Handbook Singapore - Forgotten Books
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Transcript of Handbook Singapore - Forgotten Books
In comp liancewithcur rentco pyr ight law, LBSArchivalPr oducts p r oduced this
rep lacement vo lume o n paperthat meets theANSI Standard
-1984 to rep lace their reparably deterio rated
o riginal .
P RE FA C E .
HIS handbo ok has been compiled specially forthe benefit o f v is it o r s t o Singapor e, who havea few hour s t o a few days t o spend in the
t own. I t is int ended t o supply a fel t want in Singapor e ;t o give in a handy form some no tes his t o r ical , descr ipt ive,scient ific, &c. , in r egard t o the t own and island ; t o affordwhat informat ion is neces sary t o guide v is it o r s dur ing theirs tay , and t o obviat e some o f the difficu lt ies which t r aveller salway s encounter in a s t r ange p lace. This workis the fir s to f it s kind published in the Set t lement . The Str anger
’
s
Guide to Singap or e by Mr . B. E . B’
Aranj o and
Pictur esque and Busy Singap o r e by Mr . T. J. Keaughran,
repr int ed in 188 7 fr om the St r a its Times , are in circulat ion , but the forme r is mor e limit ed in it s scope t han thepr esent wo rk, and the lat t e r t o o general t o be of practicalvalue as a guide-book. To bo t h , however , this handbookis indebt ed fo r some o f it s informat ion. The au thor ityfo r the his tor ical int r oduct ion is mainly a ser ies of ar t icles ,ent it led the Anecdo tal His to r y of Singap o r e, whichappear ed in the Singap o re Fr ee P r ess some year s ago ,
fr om the pen o f a well-known r esident . The collect iono f r eliable informat ion has been a mat t er of somedifficulty ; but car e has been t aken t o make the workas
accurat e as poss ible ; and it is hoped that futu r e edit ions ,if t hey are called fo r , will co r rect the er r or s that may hav ecrep t into t his edit ion , and r ender the work what it isint ended t o be, a useful vade-mecum fo r visit or s t o Singa
p or e .
iv PREFACE.
I am deeply indebted t o IV. Dav ison , Esq .,o f the
Rafi es Library and Museum , fo r his no t es on the Singa
por e Fauna, ah abr idgement o f which is in Chap . XIII ;
and t o H. N . Ridley , Es q . . Go v er nment Dir ect o r of
Gardens and Fo r es t s , fo r his paper o n Flo r a and
Geology o f the island .
G. M . R.
SINGAPORE ,
Augus t , 1892.
C O N T E N T S .
CHAPTER I .
H ISTORICAL INTRODUCT ION
CHAPTER II .
THE GOVERNMENT— THE GARRISON AND DEFENCESJ USTIC E—THE MUN IC I PALITY OF SINGAPOREPOLICE—REVENUE
CHAPTER III .
GENERALDESCRIPT ION OF THE TOWN AND ENV IRONS.
CHAPTER IV .
FAVOURITEWALKS ANDFrom the Whar ves t o Singapo re Tenn and
thence t o the Bo tanical Ga rdens v ia the Esp lanade
and O rchard Ro ad— Fr om the \Vlr1r vcs t o t he Im
pounding Reser vo ir v ia Singapo re Town— From the
Whar ves t o Kranj i r ia Singapo re Town , and thence
t o JOho re Bhar u.
CHAPTER V.
PUBLIC BUI LDINGS AND PLACES OF INTERESTBo tanical Gardens—Bous tead Ins t itute—Bukit
Timah—Bukit TimahCemetery— Chinese Pr o tect orate Churches -Docks Esp lanade Dr ill
Hall—The Exchange and (‘
hambe r o f CommerceFo r t Canning
- Gao l — Go vernment House—Go ver nment O tfices—Hosp itals
— Ho tels— Ladics’
Lawn o r
Dhoby Chant—Mar ine Depar tment and Shipp ing
Oflice Market s Mo nmncn ts O ld CemeteryPo lice Cour t and Co ur t o f Req ues ts I’nlice
Stat ion—General Po s t C ll icO—Race Co ur se— Rall iesIns t it ut ion— Ra llies Library and Museum— Reservo ir s - Rillo Range , B'
i lcs t ier— Sailo r s’
l l o nieSailo r s
’
Res t — St Andrea’
s [ l o use— St . Jo seph’
s
Ins t itut ion— Shr ine O f Iskander Khan- Shr ine o f
Habib Noo r— Sup reme Cour t—Tanglin Bar racks—'
I‘own Hall—Tyersall—Whamped s Gar den's .
VI CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VI .
PLACES OFWORSHI P AND HOSP ITALSThe Church Of England
- The Presby ter ian
Church O f England—The Methodis t Ep iscopal
Church - Roman Catho lic— Armenianous—Jewish—Mahommedan— Indian and Chinese
Temp les—Hosp itals .
CHAPTER VII .
THE POPULATION OF SINGAPORE
CHAPTER VIII .
CLUBS, SOC IETIES, BANKS, CONSULATES, HOTELS,SHOPS, &C .
Clubs—Literary and Scient ificSociet ies— Po lit ical— Musical—Religious
— Spo r t ing and Athlet ic
Masonic Miscellaneous Banks Consulates
Ho tels - Livery Stables— Pos t O ffice— Telegraph
O IIice— Titlin and Billiard Rooms—General Sto resBookseller s and Stat ioners— Pr inter s and Book
binder s—Newspaper O f fices— Tailo r s andOu tfi t tersDispensar ies
—Mineral and Aerated “h ter Manu
facturers - Furnit ure IVarehouses .
CHAPTER IX .
RATES OF H IRE FOR PRIvATE AND HACKNEY CAR .
B IAGES, WITH TABLES O F DISTANCESTables o f Fares—Tables of Dis tances—Malay
names Of the Pr incipal Bu ildings and Places Of In
tercet—Malay Phrases, 850.
CHAPTER X .
STEAM COMMUNICATI ON BETWEEN SINGAPORE AND
OTHER PORTSPr incipal Steamship Lines and Agents— Owner s
or Agents fo r var ious Local Steamers—Lis t Of Po r t swith reference t o Steamship Lines and Agent s
CHAPTER XI .
CURRENCY, WE IGHTS, MEASURES, TIME , &C .
CHAPTER X II .
[ u p on -s , EXPORTS, SH IPPING, &C. , SINGAPORE
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XIII .
THE FAUNA , FLORA , AND GEOLOGY OF SINGAPOREThe Fauna o f Singapo re I sland
— The Flo ra o f
Singapo re Is land— Geo logical Features .
CHAPTER X IV .
CLIMATE , MONSOONS, &C .
Climate and Monsoons— Annual Abs t ract o f
Rainfall for 1890—Annual Abst ract Of Meteo ro lo
gical Observat ions fo r 1890.
CHAPTER XV.
THE MALAY LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
TRAMWAY TIME TABLE
MAPS.
MAP OF FacingPage 1
INDEX To MAP Page ix
PLAN OF BOTAN ICAL GARDENS Facing p age 43
C O RR IGEN DA .
PAGE 2. The hur r icane and the ear thquake ar e u nknown
in Singapore.
” While this handbo okwas pas sing through the p r es s a s light ear thquake was
fel t in Singapo r e (May , The Malay
Peninsula and Sumat r a wer e affected at the
same t ime ; the di s t urbance p r obably came
fr om the cent r e o f the lat t er . A s imilar ear th
t r emo r is r eco r ded, as having occur r ed in
Singapo r e, in 1861. The r esident s in the
t own , however , cont inue t o believe in the
immunity Of the island f r om ser ious ear th
quakes , owing t o it s p o sit ion, and t o t he
fact that the t remo r s fel t in 1861and 1892wer e mer e vibr at ions indicat ing that a vio lcnt
dis turbance had t aken p lace somewher e o n
the long volcanic bel t .
PAGE 6 (NOTE ).—Fo r Chap t er XIV . , r ead Chap t er XV.
PAGE 38 .—Since go ing t o p r es s the Victo r iaRegia has died.
PAGE 59.—On the opening O f the Bous tead Ins t itut e fo r
Seamen by H . E . the Go ver nor on July 2nd,
1892, The Sailo r s’
Res t was clo sed, it s wo rk
being car r ied on by the Bous t ead Ins t itut e, a
handsome thr ee-s t o r ied bu ilding at theco rner
Of Tanjong Pagar and Anson Road. This
Ins ti tut ion has been founded by t he execut o r s
O f the late Mr . Edwar d Bo us t ead, and is a
Co fi ee and Bo ar ding House fo r Seamen .
Evangel is t ic ser v ices ar e held ther e o n Sun
day s .
PAGE 84.—For Tr amway Time Table, see page 135 .
I N D EX T O M A P
NOTE .
The Let ters and Number s a fter the names co r res p ond
w i th thos e in the bo rders o f themap , and ind icate
the s q uare in which the name w il l be found .
Abbo t sfo rd Bachelo r s’
Hal]
Abrams’
l l o r se Repo s itoryAdelphi Ho tel
Alard Road
Alber t DockAlber t St reet
Alexandra Road
Alexandra Road Po lice
Stat ion
Ahneida St reet
AmaranthAmoy St reetAngus Bungalow
Angus St reet
Annan BankAnson RoadApo thecar ies
’ Quar ter s(Cr iminal Pr ison)
Arab St reet
Ardmo reArmenian ChurchArmenian St reetA r senal , H. M .
’
s
Ashes t iel
Asht on Lodge
Ass is tant Co lonial Secre
tary'
s Res idence
Ass istant Super intendent
o f Po lice’
s Quar ter sAt jehHouseAyer Nipah
E 5
G 9
Bain St reet G10Balaclava 4
Balado G 7Baleave G 7Bales t ier Plain B 11
Bales t ier Road gI?Bailey Lane F l lBalmo ral J) 6Banda St reet J 9Barganny Lodge 1" 8
Bar racks Tanglin F 3BeachHo tel G11BeachRoad Po lice Stat ion F l l
Beaconsfield J
Belm \ Ie\ er s O il Stores E 15BeldemeerBelle Air . G 8
Bellevue (O rchard Road) . F 9
Belle Vue Btnwalow G 8
Belle Vue Co t tage G 8
Belle Vuc (o ll'
TankRoad) G 8
Bellmont F 9Belv idere
Bencoo len St reet
Ber laycr l’uint
Ber layer River
BirchRoad
House
INDEX TO MAP.
Blanche House
Blanco RoadBlanga BayBlind AlleyBoat QuayBon Acco rd Ho use
Bonham St r eet
Bonny Gr assBo rneo Whar fBo tan House
Bo tanical GardensBous tead Co .
’
s Ker osene
O il St oresBrass Bassa RoadBr ickFields , To
Br ickworks , Singapo re
(Balest ier )Br ickwo rks , Singapo re
(Sirangoon)Broadfields
Br o ther s’
Schoo l
Buffalo Road
Bugis St reet
Bu itenzo rgBukit Berkek
Bukit Arang , To
Bukit CherminBukit Guthr ieBukit Passoo
Bukit ParmiBukit Radin Mas s
Bukit TimahRoad
Bukit TunggalBur ial Ground RoadBurmahRoadBurn Brae
Burnbr ae
BurnsideBushey Park
Cairn HillCairn Hill House
Cairn Hill Co t tageCambo HouseCambo Co t tageCampbell LaneCanal Road
Cant on St reet
Car r ingt on HouseCashin St reet
Cast le Lodge
Cas t le, The
Cas t le The (Oxley Road)Cat enagh Br idge
C 11enauh R0:1d
Cecil St reet
Gemeten Ne11
Cemetery , O ld (Fo r tCanning)
Cemetery , Pro tes tant andRoman Cathol ic
Cent ral Ho tel
Chancery House
Chancery LaneChasser i:111Es tate
hat sa o r th
Cheang Hong LimQuay .
Cheang Hong Lim St reet
Cheang Te Road
Chermin BayChin hew St reet
Chin Chew St reet,Lpper
Chinese Bur ial Ground
(O reh1rdRoad)Chinese Club
Chinese Gir ls’
Schoo l
Chinese P111ilion
Chinese Pr o tecto rate
Chin \ i11St reet
Chit ty RoadChurch St r eet .
C1rcular Road, UpperClaregrove
C larelands
ClaremontC larkQuayCliff House
Chl‘
t on House
Clive St reet
Clo vellyClub St reet
ClunyC luny HouseClyde St reet
Clyde Ter raceMarketC lyde VillaColeman Br idge
lNDEX TO MAP.
Coleman St reetCo llyer QuayCo lonial Secretary
’
s Resideuce
Co lonial Secreta1y’
s Residence, Assis tant
Co lonial S111geon s Qter s
Commissar iat BuildingsConfederate Estate
Cem ent
Council Chamberraig HillCralg Road
Cr icket Club Ground,Singapo re
r icket Gro und, Tanwl in
C
C r oss Garden Road
Cro ss St reet
Cr oss St reet Schoo l
Cr oss St reet , Upper
Dalhousie Lane
D’
Almeida Road
DalveyDamar RoadDeanr o u
Devon Villa
Devonshire House
DevonshireRoad
Dickinson l l ill
Dingwall
Doveco t
Doves Nes t
Drayco t
Dr ill Hall, S. V. A.
Dunearn
Dunlop St reet
Dunman St reet
Duxt on Road
Eas t Road
Eber Road
EdinburghRoad
Edr ington
Educat ion Onice
ElginBr idge
Ellenbo rough St reet
Emerald Hill
EI l ()
I l O
Engineer'
8 Qrs .
,Pump ing
Stat ion
xi
Ernes t ine Lus tEskbankEskbankCo t tageEureka Co t tageE1er t on
Exchanv e and Club .
Fairy GlenFern Co t tage
Fe1n H illFern‘ illa (K illiney Ro ad)Fern illa (R11e1 ValleyRo 1d)
I l lt er Beds
Finlay son GreenFish St reet
Fisher St reet
Fo rd St reet
Fo r t CanningFraser St r eet
Gas \Yo rksGelang Po lice Stat ion
Gelang RiverGelang RoadGener al Hosp ital
General Hosp ital, Nu r ses
Quar ter sGeneral Po s t O tlice .
Geo rge St reet
Gillillan, 8: Co . s
Godou n (Ha1elockRd. )Glengar ryGlenho gan
Go lf Links
Good11ood
Go1ernment House .
Go1ernment Pr int ingOffice
Grand Stand, RaceCour se
Grange Ro ad
Grange, The
Grass Bank
G rassdale
Grassland
Greenhill
Green ValleyGrove, The
xii lNDEX TO MAP.
Guthr ie’
s VillageHackLane
Hadjee LaneHal lpike St reet
Harbour Limit (Western)Havelock Road
Havelock Road Po lice
Stat ion
HeratHey to rHigh St reetHilang Lane
Hill Side
H ill Side Co t tage
H ill St reet
H . M .
’s Ar senal
HockLam St reetHodeen
’
s House
Hokien St reet
Hokien St reet , Upper
Ho lland Road
Ho lloway Lane
Ho lne Chase
Ho ly rood
Hongkong St reet
Hong Lim’
s Market
Hono lulu
Ho tel de l’
Europe
Howar th Er skine, Ltd .
’
s
‘Yo rksHur r icane
Hy lam St reet .
IceWo rks (River alleyRoad)
Ice o rks (Bocho reCanalRoad) .
Ice \Vo rks (Serangoo n) .
Ichi Ban .
Inst itu t ion H illIr11ell Bank
I rwell BankRoad
Jalan Besar
Jalan N ipah
Jalan Sultan
Jalan TambahJapan St reet
Jard1ne Matheson 8; Co .
’
s
Whar f .
JamRoad
Jeddah St reet .
J essamine Co t tageJohnst on
’
s PierJ ohore LaneJchor e RoadJudithHo use
Kallang RiverKampo ng Bhar u Po l iceStat ion
Kampong Boy 1111Kampong Bl lg isK1napong J1111RoadKampong KallangKampong Kapo o r
Kampong LautKampong MalaccaKampong PahangKampong RokokKampong SaigonKandang KerbauKandang Kerbau Po liceStat ion
KanisahMer ican RoadKoppel RoadKeng Cheo u St reet .
Kerbau LaneKerbau RoadKero sene O il Sto res
(Gelang)Kero sene O il StoresKer osene O il Sto res
(Bous tead Co .
’
s)Ker r St reetIxilliney LodgeK illiney RoadK im Seng Br idgeK ings ton Ho use
IxintaRoadKling St reet
Koek’
s O r1hard Ro adMarket
Ixoon Hong’
s Es tate, ToLabrado r Villa .
Lad ies’
L:11111TennisClubL‘
l t ly HillLamber t Bro ther sLanerco s tLanglandsLaundry , Steam
INDEX TO MAP.
LauraVillaLavender St reetLeonie Co t tageLeonie HillLeper Hosp italLibrary andMuseumI1. Kr ianLloydRoadLochiel LodgeLockHosp ital
Lo t’
s WifeLunat icAsy lumLurong Teluk .
Lyndhur st (L10111Road) .Lyndhurs t (Mt . El izabeth)Lyon, J . M . , &Cc.
’
s \Vorks
Macao St reetMacao St reet , UpperMackenzie Road
Magazine Road
Magazines
Maisonet te
Malay St reet
Malagar St reet
M. Alley Lane
Manila St reet
Manor House
MapledurhamMar ine Police Stat ion
Market (Bochore)Market (Raffles Quay )Market St reet .
MasonicHall .
Mas ter At tendant s 011111;Mayfield .
McCallum St reetMcPhersonRoadMerchant RoadM e t ho d i s t Epis
copal
Church
MiddleRoadilitar RifleRange
Minto HeadMirabau Road .
MissionHouse N1el Road)Mission House (StamfordRoad) .
MissionChapelMonas tery
xiii
Monks HillMonks Hill Co t tageMonks Hill HouseMont i RosaMosque St reet
Mo ss BankMount AlmaMount Alma HouseMount BankMount CareyMo unt Echo
Mount Elizabeth
Mount Elizabeth Co t tage
Mount Er skineMount Faber
Mount Faber FlagstaffMount NarcisMount Palmer .
Mount Ro sieMount Stevens
Mount Vict or iaMo untMount Z ion
Mount Z ion Cot tage
Muar RoadNankin St reet
Nankin St reet , Upper
Nap ier RoadNass im HillMmMI Mw .
Neidpath
Nouk, The
New Br idge Road
New CemeteryNew Harbour DockNewMarket Road
Niel Road
Nor thBoat QuayNor thBr idge Road .
No r th Canal Road
Nor th Ro ad
No r11ood .
Nurses’
Quar ters (GeneralH08p ital )
Obelisk
Ofi cers’ Mess House,
Tangl in F 4
O ffices , Public . H10OMCemet ewfi ofi Qu mxmg fi
<3
u
a
a
wa
mqmqq
a
q
mfi
p
q
wq
mww
H
Q
N
HZ
Et
h
mr‘
U
HQ
mmr-‘Hag
mmg
U
Q
wN
N
N
b
HMMQ
mG
U
U
Q
H
Q
H
C
qo
o
mo
fi
o
mma
é
mé
wa
INDEX TO MAP.
OlgaLodgeOmar RoadOne Tree HillOphir RoadO range GroveOrchard Road Po liceStat ion
O rchard HouseO rchard Ro adOrchard Villa0rd Br idgeOsbo rne House
Out ram Road .
Oxley RoadPaddock (Race Cour se)Paint IVorks , Singapo rePatent .
Pagoda St reetPagar SpitPalembang RoadPanglima PrangParade Ground , Military(Tanglin)
ParkHouse
ParkVillaParsee Lodge
Paser LanePasir PanjangPasir Panjang RoadPatent SlipPatersonRo ad .
Pauper Hosp italPavilion (S
’
por e Cr icket
Club) . H 10TankRd.) G 8
PayahLebar Road . A 16Pear ls Hill I 8
Pear ls Hill Road 1 I 8
cmmwmm
O
G
Q
CD
ZD
C‘
Pekin St reet
Peninsular and O r iental
S. N . Co .
’
s Whar fPeople
’s Park
Per akRoadPerseveranceEstate
Phill ip St reet
Po lice Bharu
Police Cour tPolicePar adeGround(Tank
Por tuguese Church .
Presby ter ian ChurchPr incep St reet .
Pr iory , ThePr o testant and RomanCathol icCemeter1
Public O fficesPulau GelangPulau Hant u
Pump ing Stat ion (Mac
Kenz ie Road)PyahLaneQuarant ine Stat ion fo r
AnimalsQueen St reet
Race Cour seRace Cour se Road
Raeburn Es tateRaeburn Ho use
Rattles Gir ls and Boy’s
Schoo l
Raffles Ho tel
Raffles PlaceRaffles Plain
Raflles QuayRaffles Stat ueRamah St reetRangoon Road
RannochLodge
Read Br idge
Recreat iongClubGround .
Richmond LodgeRifle Range (Bales t ierPlain)
Rifle R1uge (Military )River Valley Road .
Rober t’
s RoadRobinson RoadRochalieBocho r Canal Road .
Bocho r Po lice Stat ion
Bocho r River
Bochor RoadRockHillBogie
Roman CatholicChurch .
Ro se BankRo se Co t tage
Roselands
XVI INDEX TO MAP.
TelukAyer Po liceStat ion I 10TelukAyer St reet J 1)
Teluk Blanga RoadL 3
Teluk Blanga Po l ice
Stat ion L 5
Temp le J 7
Teuto nia Club E 7The Cas t le (Oxley Road) . F 8
The Cas t le (CavenahRd . E 8
The GrangeThe Grove Cr 18TheMount G 6
The Neuk G 8
The Pav ilion (o tf TankRoad) .
The Pr ioryTiver ton House
Tiver ton LaneThomson Road
Thomson Road Po liceStat ion B 1
Town Hall H
Tramway Depo t K
Tr inganu St reet I
Tyersall . E
I
HI
I
II
Q
10
Upper Chin Chew St reet
Upper Circular Road
Upper Cr oss St reet
Upper Hokien St reetUpper Macao St reet
Upper Nankin St reet
'p
Upper l l'
ilkie RoadVer it as
Vict o r ia Dock Pav ar )Vict o r i11St reetView Place
“ 1
arders’ Quar ter s (Cr1
minal Pr ison)\Var ingaWater lo o .
lVater loo St reetWat er Wo rks (Thomson
Road) , ToWaterwo rks Reser vo irs
(Go vernment Hill )\Va11e11leyWayang Satu Po liceStat ion
West Road\Vh.napea
’
s Baker v
.
Wl1a111po 11’
3GardenlVll it e House
Widmo r Co t tagel l
'
ilkie RoadWilkie Road. I. pper
“'
oodco t .
“'
oodneuk
“beds ide (Sirangoon)‘VOd l tlfl
oodsv ille
Woo ls thrope
Z ion Road
Handbook to Singapore.
CHAPTER I .
HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION .
INGAPORE" is an island lying ofi the southernmos t ext remit y f of the Asiat ic cont inent ,from which it is separat ed by a nar row st rait ,
varying in width fr om thr ee quar t er s o f a mile to two
miles . I t is one o f the many islands that s t ud t he sea
be tween the Malay Peninsula and Aus t ralia. I t is sup
po sed, fr om the shallownes s o f the sur r ounding seas , andthe natu r e of t heir flor a and fauna, t hat Singapor e , withthe very much larger islands of Sumat ra, Borneo and Java,
no t t o ment ion the smaller islet s that may be r eckoned bvthe hundr ed ar ound them,
once fo rmed par t of the cont inent o f As ia ; while , fo r s imilar r easons , theCelebes , NewGu inea, &c. , wer e at one t ime unit ed with Aust ralia.
