some parts of Pontianak, the greater density of the population is due to the greater fertility of the soil, the opening of mines, the navigation and trade plied on the larger rivers, and the concentration of the population at the junctions of rivers, the mouths of rivers and the seats of government. Of the chief place in the western division, Pontianak has about 9000 inhabitants; Sambas about 8000; Montrado, Mampawa and Landak between 2000 and 4000 each; and in the south and eastern division there are Banjermasin with nearly 50,000 inhabitants; Marabahan, Amuntai, Negara, Samarinda and Tengarung with populations of from 5000 to 10,000 inhabitants each. In Amuntai and Martapura early Hindu colonization, of which the traces and the influence still are manifest, the fertile soil, trade and industry aided by navigable rivers, have co-operated towards the growth of population to a degree which presents a marked contrast to the conditions in the interior parts of the Upper Barito and of the more westerly rivers. Only a very small proportion of the Europeans in Dutch Borneo live by agriculture and industry, the great majority of them being officials. The Arabs and Chinese are engaged in trading, mining, fishing and agriculture. Of the natives fully 90% live by agriculture, which, however, is for the most part of a somewhat primitive description. The industries of the natives are confined to such crafts as spinning and weaving and dyeing, the manufacture of iron weapons and implements, boat- and shipbuilding, &c. More particularly in the south-eastern division, and especially in the districts of Negara, Banjermasin, Amuntai and Martapura, shipbuilding, iron forging, gold- and silversmith’s work, and the polishing of diamonds, are industries of high development in the larger centres of population.

Races.—The peoples of Borneo belong to a considerable variety of races, of different origin and degrees of civilization. The most important numerically are the Dyaks, the Dusuns and Muruts of the interior, the Malays, among whom must be counted such Malayan tribes as the Bajaus, Ilanuns, &c., the Bugis, who were originally immigrants from Celebes, and the Chinese. The Dutch, and to a minor extent the Arabs, are of importance on account of their political influence in Dutch Borneo, while the British communities have a similar importance in Sarawak and in British North Borneo. Accounts of the Malays, Dyaks and Bugis are given under their several headings, and some information concerning the Dusuns and Muruts will be found in the section below, which deals with British North Borneo. The connexion of the Chinese with Borneo calls for notice here. They seem to have been the first civilized people who had dealings with Borneo, if the colonization of a portion of the south-eastern corner of the island by Hindus be excepted. The Chinese annals speak of tribute paid to the empire by Pha-la on the north-east coast of the island as early as the 7th century, and later documents mention a Chinese colonization in the 15th century. The traditions of the Malays and Dyaks seem to confirm the statements, and many of the leading families of Brunei in north-west Borneo claim to have Chinese blood in their veins, while the annals of Sulu record an extensive Chinese immigration about 1575. However this may be, it is certain that the flourishing condition of Borneo in the 16th and 17th centuries was largely due to the energy of Chinese settlers and to trade with China. In the 18th century there was a considerable Chinese population settled in Brunei, engaged for the most part in planting and exporting pepper, but the consistent oppression of the native rajas destroyed their industry and led eventually to the practical extirpation of the Chinese. The Malay chiefs of other districts encouraged immigration from China with a view to developing the mineral resources of their territories, and before long Chinese settlers were to be found in considerable numbers in Sambas, Montrado, Pontianak and elsewhere. They were at first forbidden to engage in commerce or agriculture, to carry firearms, to possess or manufacture gunpowder. About 1779 the Dutch acquired immediate authority over all strangers, and thus assumed responsibility for the control of the Chinese, who presently proved themselves somewhat troublesome. Their numbers constantly increased and were reinforced by new immigrants, and pushing inland in search of fresh mineral-bearing areas, they contracted frequent intermarriages with the Dyaks and other non-Mahommedan natives. They brought with them from China their aptitude for the organization of secret societies which, almost from the first, assumed the guise of political associations. These secret societies furnished them with a machinery whereby collective action was rendered easy, and under astute leaders they offered a formidable opposition to the Dutch government. Later, when driven into the interior and eventually out of Dutch territory, they cost the first raja of Sarawak some severe contests before they were at last reduced to obedience. Serious disturbances among the Chinese are now in Borneo matters of ancient history, and to-day the Chinaman forms perhaps the most valuable element in the civilization and development of the island, just as does his fellow in the mining states of the Malayan Peninsula. They are industrious, frugal and intelligent; the richer among them are excellent men of business and are peculiarly equitable in their dealings; the majority of all classes can read and write their own script, and the second generation acquires an education of an European type with great facility. The bulk of the shopkeeping, trading and mining industries, so long as the mining is of an alluvial character, is in Chinese hands. The greater part of the Chinese on the west coast are originally drawn from the boundaries of Kwang-tung and Kwang-si. They are called Kehs by the Malays, and are of the same tribes as those which furnish the bulk of the workers to the tin mines of the Malay Peninsula. They are a rough and hardy people, and are apt at times to be turbulent. The shopkeeping class comes mostly from Fuh-kien and the coast districts of Amoy. They are known to the Borneans as Ollohs.