The is land of Singapor e lies about eighty miles nor thof the equat o r . I t is Oblong in shape, it s gr eat es t length
(fr om east t o west ) being twenty-eigh t , and it s great es tbreadth (from no r t h t o sou th) four t een miles . I t occupiesan unusually favour ed pos it ion , being shelt e red by Sumat rao n the west from the s torms that sweep over the Indian
S1ngapo re (Malay Singap ar a) is said t o mean the City o f
Lions (Sanscr it . ) There ar e no lions in the is land, bu t as the
nat ives use the word Ha r tman indiscr iminately fo r “ lion”
and
t iger . it is poss ible that the word Singha o r Sinha may have beenas loosely used. But the der ivat ion is no t unchallenged .
11 The southernmost po int of theMalay Penmsula and of Asia is
called Tanj ong Bulas : it lies to the west of Singapor e .
2 H o ndbook t o Singapor e.
Ocean, and on the eas t by a spur o f the Malay Peninsulafrom the typhoons that per iodically dis t u rb the China
seas . Fu r ther , it is out s ide of the long volcanic beltthat passes fr om Japan thr ough the Philippines , and
thence curves wes tward thr ough Java and Sumat ra.
‘ Con
sequent ly t he hu rr icane and the ear t hquake are unknown
in Singapor e .
The climat e is mois t ; there is a heavy rain-fallext ending o ver the whole year ; and the t emperatu r e ismo derate fo r a place in the hear t o f the t ropics .
Singapor e City is bu ilt on the south coas t o f the
island, and faces the sou t h-east . As the capital of theSt r ait s Set t lement s ,11 it is the seat o f the local governmento f the Colony .
Befor e the Set t lement of the Br it ish in the I sland ,Singapor e canno t be said t o have had any his t o ry . I t has
a place in Malay legends ,1acco rding to which it seems t o
have been a place of some no t e ; it has the honour ofment ion in the great Por tuguese Epic, the Lusiad ofCamoens zbu t t hough a succession o f Por t uguese , Spanish,Dutch and Br it ish expedit ions , both commercial and
military , visit ed the Peninsu la and the Archipelago fr omthe beginning o f the fifteenth t o the beginning of theninet eenth cent ury , the island of Singapor e was passed byas if o f lit t le impor tance, unt il it s occupat ion by t heBr it ishin 1819.
The nearest po int t o Singapo r e o f the vo lcanicbelt is in theKar imon Islands, about 30miles t o theW. where there is a volcanowhichhas long been quiescent .
11 The St raits Set t lements form a Crown Co lony o f the Br it ishEmpire, and consist of theDindinga, Pr ovinceWelles ley andMalaccain the Malay Peninsula. the islands of Penang (Pr ince of Wales
’
Island) and Singapo re, with a few small islet s 1n theSingapo re St rait .
Also , the Coco s or Keeling Islands and Chr is tmas Island (added in
1886) 1a the Indian Ocean.
1See the Sej ar at Malayaya .an English t ranslat ion o f which1s tobe fo und in Ley den
’s Malay Annals.
H is t o r ical Int r oduct ion. 3
The refer ence of Camoens t o Singapor e is in the t ent hCanto of the Lu s iad
“ But on her land’
s -end thr oned see Cingapfir
Wher e the wide aca1r ead shr inks to .nar r ow wayThence cur ves the coas t t o face the Cynosur e"
And las t ly t r ends Aur o ra-war d it s lay .
”
(Sir R. F. Bur to n’
s Trans lation .)
The island of Singapore is said t o have been set t ledabout 1160 AD . by Malays from Sumat r a, Java, or the
neighbour ing JObor Archipelago. The Set t lement was
named Sinhapur a (Lion City ) , and according t o Old
account s , was large and pr osper ous . The followingcenturysaw the conver sion of the Malay inhabit ant s of the Peninsula t o Mahommedanism ; and in 1262, the colonis t s ofSingapor e were dr iven by Javanese invader s t o Malacca.
At Malacca they r emained t ill the Por t uguese conques t in1511, when t hey turned sou th again t o what is now the
t er r it ory of Joho r , and t here founded a kingdom whichincluded their old home of Singapo r e .
”— Lucas : Histor ical
Geograp hy of theBr itish Colonies .
The Br it ish Empir e owes the pos sess ion and the
pr ospe rity of Singapor e t o the for esight and energy ofSir Thomas Stamfo rd Raffles . Ther e is no t space her e t o
give an account of his r omant ic and event ful career , onlyan out line can be given o f his connect ion with the Set t lement ? Raffles was sent t o Penang as Assistant Secr etary,by the Eas t India Company , in 1805 ; in 1811, he wasappoint ed Lieut .-Governor of Java, and in 1817 , havingr eceived the honour of knight hood, he was despatched t o
The Cambodian Peninsula.
1I t is unfo r tunate that Lady Baflles’biography of her husband
is now out of p r int ; and that there is, so far as we know, no life of
the founder o f Singapo re to be had of the bookseller s . There should
be a fair market for a new edit ion o f Lady Raflles’book, o r bet ter
perhaps, for a shor ter memoir .
4 Hnndbook t o Singap o r e.
Bencoolen. a small Br it ish set t lement on the sout h-wes tcoas t o f Sumat r a , as Lieu t .
-Governor . While act ing in t hiscapacit y , he was impres sed with the neces s ity that the
Br it ish should hav e a por t in the Malay Archipelago t o
pr ot ect their t rade , which was incr easing year ly, between
the Far Eas t (China and Japan) and Europe and India.
Ships fr om Eur ope t o the China seas , after r ounding the
Cape of Good Hope , cr os sed the Indian Ocean , and thencepassed through the St rait of Sunda between Sumat ra and
Java ; while ships from India held their cour se down theSt r ait s of Malacca, and thr ough the St rait between JOho rand the is land o f Singapor e . Raflles thought a posit ion on
the island of Bintang, o r somewher e in the neighbou rhood ,should be secur ed ;and in 1818 , he went t o India t o layhis plans befor e Lord Has t ings , the Governor -Gener al .Hast ings autho r ised him t o select a spot su it ed t o his purpose ; and as Bintang was occupied by the Dutch , who hadestablished the por t of Ebio t her e t o command the Archipelago , he fixed on the island of Singapore , owing t o the
excellent ancho rage ther e ; and concluded a t r eaty withtheMahar ajah o f JObo r , t o whom the is landbelong ed, t ransfer r ing par t o f it t o theBrit ish Government . On Febr uary6th 1819, the Br it ish flag was hoist ed on the island ;the
anmver sary of which event is s t ill Obser ved as a publicholiday inSingapor e .
“ Our object ” wr o te Sir Stamfor dRaffles at t his t ime is no t t er r it ory but t rade ; a greatcommercial empor ium and f ulcr um, whence we mayext end our influence poli t ically, as circums t ances mayher eaft er r equ ire . By taking immediat e possess ion, we
put a negat ive t o theDutch claim o f exclu sion , and , at
the same t ime , r evive. the dr ooping confidence of our alliesand fr iends . One fr ee por t in these seas mus t event uallydes t r oy the spell of Du tch monopoly.
”Fo r the fir s t
f o ur y ear s Singapo r e was a dependency of the Bencoolen
H is t o r ical Int r aduct ion . 5
Government ; in 1823 it was t ransfer r ed t o the Eas t
India Company . The pr ice paid fo r the is land was
down, and a life annuity t o the Sultan o f
The par t of the is land o r iginally ceded t o the Br it ishwas a s t r ip of land about five miles in length, s t r etchingalong the sea-coas t fr omMount Palmer t o Tanj ongKatong.
The opposit ion of the Dutch t o the Br it ish Set t lement onSingapo re was so s t rong that the Home Government at
fir s t declined t o sanct ion it ; the Calcut ta officials werehost ile , and indeed the Set t lement might have been br okenup , had it no t been fo r the dogged obs t inacy of it s founder ,who per s is ted , on his own r esponsibility , in maintaininghis pos it ion. In 1824 , however , the Dutch and Br it ish
Government s came t o an agr eement ; theMalayArchipelag owas div ided between the r ival power s , and thoughHollandsecured the lion’
s shar e of ter r itory , England remained in
pos session of the most impor t ant posit ions on the eas ternr out e , and especially , Singapo r e. Sir Stamford Raffles
died in England in 1826, at the comparat ively ear ly age
o f for ty-five. The annals o f Br it ish influence in the Eas t
contain the name o f no man who in so sho r t a life-t imeaccomplished so much. The following pages will fu rnishmany ins tances of his wisdom, philanthropy , and adminis
t rat ive genius .
The populat ion of Singapo re , when Sir Stamford
Rafiles hois t ed the Br it ish flag in the island , was under200. A Malay kamp ong o r v illage at Teluk Blangah ,wher e the P . O . S. N . CO .
’
s whar f now is , seems t ohave been the only inhabited spot , fo r the island waswooded t o the wat er ’s edge . At that t ime there were no tfifty Chinamen in the place. I t is har d t o r ealize as we
pas s thr o ugh the s t reet s of the busy , populous city , thatseventy year s ago there was hardly one man t o everytwo squar e miles on the island. Only a year after the.
6 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
landing of Sir Stamford Raflles the populat ion had r isent o
The fir st of the now many Eur opean t radingfirms was founded by an ent erpr ising Scotchman
Mr . A. L. JOhns t on—who es tablished himself in the
Set t lement a few mont hs after it s acquis it ion. The firm
A. L. Johns ton CO . survived t o the pr esent yeFr om the beginning, Singapor e has been a fr ee por t ;
no dut ies of any kind are levied. The policy Of Sir Stamfor d Rafl es in t his r espect finds it s just ificat ion in a
compar ison o f the pr ogr ess and general impor tance of theDutch and Fr ench with the Br it ish Set t lement s in theFarEas t . There have been several at t empt s t o levy cust oms ,but the good sense o f the mercant ile community has
hither t o pr event ed the adopt ion of so suicidal a policy .
’
The year 182011 saw the es tablishment of Gambling,Opium, and Spir it Farms , though somewhat agains t Sir
Stamford Rafiles ’ inclinat ion, and in the same year anotherwell-known Eur opean firm was founded by Mr . AlexanderGuthr ie , whose name sur vives in the present local s tyle ofthe firm- Guthr ie CO .
The progr ess of Singapore mus t have been very rapid
in these ear ly days , fo r we find the populat ion es t imat edat in 1822. Fr om 200t o in three year s is aconsiderable advance .
The next year (1823) was impor t ant in many r espect s .
A Chinaman, Seah Eu Chin, is said t o have star t ed
There is a small charge on all vessels enter ing the por t for theup-keep of theLight -houses in the St raits ; bu t payment is no t grudgcd, for navigat ion in dangerous waters is made safe by the numerouslights that stud the channel .
11 An interest ing thoughno t wholly r eliable histo ry of theacqu isit ion of Singapore, and the first few years of it s occupat ion by theBr it ish was wr it ten b a. Malay teacher named Abdullah. TheH ikay at Abdul lah (so t e bookis named) is o rdinar ily used as a reading bookby s tudents of Malay . See Chap . XIV.
8 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
t reaty in lat e r year s was the cause of many diplomat icquar rels between England and Holland , without , however ,producing any ser ious r upt ur e .
In 1826, Penang, Malacca, and Singapor e were unit edunder oneGovernment , withPenangas capital . The pepulat ion of Singapor e at this t ime was compu ted at
The fir s t Cr iminal Sessions , and the fir s t inflict ion o f
the death penalty , occur r ed in 1828 , when a Kling"and a
Chinaman wer e hanged fo r murder . At t his per iod, and
fo r many year s lat er , the neighbour ing seas wer e infes tedby pirat es . In their light pmhus the Malay sea r obbe r sswooped down upon pass ing ships , and then t ook r efuge inthe many cr eeks and inlet s with which the Peninsula and
the islands o f the Archipelago abound . The Governmentsent expedit ions against them, andpr ivat e ent er pr ise j o inedwith the Government in waging a war o f ext erminat ion
agains t these highwaymen of the seas . Gr eat cr edit is
due t o theChinese merchant s who about this t ime fi t t ed
ou t and manned a few junks t o meet , and t o pur sue t otheir haunt s , the pirat ical p r ahus . Agains t these junks
the p r ahus wer e power less , and the pir at es los t much o f
their pr es t ige .
Even now occasional piracies occur ; but they are few
and far between. The age of s t eam and the r apid increaseof t raffic on the East ern seas give few facilit ies fo r piracyand ensure swift vengeance on the pir at es .
Tiger s , which wer e fo r a t ime the cur se of Singapor e ,began t o moles t the inhabitant s about the year 1831, bywhich t ime the populat ion had incr eased t o mor e than
The int er ior of the is land was t hen as lit t le
The name K l ing is given in Malay to immigrant s fr om the
Commands] coast . I t is der ived from the old emigrat ion por t
H is t o r ical Int r oduct ion . 9
known t o the inhabitant s as Cent r al Afr ica was t o
Europeans a few year s ago . I t was covered with densejungle ; but , as the increase of populat io n demanded a
clear ing of the jungle , t hese savage denizens o f the fores tbegan to give t rouble . The t iger has been near ly exterminated bv this t ime but occas ionally one is sho t bylocal spor t smen, and fr om t ime t o t ime , news comes fr omthe plantat ions o f a coolie being car r ied ed by a man
eat er ,— an occu rr ence which probably happens oft ener thanis r ecorded.
In 1832, Singapore, by r eason of it s rapid gr owth ,was made the capital of the St r ait s Set t lement s , in
place of Penang, which had held that honour fo r six
years .
To meet p ress ing necess ity a Cour t of Reques t s wases tablished in the Set t lement in 1834.
In the same year the Bishop o f Calcut ta v isit edSingapor e ; and as a r es ult of this v is it , it was r es olved t ofound a church . Prev ious t o this t ime there had been a
miss ionary in the Set t lement , who acted as Colonial
Chaplain , and conducted Div ine Ser v ice in the MissionChapel . The Bishop consecrat ed the o ld cemetery on
For t Canning, which had been i n use s ince 1822, and
which cont inued in use t ill 1867 . The pr oposed churchwas founded in 1835 , and consecrat ed by the Bishop of
Calcu t t a , o n a second v is it , in 1838 . The ArmenianChurch of St . Gr egory , which s t ill s tands in Hill St reet ,was consecr ated in 1836.
The r apid development o f t rade at the por t led t o theformat ion o f a Chamber of Commerce in 1837 ; and in thefo llowing year , Mr . Waghorn
’
e sugges t ion of the Over land
Ro u te between Eur ope and the Eas t began t o be ser iouslydiscus sed. I t is cur ious t o r ead how the mercant ile community in Singapore regarded this p r oposed, N ame: wit h
r o Handbook t o Singapo r e.
another somewhat ear lier , the use of s team-ships . Both of
t hese , which have done so much fo r Singapore , wer elo oked upon with suspicion and dis t r us t , and wer e evenr egar ded as foolish dr eams . I t is a s t range commentaryalso on human grat it ude that Mr . Wagho rn was allowed
t o die in abject po ve r ty , tho ugh manv were enr iched byhis sugges t ion.
In 1840, the populat ion was es t imat ed at at
t hat t ime the chief Eur opean r esidences s t ood on BeachRoad and in the neighbourhood of Kampong Glam. No
at tempt seems t o have been made t o penet rat e nor t h-wardsint o the is land, unt il in 1843a r oad t o Bukit Timah (Hillo f Tin) , s ixmiles inland, was opened fo r t rafiic. Horseswer e fir st impor t ed int o Singapo r e in 1844. In 1845 , the
Peninsular andOr ientalSt eamNav igat ionCompany s tar teda mail service t o theFar East , the s .s . Lady MaryWoodar r iv ing at Singapor e in Augus t o f that year . This marksa new era in the commercial prosper ity o f the Set t lement .
In the same year the St ra its Times newspape r was
fo unded, which st ill holds it s place as one o f the chiefjournals in the St r ait s .
The next year saw anothe r event of commercialimpor tance ,— the establishment of the Or iental BankinSingapore,whichwas a great convenience t o local merchant sand t rader s , t her e being hither t o no bank in the place .
In 1847 two addi t ions wer e made t o the publicbuildings ofthe t own— the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd (foundedin and a Gao l at Sepoy Lines , which is now in
cluded in the area occupied by the pr esent Cr iminalPr ison.
Singapor e was v isited in 1850by Lord Dalhousie, theGovernor -General of India , in commemorat ion o f whosevisit an obelisk was built , which now s tands near the
Cr icket Pavilion on the Esplanade. The foundat ion o f
H is t or ical In t r oduct ion . 11
the Hor sburgh Light -house‘" was laid on the r ockof Pedr o.
Br anca , which lies in mid-channel between Cape Romania
and the island o f Bintang. The light -housewas named after
the well-known hydrographer , James Hor sburgh ,by whose char t s the danger s o f the difficul t navigat ion inthe neighbour ing seas were r educed t o a minimum. The
light was fir st put int o use in Oct ober , 1851.
Chinese Secr et Societ ies began t o give t rouble abou t
this t ime. The successes of the Roman CatholicMissionar iesf amongst theChinese in the count ry dis t r ict s causeda fanat ical per secut ion of the conv er t s , at the ins t igat ionof the Secr et Societ ies . Conver sion t o Chr ist ianity removedthe proselyt e fr om the author ity of these K ong
-sees t o the
prot ect ion of the pr ies t s ; and t o pr event fur ther conversions , the Chinese r ose and plunder ed the pr oper t y of t heirChr ist ian count rymen , burning their houses and plantat ions , st ealing t heir goods and money , adding act s of v iolence and mu rder t o their r obber ies . The insurgent s cameint o collis ion with bodies of po lice and mar ines . and wer eult imately r educed t o order . Much of the s tolen pr oper tywas r ecover ed and res t ored t o the owner s .
Thr ee year s lat er (1854) the mos t serious r iot thathas ever occur red in the his tory of the Colony , broke o ut
thr ough a t r ifling bazaar dispu t e be tween a Hok-kien and
a Macao} , The rapid increase of the Chinese populat ion
Horsburgh Lighthouse, white flash light (one flash in tenseconds) . Lat . 1° 19’ 57 N . Long. 104° 24
'
30"
E. Diop t r ic lensof fir st order . I t is 33miles East o f Singapore town, and it s height
fr om highwater t o cent re o f light is 101feet . The name o f the rockon which it is built is a Po r tuguese t ranslat ion o f the Malay nameBatu Patch, i .e. , theWhiteRock.
1The Roman Catho lic Missions were at this t ime, as they are
st ill, the lar est and most act ive in the Colony . In 18 51, the Por tu
guese Chure o f St . Joseph was founded, and p laced under the jur isdict ion o f the Bishop o f Macao . The Schoo l o f St . J ohn, was s tar tedin the same year by the FrenchMission.
IThat is a nat ive of the p rovince of Hok-kien, and a nat ive o f
Quangtung.
12 Handbook t o Singapo r e.
was fraught with considerable danger t o the peace o f thecommunity, chiefly because of t r ibal feuds between the
different clans , which oft en led t o v iolence and bloodshed .
The bazaar -disput e became the excuse fo r a war betweenthe r ival fact ions , and the fight ing las t ed fo r mor e than a
week. The Governor —Colonel W. J . But t erwor th , t owhom the Se t t lement owed much of it s ear ly pr osper itydid no t bel ieve the danger s o great as it t urned out to be,
and delayed t aking decisive st eps t o check the r io t , wit hthe result that the r iot , which might have been suppr essedin a few hour s , las ted withou t intermission fo r eight day s ;and the suppr ess ion involved cons iderable los s of life onbo th s ides . From the t own the insur rect ion spr ead t o thecount ry dis t r ict s ; busines s was suspended ; t he officesshut and s t r ongly guarded , the European r es ident s wer eenr olled as special cons t ables , Malays and Indians wer earmed , and fo r a few day s the island was in a s tat e of war .
Many ar r es t s wer e made about 250pr isoner s wer e broughtt o t r ial, but only two wer e execu ted ;mo s t of the r est beingsentenced t o long t erms of impr isonment wit h hard labour ,and some t ranspor t ed.
The Ve randah Riot s“ in1888 , show that the Chinesepopulat ion, law-abiding as a r ule , may at any moment bea ser ious t r ouble t o theSe t t lement ; t hey , t oo , wer e nanceessar ily pr olonged by the indecision o f tho se r espons ible fo rthe peace of the t own .
Soon aft er the r iot s o f 18 54, it was consider ed expe
dient t o have a volunt eer corps of Eur opean r es ident s inSingapor e and a r ifle cor ps was acco rdingly formed. In
the same year , navigat ion in the St r ait s was r ender ed safer
Se-called because the Municipality of Singapo re insisted that
the ver andahs in the st reet s of the Chinese quar ter s should be cleared
o f thegoods and stalls withwhich they are usually cr owded, to makeway for foo t passenger s . The r io ts lasted for thr ee days .
H is t o r ical Int r oduct ion. 13
by the foundat ion of the Raflles’
Light -hou se on a smallr ockin the St rait s o f Malacca, some twelve miles westof the t own. I t was much needed , for the sea in thatr egion is full of small islands and shoals .
The foundat ion-st one o f the present Town Hall wasalso laid in this year , though the building was no t com
pleted t ill 1861.
An unsuccess ful at tempt was made by the IndianCouncil t o subs t itut e the rupee fo r the Mexican dollarwhich had been the local cur r ency in the Archipelagolong befor e there was a Br it ish Set t lement . The pr oposedchange was s t out ly r esis t ed by the Singapor e merchant s ,
and subsequent ly dr opped . This at t empt had much t odo with a pr oposal moot ed fo r the fir s t t ime in the following year (18 55 ) that the St rait s Set t lement s should bet r ansfer r ed fr om the Indian Government t o a governmentwhich should be dir ect ly respons ible t o the Crown. A
publicmeet ing was held in Singapor e , and resolut ions t ot hat efi ect we re car r ied by acclamat ion. The reason o f
the pr oposal is declar ed in the wo rds of one of the r esolut ions This meet ing is forced int o the painfu l conviet ion t hat theLegislat iveCouncil o f India in t reat ing wit hu t t er disr egard the remons t rances of the inhabitant s , haveshown that they ar e neither t o be moved by any pr ospectof doing good , no r r es t rained fr om doing ev il to theSt rait s
Set t lement s ; and that it is , t herefore , the painful duty ofthis community t o use every exer t ion, and t o r esort t o
“ every means within their r each t o obtain r elief fr om the
mischievous measures alr eady enacted , and t o escape fr omthe inflict ion o f ot her s of the same nat u re, more comprehensive and s t ill more hur t fThe Indian Council again at t emp t ed t o over -r ide pub
lic Opinion in Singapo r e, by the impo sit ion o f por t -dues ,a policy which was thought disas t rous by the local t rader s ,
14 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
it being regarded as a sine qua non fr om the t ime of Sir
Stamfor d Raflles downwards , that Singapor e should be
a fr ee por t . A spir it ed pr otes t addressed t o the Imper ial
Government led t o the abandonment of the prepo sal .
The St rait s Set t lement s wer e made a Crown Colonyin 1867 , and placed under the di r ect cont r ol of theColonial
Cfiice ; t hough by their cons t it u t ion, the Set t lement s have
scarcely any more voice in the management o f their afiai r s
than they had under the Indian Council : for the ofi cial
member s— a major ity in the Legislat ive Council— ar e
bound t o vot e as the Secr et ary fo r the Colonies p r o tern.
dir ect s .
The o ld English Church in Singapor e had becameunfi t for public wor ship by t his t ime ; the congr egat ion
be ing compelled to use the Cour t -house fo r Divine Service .