History.—As far as is known, Borneo never formed a political unity, and even its geographical unity as an island is a fact unappreciated by the vast majority of its native inhabitants. The name of Kalamantan has been given by some Europeans (on what original authority it is not possible now to ascertain) as the native name for the island of Borneo considered as a whole; but it is safe to aver that among the natives of the island itself Borneo has never borne any general designation. To this day, among the natives of the Malayan Archipelago, men speak of going to Pontianak, to Sambas or to Brunei, as the case may be, but make use of no term which recognizes that these localities are part of a single whole. The only archaeological remains are a few Hindu temples, and it is probable that the early settlement of the south-eastern portion of the island by Hindus dates from some time during the first six centuries of our era. There exist, however, no data, not even any trustworthy tradition, from which to reconstruct the early history of Borneo. Borneo began to be known to Europeans after the fall of Malacca in 1511, when Alphonso d’Albuquerque despatched Antonio d’Abreu with three ships in search of the Molucca or Spice Islands with instructions to establish friendly relations with all the native states that he might encounter on his way. D’Abreu, sailing in a south-easterly direction from the Straits of Malacca, skirted the southern coast of Borneo and laid up his ships at Amboyna, a small island near the south-western extremity of Ceram. He returned to Malacca in 1514, leaving one of his captains, Francisco Serrano, at Ternate, where Magellan’s followers found him in 1521. After Magellan’s death, his comrades sailed from the Moluccas across the Celebes into the Sulu Sea, and were the first white men who are known to have visited Brunei on the north-west coast of Borneo, where they arrived in 1522. Pigafetta gives an interesting account of the place and of the reception of the adventurers by the sultan. The Molucca Islands being, at that time, the principal objective of European traders, and the route followed by Magellan’s ships being frequently used, Borneo was often touched at during the remainder of the 16th century, and trade relations with Brunei were successfully established by the Portuguese. In 1573 the Spaniards tried somewhat unsuccessfully to obtain a share of this commerce, but it was not until 1580, when a dethroned sultan appealed to them for assistance and by their agency was restored to his own, that they attained their object. Thereafter the Spaniards maintained a fitful intercourse with Brunei, varied by not infrequent hostilities, and in 1645 a punitive expedition on a larger scale than heretofore was sent to chastise Brunei for persistent acts of piracy. No attempt at annexation followed upon this action, commerce rather than territory being at this period the prime object of both the Spaniards and the Portuguese, whose influence upon the natives was accordingly proportionately small. The only effort at proselytizing of which we have record came to an untimely end in the death of the Theatine monk, Antonio Ventimiglia, who had been its originator. Meanwhile the Dutch and British East India Companies had been formed, had destroyed the monopoly so long enjoyed by the Portuguese, and to a less extent the Spaniards, in the trade of the Malayan Archipelago, and had gained a footing in Borneo. The establishment of Dutch trading-posts on the west coast of Borneo dates from 1604, nine years after the first Dutch fleet, under Houtman, sailed from the Texel to dispute with the Portuguese the possession of the Eastern trade, and in 1608 Samuel Blommaert was appointed Dutch resident, or head factor, in Landak and Sukedana. The first appearance of the British in Borneo dates from 1609, and by 1698 they had an important settlement at Banjermasin, whence they were subsequently expelled by the influence of the Dutch, who about 1733 obtained from the sultan a trading monopoly. The Dutch, in fact, speedily became the predominant European race throughout the Malay Archipelago, defeating the British by superior energy and enterprise, and the trading-posts all along the western and southern coasts of Borneo were presently their exclusive possessions, the sultan of Bantam, who was the overlord of these districts, ceding his rights to the Dutch. The British meanwhile had turned their attention to the north of the island, over which the sultan of Sulu exercised the rights of suzerain, and from him, in 1759, Alexander Dalrymple obtained possession of the island of Balambangan, and the whole of the north-eastern promontory. A military post was established, but it was destroyed in 1775 by the natives under the dâto’, or vassal chiefs, who resented the cession of their territory. This mishap rendered a treaty, which had been concluded in 1774 with the sultan of Brunei, practically a dead letter, and by the end of the century British influence in Borneo was to all intents and purposes at an end. The Dutch also mismanaged their affairs in Borneo and suffered from a series of misfortunes which led Marshal Daendels in 1809 to order the abandonment of all their posts. The natives of the coasts of Borneo, assisted and stimulated by immigrants from the neighbouring islands to the north, devoted themselves more and more to organized piracy, and putting to sea in great fleets manned by two and three thousand men on cruises that lasted for two and even three years, they terrorized the neighbouring seas and rendered the trade of civilized nations almost impossible for a prolonged period. During the occupation of Java by the British an embassy was despatched to Sir Stamford Raffles by the sultan of Banjermasin asking for assistance, and in 1811 Alexander Hare was despatched thither as commissioner and resident. He not only obtained for his government an advantageous treaty, but secured for himself a grant of a district which he proceeded to colonize and cultivate. About the same time a British expedition was also sent against Sambas and a post established at Pontianak. On the restoration of Java to the Dutch in 1816, all these arrangements were cancelled, and the Dutch government was left in undisputed possession of the field. An energetic policy was soon after adopted, and about half the kingdom of Banjermasin was surrendered to the Dutch by its sultan in 1823, further concessions being made two years later. Meanwhile, George Müller, while exploring the east coast, obtained from the sultan of Kutei an acknowledgment of Dutch authority, a concession speedily repented by its donor, since the enterprising traveller was shortly afterwards killed. The outbreak of war in Java caused Borneo to be more or less neglected by the Dutch for a considerable period, and no effective check was imposed upon the natives with a view to stopping piracy, which was annually becoming more and more unendurable. On the rise of Singapore direct trade had been established with Sarawak and Brunei, and it became a matter of moment to British merchants that this traffic should be safe. In 1838 Sir James Brooke, an Englishman, whose attention had been turned to the state of affairs in the Eastern Archipelago, set out for Borneo, determined, if possible, to remedy the evil. By 1841 he had obtained from the sultan of Brunei the grant of supreme authority over Sarawak, in which state, on the sultan’s behalf, he had waged a successful war, and before many years had elapsed he had, with the aid of the British government, succeeded in suppressing piracy (see Brooke, Sir James; and Sarawak). In 1847 the sultan of Brunei agreed to make no cession of territory to any nation or individual without the consent of Great Britain. Since then more and more territory has been ceded by the sultans of Brunei to the raja of Sarawak and to British North Borneo, and to-day the merest remnant of his once extensive state is left within the jurisdiction of the sultan. The treaty in 1847 put an end once for all to the hopes which the Dutch had cherished of including the whole island in their dominions, but it served also to stimulate their efforts to consolidate their power within the sphere already subjected to their influence. Gunong Tebur, Tanjong, and Bulungan had made nominal submission to them in 1834, and in 1844 the sultan of Kutei acknowledged their protectorate, a treaty of a similar character being concluded about the same time with Pasir. The boundaries of British and Dutch Borneo were finally defined by a treaty concluded on the 20th of June 1891. In spite of this, however, large areas in the interior, both in Dutch Borneo and in the territory owned by the British North Borneo Company, are still only nominally under European control, and have experienced few direct effects of European administration.