’
The IndianCouncil vot ed the sum ofRupees for the
er ect ion of a new bu ilding. The remainder of the cost
was defrayed by public subscr ipt ion , and the foundat iono f St . Andr ew’
s Cathedr al was laid in the following year
(1856 ) The building was opened fo r wor ship in 1862.
In 1858 , the Pat ent Slip and DeckCompany. now
known as the New Harbour Dock Cc. , was incor porat ed ,and s ix year s later , the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company ,bot h of which have cont r ibut ed largely t o the commercialimpo r tance o f the city .
The Scotchmen in the t own organised a Pr esbyter iancongr egat ion in the following year andwor shipped
A cur ious illust rat ion of the superst it ions p revalent amongstthe uneducated Chinese may be quo ted in this connect ion I t waswidely bel ieved that the English had deser t ed their Church through
fear of the demons that haunted it ; and that it was the purpose ofthe Government to sacr ifice a number of human heads to p rop it iatethe demons . A panic seized the populace, men were afraid to go outafter dark lest they should fall vict ims to the English sacr ifice. I twas longbefore the Government and the educated Chinese succeededin alloy ing the fears of the people.
16 H andbook t o Singap o r e.
the dis tu rbed condit ion of Sungei Ujong. The Governor
at t his t ime was Sir William Jer vo is , whose ener get ic
adminis t r at ion bore good fru it in later days ; especially in
themat t er of Colonial defences . In 18 77 , occur red a. great
fir e at Tanjong Pagar Dock, which las t ed fo r 28 days ,baffling all endeavour s t o ext inguish it . On Apr il 13, a
Chinese coolie smokingin oneo f the at tap-r oofed coal sheds ,
accidentally set fi re t o the building. The coal s oon
kind led , and t ill May 12 the fir e cont inued, consumingdu r ing t hat t ime about tons of coal wit h the sheds
in which it was s t or ed.
Sir William Jer vois " was succeeded by Sir WilliamRo bin son , whose bad health compelled him t o leave the
Co l ony in 18 79, and Sir F . A. Weld was appoint ed in his
p lace in 1880.
F r om 18 79 t o 1889, r eclamat ion works wer e car r iedo u t o n an ext ens ive. scale , fir s t f r om Co llye r Quay t owar dsTan j o ng Pagar by r unning a sea-wall acr oss what used t obe called Teluk Ayer and fi lling up the t idal swamps ;and then by running ano ther sea-wall from the nor t h s ide
o f t he Singapore r iver t owar ds Beach Road , t her eby r e
claim ing many acr es o f valuable land, and adding t o the
beau t y of the Esplanade . Dur ing the same pe r io d s ome
new public buildings wer e er ect ed , and o ther s added t o
and enlarged t o the gr eat imp rovement o f the gener alap pear ance of the cit y .
The pr esent Gover nor , Sir Cecil Clement i Smit h ,
as sumed emee in Oct ober . 188 7 , as succes so r t o Sir F . A .
Weld . Dur ing the fir s t year of his adminis t r at ion Pahangwas included among the P r ot ected Nat ive Stat es , and a.
Br it ish Res ident despat ched t o that count r y .
COL Anson, afterwards General Sir Arch. Anso n
ofi ce as Act ing Governor , in18 77 and 1879 to 1880.
t ru ce held
H is t o r ical Int r oduct ion . 17
In February ,1888 , theVerandahRiot s , already refer r edt o (p . br oke ou t ; and in the same month the Sino a
por e Volunt eer Ar t illery Corps was enr olled .
The Chinese Secr et Societ ies ’ O rdinance was pas sedby the Legis lat ive Council in 1889, and a proclamat ion
order ing the disbanding of these t r o ublesome o rganisa
t ions by January 1, 1890, was pos t ed thr oughout the t own
in November . In the following year (March) T. R. H .
the Duke and Duchess o f Connaught , on their wav homefr om India , v isit ed Singapore . The Duke of Connaught
inspect ed the fo r t ificat ions of the t own , and in commemo
r at ion o f his v isit the p r incipal For t on Pulau BlakangMat i was named aft er him .
Impr ovement s in the t own and neighbou rhood ar e
being car r ied on rap idlv ; but these are t oo numer ous t o
be par t icular ised he re.
Between 185 7 and 1860, the prosper ity o f Singapo resustained a sever e checkthr ough the failu re o f the nutmeg
crop . The t rees wer e des t royed bv a blight and the eul
t ivat ion of the nutmeg is now p ract ical lv at an end in the
Island . Pepper , gambier , indigo , sp ices , lib er ian coffee ,t apioca, &c. , withcocoanuts , pine-apples and o ther fr uit s are
cult ivated t o some extent : the pr o sper it y of Singapor e does
no t , however , depend on t hese, but on the fact that it is the
great entr epcit fo r East ern commerce , and an impor t an tcoaling s t at ion . I t s pos it ion and harbour secur e both it s impor tance and it s prosperi ty ; and few o f the ou tpos t s o f t he
Br it ish Empire can show such a reco rd of growt h and p r o
gr ess as Singapo re . I t has suff er ed fo r the las t few year s ,like the r es t of the wor ld , thr ough the depr ession of t rade,
and the consequent diminut ion of it s r evenues but this ,
it is believed, is only t empo rary The dev e\opmen\. st me
18 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
Nat ive Stat es , and the fur ther Opening u p o f the Malay
Peninsula ,which is suppo sed t o contain great mineral
weal th , will r eact favou rably upon Singapo re and it is no t
t oo much t o hope that the fut ure o f the t own will eclipseit s past .
CHAPTER 11.
Tu e GOVERNMENT—THE Ganmson AND Dnr nnes s
Jus 'r Icn— TnnMUN IC IPALITY OF SINGAPOREPOL ICE— REVENUE.
OM 1819 t o 1867 , the St rait s Set t lemen t swer e governed bv the Indian Council ; bu t in1867 , thev wer e er ect ed into a Cr own Colony ,
the Local Gover nment being ves t ed in a Gover no r fi" an
execu t iv e of eigh t Member s appoint ed bv the Crown ,
assist ed by a body of seven uno fficial Member s of Council
( two of whom are elect ed by the Chamber s Of Commerce
in Penang and Singapore, and the r est nominat ed by the
Governor )
Prev ious t o 1867 , theLo cal Governor s in the Colour were
Mr . Rober t . Fuller ton 1826
S. Ibbet son 1828
K . Murchison 1833
Sam. G. Bonham 1837Col . \V. J . But terwor th 1843
Mr . E. A. Blundell 18 55
Co l . Cavenagh 1861
Since 1867, the following have held the Office
Gen. Sir Har ry St . George0rd, 1867-73
Col . Sir AndrewClarke, n.E. , Ho me 0 18 73-7 5
Gen. Sir l . F. D . Jer vo is , n.n.,
18 75 -77
Sir Wm. C . F. Robinson,
18 77-79
f Gen. Sir Arch. E. H. Anson, R.A. ,18 79-80
Sir Fred. A.Weld, 1880-8 7
1' Sir Cecil Clement i Smith, 1887Those marked thus f held the ethos of Act ing-Governo r for sho r t
Er iods ; and to the list should be added the name Of Sir I Fr eewareckson, who acted asGovernor in ans.
20 Handbook t o Singapo r e.
The Execu t ive cons is t s ofH . E .
* the Gener al O fficer Commanding the Tr oops ;The Hon. the Co lonial Secr etar y ;
DO . Resident Councillor of Penang ;DO . Res ident Councillor of Malacca ;DO . At torney-Gener alDO . Colonial Tr easur erDO . Audit or -GeneralDO . Colonial Engineer Surveyor -General ;
These , wit h the seven unofficial Member s o f Councilform the Legis lat ive BOdv o f the Colony .
The sys tem o f governing a Colony from DowningSt r eet secures a permanent o fficial major ity in cases wher et her e is a differ ence Of Op inion between the Colonial Officeand the r es ident s on impor tant ques t ions .
a a
The Colony cont r ibu t es annually t o the
Imper ial Exchequer fo r gar r ison and defences , besidescons iderable sums spent locally fo r the accommodat ion o f
the t r oops . Ther e ar e s tat ioned in Singapo re twoBat ter ies tOf Ar t iller y , an Infant ry Bat t alion , a Company o f RoyalEnginee r s , a few Sikhs (China Gun Lascar s ) , with r ep r e
sentat ives Of the var ious Army Depar tment s ,— ia all , about
men . A small par t Of the Infant ry Bat talion is
ass igned t o Penang. In addit ion t o the r egular t r oopst her e is a Corps o f Volunt eer A r t illery , abou t a hundr edst r ong, r ecruit ed from t he Br it ish r es ident s in Singapor e .
The Infant ry is q uar t ered in the lar ge bar r acks atTanglin ; the Ar t illery is div ided between Fo r t Canning,
and the new bar r acks o n Pu lau Blakang Mat i ; the
i The G. O . C. is s ty led His Excellencv in the St rait s Set t le
ments , as well as the Governo r .
1According t o a re-ar rangement m 1891, these Bat ter ies are
nowcalled Companies.
Tbe Ga r r ison and Def ences . 21
Engineer s are stat ioned on Pulau Br ani, and the Sikhs atSepoy lines near Pear l’s H ill , wher e are theHead Quar t er s ’
Office, and the offices o f the Army Depar tment s . The
whole force is unde r the command o f H . E . Maj o r-Gener alSir Char les War r en , R .E .
, o me B .
The t own and s t rait are defended by eight for t s ; six
Of which , however , are clus tered r o und the whar ves and
coal depot s .
In the hear t O f t he t own , at a height of 156 fee t ,st ands For t Canning, fo rmerly called Government
which is now used as a bar r acks fo r the Gar r iso n Ar t illeryand as the gener al s ignal s tat ion fo r the t own. Fr om th isfor t all salutes ar e fir ed ; t ime-
guns at 5 a m , 12 uo onfiand 9 p .m. , and fir e alarms . Shipping s ignals are giv eno n the flag- s tafi . For t Canning is , however , o f no milit ar vvalue as a defence. Between China Town and TanjongPagar Dock is Fo r t Palmer , on a crag, abou t 120fee t high,over hanging the sea. Fou r miles t o the eas t Of the t own
is Fo r t TanjongKat oug, and about fo ur miles t o thewes t ,commanding the ent r ance t o New Harbour is Fo r t Pass ir
Panjang. The other fo r t s s t and on t he two is lands , PulauBrani and Pu lau Blakang Mat i . On the fo rmer is Fo r t
Teregeh, at the S. E ext remity : on the lat t er , which ismuch the la rger is land , t here are three for t s— For t Serapong, on the highes t po int (301ft . ) t owards the N . E
For t Connaught (or iginal ly Fo r t Blakang Mat i Eas t ) ,named aft e r H . R. H . theDuke o f Connaught , who v is ited
it in 1890 and Fo r t Silo so on the N .W. ext remity Of the
island , Opposit e For t Pas s ir Panjang.: Mos t Of t he for t s
So called because Sir Stamfo rd Rallies and o ther Go verno r s t ill1867 , lived there dur ing their adminis t rat ion .
11p .m. on Sunday s .
1The r ema ins Of t he o r iginal fo r t on the is land—Fo r t Ful lert on- ar e to be seenbehind the Pos t Office, near the newVo lunteerDr ill Hall .
2 2 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
are marked by clumps of the Casuar ina-t ree . Some heavypieces Of ordnance have been mount ed in the differ entfor t s , and more are expected .
A gun-boat o r cru iser from the China Stat ion lies in
the Roads ; and the har bour is well-p r o tected by sub
mar ine mines and t o r pedoes . The main object ion of theCalcut ta au thor it ies in 18 l 9. t o Sir Stamford Raflles
’
set t lement in Singapore, was tha t the harbo u r co uld no t
be pro per ly defended . The object io n has been r emo ved
in recent year s t o a v ery cons iderable ext ent .
The law o f t he Co lony is made o r modified by Ordinances o f the Legislat ive Co uncil , subject t o the app rovalo f the Cr own . Cr iminal cases are t r ied under the IndianPenal Code (sl ight ly modified t o meet local condit ions );and the Civ il Pr ocedur e Code o f the Colony is based on
theEnglish Judicat ur e Act s .
The Co ur t s of Law in the Set t lement s are o f six
kinds — The Supr eme Cou r t , Cour t s Of Reques t s (fo rsums no t exceeding 850) Co ur t s o f two Magis t r at es ;
Cor one r s ’ Cour t s , Magis t r at es’
Cour t s and Jus t ice s of thePeace . The Supr eme Cour t , cons is t ing Of a Chief Jus t iceand thr ee Pu isne Judges , s it s weekly in Singapo r e ; ho ldst ss izes every two months ; and when requ ired act s as a
Cour t o f Appeal and a Vice-Admir al t y Cou r t .
3?
The Municipal Commis s io n o f Singapo re is pa r t ly an
elect ive body , s ome Commis s ioner s being elected by the
rate-paye r s in the difierent wards , and o ther s , with the
Pr esident , appo int ed by H . E. the Go v ernor . The wat er
supply Of the t own is under it s cont r o l also , the up-keep
of r oads and br idges within Municipal limit s . The Muni
24 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
For 1890, the sum der iv ed from these so urces was near lyt h ree millions o f dollar s The t o talr evenue fo r 1890was 7 from all sources , including Land Revenue , St amp Dut ies , Fines , Forfeit ur esand Fees Of Co ur t , &c &c.
CHAPTER III .
GENERAL DESCRIPTION o n THE TOWN AND Env rnons .
PPROACHING Singapore from the wes t ,
t r aveller s find t hemselves in a channelthicklv s t udded with islands , as thev
r each the southern end o f the St rait s o f Malacca .
On the r ight is t o be seen the mou ntaino us gr oup ofis lands called the Kar imons and fur t her on amongs t a
number o f small islands s tands the Raflles Light -house*
which gu ides ships t o the o ld channel o f ent rance t o
Singapo re Harbour .
Sailing ships and occas ionally s teamers. coming sou thward
through the St rai t s o f Malacca make use o f the o ld channel . They
steer from the l’ulau Pisang Light t o theRaffles Light -house, and
then pass bv St . J ohn'
s I s land t o the harbour . The P. O . S.
N . Co .
’
s s teamers and o thers pass between the Sul tan Shoal , marked
by beacons , on the left , and the Ajax Shoal , marked by a light ship
on the r ight , and thence s team int o the New Harbour . I t is ex
pected that a l ight -ho use will sho r t ly be erected on theAjax Shoal .On the left , t here s t retches away t o the hor izon in a
ser ies o f undulat ing hills , the I sland o f Singapo r e , withsome of the mount ains o f Joho r v is ible in the dis tance,
no tably the conical peakcalled Gunong Pulai.
The scenery has a q uiet beau ty that impr es ses ever v
spectat o r ;and as the wat er in t he channel is gener allysmo oth , all ar e able t o enj oy the prospect . Every now
and then the ship s t ar t les a gar-fish that skips
Rafiles Light -house, finished in 18 55 , s tands on Coney I s land,12miles wes t o f Singapo re Town , in Lat . 1° 9 ’
50"N . , and Long
103° 44'50
"
E. , white l ight , fixed . Lens , Diop t r ic of third o rder .
Height of light-house fromhighwater t o cent re
26 Handbook fo Singapo r e.
nimbly over the s ur face of the wat er t o a safe distance .
Occasionally a golden-colou r ed water snake mav be seen
hur rying away fr om the bows . In the ear ly mo rning. o r
afternoon, the sea-eagle may be descr ied at a great heightoverhead , watching fo r it s finny pr ey in the blue wa ter sbelow. At low- t ide vas t shoals o f co ral can be seen in the
neighbourho od of the is lands in the St r ait . If the sun is
sh ining, a cur ious opt ical illus io n s t r ikes the specta t or ,the dis t ant islands seem t o be su spended in the air a few
feet above the sea . This is pr obably due t o the effect o f
the sun’
s ray s on the shallow wat er co ver ing the co ral r eefst hat su r round the is lands .
One can see fr om the s t eamer , as it pas ses the is lands ,small Malay fishing kampongs (Le. v illages) with clumps
o f cocoanu t palms overhanging them, and fishing s t akes
r unning out int o the sea. The method o f fishing is
ingenious . A long line o f s takes , on which a net is hung,
is r un ou t t o sea fo r a few hundred yards , ending in a
clever ly-ar ranged cu l-de-sac. The fish, s t opped in theirprogres s by the long line of s t akes , swim along s ide ofit t ill they find themselves ent rapped in t he cul-dc-sac,
f romwhich they are t ransfer r ed at low t ide int o the fisherman
’
s boat .
As the st eamer appr oaches t he harbour , the is landseen in fron t is Pulau Blakang Mat i on which the new
Ar t illery bar r acks are plainly v is ible at a cons iderabledis t ance. The ent rance t o the New Harbour lies between
Blakang Mat i and the I s land of Singapore)"
and herethe s t eamer pas ses under the guns o f Fo r t Silo so on the
r ight , and Fo r t Pas sir Panjang on the left . Both fo r t s
The ‘Yes tern Harbo ur limit is marked by a white obelisk on
the site o f a r ockcal led Lo t’
s wife, whichwas blown up some t imeago . The obeliskis at Ber layer Po int , and behind it a gallery isbeing ou t in the r ockt o receive some quick-fir ing guns .
Gener al Descr ip t ion of Town and Env ir ons . 2 7
are marked by clumps of the Casuar ina t ree. Immediat elyafter pas s ing t hese, New Harbo u r Dock comes int o s ight ,behind which r ises Mount Faber , o n which there is a
Signal Stat ion. The P. O . S. N . Co .
’
s whar f is thenr eached , oppos ite t o which is the is land o f Pulau Brani ,
wher e a company o f Ro y al Engineer s is s tat io ned , and
wher e ther e are also the la rge t in- smelt ing wo rks o f the
St r ait s Trading Co .
The mail s t eamer s o f the No rddeu t scher Lloyd Co .
and o f the Companie des Messager ies Mar it imes ber th at
the Bo rneo whar f , and o ther s t eamer s fr om t he wes t at
the Tanj ong Pagar whar f ; bo th o f which a re near er t o
t own than the P . O . whar f .
App r o aching Singap o re fr om the eas t , ship s , aftercr o s s ing the Gu lf o f Siam, s ight the Ho r sbu rgh Lighthouse ,
’ which s tands between Cape Romania and the
island o f Bintang. (The. fo rmer disput es with TanjongBulus the hono ur o f being the sou thernmos t po int o f
As ia : the lat ter is a Dutch po sses smn ,on which s t ands the
sea-por t o f l lhio ,— o r Riouw, acco r ding t o the Du tch
spelling— wh ich was intended t o be the chief eni rcp cit fo r
t rade in the A rchipelago . The o pening o f the O ve r landRo u t e and , lat er , of the Suez Canal , and the consequent
discont inuance o f the Sunda St rait as the pas sage f r omEur ope t o China and Japan has p revent ed the hopes o f
i t s fo under s fr om being fulfi lled) .
Aft er rounding Cape Romania the long, low- lving
I s land o f Singapo re comes int o v iew, behind which a re t o
be seen the dis t ant mount ains o f the Peninsula , while thechannel in fr ont is s t udded with many small is lands . As
See no te on p . 11.
2 8 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
the ship pas ses Tanjong Kat ongfi"
a long beach abov ewhich small count ry bungalows peep through gr oves ofcocoanu t palms , the city and r oads tead of Singapor eappear , the lat t er crowded with ships o f all nat ions .
Bukit Timah , the highes t point in the is land, Government
Hill , Fo r t Canning, Mount Faber , and the Cathedral
spir e are the mos t pr ominent landmarks ;and the generaleffect o f the landscape is very pleas ing. St eamer s makingfo r the whar ves pass thr ough the Roads , and give pas sen
ger s the oppo r tunit v of gaining a fair idea o f the s ituat ionand gener al appearance of this p ictu r esque eas t er n t own.
i t i t“oi?
Themain busines s par t o f the t own is compact ly builton a level s t retch o f land between Fo r t Canning and the
sea- shore . Par t o f the plain on which the t own is built
has been r eclaimed from t idal swamps , and par t was o r i
ginally covered bv small hills which have been cu t away ,
and their s it es ar e now occu pied by s t reet s and squares .
Collyer Quay , facing the sea , Bat t ery Road , CommercialSquar e , o r Raffles Place, and the s t reet s leading int o it , formthe nucleu s o f the bus ines s act iv ity of the t own. In this
quar ter ar e all the Banks , the Exchange, the offices o f thepr incipal Eur opean and other merchant s and lawyer s , thePos t Office and the Shipping Office. On the other s ide
o f the Singapor e River , ( the no r th s ide .) s tand the
Government offices , the Supr eme Cour t , the Town Hall ,
The wo rd Tanjong is literally“ land
’
s end ; it is a cont ract iono f Tanah hujong, and means a p romont o ry o r sp i t o f land. Kat ougis tur t le,
”so that Tanjong Katoug means theTur t le Pr omonto ry .
”
I t s long sandy beachand bathing facili t ies make it a favour i te wat ering place for the r es iden ts . A bar o f sand at some dis tance f r om t hesho re p ro tect s bather s f rom the sharks tha t abound in these water s .
A whit e obelisk about the middle o f the beach marks the Eas ternHarbour limit .
Gener al Descr ip t ion of Town and Env i r ons . 29
the chief Hot els , the English Cathedral. and fo r somedis tance along the sea-shor e, there s t retches a well laid o ut
Esplanade and Recr eat ion ground, a favour ite afterno onr eso r t of resident s .
Between Tanjong Pagar and the commercial cent re o f
the t own lies the Chinese quar ter )“ in which are t he
Cent r al Police Stat ion , the Magis t rat es’
Cour t s , and the
Chinese Prot ect orat e . (See Chapt er V. )Between the Esplanade and the Rochere River is the
dis t r ict o f Kampong Glam, inhabited mainlv by Malavs
and Arabs . The chief Eu ropean dwellings are built on
the nor th o f the t own,and ext end fo r sever al miles int o
the count r v . Her e there ar e a number o f small wo odedhil ls , on each of which there are several houses , whichare, by reason of t heir po s it ion, airy and well-dr ained , and
the refor e healthy and comfor table. On one of the highes tof t hese bills sur rounded by tas t eful ly laid-out gr ounds ,s tands Go vernment House , the o fficial r esidence o f the
Governor o f the St r ait s Set t lement s . The roads in t h isdis t r ict are well kept ; they are skir t ed by lo fty t r e es ,which, o ften meet ing overhead , throw a cool and grat efulhade below.
The t own o f Singapo r e has three main ar t er ies o r
thor oughfares , r unning parallel t o the shor e . RobinsonQuay , Collyer Quay , the Esplanade and Beach Road, skir tthe sho r e, cro s s ing the Singapore River by the CavenaghBr idge . Far t her inland , and parallel t o it is the long s t reetknown on one side o f the Singapor e River as South Br idgeRoad , and on the o ther as Nor t h Br idge Road, the t wo
being co nnect ed bv the Elgin Br idge . The t hird is that
The Chinese populat ion is no t confined t o this q uar ter , bu t is
scat tered over thewho le t own . The largest body o f Chinese . however ,
is set t led there. Depot s fo r the accommodat ion of the endless s t reamof Chinese immigrants ar e licensed by Government in this dis t rict .
30 Handbook to Singap o r e.
1
called at differ ent po int s o f it s cour se New Br idge Road ,H ill St reet and Vict or ia St r eet , and is car r ied over t he
Singapore River by Co leman Br idge . Each thor oughfare
is cons iderably over two miles in length ; and the three
form, as it wer e, the framework upon which the t own is
built . At r igh t angles t o these thor oughfar es , four main
r oads r un inland the fir s t o f which , IIavelockRoad— t o
begin fr om the south— skir t s the s o u th bank o f the
Singapor e River fo r the fi r s t mile o r s o o f it s cour se, and
t hence cur ves r ound in the dir ect ion o f Bukit Chermin and
Passir Panjangfi" The second, Rive r Vallev Ro ad , winds
along theno r th side o f the r iver t o Mount Echo andTanglin ;Eur opean r esidences ar e clo sely built on bo th s ides of it
fo r a cons iderable dis tance . The third , which s t ar t ing from
the Esplanade is called Stamford Road, and from For t
Canning onwards is called O rchard Road , is the chief
t hor oughfar e t o the Eur opean dwelling houses in the
Tauglin dist r ict . This is one of the mos t beaut iful r oads
t o be seen anywhere ; in one par t of it s cour se it is s t r aight
fo r near ly a mile ; and one seeing it fo r the fir s t t imecannot fail t o be delight ed with the long v is ta of hight rees with their var iegat ed foliage and co o l shade . I f the
Pigeon-orchid, which gr ows on mos t of the t rees , happenst o be in flower , the pleasur e is enhanced.
The four th road, four teen miles in length , cr osses theisland t o K r anj i, whence the passage t o the Sult anat eo f Joho r is made by boat s . I t passes the fo o t o f the
highes t hill in the island— Bukit Timah (Hill o f Tin, )and is t her efor e called the Bukit Timah Road. Two otherr oads cross the island— Thomson Road, br anching off theBukit Timah Road about 2 miles fr om t own , and r eachingthe Johor St rait at Selitar , and Gay langRoad which crossesthe East ern par t of the island t o Changi .
It is called Alexandra Road after the cur ve.
32 Handbook t o Singap o r e .
t heir bus iest ho ur s are between six and seven in t he mo r
ning, especially in the subu rbs . The v is it or t o Singapor ewill do well t o st r oll r ound some of the nat ive quar t er s
and if he be a cur io-hunt er , he is r ecommended t o inspect
the nat ive shops in High St reet , which is close t o the
H6tel de l ’Eur o pe, and in s t reet s in the neighbou rhood , if
he bear s in mind that the pr ice asked fo r an ar t icle the reis u sually t r eble the amount t hat will u lt imat ely be
accep t edfi"
Singapo re I sland is dr ained by a number o f smalls t reams , dignified by the name o f r iver s .
Flowing int o the Singapo re St rait are1. Jur ong River , 10miles wes t o f the t own ;2. Singapor e River , pass ing thr ough the cent r e of
the t own ;3. The Rocher e , Kallaug and Gay lang River s ,
which meet in a lar ge bas in a t Tanjong Rhu ,
near ly 2 miles t o the eas t o f the t own .
Flowing int o the Jobor St rai t ar e4 . The K r anj i ;5 . The Selit ar ;
6. The Ponggol ;7 . The Ser angoon8 . TheTamp inis
9. The"
Changi.The Kr anj i and Selitar r iver s drain the larges t ext ent
of count ry ; bu t the Singapor e and Rocho r e River s , with
The unwary passenger is considered fair game fo r the nat ivedealer . The p resent wr iter was in a shop one day , p r icing an ar t iclefor which the sel ler demanded $4 . Thinking the p r ice t oo high,
het r ied to beat it down and said that he was no t a passenger but a
resident . 0 no , sah : I know,sah said the nat ive. I f y ou had
been pu senger , I askfif teen do l lah, sah.
”
And he probably wou ldhave got it .
Gener al Descr ip t ion of Town and Env i r ons . 33
large t idal bas ins , are nav igable fo r some dis t ance bvnat ive craft of cons ider able s ize . Cr ocodiles used t o
abound in these r iver s , and ther e are s t ill many , eSpeciallvin the s t reams on the nor th of the is land ; but thev are
ver v shv , and ar e seldom seen .
CHAPTER IV
Fav onnr'r E WALKS AND DRIVES.
HE walks and dr ives about Singapor e have a
charm peculiar ly t heir own . To tho se whoin a few shor t weeks have passed t hrough
many var iet ies of scenery— in par t icular t he sandy was t esthat skir t the Suez Canal and Red Sea, and the bar r en
rocks ofAden " — the soft beauty o f the Singapor e landscapesis at once r efr eshing and delight ful and , as ther e ar e manvv is it or s who have only a few hou r s at t heir dispo sal inpas s ing through , this chap te r is intended t o help them t o
make the bes t use of t heir t ime. When the s t eamer s taysin por t fo r fou r o r fi ve hour s , the following dr ives are
r ecommended, as shewing no t only t he gener al appear anceof the t own bu t also the beau t ies o f the count ry roads .
’
I .—Fr om the Wha r ves to Singap o re Town and thence to
theBo tanical Gar dens , v iii the Esp lanade
an d Or char d Road .
Passenger s land at the P . O . S. N . Co .
’
s Wharf(TelukBlangaht ) , at theBorneoWhar f, o r at the Tanj ongPagar Whar fI , and t o get t o the Gardens mus t dr ive
The Malay names o f the p laces are added in bracket s,fo r the
syces do no t unders tand the Engl ish names . The wo rd Perg i
(pr onounce piggy”
) means dr ive to e.g . p el t” Singap ur a
o r p ery i ka Singap ur a” means dr ive to Singapo r e.
Passenger s s tay ing a fewday s in the island will find the
Malay Pr onouncing Hand-Book (published at the Singapo r e and
St rait s Print ing Ofiice) a very useful code mecum. I t may be hadfrom booksellers in Singapo re and Penang its pr ice is $1. 50.
f Pronounce Tul loh Ebo ny -ah.
I The syces under standBorneoWhar f and TanjongPagarWhar f
Favou r it e Walks and D r ives . 35
through the t own . Ther e is mor e than one r oad t o t ownfrom al l the whar ves , but the bes t is that skir t ing theshor e , because o f the cool br eeze f rom the sea, and alsobecause the r oad leads s t raight t o the bus iness par t of thet own. The syce mus t be ins t r uct ed , if this r ou te be
chosen , t o Jalan tep i lau t‘"( te , t o dr ive by the sea
sho r e) . I t is a well-kep t r oad , laid wit h t ramway lines .
and the sea is kept in s ight mo s t of theway , a dis tance ofthr ee miles , fr om the P . O . Whar f. I t skir t s a number
of small lat er it e hills which are being fast quar r ied awayfo r road-making purposes . Then For t Palmer is passedon the r ight and the Chinese Quar t er on the lef t and the
busines s par t of the t own is ent ered when Robinson Quay isr eached . Collyer Quay is then ent er ed , an imposing ter r aceo f offices with the convexity of the cu rve fr ont ing the sea.
At one end is the TelukAyer Fish Market , and at the o therJohnst on’
s Pier , whence communicat ion is made by boatwit h the shipping in the Roads t ead . The office of theHongkong and Shanghai Banking Cor po rat ion is almostoppos it e the Pier . From Collyer Quay the passengerent er s a t r iangular space at the j unct ion of Collye r Quay ,
Bat t ery Road and Fl int St r eet , hav ing on his r ight theSingapore Club and the Exchange (in one building) ,the General Po s t O ffice and the Shipping Cfiice, behind
which is the new Vo lunteer Dr ill Hall, and the r emainsof For t Fuller t on, the o ldes t of the t own ’
s defences . In
the cent r e of this space is a large fount ain p resent ed to
the Municipality by the late Mr . Tan K im Seng, a wealthyChinese cit izen . To the left Opens Bat t er y Road leadingto Rames Square , in which ar e t he offices of t he o t her
Banks— the New O r iental, the Char t ered Bank o f India,
Aus t ralia and China, and the Char ter ed Me rcant ile Bank
Pronounce J ahlan t ipp y Iowt .
36 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
of India, London and China. (The Telegraph Officeis in Pr ince St reet , which runs fr om Rafiles Squar e t o
Collyer Quay) .Pass ing on, the visitor cros ses the Singapor e River by
the Cavenagh Br idge t o the Esplanade . To the left are
the Government offices and Legislat ive Chamber , theTown Hall and Municipal cflices (dis t inguished by a
monument in fr ont on the t o p o f which is a br onzeelephant , erect ed t o commemorat e the fir st visit o f the
K ing of Siam to Singapore) , and the Supr eme Cour t .
Beyond t hese lies the Esplanade (Padang Becar“) a large
plain, encircled by a well-laid-out car r iage drive . The
Singapor e Cr icket Club, and the Singapore Recr eat ionClub div ide the plain between t hem fo r the purpose o f
cr icket , t ennis , bowls , and o ther athlet ic spor t s , and in thecent re s tands a fine s tatue of Sir T. Stamford Rafiles ,er ected in 188 7 . A large par t of the Esplanade occupies
gr ound r ecent ly r eclaimed fr om the sea ; and it is now a
favour it e aft ernoon r esor t o f the r es ident s . On the land
ward s ide are the Hotel de l’Eur ope (Pnnchans Besar )!and St . Andrew’
s Cathedr al (Gr ej a Besar i ) . BeachRoad goes eas tward by the sea shore t o the dis t r ict o f
Kampong Glam, ending at theBochor e River, but the r oad
now t o be t aken (Stamford Road) t urns inland , and r uns
s t raight t owards Fo r t Canning (Bukit passingon the r ight , fir st theRaffles Ins t itut ion, a schoo l for boy s ,fonnded
g
by Sir St amfo r d Ramo s in the year 1823, andthen the Church o f the Good Shepherd (French Catholic)aft er which it t urns nor thwar ds , and fr om thi s point iscalled O rchar d Road . The Raffles Library and Museum
Pronounce Padang Biss ar (Le. The Large Plain) .1Pr onounce Punch-house Bism r (Le. The Great Ho tel) .1Pr onounce Gr ayj a Bissa r (Le. The Large Church) .Pr onounce Booki t Banday
'r a ( l it . TheHill o f theFlags) .
Favou r i t e Wa lks and D r ives . 37
(Temp a t K itab" ) on the left , is fir s t paswd . I t is wellwor th a v is it , fo r the Library is one of the larges t and mos tcomprehensive in the Eas t , and the Museum, which isbeing daily enr iched by zoological , mineralogical , ethno
logical and archaeological collect ions from the Peninsulaand the Archipelago , pr omises t o be, in t ime , one of thefines t exhibit ions of it s kind in As ia. The Reading RoomandMuseum are open t o the publicdaily (Sundays excepted)from 10am . t o 6 p .m . Ther e is a valuable collect ion o f
O r iental liter atur e , called the Logan Library , access t owhich may be obtained by sp ecial permiss ion fr om the
Secretary .
Almos t oppo s i te the Muse tun is the Ladies'
Lawn
Tennis Club, (Padang K echil)?a p ret t ily laid ou t garden
wher e t ennis is played from p .m. t ill dusk. On the
other s ide o f the road is the Presbyter ian Church (Gr ej aKechil) built in 18 78 ; and a lit t le far ther on the same
s ide , is a small Hindoo temple, used chiefly by theDhobies
(o r washermen) who live in the neighbo u rhood , and who
may be seen at workat any t ime of theday . Two hundredyards fu r ther on the Jewish Cemetery is t o be seen, on the
left , oppos ite Lamber t Bros .
’
Car r iageWo rks and Liverv
Stables . The gat e of the approach t o Government Houseis then passed on the r igh t , beyond which is Koek
’
s
Bazaar , a r ow of nat ive shops on both s ides of the road .
B etween the hour s o f s ix and eight in the morning, thismarket present s a lively scene ; hundreds of Chinese cooksand Asiat icwomen o f many var ious nat ionalit ies come at
that hour t o make their purchases fo r the day .
Beyond the Bazaar , O rchardRoad becomes a s t raigh t ,well-shaded d r ive, leading t o theEuropean r esidences in the
Pronounce T’mp a t K itab ( tie. The Place o f Books) .
1' Pronounce Padang K ite-by (Le. TheLit t lePlain\ .
38 Handbook t o Singapo r e.
Tanglin dis t r ict . On the left , almost hidden by the
t rees is a very large Chinese Bur ial Ground used by the
Teo Chews , i.e. , Chinese hailing f rom Swat ow ; the v is it or
may perhaps ov er take a funeral on it s way thither , wit h
the cu st omary accompaniment s of gongs to s tar t le, and
the scat t er ing of gold and silver pape r t o appease , thedemons which ar e supposed t o be on the watch fo r the
spir it of the deceased. O rchardRoad ends at the ent rance
t o the Military Bar racks in Tanglin and t urning to the
r ight int o Napier Road, the v is it or soon finds himself at
the gate of the Bo t anical Gar dens (Kebnn
These gardens were opened in the year 1873; and
they ar ekep t up by theSt rait s Government . Many var it ies o f
t r op ical t r ees and flower s ar e t o be seen ther e. In one o f the
ponds , a magnificent specimen o f the Victor ia Regia sp r eads
it s br oad leaves over the wat er . Ther e is a large var iet y o f
o rchids and t r op ical ferns in the o rchid houses ; and clo se t o
these is the nucleus of a zoo logical collect ion o f birds , snakes ,
and a few wild animals .
On a hill t o the nor th-west of the Gardens s tandsTyer sall , the Singapor e r esidence o f His Highness theSultan of Joho r .
2.—Fr om the Whar ves to the Imp o unding Reser voir vi a
Singap or e Town.
The Reser voir (K olam Ager t ) fr om which is drawnthe water -supply of the t own , is rat her more t hanfou r miles t o the nor th of the city. The rout e fr omthe Wharves is the same as descr ibed above as far as
the Ladies ’ Lawn Tennis Club, leaving which on the left ,the pas senger dr ives along Selegie Road , wher e ther e is adense populat ion of Eurasians and nat ives , t ill theBochor e
Pr onounce K’boon Boong
-ah ( tie. Garden of Flowers) .
f Pr onouace K olam I re ( it s . Pond of Water) .
40 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
place t o the t own where t iger s have been t raced o r killedin recent year s .
3.— If the pas senger has a very limit ed t ime at his
disposal , he may get a fair impr es sion o f the general
appear ance o f the t own and it s sur r oundings , and also o f
the is lands in the St r ait , by ascending t o the signals tat ion on Mount Faber , which r ises immediat ely behindthe P . O . Co .
’
s Whar f . The ascent has t o be made on
foo t , but the v iew obt ained amply compensat es the labourexpended .
4 .— Fr om the Wha r ves to K r any t v ra Singap or e Town, and
thence to Joho r e Bahr n.
If , however , the t raveller has t en o r t welvehour s t o spar e , he cannot do bet t er t han cr os s the
island t o Kranj i, and thence pas s over t o the kingdomof Johore on the mainland ; fo r he pas ses thr oughthe town o f Singapo re en r oute, and also has the
oppor tunity of seeing t he gener al appearance of thecoffee , gambier and pepper plant at ions , and of the junglein the inter ior of the is land . A car r iage and hor ses fo rt his excur sion can be hired from one of the Livery Stables
(see Chap . The r ou t e t o be fo llowed is thatdescr ibed on p . 39 as far as the Chr ist ian Cemet e ry ;whence inst ead of t urning int o Thompson Road. the
t raveller keeps his cour se along the Bukit Timah Road,on which , seven miles
,
ou t , he passes the bill that givesit s name t o the r oad,
— Bukit Timah o r“ Hill of Tin, the
highes t point in the is land . (Height 519 f t . )The ascent of this hill is made by car r iage o r on foo t .
Ther e is a Government Bungalow on the summit , t o which
r es ident s go occas ionally fo r a change o f air . There are two
Mis s ion Chapels in the Bukit Timah dis t r ict , fo r Chinese
convert s . One belongs t o the English Pr esby ter ian Mis s ion ;
Favour it e Walks and D r i ves . 4 !
t he o ther , the Chapel o f St . J o seph, t o the Fr ench CatholicMis sion . (Mis sions E t r angeres .)
From Bukit Timah t o K r anj i the r oad winds thr oughplantat ions and jungle for seven miles . At the village ofKr anj i the re is a small pier whence Chinese and Malaysampans t ranspor t passenger s acros s the St rait t o Jchor e .
The Johor e St rait (Sila t Terbaa) , varying fr om thr ee
quar ter s o f a mile t o two miles in breadth , thicklywooded on both sides t o the wat er ’s edge , charms thev isit or with beaut ies t hat are peculiar t o land and water
scenery ; the ever changing light and shade thr ow the
landscape int o combinat ions of colour that are as
pleasing as they are varied . Traveller s have compar ed itfavourably with the Rhine scenery, with Loch Lomond ,and with the bes t views on the es t uar ies o f the For th
and the Tay .
Johor e Bahru New Joho re the capital o f thedominions of the Sul t an of Johor and Muar , is a t own
with a populat ion of The chief place o f interes t isthe I s tana, o r palace , which faces the St rait . I t has beent as t efully fu rnished in the Eur opean style by the presentSultan (H . H . Aboo Bakar who is a s taunch ally ofthe Br it ish Gover nment .
i i i
There are a few bungalows at var io us places in theis land , at which residen t s and other s may enjoy a shor tper iod of count ry life ; some are the p r oper ty o f the
Go vernment , one belongs t o the Municipality , and ot her sare let by pr ivat e indiv iduals .
The bungalows let by the Government are1. Changi Bungalow, at the eas t ern ext remity of
the island, 14 miles fr om t own . Ther e is good sea bathingt o be had her e .
2. Bukit Timah Bungalow on the hill of that .nam e .
42 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
3. Selit ar Bungalow, nine miles fr om t own, on the
Thompson Road. Here. there is an excellent fr esh-wat erswimming-bath .
These bungalows are rented (furnished) t o the generalpublic, pr efer ence being given t o Government ser vant s andmilitary officer s , at a monthly rate o f $25 fo r the fi r s t two ,and fo r the thir d . I f t aken fo r les s than a month ,the rat es are per week o r $2 per day fo r Changi and
Bukit Timah , and $5 per week o r $1per day fo r Selit ar .
The Municipal Bungalow is at the ImpoundingReser voir , and may be r en t ed fo r 835 per month.
O ther bungalows , belonging t o p r ivat e indiv iduals , are t obe had on the sea-shor e at Pas s ir Panjang t o the ‘Ves t ,
Tanjong Kat o ug t o the Eas t o f the t own at much thesame rent . At bo th places there is good sea-bat hing.
CHAPTER V.
PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND PLACES o r INTEREST .
BOTAN ICAL GARDENS .
(Malay Name— Kobita Beingah.)
NE o f the chief favour it e reso r t s o f res ident sand v is itor s are these gardens , s ituated aboutthr ee miles from town . They ar e managed
by the Gove rnment Dir ector of Gardens and Fo res t s
(H . N . Ridley , Esq . , as s isted bv a commit t ee oflocal gent lemen. Befor e t hey wer e t aken up by Government , the Gardens wer e main tained by local subscr ipt ions ; and when the idea o f hav ing public Gardens wasfir s t conceived , par t of the s lope of For t Canning Hill wasut ilized fo r the purpose , unt il the gr ound wher e the
Gardens now are was obtained . Go vernment t ook overthe Gardens in December , 18 74 . They occupy a largeextent of gr ound on and ar ound a hill between the Infant ry Bar r acks at Tanglin and Tyer sall , the Singapor er es idence of H . H . the Sultan of Johor e . A gr eat var ietyof t ropical plant s and t rees may be seen in the grounds ;there are several ferner ies and o rchid houses ; and also , onthe shoulder of the bill , a small av iary and monkeyhouse wher e specimens of some of the rarer birds , beas t sand r ept iles of the St r ait s and neighbourhood are on
exhibit ion. (See also p .
The grounds ar e well-laid out , and the beauty o f the
landscape, as well as the interest of thebot an\as .\
44 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
make this one of t he mos t at t ract iv e spot s in Singapor e t oboth r es ident s and vis it or s . Clo se by are theExper iment alFor es t Nu r ser ies , opened in 1884 . between Cluny and
Dalvey Roads .
BOUSTEAD INSTITUTE .
A handsome building, new in pr oces s o f er ect ion at
the corner of AnsonRoad and TanjongPagar Road . I t is
int ended fo r the benefi t o f Seamen . I t is thr ee s to reyshigh ; and it will be fi t t ed wit h bedr ooms , refreshmentr ooms , recr eat ion r ooms o f var io u s kinds and a hall fo rmeet ings . The Ins t itu t ehas been founded by the execut o r so f the late Edwar d Bous t ead , Esq . , who left a large sumof money fo r char itable purposes .
BUKIT TIMAH .
This hill , the highes t po in t in Singapo r e Is land ,
s tands at an elevat ion o f 519 feet above t he sea-level .
Ther e is a Government Bungalow”on the summit , fr om
which a magnificent v iew o f Singapor e , the is lands in theSingapor e St r ait , and the southern par t o f the Malav
Penins ula , can be obtained on a clear day . Ther e is a
go od car r iage r oad al l the way t o the bungalow ; whilethere are shor t cu t s which may be taken by pedes t r ians .
Former ly , the jungle on the hill was infest ed by t iger s ;t r aces of them are occas ionally fo und even now, bu t rarely .
One o r two disused pit s dug by the nat ives t o ent r ap theseanimals may be seen here and ther e upo n the hill . Visi
t or s t o Singapor e, who have abou t s ix hour s t o spar e , willfind themselves amply repaid by an excur s ion t o the t opof Bukit Timah ther e ar e few finer v iews t o be had any
46 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
Catholic) . The Convent was founded in 18 54, it has inconnect ion with it an or phanage and gir ls
’
school , and a
r efuge fo r dis t res sed women, ir r espect ive of race . Bot hscho o l and o r phanage are large and prosper ous ; it issuppor ted by cont r ibu t ions willing ly given by all classes inthe community , and draws a monthly grant of 8100fr omGovernment fo r the o rphanage , in addit ion t o the educa
t ional gr ant given year ly according t o the r epor t of the
Inspect or of Schools . A number of the Sister s ar e em
ployed in s ick-nu r sing at the General Hospital .
Docxs .
1. The Tanj ong Pagar DockComp any have wharves amile-and-a-
quar t er in length , lying t o the sou th -wes t of thecity , with which they ar e connect ed by s t eam t ramways .
The following are the par t icular s of these whar vesLength. Dep th at low water .
West Wharf Over a mile 25 t o 35 feet .
Shee rs do . 340feet 26‘
East do . 500Inside 16
There are two large Grav ing Docks : theVicto r ia Dock,with a length on the blocko f 450feet , breadtho f ent r ance65 feet , and depth of water on Sill at ordinary spr ing
t ides 20feet ; and the Alber t Dock, with a. length on the
blockof 475 feet , br eadth of ent r ance 60feet , and depth o f
wat er on sill at or dinary spr ing t ides 21feet . Ther e arelarge and well-fi t tedmachine shops , &c. , on theWhar f, withall themat er ials fo r the r apid r efi t t ing of ships ther e areext ensive godowns fo r the r ecept ion and s t o rage of cargo
and coal sheds , roo fed with cor r ugated iron , capable ofholding t ons o f coal s tand immediat ely behind
the Whar f. Ships are coal ed by Chinese coolies with anast onishing rapidit y . The Company was inco rporat ed in
Ou t side 25
Publ ic Bu ild ings and Places of Inter es t .
1864 , and since t hen has largely increased the whar f accommodat ion at the por t . An ext ens ion of theWhar f isbeing made at the eas t end.