British North Borneo or Sabah

Sabah is the name applied by the natives to certain portions of the territory situated on the north-western coast of the island, and originally in no way included the remainder of the country now owned by the British North Borneo Company. It has become customary, however, for the name to be used by Europeans in Borneo to denote the whole of the company’s territory, and little by little the more educated natives are insensibly adopting the practice.

History.—As has been seen, the British connexion with northern and north-western Borneo terminated with the 18th century, nor was it resumed until 1838, when Raja Brooke set out for Brunei and Sarawak. The island of Labuan (q.v.) was occupied by the British as a crown colony in 1848, and this may be taken as the starting-point of renewed British relations with that portion of northern Borneo which is situated to the north of Brunei. In 1872 the Labuan Trading Company was established in Sandakan, the fine harbour on the northern coast which was subsequently the capital of the North Borneo Company’s territory. In 1878, through the instrumentality of Mr (afterwards Sir) Alfred Dent, the sultan of Sulu was induced to transfer to a syndicate, formed by Baron Overbeck and Mr Dent, all his rights in North Borneo, of which, as has been seen, he had been from time immemorial the overlord. The chief promoters of this syndicate were Sir Rutherford Alcock, Admiral the Hon. Sir Harry Keppel, who at an earlier stage of his career had rendered great assistance to the first raja of Sarawak in the suppression of piracy, and Mr Richard B. Martin. Early in 1881 the British North Borneo Provisional Association, Limited, was formed to take over the concession which had been obtained from the sultan of Sulu, and in November of that year a petition was addressed to Queen Victoria praying for a royal charter. This was granted, and subsequently the British North Borneo Company, which was formed in May 1882, took over, in spite of some diplomatic protests on the part of the Dutch and Spanish governments, all the sovereign and territorial rights ceded by the original grants, and proceeded under its charter to organize the administration of the territory. The company subsequently acquired further sovereign and territorial rights from the sultan of Brunei and his chiefs in addition to some which had already been obtained at the time of the formation of the company. The Putatan river was ceded in May 1884, the Padas district, including the Padas and Kalias rivers, in November of the same year, the Kawang river in February 1885, and the Mantanani islands in April 1885. In 1888, by an agreement with the “State of North Borneo,” the territory of the company was made a British protectorate, but its administration remained entirely in the hands of the company, the crown reserving only control of its foreign relations, and the appointment of its governors being required to receive the formal sanction of the secretary of state for the colonies. In 1890 the British government placed the colony of Labuan under the administration of the company, the governor of the state of North Borneo thereafter holding a royal commission as governor of Labuan in addition to his commission from the company. This arrangement held good until 1905, when, in answer to the frequently and strongly expressed desire of the colonists, Labuan was removed from the jurisdiction of the company and attached to the colony of the Straits Settlements. In March 1898 arrangements were made whereby the sultan of Brunei ceded to the company all his sovereign and territorial rights to the districts situated to the north of the Padas river which up to that time had been retained by him. This had the effect of rounding off the company’s territories, and had the additional advantage of doing away with the various no-man’s lands which had long been used by the discontented among the natives as so many Caves of Adullam. The company’s acquisition of territory was viewed with considerable dissatisfaction by many of the natives, and this found expression in frequent acts of violence. The most noted and the most successful of the native leaders was a Bajau named Mat Saleh (Mahomet Saleh), who for many years defied the company, whose policy in his regard was marked by considerable weakness and vacillation. In 1898 a composition was made with him, the terms of which were unfortunately not defined with sufficient clearness, and he retired into the Tambunan country, to the east of the range which runs parallel with the west coast, where for a period he lorded it unchecked over the Dusun tribes of the valley. In 1899 it was found necessary to expel him, since his acts of aggression and defiance were no longer endurable. A short, and this time a successful campaign followed, resulting, on the 31st of January 1900, in the death of Mat Saleh, and the destruction of his defences. Some of his followers who escaped raided the town of Kudat on Marudu Bay in April of the same year, but caused more panic than damage, and little by little during the next years the last smouldering embers of rebellion were extinguished. At the present time, though effective administration of the more inaccessible districts of the interior cannot be said to have been established even yet, the pacification of the native population is to all intents and purposes complete. The Tambunan district, the last stronghold of Mat Saleh, is now thoroughly settled. It is some 500 sq. m. in extent, and carries a population of perhaps 12,000.

Geography.—The state of North Borneo may roughly be said to form a pentagon of which three sides, the north-west, north-east and east are washed by the sea, while the remaining two sides, the south-west and the south, are bordered respectively by the Malayan sultanate of Brunei, and by the territories of the raja of Sarawak and of the Dutch government. The boundary between the company’s territory and the Dutch government is defined by the treaty concluded in June 1891, of which mention has already been made.