2. The NewHarbour DockComp any o r iginally s tar tedin1858 , as the Patent Slip and DeckCc. , has two gr av ingdocks , a lar ge wharf , a machine Shep , foundr ies and
godowns fo r cargo and coal. No . 1Dockhas a. lengt h of375 feet , br eadth o f ent r ance 42 feet , and depth of wat eron s ill at o r dinary spr ing t ides 14 t o 15§ feet : the co r responding measur ement s o f No . 2 Dockare 459 feet , 62 feetand 19 t o 20 feet r espect ively. St eam t r amways alsoconnect this Dockwit h the t own .
3. The Singap o re Slipway and Engineer ingComp anyhave two Slipways at TanjongRhu ,
on the NE . Side o f thet own . No . 1, 429 feet long, t akes up ves sels o f 500 t ons ;No . 2, with a length of 200feet , can accommodat e vesselsup t o 50 t ons .
The Docks andWhar ves employ a large amount ofskilled Eu ropean labour .
ESPLANADE .
(Malay Name—Padang Besdr ) .
This is a large plain skir t ing the sea, in the hear t of
the city . About fifteen acr es o f lawn, r ound which runs
a br oad and well -made car r iage dr ive , are railed ofl.
=fo r
purposes o f r ecreat ion, and are div ided between the Singapo r e Cr icket Club and the Singapo r e Recr eat ion Club.
The Singapor e Cr icket Club, which occupies the par tnearest t o the Singapo r e River , has a lar ge and well
appoint ed pav ilion at one end of the Esplanade, while theSingapor e Recr eat ion Club has a smaller , octagonal pavilion at the ot her . In the middle of the plain is a s tatue
o f Sir Stamford Raffles . Cr icket , t ennis , foo tball and.
48 Handbook t o Singapo r e.
bowls ar e played daily on the plain ; and on New Year’
s
Day , the Singapore Cricket Club has a gr eat fes t ival Of
Eur opean and Nat ive spo r t s by sea and land . On the
landward side of the Esplanade s tand the H6tel del’
Eur ope and St . Andr ew’
s Cat hedral ; and beyond the
car r iage dr ive on t he other side, is a s t r ip of green alongthe sea-wall, with a foot -path , which afi o rds a cool andpleasant walk in the ear ly morning and aft ernoon.
Round the plain and along the sea-wall young t r eeshave been planted recent ly , which , in the cour se o f a few
year s , will add great ly t o the beau t v of the scene.
DRILL HALL .
This large and spacio us building des igned byHon . Major McCallum, R .E . . the Colonial Engineer ,and built by Government fo r the Singapor e Volunt eerAr t illery in 1891, s t ands on the s ite Of the o r iginal for ton the is land— For t Fuller t o n— behind the General Po s tOffice and the Shipping O ffice . This hall is the larges t inSingapore (length 150 feet , breadth 52 feet clear space) .
I t is fi t t ed with a gymnas ium fo r the use o f member s ofthe corps . Out side s t ands a seven- inch muzzle- loadinggun, u sed fo r heavy gun dr ill .
THE ExCHANeE AND CHAMBER o r COMMERCE .
The Exchange is a hands ome building close by Johns t on
’
s Pier . It was e rect ed in 18 79. The lower flo or isoccupied by the Chamber o f Commerce , the Exchange,and the Offices Of the Singapo re Insur ance CO . In the
bal l is a fine br onze bu s t o f General Sir Andrewlarke , R .E who was Go verno r o f the St rait s
Set t lement s from 1873t o 18 75 . The upper s to ry is usedby the Singapo re Club, and has large t ifi n, billiar d and
Publ ic Bu ildings and P laces of Inter es t . 49
reading r ooms . At the backof the bu ild ing, over lookingthe sea, t here are spacious and coo l ver andahs .
Fon'r Cmmno .
(Malay Kama—Bakit Bande‘
r a)For t Canning Hill stands behind the t own, the main
appr oach t o it being fr om Orchar d Road . It was or igin
ally called Government Hill , because Sir St amfordBaflles fixed his r esidence t her e , on his ar r ival in the
island. Fo r more than for ty year s his house cont inued
the Government residence . The For t is now used as the
Ar t illeryBarr acks , and on the southern summit of the hill,at a height of 156 feet above the sea level
, st ands a s ignals tat ion , flag s t afi and light , facing the t own and s t rait .
Shipping and fir e signals are shewn on the s tafi , t ime
guns and fire alarms are fir ed fr om the Fort (see p ,
On the slope o f the hill, below the For t t owards the southeas t ar e the O ld Cemetery and the shr ine of I skanderKhan . (Vida inf r a) . A ver y fine view of the t own and
s tr ait is t o be had from the bat t lement s of the For t .
GAOL .
The Civil and Cr iminal Pr isons are at Sepoy Linesabou t two miles from t own, and are enclosed wit hin one
boundary wall. The old gaol u sed t o s tand on the vacantpiece o f gr ound which lies oppos ite t o the Rames Libraryand Museum . The cr iminal pr ison has 954 cells , and
pr isoner s ar e kept on the separ at e s ys t em. The civ ilpr ison has 9 solitary cells , 3condemned cells , 6 as sociat edwards , 6debt or s
’
associat ed sleeping wards , 1female ward,
and 4 female separat e cell s .
The pr isoner s are under the super vis ion of Eur o peanwar de r s , as sist ed by nat ive officer s and Sikh cons tables .
The pr ison hospital contains 58 beds .
50 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
Go vamm au'r Housa .
(Malay Name—Tz‘
ian Gebenor p finya Rdmah.)
On the t op o f what is now called Government Hilland in the midst of a spacious and beau t ifully laid-o utparks t ands Government House, which both for s ituat ionand archit ectur e is perhaps the fines t building of it s kindin the Far East . The s it e and gr ounds cost mor e than
and the co s t of the building it self wasBefore it s er ect ion and occupat ion,
the residence of theGovernor was on Fo rt Canning and aft erwards on LeoniHill inGrangeRoad . Singapor e owes the pr esent Government House t o Gen . Sir Har ry St . George O rd , the fir st
Governor of the Colony aft er it s t r ansference fr om the
Indian Government t o the Crown . His proposals wer e atfir st r eceived with disfavour , the popular impression beingt hat abu ilding of that size and expensewas unnecessary andext ravagant . More r ecent ly, howeve r , it has been foundthat Government House , lar ge as it is , is scarcely largeenough t o meet local r equirement s . The plans fo r the
building wer e drawn up by Major McNai r , R .A . , and the
house was r eady fo r occupat ion in 1869. The architec
t ure is o f a composit e order ; Dor ic and Ionic element sbeing, however , mos t pr ominent . The length o f fr ont ageis 235 feet , and the width of the main bu ilding is 73feet .
In thecent r e, above the ent r ance-hall r ises a. t ower crownedwith a Mansar d roof. A wing at the back r uns at r ightangles t o the main building, over 100feet in lengt h . The
wide verandahs , on both st or eys , give one the impressiont hat the internal accommodat ion of the edifice is lar gert han it r eally is . Ent er ing at the main door , through the
porch , the visit or finds himself in a large marble-paved hall ,opening on the left int o a long dining- r oom, wit h a smallbilliar d-r oom screened ofi at the far end ; and on the left
Publ ic Bu ildings and P laces of Int er es t . 5 :
int o the ball- room, at the far end of which is a fine s tat ueof H .M . the Queen , unveiled in the Jubilee YearIn fr ont of him, ther e is awide s taircase leading t o the re
cep t ion room on the upper floor . The int er ior is t as t efullyfurnished, and the who le bu ilding was fi t ted with the elect r ic light in 1890. The main appr oach t o GovernmentHouse is fr om O rchar d Road
,where , pass ing t hrough
mas sive iron gat es , a car r iage dr ive (former ly calledEdinbu rgh Road) winds up thehill th rough the domain t o
the house. Fr om the t op of the hill t here is an ext ensivev iew of the t own and st r ait , and a lar g e par t of the island .
GOVERNMENT OFFI CES.
(Malay Name—Second Gebenor p unya Ofis .)
These s t and on the nor th bank o f the Singapor er iv er , near Cavenagh Bridge, all included in one largebu ilding. In t his building ar e included the Secret ar iat ,the Audit Office , the Regis t rat ion o f Deeds Office , theLand Office , the Public“f orks and Medical Depar tment s ,the Tr easury and Stamp O ffice, and the Offices of theColonial Engineer , the Official As s ignee , and the Inspec
t or -General of Police. Under the s ame r oo f is the Legislat ive Chamber . The or iginal building was much smallerthan the p resent one, bu t cons iderable addit ions wer emade in 18 79 and 1888 , the whole o f the wing at the rearbeing er ected in the las t -named year .
The Legis lat ive Chamber , in the cent r e o f the building on the upper floor , is a spacious r oom, in the middle o fwhich , enclosed in an i ron r ailing, is the Council table , atwhich the Hon . Legis lato r s s it du r ing t heir deliberat ions .
On the wall , at one end of the hall , hangs a po r t raito f Her Majesty the Queen in her royal r obes and at the
fur ther end of the r oom is a handsomely car ved teak
scr een.
52 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
Ho sPI 'rALs (SeeChap ter
Hor a (See Chapter VII .)
LADIEs’LAWN on DHonx GHAU'r .
(Malay Name—Padang Kechil) .
A small but pr et t ily kept garden , occupying par t ofwhat was or iginally the Dhoby Ghau t , oppo sit e theScotchChurch, in Orchar d Road . The st ream t hat skir t s it s wests ide was usedby the dhobies (washermen) in former t imes .
The garden is now used by theLadies’
LawnTennis Club.
Ther e are nine o r ten t ennis cour t s on t he Lawn ; a smallpav ilion in the cent r e , and the r es t of the plain is occupiedby var iegated t r ees and shr ubs .
MARINE DEPARTMENT AND SHIPPING OEEICE .
(Malay Name .—Shahbundor p zinya Ofis or OficKhldsi) .
The old Shipping Ofiice used t o s tand on the gr oundnow occupied by the r ear wing of theGovernment Ofiicesbu t some year s ago it was r emoved t o mor e commodiouspr emises on the south banko f the Singapor e r iver , div idingwit h the Dr illHall and theGeneral Post Office, the s ite o f
For t Fuller t on. The basement is occupied by the Impor tand Expo r t Ofi ce, and the upper sto rey by the Mas t er
At tendant .
MARHE'r s .
Ther e are five large Market s in Singapor e1. The Town Market , at the wester n end of
Collyer Quay2. The Clyde Ter race Market in Beach Road ;3. The Ell enbor ough Market , near New Br idge
Road
54 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
ment , er ected in 188 7 . Sir Stamford is r epr esent ed in a
standing pos tur e , with folded arms , head slight ly bentand looking seawards . The pedes tal is of gr ey granit e,and bear s his coat of arms .
A monument t o the late Colonel Ronald Macpher
son,R .A . , at one t ime Lieu t enant -Governor and Colonial
Secr etary in the St rait s Set t lement s (ob. s tands in
the Cathedral Compound, facing the sea. I t cons is t s of a
pedestal and decorat ed shaft o f grey and red gr anit e , surmount ed by a Maltese cr oss .
Among the monument s t her e shou ld be included thehandsome fountain pr esent ed t o the t own by the lateMr .
Tan K im Seng, a Chinese gent leman, who in other wayspr oved himself a public benefact or . The occas ion of it ser ect ion was the complet ion of the works by which a goodwat er - supply was br ough t t o the t own . The fount ains tands in Bat t ery Road , Oppos ite the General Pos t Officeand the Exchange .
OLD CEMEr ERx.
The or iginal bur ial-ground o f the fir st resident s inSingapor e is on the slope of For t Canning Hill . I t was
opened in 1822, and consecr at ed by the Bishop of Calcut tain 1834 ; but was disused on the opening of the new
Cemetery in Bukit Timah Road in 1867 . Her e s leep someof the fathers of the Colony , and many old r esident s . Two
Gothic gat e-way s , at the nor th and sout h ends , afi o rd an
ent rance t o the bur ial gr ound wher e heaves the t urf inmany a mouldering heap .
”In spit e of car e, many of the
old t omb s tones and monument s ar e falling t o pieces .
The southern half was allot t ed t o member s of theAnglican communion, the nor thern t o other Chr is t ian denomina tions .
Publ ic Bu ildings and P laces of Inter es t . 55
POLICE COURT AND COURT OF REQUESTS.
The New Police Cour t s— a large and imposings t ructur e— ar e built at the sou th end Of the Hong Lim
Green)“and face South Br idge Road . The bu ilding is Tshaped ; it s archit ectu re is mainly Cor inthian a Mansard
r oof crowns the cent r e . I t was er ected in1884 . Her e sitthe Police Cou r t s and the Cou r t of Reques t s (fo r sums
no t exceeding
CENTRAL POLICE STATION .
(Malay Name—RumahPdsong Bcsdr .)
Opposit e the New Police Cou r t s in South Br idgeRoad . Er ect ed in188 7 . A disas t r ous explo s ion occur redin the Cou r t yard in1891, when a detachment Of police wer eengaged in empty ing Old car t r idges . Several constableswe re killed, and mor e severely injured . The Cent ralStat ion is connect ed by t elephone with al l the t own st at ionsand with some in the count ry dis t r ict s .
GENERAL POST OFFICE .
The General Post Ofi ce, o r iginally a one-s t or eypav ilion ,
built in 18 74 , is now ahandsome two - s tor ey build
Ing, the addit ion being made in 1883. I t s tands be tweenthe Exchange and the Mas t er At tendant ’s Ofi ce, on the
s it e Of Fo r t Fuller t on. The fou r corner s ar e surmount ed
by Mansard r oofs ; and the general s tyle of the buildingand it s ornamentat ion is O f the Co r inthian orde r .
Cal led after Mr . Hong Lim,a Chinese gent leman, who cont r i
bu ted towards its upkeep . The greenwas or iginally ofiered bytheGovernment t o the Chinese populat ion as a r ecreat ion-
ground, oncondit ion that it should be p r oper ly kep t . Had it no t been fo r theliberality ofMr . Hong Lim, this scheme would have fallen through .
56 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
The int e rior consis t s Of a large hall , lighted fromthe r oof, and r ound the hall , below, are the business
count er s and offices , and above , on the second st or ey. a
gallery int o which open other offices .
RACE COURsE .
(Malay Name— PcidangLomba Kdda .)The race-cour se is on a plain t o the eas t Of Govern
ment Hill , and is approached by the Bukit Timah and
Kampong Java Road s . The length Of the cour se is near lya mile. The Singapor e Spor t ing Club hold two racemeet ings annually , in May and Oct ober . The Paddockand Gr and Stands are on the N . W. s ide of the cour se , OfiKampong Java Road . The cour se is also used as a golfinglinks by the Singapor e Golf Club. Ther e u sed t o be a
r ifle range on the cour se , but it was r emoved a few year s
ago t o Bales t ier . (See below) .
RAEELEs InsTITUTION .
(Malay Name— Sko‘
la. Besdr .)
This , the largest educat ional establishment in the
Colony , is in Beach Road, facing the sea. I t was foundedin 1823, by Sir Stamford Rafiles , whose name it bear s , andendowed by the Indian Government with large gr ant s of
land . The land , however , was given back t o the Govern
ment in consider at ion of an annual grant in money .
Rafl es int ended the Inst itu t ion fo r the higher educat ionof As iat ics , bu t his plan was depar ted fr om : it is now an
elementar y English School , with special higher classes fo r
the benefit o f int ending compet itor s fo r the Queen’
s
Scholar ships . (These Scholar ship s are open annually t o
boys from any school in the Co lony ; they are int ended t ohelp promis ing s tudent s t o complet e their educat ion at one
or o ther of the Br it ish Univer sit ies .)
Publ ic Buildings and P laces of Inter es t . 5 7
The school is under the management of a Boardof Trus tees . The Colonial Secr et ary , the Colonial Chaplain and the Pr incipal Civil Medical Officer are ez -ofi ciot r ust ees the r es t are gent lemen appoint ed by the Boardwith the sanct ion Of His Excellency the Governor .
The Pr incipal is R. W. Hullet t , Esq . , M .A .
Included in the bu ilding are the t emporary laborat or ies of the Government Analyst .
A Gir ls ’ School (Malay Name— Sheila. Missy ) wasadded t o the Ins t it u t ion in 1845 . The building is in
Brass Bassa Road, adjoining the pr emises of the Boys ’
School . I t is a boarding school as well as a day school ;and it is managed by a Ladies ’ Commit tee , act ing underthe Board o f Tr ust ees .
RAr ELEs LIBRARY AND MUSEUM .
(Malay Name—RdmahKi tab o r Temp at Bale.)This bu ilding was Opened in the Jubilee year o f
Her Majes t y the Queen I t s tands in OrchardRoad , at the foot Of For t Canning Hill. I t is a long,nar r ow edifice , of composit e archit ectu re , surmount ed bya dome . The o riginal plans , des igned by Hon. MajorMcCallum, R .E . ,
wer e dr awn fo r a bu ilding doublethe size o f the present one, bu t the expenditur e was disallowed by the Colonial Otfice, so half of the pr oposedbu ilding had t o be sacr ificed. The basement is occupiedby the Library , Reading Room, and Ofi ees ; and the
upper floor is devot ed t o the Museum. Par t of the building was r eser ved fo r the Cur at or ’ s quar t er s , bu t owingt o the r apid ext ension of the Museum, t his par t is aboutt o be added t o the public r ooms and Offices .
The Libr ary contains abou t volumes and the
Museum is r ich in zoological and ethnological specimensconnect ed with Malaysia . The Reading r oom is. gypsum
58 Had i e-vi t o Singapo r e.
the pubhc fmm l O u to G l-L I l se Im imfi on enjoysan annual grant “ 60v 53 managed by :
nial Sea etar v is a oj dbCh irm
Rs sn v o n s .
TheHighSer v iceRes er vo ir is on an elevat ion bet
Go vernment and Sophia Hills . There are two cis terns ,
ho lding to get her about gallons , into which
water is fo rced by a s team-
pump at the foo t o f the hill .
Befo re being pumped up t o the cis ter n, thewater .bro ught
in p ipes fr om the Impounding Reser vo ir (aids infr a) ,
pas ses thr ough the large new filter beds in Bukit Timah
Road (opened in The gr ounds r ound t he High
Ser v ice Reservoir are laid o ut as a garden, with flower s ,shrubs and t rees . A number Of garden seat s are p laced
along the foo t -paths , and a very fine v iew , t owards the
eas t and nor t h, is t o be had on a clear day .
The Impounding Reser voir (Malay Name—Kblam
Ayer ) is on the left Of ThomsonRoad four miles fr om t own.
(See page The Municipal ity are at present enlarging it t o near ly double it s or iginal s ize .
RI PLE RANGE , BALEsTI ER .
(Malay Name— Tcmp a t
On the Bales t ier plain, behind the Tan TookSengHospital and Opposite theLeper Ho spital. Ther e ar e two
but t s—range 900 yards . The range is used by the
Singapore Rifle Associat ion ; the Swiss Rifle-Shoot ingClub have a smaller range of their own , fur ther alongBalest ier Road .
Final Ir not sounded.
Publ ic Bu ildings and P laces of In ter es t . 59
SAILORs’ HOME.
(Malay Name—RdmahKhltis i.)
This ins t it ut ion, which is int ended t o supply boardand lodg ing t o seamen On shor e , s tands at the corner o fStamford Road and Nor t h Br idge Road , oppo site St .Andrew’
s Cathedr al . I t was es tablished in 1851. The
charges areFor Oflicer s per diem
Seamen .75
SAILORs’
REST .
A Coffee -Hou se and Reading-Room fo r seamen at
the wes t ern end of South Br idge Road. Evangelist icserv ices ar e held in the upper r oom on Sundays , and occasionally dur ing the week.
ST. AnDREw’
s HousE .
A Boarding-Ho use fo r boys in connect ion with theChurch of England . The pr esent building was er ected in1891: it s tands at the foot Of For t Canning Hill, inArmenian St r eet , ofi Stamford Road.
ST . J o sEPH’
s INSTITUTION ,
Commonly called the Brother s ’ School , was foundedin 1852, by the Fr ench Miss ionar v Society at the ins t iga
t ion Of Father Beu t el . I t is now in a flour ishing s t at e ,t hough fo r five year s (1880-1885) it was suspended owingt o the want of men t o car ry on the work. The buildingwith a small chapel at tached , s tands in Brass Bassa
Road , almos t opposit e the Chu rch of the Good Shepherd .
The system of educat ion in the school is on pa ge“m aker:
60 Handbook t o Singapo r c.
lines , religious ins t ruct ion being given, however , t o the
pupils belonging t o the Roman Catholic faith. A num
per of boys are r eceived as boarder s .
SHRINE or Ia Ds E KHAN .
(Malay Name—E r dmu t I skander Khan.)
This sh rine is on the southern s lope o f For t CanningHill, near the Old Cemetery . Cr oss ing par t of the Old
moat by a wooden br idge, the v is it o r ent er s the sacredplace , and finds himself in a grove Of very old and lofty
t r ees , in the cent r e of which is a s tucco-cover ed t omb,closely r ailed in. A pan o f incense is kept burning at the
foot of it day and night ; the railing and the t rees are
covered with the memor ials and Ofier ings of the devout .
Aft er sunset on Fr iday and Sunday evenings , crowds Of
wor shipper s flockt o this place. The shrine is believe'
d t o bethe r es t ing-place o f the Sult an I skander , one of the her oesof theSej dm t Malaya ,
’ on what autho rity it is hard t o say .
The tomb was discovered by accident aft e r the Br it ishset t lement in the island , when the jungle on Fort Canningwas being cut away . I t is a very holy spot fo r Mabommedans , and v is it s t o it are supposed t o cure diseases . The
shr ine must be visit ed on foot , s ince the re is no car r iageway to the s po t . The bes t rou t e is by a path t hat s tar t sfrom the foot Of the hill behind the Raflles Library andMuseum ; and this pathmay be s t ruckeither fr omOrchard
Road or Coleman St reet .
0 The only En lish t ranslat ion of the Sej dr a t Ma laya knownto thewr iter is Ley en
’s Malay Annal s , nowout of p r int . Iskander
Khan or Iskander Shah is the Eas ternname of Alexander the Great ,and seems t o have been used as a t it le for var ious Mahommedanso ver eigns . The Sul tans of Singapo re always adopted it .
62 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
TOWN HALL .
Between the Government Oflices and the Esplanadestands the Town Hall , a highly ornamental building of
compos it e architectur e . I t is two s t oreys high , and on each
st o rey ther e is a lar ge hall . The lower hall , which can beseat ed t o hold over 300people , is fit ted with a small s t age,and is used fo r theat r ical and other ent er tainment s . The
upper hall , with a small gallery at the far end, is a goodconcer t and ball-room. Round the walls are hung po rt rait s Of some well-known gent lemen connect ed with Singapor e and the St rait s Set t lement s . The following is a lis tOf the pict ur es
Co l. W. J. But t erwor t h , Gov ernor of Singapo r e from1843t o 1855 .
Major -General William O r feur Cavenagh, Governorfrom 1861t o 1867 , paint ed by public subscript ion ,
l 868 .
Thomas Scot t , Esq . (o f Mes s r s . Guthr ie p re
sent ed by M r . Gan Eng Seng .
W. H'
. Read , Esq .,C .M .o .
General Sir Har ry St . Geo rge O rd, fir s t Governor of
the St rai t s Set t lement s , aft e r their t r ansfe r t o the Cr own
(1867Sir Cecil Clement i Smith , p resent ed by
Mr . Cheang Hong Lim, in 1891.
The s ide rooms on bo th floo r s are used as MunicipalOflices du r ing the day . The re are spacious front and s ideve randahs on the upper floor . and a s ide verandah o r
cor r idor on the lower .
TYERSALL .