The total area of the company’s territory is estimated at about 31,000 sq. m., with a coast-line of over 900 m. The greater portion is exceedingly hilly and in parts mountainous, and the interior consists almost entirely of highlands with here and there open valleys and plateaus of 50 to 60 sq. m. in extent. On the west coast the mountain range, as already noted, runs parallel with the seashore at a distance from it of about 15 m. Of this range the central feature is the mountain of Kinabalu, which is composed of porphyritic granite and igneous rocks and attains to a height of 13,698 ft. Mount Madalon, some 15 or 20 m. to the north, is 5000 ft. in height, and inland across the valley of the Pagalan river, which runs through the Tambunan country and falls into the Padas, rises the peak of Trus Madi, estimated to be 11,000 ft. above sea-level. The valley of the Pagalan is itself for the most part from 1000 to 2000 ft. above the sea, forming a string of small plateaus marking the sites of former lakes. From the base of Trus Madi to the eastern coast the country consists of huddled hills broken here and there by regions of a more mountainous character. The principal plateaus are in the Tambunan and Kaningau valleys, in the basin of the Pagalan, and the Ranau plain to the eastward of the base of Kinabalu. Similar plateaus of minor importance are to be found dotted about the interior. The proximity of the mountain range to the seashore causes the rivers of the west coast, with the single exception of the Padas, to be rapid, boulder-obstructed, shallow streams of little value as means of communication for a distance of more than half a dozen miles from their mouths. The Padas is navigable for light-draught steam-launches and native boats for a distance of nearly 50 m. from its mouth, and smaller craft can be punted up as far as Rayoh, some 15 m. farther, but at this point its bed is obstructed by impassable falls and rapids, which are of such a character that nothing can even be brought down them. Even below Rayoh navigation is rendered difficult and occasionally dangerous by similar obstructions. The other principal rivers of the west coast are the Kalias, Kimanis, Benoneh, Papar, Kinarut, Putatan, Inaman, Mengkabong, Tampasuk and Pandasan, none of which, however, is of any great importance as a means of communication. There is a stout breed of pony raised along the Tampasuk, which is also noted for the Kalupis waterfall (1500 ft.), one of the highest in the world, though the volume of water is not great. Here also are the principal Bajau settlements. Throughout the Malayan Archipelago the words Bâjau and pěrômpak (pirate) are still used as synonymous terms. At the northern extremity of the island Marudu Bay receives the waters of the Marudu which rises on the western side of Mount Madalon. On the east coast the principal rivers are the Sugut, which rises in the hills to the east of Kinabalu and forms its delta near Torongohok or Pura-Pura Island; the Labuk, which has its sources 70 m. inland and debouches into Labuk Bay; and the Kinabatangan, the largest and most important river in the territory, which is believed to have its rise eastward of the range of which Trus Madi is the principal feature, and is navigable by steamer for a considerable distance and by native boats for a distance of over 100 m. from its mouth. Some valuable tobacco land, which, however, is somewhat liable to flood, and some remarkable burial-caves are found in the valley of the Kinabatangan. The remaining rivers of the east coast are the Segamah, which rises west of Darvel Bay, the Kumpong, and the Kalabakang, which debouches into Cowie Harbour. Taking it as a whole, the company’s territory is much less generously watered than are other parts of Borneo, which again compares unfavourably in this respect with the Malayan states of the peninsula. Many of the rivers, especially those of the west coast, are obstructed by bars at their mouths that render them difficult of access. Several of the natural harbours of North Borneo, on the other hand, are accessible, safe and commodious. Sandakan Harbour, on the north-east coast (5° 40′ N., 118° 10′ E.), runs inland for some 17 m. with a very irregular outline broken by the mouths of numerous creeks and streams. The mouth, only 2 m. across, is split into two channels by the little, high, bluff-like island of Barhala. The depth in the main entrance varies from 10 to 17 fathoms, and vessels drawing 20 ft. can advance half-way up the bay. The principal town in the territory, and the seat of government (though an attempt has been unsuccessfully made to transfer this to Jesselton on the west coast), is Sandakan, situated just inside the mouth of the Sarwaka inlet. At Silam, on Darvel Bay, there is good anchorage; and Kudat in Marudu Bay, first surveyed by Commander Johnstone of H.M.S. “Nigeria” in 1881, is a small but useful harbour.