(Malay Name— RfimahMahar aj a . )
This large and palat ial building is theSingapor e residence of H . H . the Sultan of Jchore. Or iginally a small
Publ ic Bu ildings and P laces of Inter es t . 63
count r y hou se , it has been added t o , o r r at her r ebu ilt ona much larger scale, in the present year . I t s tands on the
t op o f a hill near the gardens , in the middle o f a well-laido u t demesne .
Wnnmr oa’
s Ganns ns .
(Malay Name Whamp oa p ainya Kobda Bduqah. )Fo r many year s the p r ivat e gardens ofMr .Whampoa,
a Chinese gent leman , have beencons ider ed one of the chiefs ight s of Singapor e.
By the cour t esy of the pr opr ie tor the public are fr eelyadmit ted t o the gar dens , which ar e ver y beaut ifully laidout , and are well wor th a v isit . They are in SerangoonRoad (r ight hand side) two miles from t own.
NOTE —TheMalay names of p laces ar e no t given in cases
wher e the Engl ish names ar e usually under s t oodby the syces .
Fo r a lis t o f Malay names o f p laces in common use.
and someMalay phr ases , see Chap . IX .
CHAPTER VI .
PLACES o r Wonsnm AND HOSPITALS.
HE diversity o f races in Singapor e is madeev ident t o the eye by the many buildingsthr oughou t the t own and island devot ed t o
the pu rposes of r eligion. A list o f these follows , wit hbr ief descript ions of the pr incipal ones .
1. THE CHURCH o r ENGLAND .
St . Andr ew’
s Cathedr al s tands near the Esplanade.
The pr esent bu ilding, er ect ed by conv ict labour , on a site
consecrat ed in 1838 , wher e o ld St . Andrew’
s Church s t oodfr om 1837 t o 1856, was opened in 1862, and const itu ted
the Cathedral Church o f the diocese in 18 70. The dioceseunder t he pr esent Bishop , the Right Rev . George F. Ho se,
D .D .—includes Singapo re , Sar awak and Labnan. The
Cathedral is an imposing Got hic bu ilding surmount ed bya fine spir e ; it s length , including t he chancel is 250feet .the height o f the nave is 79 feet and o f the spir e 204 feet .
The main-door is under the spir e at the wes t ern end o f
the Church , and over it is a s t ained glass window r ept esent ing the four evangelis t s . Close t o the main-doors tands a marble font o f simple and chas t e des ign. A few
mu ral t ablet s and memor ial br asses adorn t he walls o f
the Church . The chancel is light ed by four s tained-
glas swindows cover ed with flor al designs . A fine peal o f bellswas present ed by the heir s of the lat e Captain I . S. M .
Fraser , in 1889. In the Cathedral compound,which is tast efully laid o u t as a gar den and ador ned witht rees and shrubs , stands a monument t o Colonel Ro naldMacp ber son, a n. (see p . who des igned the building.
Places of Wo r ship and Hosp itals . 65
Hour s Of Ser vice on Sundays a .m. , a.m.
and p .m. Daily Ser v ice at 5 p .m .
Sit t ings in the Cathedral are fr ee at the ear lymorning se rvice , and at all other services after the ent r anceOf the Clergy . The Cathedr al is open daily from 10a.m.
t o p .m.
St . Andr ew’
s Miss ion Chapel , on the slope OfFor t Canning Hill , near the junct ion Of Stamford Roadand O rchar d Road. Ser v ices are conducted here in
Eng lish, Malay , Tamil and Chinese . Morning Pr ayeris r ead daily at a.m . Ther e is a small MissionChapel also at Jur ong.
The Chu rch Of England is the Es tablished Church Of
the Colony a sum Of mor e than per annum is
paid ou t of the Colonial r evenues t owar ds it s supp or t fi"
2. THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF ENGLAND .
The Pr esbyt erian Church‘
(commonly called “ the
Sco tch Chu rch” ) is in O rchard Road, Oppo sit e the Ladies’
Lawn Tennis Club. The congregat ion was o rganised in
18 59, and the p resent Church , a plain bu ilding wi th a
deco r at ed porch and belfry , was Opened in 18 78 . It is
under the ecclesias t ical jur isdict ion Of the Pr esbyt er y Of
London (Nor th) . Hour s Of Ser vice on Sunday
a.m . and p .m. Weekly Service z—V’Vednesday s at
p .m.
Se rvices aft er the Presby t er ian form ar e conduct edalso in the Reading Rooms Of Tanjong Pagar and New
Harbou r Docks at 9 am. and10a .m. r espect ively .
Baba Mission Chapel , Pr insep St reet . This is the
head-quar t er s Of the English P resbyt er ian Mission t o the
This sum includes the grant s fo r Penang and Malacca, as well
as for Singapore.
66 Handooole t o Singap o r e.
Chinese , which has s t at ions at Bukit Timah, Serangoon,
&c. , on the is land , and also at Johor Bahr u and Muar
in the Peninsu la.
3. THE METHODIST EPrsCOPAL CHURCH .
This is a small Church, in connect ion wit h the
Methodist Episcopal Miss ion (Amer ican) , built abou t fiveyear s ago . The Mission has a large and flour ishing schoolat t ached— the Anglo-Chinese School. Both Church and
School are in Coleman St r ee t , at the foot Of For t CanningHill . Hour s Of Ser vice on Sunday , in the Chu rch, 7 A .M .
and 5 P .M . Week-night serv ices on Tuesday , Thur sdayand Fr iday at P .M .
4 . ROMAN CATHOLIC .
The maj o r ity Of the Chr is t ian popu lat ion Of Singa
por e profes s the Roman Catholic faith. The Bishopr icof the Diocese O f Malacca,
which dates fr om the mis s ion
ary jour ney Of St . Francis Xav ier in the l 6th century , is at
pr esent held by the Right Rev . Edward Casuis t , D .D . The
Cat hedr al Church Of the Good Shepherd is inBrass Bas saRoad . The foundat ion- s t one was laid in 1843, and the
Church Opened fo r Divine Ser v ice in 1847 . The bu ilding iscr uciform, surmount ed by a spire 161fee t high . Over thehigh altar s tands an image Of the Good Shepherd , with a
lamb on his shoulder , and on either side , in separ at e niches ,
images Of SS. Peter and Paul . In the east ern t r ansep tis an altar t o the B. V. Mary , on the left Of which is a
piece Of s tat uary r ep resent ing Our Lady Of Sor r ows , holding the dead Chr is t in her arms . A s tat ue Of St . Francis
Xav ier in his pont ifical r obes is on the other s ide. An
al tar t o St . Joseph , with the s t atue Of the Sacr ed Hear t onthe left , is in the wes t ern t r ansept . The walls Of the
P laces of Wo r ship and H osp it als . 67
Church are adorned by four t een paint ings r epr esent ingscenes from Our Lord’
s Pas sion. O ver the door in theeastern t ransept is a large paint ing Of the mar t vrdom Of
St . Sebast ian . The Church is seat ed fo r per sons .
Ther e are also the Chu rch Of SS. Pet er and Paul ,Queen St r eet , and the Chu rch o f Ou r Lady Of Lourdes ,Ophir Ro ad, the lat t er being used by the Tamil Mis sion.
There ar e two Miss ion Chapels—St . Joseph’ s Churchat Bukit Timah , and St . Mary ’ s Church at Serangoon.
All the for ego ing are suppor t ed by the Fr ench Miss ion,
the Society fo r the Pr opagat ion Of the Faith (Par is) .
The P r ocur e des Mis sions E t r anger es is at the
junct ion Of River Valley Road and Oxley Road.
The Por t uguese Catholics own the jur isdict ion Of the
Bishop Of Macao , and wor ship in the Church Of St . Joseph ,
Vict or ia St r eet , which is seat ed fo r abou t 600per sons .
5 . ARMENIAN .
The Church Of St . Grego ry , H ill St reet , is similar in
gener al ext ernal appear ance t o the Church Of the GOOd
Shepherd , and is the Oldes t eccles ias t ical building in
Singapor e . I t was er ect ed in1835 . Hou r s Of Service on
Sunday— 8 t o 10e.m . Daily Se rvices at 6a.m. and 5 p .m.
6. MISCELLANEOUS.
The Chinese Go spel House, Nor th Br idge Road.
Bethesda Fr ee Meet ing House , Bras s Bassa Road .
The Chr is t ian Ins t it u t e ,Wat er loo St reet .
The Sailor s ’ Res t , Sou th Br idge Road .
The Milit ary Chapel at Tanglin is u sed by different
denominat ions at difi erent hour s .
JEWISH .
Ther e is a Jewish Synagogu e inWater loo Street .
68 Handbook t o Singapo r e.
MAHOMMEDAN .
Ther e are in all twenty-t hr ee mosques in the islandOf Singapor e . The two bes t known in t own are those in
Nor th Br idge Ro ad (KampongGlam dist r ict )and in Sout hBr idge Road , between Tanjong Pagar and the cent r e ofthe t own . The Malays are all Mahommedan ; they wer econver t ed t O I slam by Ar ab influences abou t the 12th
o r 13th cent ury Of the Ch r is t ian era . Mo s t Of the Indiansin Singapor e profess the Mus sulman faith .
INDIAN AND CHINESE TEMPLES.
These are very numer ous , and scat t er ed about thet own and island everywher e the mos t numer ous being,
Of cour se , the Chinese . They are easily dist inguished bytheir archit ectur e f rom the mosques , which are sever elyplain in s t ruct ur e , and fr om one anothe r ; the peculiar it iesOf I nd ian and Chinese archit ectur e need no descr ipt iont o enable the v is it or t o dis t inguish them. Thebes t knownOf the Indian t emples are the SO cal led Chit ty t emple
“
in Tank Road, and the large t emple in South Br idge
Road , near themosque alluded t o in the above paragr aph .
HOSPITALS.
1. TheGeneralHosp it al?is a large and airy buildingat Sepoy Lines , t wo miles from the cent r e of the t own .
He re or iginally s tood the Sepoy Bar racks , wher e t r oops
SO called, because the Indian Chit t ies money lenders , )
wo rship there. Eachcas t s o f M ians has a temple o f its own and
it seems that there is a temple for every t rade or occupat ion in thet own .
f Malay N time—Rumah Or ang Saki t .
70 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
4 . The Tan Tock Seng o r Pauper Hospital , the
larges t Hospital in the Colony , is s it uat ed in SerangoonRoad , thr ee miles from t own. Founded by the lat e Mr .
Tan TookSeng, a weal thy Chinese gent leman , in 1844, itwas added to in 1854 , by his son M r . Tan K im Ching, thelat e Siamese Consu l in Singapor e , who died in the pr esentyear , and in 188 7 by subscrip t ions fr om the Chinese community . The Hospit al has r oom fo r mo re than 600
pat ient s at one t ime . Ther e ar e 17 wards in all ; twelveOf a lar ge and five Of moderat e s ize. The building, whichhas a very pleasing appear ance externally s t ands in
gr ounds Of abou t 18 acres in ext ent . pat ient s wer et reated in 1890, Of whom we re discharged , cured o r
r elieved, and 948 died.
5 . The Pr ison Hospital . See p . 49.
6. The Leper Ho spit al is on Balest ier Plain, behind
the Tan TockSeng Hospital.7 . The Mat ernityHospital and Ou t Door Dispensar y
is inVicto r ia St r eet , near StamfordRoad, about a quar t erOf a mile from the Cathedr al .
8 . The Quar ant ine Hospital is in St . John’
s I slandin the Singapor e St r ait , at the Quarant ine Stat ion.
The Government Grant s t o hospit als in Singapor e ,amount ed in 1890 t o exclusive Of Medical
Oflicer s’
salar ies .
CHAPTER VII .
THE POPULATION o r SINGAPORE .
N 1819, when Sir Stamfor d Rames landed. the
populat ion Of the island was e s t imat ed as under200. The foundat ion Of a Br it ish t rading
set t lement at t racted many immigrant s both fromChina and the Archipelago , so t hat by 1822, the numberOf inhabitant s was reckoned at From that t imethe populat ion has s teadily r isen t ill
,according t o the
las t census the gr and t otal Of has beenr eached .
‘ Thepopulat ion is very mixed few nat ions andlanguages are unr epr esent ed . The de tails Of the las tcensus ar e as fo l lows — Eur opean and Amer ican r esident s
Euras ians , Chinese, Malays and
other nat ives Of the Archipelagod' Nat ives Of
India and Burmah , other nat ionali t ies (Arabs ,Armenians , Per s ians , Egyp t ians , Singhalese , Siamese ,Anamese, Japanese , Jews and Negr oes) , I t will
thus be seen that the Chinese number 66 per cent . Of thewhole popu lat ion ; bu t Of the over are
St rait s born (Babes) . About a third Of the Chinese areHOk-kiens
The lingua f r anca Of the St rait s Set t lement s is Malay
(see Chap . XV.) which is the language generally used
in commerce, and between As iat ics Of difi erent races . I t
0 In 1826, the populat ionwas est imated at in 1831, atand 1840, at and in 1881at
These include Achinese, Boyanese, Bugis, Dyaks , Javanese,JawiPekkans, andManilamen. (See p .
72 Handbook t o Singapo r e.
is no t uncommon t o hear two Chinaman, who Speak
difierent dialect s Of Chinese , conver sing in Malay .
TheMalays , though no t the abo r igines Of the Penin
sula, were the dominant r ace when the Eur opeans fir s t
came on the scene . Mr . Alf r ed Russel Wal lace thusdescr ibes the phys ical, mental and mor al charact er is t ics
o f this int er es t ing people . The colour is a light
r eddish br own, with mor e o r less Of an Olive t inge , no tvarying in any impor tant degr ee over an ext ent Of count ryas lar ge as all Southern Eu r ope . The hair is equallycons tant , being invar iably black and s t r aight , and Of ar ather coar se t extu r e , so t hat any lighter t int , o r anywav e o r cur l in it , is almost cer t ain proof Of the admixt ur eOf some foreign blood . The face is near ly des t it ut e Of
beard , and the breas t and limbs are fr ee fr om hair . The
s tat ure is t olerably equal , and is always cons iderablybelow that Of the average Eur opean ; the body is r obus t ,the br east well-developed, the feet small , thick and
Sho r t , the hands small and r ather delicat e, the faceis a lit t le br oad, and inclined t o be flat ; the for ehead is
rather r ounded, the br ows low, the eyes black and ve rys ligh t ly Oblique the nose is r ather small , no t pr ominent ,bu t s t r aight and well-shaped, the apex a li t t le r ounded,the nos t r ils br oad and slight ly exposed the cheek-bonesar e r ather pr ominent , the mou th large , the l ips br oad and
well-cu t , bu t no t pr ot ruding, the chin r ound and wellformed .
In this descr ipt ion ther e seems lit t le t o Object t oon the scor e Of beauty, and yet , on the whole , theMalaysare cer t ainly no t handsome. In you th , however , t hey are
Oft en very good-looking, and many Of the boy s and gir lsup t o twelve o r fifteen year s Of age are very pleas ing, andsome have count enances which are in their way almos t
character the Malay is impas
Tbe P op ula t ion of Singap o r e. 73
s ive . He exhibit s a r eser ve , diffidence and even bashfulness , which is in some degr ee at t ract ive , and leads theObser ver t o think that the fer ocious and blood-thir stycharacter imput ed t o the race mus t be gr os sly exaggerat ed.
He is no t demons t rat ive . His feelings Of surpr ise , admirat ion, o r fear are never openly manifes t ed , and are probablyno t st r ongly felt . He is s low and deliberat e in speech ,and circuit ous in “
int r oducing the subj ect he has comeexpressly t o These ar e the main feat ur es of hismoral nat ur e , and exhibit t hemselves in every act ion Ofhis life
The higher classes Of the Malays are exceedinglypolit e, and have all the quiet ease and dignity Of t he
best -bred Eur opeans . Yet this is compat ible with a
r eckless cr uelty and cont empt Of human life , which is thedarkside Of their char acter sr I t is no t t o be wonder edat
, ther efor e , that differ ent per sons give t otally oppos ite
account s O f them— one praising them for t heir soberness ,civility , and good nature anothe r abus ing them for their
deceit , t reachery and cruelty . The int ellect Of the Malay race seems rather deficient . They areincapable Of anything beyond the simples t combinat ionsOf ideas , and have lit t le taste o r energy fo r the acquirement Of knowledge.1 Their civilizat ion, such as it is , doesno t seem t o be indigenous , as it is ent ir ely confined t othose nat ions who have been conver ted t o theMahomme
dan o r Br ahminical religions .
”
Nothing need be added t o t his descr ipt ion by Mr .
Wallace, except t hat Of all the As iat ics in the St rait s the
This last i s a character ist ic Of most Asiat ics .
1I t need hardly be said that where Br it ish influence 18 supremethese
.qualit ies are rep ressed, and will p robably die o ut fr om want of
exercise.
I This is p robably one r eason why the Malay literature is
rather than or iginal . (See Chap .131
74 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
Malay s are the laziest . The religion Of theMalays 1n theSt r ait s Set t lement s and in the Peninsula i s Mahommedan .
The Brahminical Malays , r efer red t o above, are found in
the islands Of Bali and Lombok t o t he south-eas t Of Java,and also in the hill-count ry Of Java.
In Singapor e there are r epr esentat ives Of at leas tseven Malay t ribes—Achinese , from the nor th-wes t Of
Sumat ra , Boyanese , from Bawean , a small island nor th ofJava Bugis fr om the Celebes Dyaks , the savage t r ibe O fBorneo ; Javanese , Jawi Pekkans , o r Jawi Peranakkans , amixed nat ive race, belonging t o the Set t lement } and
Manilamen fr om thePhilippines . TheMalays in Singapo re
are lar gely emp loyed in fishing : many t ake ser v ice ascoachmen , gr ooms , gar dener s and police . The fishingpopu lat ion live in at tap houses built on piles on the sea
shor e between the high and low wat er mark; and thosefo r whom dwellings are no t pr ov ided in connect ion with
t heir work, live in similar houses built inland.
Chinese charact er is t ics are t oo well-known t o needdescr ipt ion here . In Singapore t hey form by far the
lar gest par t o f the indust r ial populat ion, they supply thelabour on the plantat ions , at the docks and wharves ; theya re br icklayer s , carpent e r s , boatmen , r icksha coolies ,market -gardene rs , tailor s , shoe-maker s , baker s , &c. , &c.
Ther e are thousands Of Chinese shops thr oughou t the t own ,
lar ge and small , st or ed wit h goods fr om all par t s Of the
wor ld. Almos t all the domes t ic ser vant s are Chinese; so
aremany Of the clerks employed in the banks , Offices , and
st or es : and ther e is a considerable number Of pr osper ous
and wealthy Chinese merchant s who can hold their own
with the Eur opean firms . Of the different Chinese races
Born in Singapore, not necessar ily Malay s. Mo thers frequent ly
Tbe Populat ion of Singapo r e. 75
ther e are r epr esentat ives O f at least five in SingaporeHok-kiens (the most numer ous) ; Hy lams , Cant onese o r
Macaos ( these two , especially the former , are mos t lydomes t ic ser vant s ) ; TeO Chews and Kehsfi" The peculiar it ies Of Chinese archit ectur e and house decor at ion maybe seen in all par t s Of the t own .
The var ious Indian r aces are very var iously employedfr om the Chit ty , o r money- lender , t o the hack-
ghar ry syce,the dhobi (o r washerman) and the coolie . Many Indiansar e employed as messenger s in the offices and Shops ;some ent er domes t ic ser v ice ; while other s pu r sue var iousindus t r ies . The Armenians , Par sees , Ar abs and Jewsare mainly t r ader s .
The diver sity Of r aces , pur suit s , languages , cus t oms
and dress in Singapor e is a source Of never failing int erestt o the obser ver . The var iety Of the wor ld comp ressedinto a few s t reet s before his eyes .
The HOk-kiens come fr om Amoy , the Teo Chews from the
Swatow dist r ict , and the Kehs from the Hakka count ry ; while theBy laws come from the island Of Hainan.
CHAPTER VIII .
CLUBS, SOCI ETI ES, BANKS, CONSULATES, HOTELS,SHOPS, &C .
CLUBS
Mar ine Club Bat te ry Road.
MasonicClub Coleman St r ee t .Tanglin Club Steven’
s Road— [containingaBall-r oom, Theat r e ,Billiar d- room and Bowling Alleys] .
Teu tonia Club (or Ger
man Club) Sco t t ’s Road.
Singa por e Club (see unde r Exchange , p .
LITERARY AND SCI ENTIFIC SOCIETIES
Anglo-Chinese Literar yAssociat ion Coleman St r eet (M .
Chapel).German Reading Club.
Royal As iat icSociety (St rait s Branch) .
Singapor e Debat ing Society .
St rait s Medical Associat ion .
POLITICAL
Imper ial Federat ion League .
Strai ts Associat ion (Singapor e Branch) .
78 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
SPORTING AND ATHLETIC— con td.
St rait s Chinese Recrea
t ion Club Hong Lim Green, New
Br idgeRoad ( seep . 55 No tc)
Tanjong Pagar Football As sociat ion (Chrnese).
MASONI CDist r ict Gr and Lodge of the Eas t ern Archipelago .
Lodge Z et land in the Eas t , NO . 508 .
Lodge St . George , NO . 1152.
Dalhousie Royal Arch Chapt er , NO . 508 .
Rose Cr O ixChapt er , 188 (Mount Calvary in the Eas t ,
NO .
Dunlop MasonicBenevolent Society .
AdullamConclave ,NO .17 (O rder Of theSecr et Monit or ).Singapor e Emulat ion Lodge of Ins t r uct ion , NO . 508
St ar Of the Eas t Pr ecept o ry and Pr ior y , NO . 8 5 .
Eduljee Jamsetjee MarkMas t er ’ s Lodge .
Be tween 18 75 and 18 79, MasonicMeet ings wer e heldin a house in Beach Road . In the lat t er year , the
MASONI C HALL (Coleman St reet , at the Foot o f For tCanning) was er ect ed. I t was t hen a bu il-l ing o f one
s t or ey ; bu t in 188 7 , another s t or ey was added , whichcontains a fine hall .
MISCELLANEOUSAssociat ion Of Engineer s .
Mas ter s’
and Mates’
As sociat ion, S.S.
Pilot Club, Tanjong Pagar .
St . John’
s Ambulance As sociat ion .
Singapor e Amateur Phot ogr aphicSociety , 53, H illSociety fo r the P revent ion Of Cr uelty t o Animals .
s s
Banks and Consula tes . 79
The following is a lis t Of the pr incipal Shops andOffices which visit or s t o Singapor e may find it necessaryt o v isit .
BANKSChar t er ed Bank Of India, Au st ralia and China,
*
Rafl es Place .
Char t er ed Mercant ile Bank Of India, London and
China, 27, Raflies Place .
Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Cor po rat ionxr
Collyer Quay .
New Or iental BankCorporat ion , Raffles Place .
CONSULATESAus t ro-HungaryBelgiumBrazilChinaDenmark
FranceGermanyJapanItalyNet her landsPor tugalRussia
Siam
Spain 93, Neil Road .
Sweden and Norway Collyer Quay.
Unit ed Bat tery Road.
[N .B.— The Consulat es hav e the flags Of the nat ions
t hey r epr esent flying above their Offices] .
Char tered Bank,” Mercant ile Bank,
” Hongkong Bank,and Or iental Bank
”
(or BankLamak) are the names t o be used indirect ing nat ive syces .
1» The H . and S. B. Co r po r at ion are building new o ffices at thecorner Of Bat tery Road and Co llyer Quay , opposite the Exchange .
Bat t ery Road.
1, Boat Quay .
28 , Malacca St r eet .H ill St r eet .
4 , Cecil St r eet .