Climate and Population.—The climate of North Borneo is tropical, hot, damp and enervating. The rainfall is steady and not usually excessive. The shade temperature at Sandakan ordinarily ranges from 72° to 94° F. The population of the company’s territory is not known with any approach to accuracy, but is estimated, somewhat liberally, to amount to 175,000, including 16,000 Chinese. Of this total about three-fourths are found in the districts of the west coast. The seashore and the country bordering closely on the west coast are inhabited chiefly by Dusuns, by Kadayans, by Bajaus and Ilanuns—both Malayan tribes—and by Brunei Malays. The east coast is very sparsely populated and its inhabitants are mostly Bajaus and settlers from the neighbouring Sulu archipelago. The interior is dotted with infrequent villages inhabited by Dusuns or by Muruts, a village ordinarily consisting of a single long hut divided up into cubicles, one for the use of each family, opening out on to a common verandah along which the skulls captured by the tribe are festooned. It has been customary to speak of these tribes as belonging to the Dyak group, but the Muruts would certainly seem to be the representatives of the aboriginal inhabitants of the island, and there is much reason to think that the Dusuns also must be classed as distinct from the Dyaks. The Dusun language, it is interesting to note, presents very curious grammatical complications and refinements such as are not to be found among the tongues spoken by any of the other peoples of the Malayan Archipelago or the mainland of south-eastern Asia. Dusuns and Muruts alike are in a very low state of civilization, and both indulge inordinately in the use of intoxicating liquors of their own manufacture.

Settlements and Communication.—The company possesses a number of small stations along the coast, of which Sandakan, with a population of 9 500, is the most important. The remainder which call for separate mention are Lahat Datu on Darvel Bay on the east coast; Kudat on Marudu Bay and Jesselton on Gaya Bay on the west coast. A railway of indifferent construction runs along the west coast from Jesselton to Weston on Brunei Bay, with a branch along the banks of the Padas to Tenom above the rapids. It was originally intended that this should eventually be extended across the territory to Cowie Harbour (Sabuko Bay) on the east coast, but the extraordinary engineering difficulties which oppose themselves to such an extension, the sparse population of the territory, and the failure of the existing line to justify the expectations entertained by its designers, combine to render the prosecution of any such project highly improbable. Sandakan is connected by telegraph with Mempakul on the west coast whence a cable runs to Labuan and so gives telegraphic communication with Singapore. The overland line from Mempakul to Sandakan, however, passes through forest-clad and very difficult country, and telegraphic communication is therefore subject to very frequent interruption. Telegraphic communication between Mempakul and Kudat, via Jesselton, has also been established and is more regularly and successfully maintained. The only roads in the territory are bridle-paths in the immediate vicinity of the company’s principal stations. The Sabah Steamship Company, subsidized by the Chartered Company, runs steamers along the coast, calling at all the company’s stations at which native produce is accumulated. A German firm runs vessels at approximately bi-monthly intervals from Singapore to Labuan and thence to Sandakan, calling in on occasion at Jesselton and Kudat en route. There is also fairly frequent communication between Sandakan and Hong-Kong, a journey of four days’ steaming.

Products and Trade.—The capabilities of the company’s territory are only dimly known. Coal has been found in the neighbourhood of Cowie Harbour and elsewhere, but though its quality is believed to be as good as that exported from Dutch Borneo, it is not yet known whether it exists in payable quantities. Gold has been found in alluvial deposits on the banks of some of the rivers of the east coast, but here again the quantity available is still in serious doubt. The territory as a whole has been very imperfectly examined by geologists, and no opinion can at present be hazarded as to the mineral wealth or poverty of the company’s property. Traces of mineral oil, iron ores, copper, zinc and antimony have been found, but the wealth of North Borneo still lies mainly in its jungle produce. It possesses a great profusion of excellent timber, but the difficulty of extraction has so far restricted the lumber industry within somewhat modest limits. Gutta, rubber, rattans, mangrove-bark, edible nuts, guano, edible birds’-nests, &c., are all valuable articles of export. The principal cultivated produce is tobacco, sago, cocoanuts, coffee, pepper, gambier and sugar-canes. Of these the tobacco and the sago are the most important. Between 1886 and 1900 the value of the tobacco crop increased from £471 to £200,000.