124 , River Valley Road .
Bat tery Road .
21, Sophia Road .
River Valley Road .
Bat t e ry Road.
River Valley Road.
1, Cecil St r eet .
80 Handbook to Singap o r e.
Ho r n s
AdelphiAlbion HotelBeach Hotel
Cent ralHot el de l ’Eur opeHot el de la PaixRaffles Hotel
St r ait s Hot elTanj ong Kat ong Hotel
Union Hot elVict or iaHo t el
LIVERY STABLES —See p . 82.
POST OFFI CE —See p . 55 .
TELEGRAPH OFFICE , Pr ince St r eet , between Raffles Placeand Collyer Quay .
TIFFIN AND BILLIARD Ro oms
Emmer son’
sTifiinandBil
liar d Rooms Near Cavenagh Br idge .
Rafi es Tifiin and BilliardRooms Raffles Place .
GENERAL S'r onns
Ann LockJoseph Bas t iani
GeokTeat Co .
Kat z Br o t her sJohn Lit t le Co .
In direct ing the syce, it is generally enough t o say—Pergi
(here inser t name of the firm) p unya godown.
1, Coleman St r eet .
59, Hill St r eet .
4 . Beach Road .
1, Stamford Road.
Esplanade .
Co leman St r eet .
2, Beach Road .
2, Stamford Road.
Tanj ong Kat ong .
Nor t h Bridge Road .
135 , Vict or ia St reet .
13, Bat t ery Ro ad.
5 , High St reet .
11Bat t ery Road .
K ling St r eet .
Raffles Place.
CHAPTER IX .
RATES CF HIRE FOR PRIVATE AND HACKNEY CARRIACES,WITH TABLES o r DISTANCES.
RIVATE Car r iages may he hir ed from the
following Livery StablesF. Clarke Co . , Hill St r eet .
A . Holley (Lamber t Br other s), O rchar d Road.
The St rait s Hor se Repos it ory and Livery Stables
(H . Abrams) , corner o f Nor t h Br idge and Brass Bassa
Roads .
The char ge fo r a car r iage and pair is 85 per day fo r a
carr iage wit h one hor se $3 per day ; ther e being an ext rachar ge , in bot h cases , if the car r iage is used aft er 7 p .m.
Fo r mor e than one day the charges are as followsCar r iage and Car r iage and
pair . one hor se.
Onemonth o r more , per dayHalf month , per day
One week (7 days) , per daySaddle hor ses can be hir ed at $2 per day .
[N B—These charges are app r oximate ]
Hackney Car r iages may be hired at the followingrat es (2nd clas s car r iages)
8 c.
Fo r any dis tance no t exceeding half-a-mile 0
For any dis tance , exceeding half-a-mile bu tno t exceeding a mile 0 20
Fo r every addit ional mile o r par t of a mile 0 10
For 3rd class car riages , the rate is 5 cent s less . Everyghar ry has i ts class clear ly marked on the door s .
Ra tes of H ir e f o r Ca r r iages . 83
ADDITIONAL FARESIf the car r iage is discharged at a dis tancefr om the Cent ral Police Stat ion exceeding 2 miles , but no t exceeding 3, t heremust be paid an addit ional fare of 0 10
If it is discharged at a distance exceeding3 miles , bu t no t exceeding 4 , the addit ional far e is 0 20
If the car r iage is used between the hour sof 8 p .m. and 5 a.m. , half the above faresare charged in addit ion.
TIME FARESAny hir er shall be at liber t y t o engage acar r iage fo r awhole day , and t o r equir ethe dr iv er t o dr ive any distance no t ex
ceeding 10 miles t o any place o r placeswithin a radius of 4 miles from the
Cent ral Police St at ion, paying fo r the
Same 1 25 ‘
No dr iver Shall be r equir ed t o dr ive a
gr eat er dis tance than 10 miles in any
one day , o r t o r emain engaged for mor ethan 8 hour s at a t ime ; and no dr iverShall be ent it led t o claim as payment fo rany dis tance dr iven o r any t ime dur ingwhich he may be detained in one day
more t han 1 50“
Fo r every hour o r par t of an hour dur ingwhich any car r iage may be detainedbeyond the fir st half hour of det ent ion,
an addit ional charge is made of 0 10
i For 3rd class carr iages, 25 cent s less.
Handbook t o Singap o r e.
The far e fo r p nr ickshas is 3 cent s per half-mile fo rone passenger fo r a dis tance no t exceeding 5 miles . At
night (9 p .m . t o 5 a .m .) an ext r a cent per half-mile maybe charged . A j inr ickshamay beh ired fo r one day no t
mor e than 8 hour s , and cover ing a dis tance of no t mor ethan 10 miles ) fo r the maximum char ge o f 80 cent s ,
including charges fo r det ent ion . An ext ra charge ofhalf the far e is made when t her e are two passenger s .
Vis it or s t o Singapor e are warned agains t the ext o r
t ionate charges made by t he ghar r y -syces . The abovet ables give the legal far es . When a dispu t e ar ises , theorder t o dr ive t o the Police Stat ion (Pergi ka r umah
p asong“) will br ing the syce t o reason, if his charges ar e
exorbit ant . Ano ther t r icko f ghar ry- syces is t o dr ive t ot heir des t inat ion by a cir r u it o us r ou te, so as t o be able t odemand legally mor e than their proper far e . The following tables o f dis tances ar e appended t o enable s t ranger sin Singapore t o es t imat e the legal fa1e payables?
TABLES O F DI STANCES.
N .B.
— The dis t ances in these t ables are r eckonedfr om the General Pos t Office , in the hear t o f the t own ,
near which are Johns t on’
s P ier , the Exchange, the
Singapor e Club, the Volunt eer Dr ill Hall and the Mas t er
At t endant ’s Office. Themile-s tones on the r oads mark t hedis t ance fr om St . Andr ew’
s Cat hedral .I .—NOT EKCEEDINC HALF A MI LE .
BANKSChar tered Bank o f India, Aus t ralia and China,
Raffles Place .
Char t er ed Mercant ile Bank of India, London and
China, Raffles Place .
Pr onounce P iggy ka r aamahp ahsong .
11 When asked the amount of their fare Syces generally answerTuan (o r M om) p uny a s uka
,i .e. , what Master (or Madam) pleases
M more than the legal fare should be given.
86 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
DISTANCEs .- NOT ExCEEDINC HALF-A-MILE .
—Continued.
Telegr aph Ofi ce Pr ince St r eet .
Town Hall Sou t h end Of Esplanade.Town Market Collyer Quay .
IL ExCEEDINC HALF-A-MILE , BUT NOT EKCEEDINC
ONE MILE .
Chinese Pr o tect orate Sou th Br idge Road .
CHURCHESCathedral Church of the
Good Shepherd Brass Bassa Road.
Metho d i s t -E p i s co p a lChurch Coleman St reet .
Pr esbyter ian Church Orchar d Road.
St . Andr ew’
s MissionChapel Stamfor d Road.
St . Gr egory’
s Church(Armenian) Hill St reet .
Convent Of the Holy InfantJesus Nor th Bridge Road.
Ellenbor ough Market Near New Br idge Road .
HOTELSBeach Ho t elCent r alRamesSt rait s
Ladies Lawn Tennis Club
LIvEBr STABLESH . Abram’
s StablesF. Clarke CO .
Mat ernity Hospital
Rafl es Libr ary and
Rafl es Ins t itut ionRaifles Gir ls ’ Schoo lSt . Joseph’s Ins t it ut ion
Br o ther s’
School”
) Brass Bassa Road.
Beach Road.
Stamford Road.
Beach Road .
Stamford Road.
Orchar dRoad .
Br ass Bassa Road .
Hill St r eet .
Vict or ia St r eet .
Orchar d Road.
Beach Road.
Brass Bassa Road .
Table of Di stances . 8 7
III .—OvER ONE MILE .
N .B.—To find the dis t ance be tween any of the
whar ves and any of the following places , add t o the
figur es Opposite the name of the place the distance betweenthe Post Office and the par t icular wharf ; except wher ethe name is marked with an as t er isk which signifiesthat the place lies either between the wharves and the
t own , o r in a differ ent dir ect ion.
Bar racks , For t Canning (Ar t illery )DO . Tanglin (Infant ry)
‘Borneo Whar f (French and GermanMail St eamer s )
Bot anical Gar densBukit Timah (Police Stat ion)DO . (Summit and Bungalow)
Cemet ery (Chr ist ian), Bukit TimahRoad
Changhi BungalowClyde Ter race Market
‘ Cr iminal Pr isonFilt e r Beds , Bukit Timah RoadFor t Canning—Bar r acksFr ench Consulat e, River Valley RoadGardens (Botanical)DO . (Whampoa
’s)
Gas Works , BochoreGeneral Hospital, Sepoy LinesGerman (Teut onia) Club, Scot t
’
s RoadGolf Links (Race Cour se)Government HouseImpounding Reservoir , Thomson RoadI talian Consulate, River Valley Road
88 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
TABLE OF DISTANCES- OvER ONE MILE— Cont inued.
Mls . Fur .
Japanese Consulate , 21, Sophia Road 1 5
K r anj i Police Stat ion and Pier (fo r
Johor )Livery Stables— Lamber t Brother s ’
Lunat icAsylum*‘Mount Faber*New Harbou r DockOrchard Road Market
Police Stat ionPauper Hospital (Tan Tock Scug
’
s )
Se rangoon Road*P. O . Whar f o r TelukBlangah*Pear l’s Hill (Army Head Quar t er s
Cfiice)*Po r tuguese Consulat e , 93, Neil Road*Pr ison (Cr iminal) Sepoy LinesRace Cour se, Kampong Java Ro adRifle Range , Balest ier , SerangoonRoad
Rocho r eMarket
Selit ar , Police St at ion and BungalowSepoy Lines
Spanish Consu lat e , 93, Neil RoadTanglin Bar r acks (Infant r y)Do . Club, St even
’
s RoadTanjongKat ong—Hot el andBungalowTanjong Pagar Docks and
Tan TockSeng (Pauper ) HospitalTeu t onia (German) Club, Scot t
’
s RoadTyer sall (E .H . Su ltan of Jobor ), NapierRoad
bVater -works— Impounding Reservoir ,Thomson Road
Handbook t o Singap o r e.
For t Canning
Gas Works
General Hospital
German Club
Government House
Government Oflices
Hongkong and ShanghaiBankingCorpor at ion
Hot el de la PaixHot el de l ’Eur opeImpounding Reser voir
K ranj l
Ladies Lawn Tennis Club
Livery Stables
Lunat icAsylumMagist rat es
’
and PoliceCour t s
MarketMas t er At tendant ’s Oflice,
MasonicHallMat ernity Hospit al
Methodist E p i s co p a l
p unya
Church Gr ej a dekat RumahHantu .
Mount Faber Bukit Bander a , Teluk
Blangah.
Municipal Oflices Ofie Chukei
Town Hall .
Her e inser t the name of the p ropriet or .
P intu
Bukit Bander a o r Bukit
Tuan Bonham.
RumahAp i . Temp at Min
yahGas .
Hospital o r Rumah Or angSakit , Sep oy Lines .
K ongsee Orang Jerman .
Gebenor p anya Rumah.
Second Gebenor p unya
Ofis .
Hongkong Bank.
(English Name .)Punchaus Besar .
K o lam Ayer Besar .
K r anyz.
Padang K echil .
Tuan
Temp a t K uda .
Rumah Or ang Gila .
P o lis .
Pasar .
Shahbunder p unya Ofia o r
Ofis Khluai .
RumahHantu .
K omp ani p anya Tefmp atObat .
{Ma lay Names of P laces . 9 !
NewHarbour Dock (English Name) o r Pulau
Hantu .
New Oriental BankingCorporat ion Or iental Bank o r Bank
Lamah.
Orchar d Road Jalan Becar .
Pauper Hospital RumahMiskin.
Pear l’s Hill (Head Quart er s ’ Oflice)
P. O . Whar f
Police Stat ionPolice Stat ion (Cent ral)
Post OmoePr esbyt er ian ChurchRace Cour seRaffles Gir ls ’ SchoolRaflles HOtel
Rafi es Inst itut ion (Boys’
School) Skola. Besar .
Raffles Library and
Museum
Reser voir s (High Level)Rifle Range (Balest ier )St . Andr ew’
s CathedralSt . Andrew’
s Mission
Chapel Gr ej a Besar p unyaMiss ionSt . Gr egory
’
s C h u r ch
(Armenian) OrangArmenisp unyaGr ej aSt . Joseph’
s Ins t itu t ionBr others ’ Skola Fr anchis Jaa tcm .
Bukit K omshar iat .
(English Name) o r Téluk
Blangah.
Rumah Pasong.
Rumah PasongBesar ,
Polis Lama .
(English Name .)Grej a. Kechil.
Temp at LombakK uda.
Skola Missy .
Punchaus Bahr u .
Temp et (o r Rumah) K itab
(o r Buk) or Tengoh
Gamber .
K olam Ayer .
TembakSaser .
Gr ej a Besar .
92 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
Sailor s ’ Home RumahKhla s i.
Sailor s ’ Res t (at ) K r eta Ayer .
Selitar Bungalow K omp ani p uuya Bungalow,
Selitar .
Sepoy Lines (English Name) .
Singapor e Club Do .
St rait s H6t el DO .
Supr eme Cour t Cou r t Besa r .
Tanglin Tanglin.
Tanjong Pagar Tanj ong Paga r .
Telegr aph Cflice Telegraph .
Town Hall (English Name) .NOTE — TheMalay vowels are p ronounced as in I talian (a 1111
e rig i ee o 011. u 00 a n ow. ) ‘Vith regard t o con
sonant s g is alway s hard j and air. are p r onounced as in
Engl ish. Final ng has a slight ly nasal sound ; 3 is pronounced
st rongly ;bu t never like the English 2 . Final 1: is no t sounded .
Theword kechil l it t le”
) is p ronounced kite/1g in Singapo re.
The following words and phr ases may be fo unduseful
Dr ive t o Pergi in
Go o n. Dr ive on Jalan.
Stop Berhent i. 1'
Turn (Tur n theCar r iage) P us ing (Fus ing kr eta) .
Harness t he Hor se Pakei Kuda .
Unharnes s the Ho r se Buka K uda .
Get r eady the Car r iage Pasang K réia .
Light the lamps PasangPel ita (o rLamp o) .
What is your far e E“ Berap a Sewa
Too much Banyak chakup .
Dr ive t o A . B. Co . Fer gi ka A . B. cfi Co .
p unya G’edong (o r Godown)
Pronounce Piggy .
f Pronounce B r eut i .
I The Por tuguese wo rd Car r etu .
94 Handbook t o Singapo r e.
For ty , fifty , &c. Amp at p uloh. lima
p u loh, «kc.
Hundr ed Rains .
100, 200, 300, &c. Sa’
r atns , dua r ains , tiga
r atus , «kc.
Tuj ohrains sembilanpulohlimit .
Vis it or s will do well t o buy the Malay Pr onouncingHand which cont ains mos t Of the phr ases in
common use ; thev will find it ext r emely usefu l dur ingt heir s t av in por t .
Published at“ The Singapo r e and St rait s Pr int ing O ffice,
Robinson St reet .
CHAFTER X .
STEAM COMMUN ICAT ION BETWEEN SINGAPORE AND
OTHER PORTS.
E pos it ion of Singapor e , on the Great MailRou t e from Eur ope t o the Far Eas t , is a
favou r able one fo r r apid and dir ect commu
nicat ion with al l par t s o f thewor ld . It s Situat ion amongs tthe hundr eds of islands in the Malay Archipelago makesit an impor tant cent re fr om which a large flee t o f locals t eamer s sails in every dir ect ion.
The mail s teamer s of the Peninsular and Or ientalSt eam Nav igat ion Co . , going eas t and wes t , t ouch at
Singapor e for tnight ly , as also do the mail st eamer s ofthe Compagnie des Mes sager ies Mar it imes and the ar ri
vals of the s t eamer s are so ar r anged t hat mails fr omEur ope , and mails from Amer ica, Japan and China, r eachSingapor e weekly . In addit ion t o these , mails arebr ought .once a month each wav , by s t eamer s of the Norddeut scherLloyd Co .
Thr ee t ables are given below as a guide t o st eamshipcommunicat ion between Singapore and other por t s
Table I . is a lis t of the pr incipal s teamship lines , wit hthe names o f the local agent s ; and a let t er of the alphabetat tached fo r use in Table II I .
Table II . is a lis t of agent s fo r var ious local st eamer s .
A small le t t er is at t ached t o these , also fo r use in
Table III .
Table III . is a list of po r t s , following each of whichare let ter s r efer r ing to Tables I . and II .
Lis t of P o r t s , &'e. 99
TABLE III .
LIST O F PORTS, WITH REFERENCES To STEAMSHIP LINESAND AGENTS.
The capital let t er s following the names o f po r t s r efer
t o Table I . the small let t e r s t o Table II .
1. AUSTRALIA— (via Co lombo )—Q.
O ther r out es—C . F . R . X . Y .
CHINA—H ongkong—A . B. H . I . K . M. N . 0. Q . T. Z .
Shanghai—H . K . N . Q . Z .
Amo'y'—L. O .
3. JAPAN—G. K . Q. T. Z .
4 . INDIA—Calcut ta—A . C . F . K . Q .
Bo mbay—B. M. Q .
Madr as—C . K . Q .
5 . BURMAH—Rangoon and Mou lmein—C .
6. CEYLON—Co lombo—B . H . K .
°N . 0 . Q .
7 . ADEN— K . N . Q .
8 . NETHERLANDS INDIAJava—Batav ia—G. J . K . n .
Sour abaya—G. p .
Semar ang—G. J . p .
Cher ibon—J . n .
Sumat r a— Acheen—J .
Deli— J . O . c.
Bencoolen—J .
Palembang—J . g. h.
Padang— J .
Du tchBo r neo—Bandjermass in—J . m. p .
Pont ianak—U . b.
Celebes—Macas sar— J . O . p
Malaccas—J . O . p .
Smaller is lands and po r t s z—Billit on—U . b.
Bawean— J . m . p .
Rhio—J .1’
The usual r oute t o Amoy and Swat ow is fi rst Hongkong, andthence by local s teamer s .
f Daily serv ice of small Chinese s t eamers .
l o o Handbook to Singap o r e.
TABLE III .
—LIST O F PORTS, doc—continued.
9. PH ILIPPINES—Mani la—O . V .
I lo I lo—O .
MALAY PENINSULA (WEST COAST)Malacca
Szmgei Uj ong (Por t Dickson)Selango r (Klang)Lower Per ak(TelukAnson)Per ak" (Po r t Weld)— C.
Penang—A . B. C. I . M. 0. Q .
Mino r Po r t s—Linggi—U . O .
Muar— p .
MALAY PENINSULA (EAST COAST )Pahang
—a. f . p .
Kuala Pahang
K uantan
Peka'
n—a .
Tr ingganu— l .
SIAM— Bangkok—O . c. jFRENCH COCHIN CH INA— Sm
’
gon—K . 0.
NORTH BORNEOSandakan—O . p .
Sar awak(Kuching )—g .
Kudat
Br unei 0.
Labuan
NO RTH AMERICAVancouver (Br it ish Co lmnbia) —D.
San Fr ancisco—P .
New York—W.
SUEZ CANALSuez—K. Q .
I smai lia—Q.
Por t Said—H. K . Q . T .
Usual r oute r ia Penang.
CHAPTER XI .
CURRENCY, WEIGHTS, MEASURES, TIME , &C .
CURRENCY.
N Order by the Queen in Council , dat ed 2l stOct ober , 1890, made the silver Mexicandollar o f the s tandar d weigh t and millesi
mal finenes s the s tandard coin of the St rait s Set t lement s .
The mil les imal finenes s o f the Mexican do llar is 9027 ;it s standard weigh t gr ains (o r 27070grammes )and it s minimum weight 4135 63 grains (o r 267 99
grammes)"
The coinage of the Colony cons is t s o f four silver andthr ee copper pieces ; the s ilver coins being— the halfdollar (50cent s) , and pieces o f 20, 10, and 5 cent s re
spect ively in value. The thr ee Copper co ins are one-cent ,half-cent , and quar t er -cent pieces .
The St rait s s ilve r coinage is legal t ender up t o $2 ;
the copper coinage up t o 31. Unt il recent ly t here was in
the Colony a large quant ity of copper coin in circulat ion
impor t ed fr om neighbour ing Stat es—cg , from Sarawak,
Br it ish Nor th Borneo , &c, bu t by an Ordinance o f the
Legislat ive Council the impo r t at ion, pos sess ion, and circu
lat ion o f these coins were pr ohibit ed .
TheBanks issue a paper cur r ency of 5 10 20 25
50 and 100-dollar notes .
The dollar s circulat ing in the St raits consis t chiefly of the
Mexicans (of 4175 grains, r oughly ) and the Japanese Yen (of 416
grains) ; though quite r‘
ecent ly the lat ter has become somewhatscarce here, owing to an increased abso rp t ion of the coin b Japan .
The Amer ican t rade dollar , theHongkong do llar , and theol Caro lusor Pillar dollar , are al so occasionally met with. The first of these
mad ly commands a slight premium.
Weight s and Measu r es . 103
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.
Avoirdup o is Weight .1Kat i (1lb. 4 o z .)1Pikull Bhara
l Koyan
Op ium is weight by fract ions o f the Tahil ; thus
10Hoon l Chee
10 Chce 1Tahil
Goldsmith’
s Weight .12 Saga 1Maiam
16 Maiam l Bungkal (832 gr s . Tr oy )12 Bungkal l Kat i.
Eight maiam ar e equal t o the weight o f one Mexican
do l lar . Go ld dus t is sold by the bungkal ; go ld thr ead by
the kat i. —Swet tenham.
Measure Capacity .
1Chupak (11Gantang1Para1Film]1Koyan
Dr y Measure.
1Gantang (160 oz . o r
1Naleh 1gallon)1Kuncha1Koyan
104 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
MEASURES—cont inued .
Long Meas ur e.
12 Inchi (inches ) 1Kaki (fo o t )6 Kaki 1Depa (fathom)
The Englishmile is called by the Malay s Bat u. St one. )
Squar e Meas ur e.
4 (Square) Dcpa 1Jemba (144 sq . ft )
100 Jemba 1Penju r u4 Penjuru I Belong (abo ut 1} acre)
Clo th Measur e.
2 Jengkal 1Has ta2 Has ta l Ela (1yar d)2 Ela l Depa
20 Kay u l i .e 20 p ieces ) ar e called 1Kodi.
TIME .
The English method of comput ing t ime is adopt ed in
Singapor e, though the Mahommedans r eckon the day of24 hou r s fr om sunset t o s unset , and keep t o t heir sys t emof lunar months .
The days o f the weekare as followsEnglish. Colloquial Mulayfi
"
Sunday Har i Minggo j,‘
Monday Har i Satu
Tuesday Har i Dua
Wednesday Har i Tiga
Thur sday Har i Ampat
Har i Lima
Sat ur day Har i Anam
Used in Singapore commonly .
1' TheMalay s havebo rrowed theArabicnames for the day s of theweek Yaum-ul-ahad , Yaum-ul—i thnaia, ate.
1:Ming 0 is a cor rup t ion of the Po r tuguese word Domingo .
5 TheMahommedan Sabbath—fr om6 p .m. on Thur sday to 6 p .m.
on Fr iday .
Ma lagsrHar i Ahad
Har i I thnain
Har i Thalat-ha
Har i Rabu
Har i Khamis
Har i Jemaat §I-Iar i Sabtu
CHAPTER XII .