As is common throughout Malayan lands, the trade of North Borneo is largely in the hands of Chinese shopkeepers who send their agents inland to attend the Tamus (Malay, těmu, to meet) or fairs, which are the recognized scenes of barter between the natives of the interior and those of the coast. At Sandakan there is a Chinese population of over 2000.

Administration.—For administrative purposes the territory is divided into nine provinces: Alcock and Dewhurst in the north; Keppel on the west; Martin in the centre; Myburgh, Mayne and Elphinstone on the east coast; and Dent and Cunliffe in the south. The boundaries of these provinces, however, are purely arbitrary and not accurately defined. The form of government is modelled roughly upon the system adopted in the Malay States of the peninsula during the early days of their administration by British residents. The government is vested primarily in the court of directors appointed under the company’s charter, which may be compared to the colonial office in its relation to a British colony, though the court of directors interests itself far more closely than does the colonial department in the smaller details of local administration. The supreme authority on the spot is represented by the governor, under whom are the residents of Kudat, Darvel Bay and Keppel, officers who occupy much the same position as that usually known by the title of magistrate and collector. The less important districts are administered by district magistrates, who also collect the taxes. The principal departments, whose chiefs reside at the capital, are the treasury, the land and survey, the public works, the constabulary, the medical and the judicial. The secretariat is under the charge of a government secretary who ranks next in precedence to the governor. Legislation is by the proclamation of the governor, but there is a council, meeting at irregular intervals, upon which the principal heads of departments and one unofficial member have seats. The public service is recruited by nomination by the court of directors. The governor is the chief judge of the court of appeal, but a judge who is subordinate to him takes all ordinary supreme court cases. The laws are the Indian Penal and Civil Procedure Codes and Evidence Acts, supplemented by a few local laws promulgated by proclamation. There is an Imam’s court for the trial of cases affecting Mahommedan law of marriage, succession, &c. The native chiefs are responsible to the government for the preservation of law and order in their districts. They have restricted judicial powers. The constabulary numbers some 600 men and consists of a mixed force of Sikhs, Pathans, Punjabi Mahommedans, Dyaks and Malays, officered by a few Europeans. There is a Protestant mission which supports a church—the only stone building in the territory—and a school at Sandakan, with branches at Kudat, Kaningau and Tambunan. The Roman Catholic mission maintains an orphanage, a church and school at Sandakan, and has missions among the Dusuns at several points on the west coast and in the Tambunan country. Its headquarters are at Kuching in Sarawak. The Chinese have their joss-houses and the Mahommedans a few small mosques, but the vast majority of the native inhabitants are pagans who have no buildings set apart for religious purposes.

Finance and Money.—The principal sources of revenue are the licences granted for the importation and retailing of opium, wine and spirits, which are in the hands of Chinese; a customs duty of 5% on imports; an export tax of 5% on jungle produce; a poll-tax sanctioned by ancient native custom; and a stamp duty. A land revenue is derived from the sale of government lands, from quit rents and fees of transfer, &c. Judicial fees bring in a small amount, and the issue and sale of postage and revenue stamps have proved a fruitful source of income. The people of the country are by no means heavily taxed, a large number of the natives of the interior escaping all payment of dues to the company, the revenue being for the most part contributed by the more civilized members of the community residing in the neighbourhood of the company’s stations. There are bank agencies in Sandakan, and the company does banking business when required. The state, which has adopted the penny postage, is in the Postal Union, and money orders on North Borneo are issued in the United Kingdom and in most British colonies and vice versa. Notes issued by the principal banks in Singapore were made current in North Borneo in 1900. There is also a government note issue issued by the company for use within the territory only. The currency is the Mexican and British dollar, the company issuing its own copper coin—viz. cents and half cents. It is proposed to adopt the coinage of the Straits Settlements, and measures have been taken with a view to the accomplishment of this. In the interior the principal medium of exchange among the natives is the large earthenware jars, imported originally, it is believed, from China, which form the chief wealth both of tribes and individuals.

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