IMPORTS, ExPORr s , SHIPPING, &c. , SINGAPORE .
INGAPORE being no t a terminus , bu t an
entr epét of t rade , it is t o be expectedthat the impor t s will exceed the expor t s t o
a eonsiderable ext ent . In former year s the r eceiving ofcargo fo r r e-shipment t o ot her po r t s was one of the chiefpar t s of local commerce ;bu t , t hough the business done int his t ime is s t ill very large , it is s lowly but sur ely con
t ract ing, owing t o the rapid mul t iplicat ion of thr oughs teamer s , which t ouch , but do no t br eakbulkat the por t .This fact leads some t o believ e that the t own has seen it sbes t days ; but other s , looking fur ther ahead , see, in the
mineral and o ther r esources of the Malay Peninsula ,
r eason t o believe in a gr eat futur e fo r the capital of
the St r ait s Set t lement s . As a coaling s tat ion, Singapor e
mus t alwav s hold a posit ion of the fir s t impor tance in theFar Eas t , and the rapid incr ease o f s t eamships on the
Eas t ern seas will enhance it s impor tance .
The impor t s fo r the year 1890, wer e valued at
o r near ly sevent een and a half millionsst er ling ; and the expo r t s at o r near lyfour t een and a half millions st er ling.
The Appendix t o the St r ait s Set t lements Blue Bookfo r 1890, gives the following par t icular s of Impor t s and
Expor t sImp o r t s .
From the United K ingdomthe Br it ish Co loniesFo r eign
Penang and Malacca
To tal
3
3
Exp o r t s , St p z'
ng, 67 a I o 7
Exp or ts .
To the Unit ed K ingdomthe Br it ish
Fo reign Count riesPenang and Malacca
To t al 3
The larges t impor t s come fr om the Dutch Indies ,Siam (and it s dependencies) , Japan and China ; the
larges t expo r t s go t o the Unit ed K ingdon,Siam (and it s
dependencies) , Amer ica , Hongkong, France and India.
The chief expo r t s fr om Singapore o f lat e year s have been
gambier , t in, sago , pepper , gu t t a, rat tans , t apioca and
copr a .
Fr om the Appendix t o the Blue Book fo r 1890, are
also t aken the following par t icular s as t o Shipping at the
po r t of Singapor e du r ing that year .
Entrances .
Br it ish Ship s witha gross t onnage o f t ons .
Fo r eign Ship s
Nat ive Cr af t
Total Ves sels
Clear ances .
Br it ishShip s with a gr os s tonnage o f t ons .
For eign Ship sNat ive Cr aft
Total Vessels
Exclus ive o f Nat ive Craft , the figur es areNo . o f Vessels . Gr o s s Tonnage.
2
CHAPTER XIII .
THE FAUNA , FLORA , AND GEOLOGY o r SINGAPORE .
I .-TII E FAUNA o r SINGAPO RE ISLAND.
(Abr idged f r om no tes kindly supp l ied by WILLIAMDAVISON , ESQ.
, Cu ra to r of the Rafi es Libr ar y and
Museum, Singap or e.)
AMMALIA .— Singapor e I s land is no t r ich
in gener a, s pecies , o r indiv iduals o f
Mammalia . The r uminant s have
been almos t ext e rminat ed within the las t few year s; and itmay be safely asser ted t hat some species of the smaller
Carnivora, not ed as occur r ing by Dr . Cant or , are no t now
found wild on the is land . Ther e are now in Singapor e 23
genera of mammals , compr is ing 40species
Quadr umana (monkey s ) 2 genera , 3species , 1.—Somno
p ithecus obscur usfi" fo und in the jungle, but r ar e ; 2.—Macacus
cynomo lgus (M . carbonar ius ), the fishing monkey , commonon wooded banks o f s t r eams and in mangr ove swamp s
3.—Macacus aur eas , the r us t y macaque, in the jungle and
p lantat ionsd'
The Bats have no t y et been s ufficient ly worked ou t ; t wo
f r ui t -eat ing, and about 15 insect iv o rous species ar e r eco r ded .
The bes t known o f the fo rmer is the so -called Fly ing Fox”
(Pter op us edulis ); the aver age adult size being 12 inches long,
The Lo t ong of theMalay s .
1' The Pig-tailed monkey (Macaw : nemes t r inus—the Br iskof the Malay s) is often impo r ted by the nat ives, and t rained to climbcocoa-nut palms to gather the nut s . I t is common in the Peninsula.
I 10 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
AvEs .
— The syst emat icworking ou t of the bir ds o f
Singapor e will , doubt less , add considerably t o the numberof species known t o occur . At pr esent 219 species are
r eco rded— permanent r es ident s , r egular migr ant s , o r
mer e s t r aggler s .
Rap tor es .-Neither diurnal no r noct urnal birds of p rey
ar e ext ens ively r ep r esented in the is land . The commones t ar ethe whit e-bellied sea-eagle
" (Halicet us leucogas ter ) and the
mar oon-kit e (Halias tur indus ). Less common is the black
legged falconet (M icr ohier aa f r ingillar ius ). Inhabit ing the
woods , the Besr a spar r ow-hawk (Accip iter vi rgatus), the
changeablehawk-eagle (Sp izaetus l imnaet us ), the ser pent -eagle
(Sp i lor n is Ru therf or di ), the O sp r ey (Pandion ha liaetus).
Hume’
s honey -buzzar d (Per nis tweeddalii ) has s o far been
found in Singapor e only . Two specimens havebeen cap t ur ed ,
one of which is now in the Br it ishMuseum. Of the owls the
commones t ar e Scop e lemp igi , S. malayanus , S.. r ufescens , andNinoa scutata , the Rames hawk-owl .
Swallows . swif t s and swift let s (Co llocaliaf ) ar e commonon the is land the cr es t ed t r ee-swif t (Macr op ter ya lo’ngi
p ennis) has been known t o occur .
The Malay night-jar (Cap r imulgus macr u ras ) is ver y
common , and it s monot onous cr y may be hear d fr om dusk t odawn , especial ly on moon-light night s . O ther night -jar soccur , but r arely . Ther e ar e 5 species o f bee-eat er s , the
commones t being Mer op s sumat ranus , M . p hi lip p inus and
M . swinhoei . K ing-fisher s abound in al l par t s o f the island
12 species ar e r ecorded—4 o f s t o rk-billed king-fisher s (Polar
gOpsis ), 4 o f the family H alcyon , 2 o f the thr ee-t oed kingfisher s (Ceya) and 2 small blue ones (Alcedo ). Four var iet ies
o f br oad-bill have been co llected on the is land, but they seem
t o have disappear ed alt ogether in‘
r ecent t imes .I
See p . 26.
1' These are the birds that build edible nes t s . The nest of onespecies , C
'. l inchi , is no t sufiicient ly pure t o be of any economic value.
I Two species o f ho rnbills (Bur-er as r hinocer o ides andHy d r ocin a
convexa ) are no ted as occur r ing in the islend. the former by Biard ,the lat ter br Wallace. I have no t met with them—W. D .
Fauna of Singapo r e Is land . I I I
The long tailed par roquet (Palazorm'
s longicauda) occur s
occas ionally in small flocks , p r obably as par t ialmigr ant s fr om
the mainland . The Malayan par r o t (Psi t tacus incer tus ) isoccas ionally seen , mo s t p r obably a migr ant . The Malayan
lo r iquet (Lor icu lus ga lgu lus) is no t Imcommon abo ut p lanta
t ions and other suitable localit iesfi" 14 species of woodpecker s ar e r eco rded, 6 species o f barbet s , and 6 species
o f t r ue cuckoo s . To these mus t be added a few aber r ant
member s o f the Cuculidoe, no t par as it ical . bu t building their
own nes t s and r ear ing their own y oung. This familyincludes the so -called cr ow-pheasant s o r co uco ls , o f which
four species ar e known t o occur in the is land. The s un
bir ds ar e ver y numer ous , bo th in species and individuals .
Some o f them r ival in the br illiancy o f their p lumage the
humming-birds o f the NewWo r ld. The flower -pecker s ar e a
gr oup of small bir ds , many o f them br illiant ly co lour ed, the
p lumage hav ing gener ally a metallic glo s s ; two species ar e
found in Singap o r e. Fo ur t r ue shr ikes occu r they ar e al l
migr at o r y? the mo s t common being the br own shr ike (Lanius
and the thickbilled-shr ikes (L. magnir os t r is ). Two
species of cucko o -shr ikes ar e r eco r ded ; and four species of
minivet s , which though common on the Penins ula. ar e r ar e on
the is land .
The cr ow-billed dr ongo (Dicr ur us annectans ) occur s ,
and also the beaut iful r acket -t ailed dr ongo (Dissemur ur us
p ar adiseas ) is s t ill no t uncommon in the bet t er wo oded
p o r t ions of the is land. I t has a wonder ful var iety o f no tes ,
and has the power o f imit at ing the notes of o ther bir ds and
animal s . The br onzed dr ongo (Chap tia censa) is no t numer
ous , but a few occur in the jungle. The allied par adise
flycatcher (Terp sip hone afinis ) is fo und on the is land, but
r ar ely .
A favour ite cage bird with theMalays .
1The Eas tern shr ikes do no t . like the European var iet ies , sto re
their prey by impaling it on tho rns This may be due t o the p lent i
ful supply of food.
I L. Sup er ei l iosus is the adult of L. Cr is tatus .
I I 2 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
The abo ve no t es on the bir ds ar e neces sar ily very br ief
and incomp let e, a mer e catalogue o f the names o f the great
var iet y o f Singap o r e bir ds would occupy mo r e space than is
her e av ailable .
REPTILIA .— Snakes .
— The following is a t able of theSnakes o f Singapor e)
" The non-venomous snakes includeall the bur r owing, fr esh-wat er , and many of the gr oundand t ree snakes , Though a lar ge number o f venomou ssnakes occur in the is land there is no authent ic r ecor d ofany one hav ing been bit t en with fatal r esult s .
Nou Venomous Snakes .
Name. Aver age Length.
The Py thon (Py thon
r et icu la tusfi 12 t o 14 feet . No t common .
Cur t us’
Py thon (Py thoncur tus) Rar e.
Swamp Snake (Dip sas den.
d r op hi la ) Common .
Rat Snake (P tyas ho r r os ) No t common .
Gr een Gr as s Snake
(Tragop s p r us iana) 7 t o .
‘l Common .
Painted Tr ee Snake
(Dendr op his p icta ) Na t uncommon .
Br onzed Tr ee Snake (D .
caudo tineata) Rar e .
Spo t t ed Tr ee Snake (Chr ysop laea or na ta ) No t uncommon .
Var iable Gr ound Snake
(Lycodon auctions):‘
l t o 4 Ver y rar e.
Pond Snake (Tr op idonot us
quincunciatus )§ No t common .
A full and detailed account o f these is t o be found in theSingap o r e and St r ai ts D ir ect o ry ,
also fr om the pen Of Mr . Davison.
f O ften, but er r oneously , cal led the Boa-cons t r icto r . The Malavname is Ula r Sawah. A specimen 22 feet long is in the Museum.
I This snake and the p receding are very var iable species ; 6well-defined var iet ies of the fo rmer and 7 o f the lat ter are known.
To this lis t should be added t he Simo tes oct o linea t as, a
specimen of ahich the writer killed near Gar dens .
I I4 Handhookt o Singapor e.
The Cr ocodile" Cr ocodi lus p or osu s) is common in
the cr eeks and mangr o ve swamp s . Many other lizar ds
occur , among which may be no ted the lar ge water-liz ar d?
(Hydr osaur us sa lvat o r ) at t aining a length o f 6 o r 7 feet ,the gr een l izar d (Br onchocela cr is tatella ), the two flying
lizar ds , Dr aco vo lans and D . blanf or di . Skinks (Scincidw)ar e ver y numer ous . Gecko s ar e al so numer ous , and several
s pecies occur those inhabit ing bu ildings ar e of small
s ize, but some found in t he fo r est (as G. s tento r and G.
guttatus) at t ain a cons ider able s ize. The edible t ur t le
(Chelonia v ir gata) is abundant ; the gr eat leathery t ur t le
(Dermat ochelys co r iacea) has been obt ained : the hawk’
s
bill t ur t le (Car et ta squamata), which y ields the bes t
t o r t o ise-shell , is also found. River t ur t le and land t or to isesoccur , but do no t appear t o be numerous .
IN sEc'r s .— Insect s o f all kinds abound in Singapor e .
Abou t 200 species of But t erflies occur , the mos t con
sp icuous being the O rnithopt er as . The Moths ar emor enumer ous s t ill .
Four species o f t rue s ilk wo rm mo ths occur ; the
mo st common is the lar ge At tacus at las , the expanse of
the wing in the female being inches o r mor e . Wasp s
and ho rnet s ar e ver y numer ous ; one o f themos t commonand consp icuous being Vesp a cineto , which builds a hugenes t o f mud, the walls being ver y thin , bu t bear ingwithout injur y the v io lence o f t r op ical shower s . Flies are
abundant , and some, like St ilbum sp lendidum, ver y beau t iful.Beet les ar e numer ous , and some species , like Rhyncophor us
and Xy lo t r up es , do gr eat damage by at t acking the cocoa-nut
palms . Ther e ar e thr ee species o f honey -bees , and four
o f car penter-bees: (Xy locarp a). Ant s ar e numer ous in
Commonly , but er r oneously , called the Alligato r .
1Usually called the Iguana o r , more p roper ly , the Monito r .
I t s flesh is tender and delicat e, and much p rized by theMalay s.
hI These do considerable damage by bor ing into the woodwork ofouses .
Fauna of Singap o r e Is land. 115
var iet ies and individuals . The car inga or red ant gives a
painful s t ing when t ouched. Termites" (so called white
ant s ) abound everywher e, and do a gr eat deal of damage t o
p r oper ty .
Sp ider s abound ever ywher e in Singapor e, the mos tconsp icuous being the lar ge gar den sp ider s . A hugeblack nocturnal sp ider als o occur s . Cent ipedes ar e no t
uncommon, tho ugh they seldom invade dwellings ; the
lar ge black and r ed Sco lop endr ae somet imes at t ain 9 in .
in length. The large black sco rp ion is fair ly common,
and sever al smal ler sp ecies occur , one o f which, a smal l
pale gr een one, is no t unf r equent ly found in houses , in dampp laces , such as bath-r o oms , &c.
FI sn .— The seas ar ound Singapor e contain a gr eat
var iety of fish of many wonder ful forms and colour s .
Large quant it ies are daily br ought int o the market s .
Sever al species o f sharks occur ; the spot t ed shark
(Stegos toma t igr ina) and two o ther s , Carchar ias acutidens and
C. maclo t i , ar e perhap s the mo s t common. The hammer
headed shark (Z ygcena malleus ) is also found. Two , and p r o
bably thr ee, species of swo r d-fishoccur—H is t iop hor us gladius'
rand H . immaculatus . Two species o f saw-fish: are found,Pr is t is p er o t tet i and P . zys r on. The garfi sh§ found in thesewat er s ar e o f two fo rms—Belane (5 species at leas t ) and
Hemir amp hus (8 species ). In the skat es there is a gr eat
diver s it y o f form and s ize. Some of the sp ecies , fr om the
spines with which the t ail is armed, ar e able t o inflict painful
and seri ous wounds . The ox-skate o r sea devil (Dicer obat is
I t is hardly necessary t o ment ion that theTermites are no tant s pr oper ; they belong t o the o rder Neurop tera while the ant s
belonging to the order Hymenop tera.
1The Ikan t odakof Malay legend.
1The saws of.
these fishare usually brought for sale by nat ivest o the steamers in por t .
See p . 25 . The force withwhich the gar fish pr opel themselvesout of the water 13very great . I t 13said that men have been killedin open boat s by a blow from garfish skipp ing over thesea,
116 Handbook t o Singapo r e.
er egoodoo ) is 20feet in exp anse. The commones t o f the skat es
in the Singap o r e seas ar e Rhynocoba tus anchy los tomus and
Rhinoba t us thouni i . The Bar acoo tu. (Sp hy r aena co mmer soni )
deser ves sp ecial ment ion her e. The jaws o f this fish ar e
armed with a do uble r ow o f t eeth with shar p cut t ing edges .
The nat ives gr eat ly dr ead it , as it at tacks peop le withou t
hes itat ion, inflict ing ser ious wo unds . I t s length is abou t 4
feet . Of p r awns and crayfish sever al species occur ; the
crayfi sh gr owing t o a var y large s ize (o f t en t o mo r e than a
fo o t in length). Bo th shor e and sea cr abs ar e abundant in
number s and in var iet ies .
11.— TE E FLORA OF SINGAPORE I sLANn.
(By H . N . RIDLEY , ESQ. , D ir ector of Fo r es ts and
Gar dens . )
One of the fir s t t hings t hat s t r ikes a visit or is ther ichness and var iety o f the t int s of the foliage . Eacht r ee seems t o be differ ent from the one next t o it ; and .
indeed, the number of different kinds is very large incompar ison with t hat of a mo r e t empe rat e r egion .
As t her e ar e no seasons her e , t he heat and dampnesso f the climat e causes cont inual gr owth , so that the gr eat erpar t of the flora cons is t s of ever gr een t r ees and shrubs .
Some few t rees sheds all their leaves at o ne t ime, and aft err emaining leafles s fo r one o r two days , ar e s peedilyclo thed again wi th y oung leaves— o ften o f br illiant red o r
pinkt int s—which very s oon as sume t heir gr een colour .
The larger number of t r ees , however , shed and r enew theirleaves cont inuously thr o ughout the year , and are t herefor eevergreens .
The apparent scant iness of flower s here has oft en beenno t iced . This is due t o sever al causes— one of which ist hat the gr eat er propo r t ion of the flower s are small , and
concealed in the wealth of foliage ; and even when t hey are
t x8 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
Innumer able climbing p lant s ascend t o the t op o f the t r ees ,
and mo s t impo r t ant among them ar e the climbing palms
known as r at t ans (Calamus ) . The bigges t is P lect ocomia ,
with a s t r ong s t em about four inches in diamet er , cover edwith shar p sp ines . It may be seen t ower ing far abo ve the
fo r es t . The flower s are ar ranged in long br own hangingtails abou t 10feet in length, and when the fr uit is r ipe the
who le p lant dies . O ther climber s ar e the s t r ychnine p lant
(Str ychnos Tieute), with deep gr een leaves , and cur io us r ound
ball -like fr uit of a gr ey ish gr een co lour . Gambir s , Bauhinias ,Menispermacious p lant s , one o f which, Eibr aur ea , p r oduces
fr om it s s t em a good y ellow dye, a Step hanot is , manyclimbing apocynaceou s p lant s , with whit e o r r o sy flower s ,o f t en scented, among which are the Wi llaghbeias , fr om whichis obtained the gut t a-gr ip , a valuable kind o f India-r ubber ,
jasmines , wax p lant s (H oya) and many other s . The
p itcher p lant s (Nep enthes ) o f which ther e ar e five kinds in
Singapo r e ar e also climber s . All are common and gener allyt o be fo und in damp open p laces . I t may be as well t o
r emind v is it o r s that the cup s ar e p o r t ions o f the leaves
modified beaut ifully as insect t r ap s , and are no t the flower s ,which ar e small pu r p le o r gr een blo oms ar r anged in t hick
sp ikes .
In damp and r ocky spo t s a great many a ni ons and
beaut iful herbaceous p lant s canbe found—ginger s (Amomum) ,
with tall leafy s t ems and t uf t s o f scar let , p ink o r whit e
flower s almo s t hidden in the gr ound ; Globbas , with noddingsp ikes o f white o r o range flower s in shape like some s t r ange
insect ;Ar oids , withhear t -shaped , o r ar r ow-shaped leaves , smal l
gr ound-o r chids , o f which the Anoectochili , with their o vat e,
deep pur p le leaves , veined with go ld ; and P locoglo t tis , with
lar ge lanceo lat e leaves lo oking when seen agains t the sun
light l ike p atches o f pur p le s t ained-
glas s , ar e the mo s t
at t r act ive.
Fs ans are very p lent iful in Singapore and range
fr om tall t r ee ferns (Alsop hila) , Angiop ter is , the Elephant
Flo r a of Singap o r e Is land. 119
fern, with it s shor t round s t em and huge twelve foot
fr onds , and the gr eat birds’
nes t fern (ThamnoPter is
nidus-av is) t o t iny polypodies and filmy ferns :
Well wor thy o f no t ice, ar e the elks’
ho rns (P latycer ium) ,
the wat er fern (Cer atop ter is ) gr owing in the ditches , the
climbing Lygodiwms , Dip ter is Hor sj ield'ii gr owing in masses
on r ocky banks near the sea ; the bracken-like Gleichenias
and the elegant Davallias . Selaginel las t o o ar e ver y abundant
and var ied ; and ther e ar e several kinds o f Club-mo s s
some o f which hang fr om the t r ees ; but the
commones t is L. cer nuum, gr owing abundant ly in the open
gras sy spot s , and often collected fo r house decor at ion.
Oacnms are abundant in Singapor e, bu t chiefly gr ow
in the mangrove'
swamps . Many have inconspicuous
flower s , but the re are some of theorchid lover s’
gr eatest
favour it es :
The commones t is t he well-known Pigeon o rchid
(Dendr obum cr umenatum), clo thing the t r ees even in the
t own of Singapo r e. D . Dalhousieanum, with it s great cr eam
and maroon flower s , fines t o f all Dendr obes , has been met
with in the jungles , but is ver y r ar e. Er ias with sp ikes o f
smal l whit e flower s ; the Leopar d o rchid, Gr ammatop hy llum,
biggest‘
of al l o rchids , with it s gr eat racemes , eight feet high,of y ellow and br own flower s ; Saccolabium giganteum, withthickspikes of p ink-sp o t t ed whit e blo s soms ; cur ious Cir rho
p etala, with st rangelymovinglip s Cymbidium alozf o lium, with
long nar r ow leaves and pendulo us r acemes o f br own and
purp le flower s , ar e among the fines t o f the t r ee o rchids . Of
gr ound-or chids , none aremo r e likely to at t ract at tent ion than
the beaut iful p ink Sp athoglo t t is p l'c'
ca ta and Br omheadia
p alm tr is , with lar ge whit e y ellow and v iolet flower s , bo th of
which gr ow in gr as sy open p laces , and ar e cons tant ly in
flower , while the lovely ap r icot -colour ed Calanthe curcul i
goides may r ewar d the orchid hunter who dives int o the densewet thicket s in November .
Handbook t o Singap o r e.
Besides orchids many other plant s grow upon the
t r ees , being epiphyt icVer y rare is the sp lendid cr imson Rhododendr on, high
up ou t o f r each on the highes t t r ees . The ant s’nes t p lant ,
Hydnop hy tum, is a cur ious ep iphy t e, the base o f the s tem
is swollen int o a fleshy mas s o f ten as big as a man’
s head,
whichwhen cu t open is seen to be a r eal veget able ant’
s nes t
swarming with minu t e, bu t fer ocious ant s . Dischidia.
Rafi esiana , the bladder p lant , is r emarkable fo r it s leaves
modified int o s t r ange yel low conical bladder s .
The re are many kinds o f Palms . of which may bespecially ment ioned the s ealing-wax palm (Cyr tos tachys)with it s br ight red s t ems ; the Co r in t in (Dr ymop hlwus
Singap or ianus) , with feathery leaves and slender black
st ems fr om which elegant walking s t icks can bemade ; the
thorny-s t emmed N ibong (Oncosp erma tigi llar ia) , much
used fo r house building, and the Penang Lawye r s
(Licuala) . Another useful group of plant s is t hat of the
Scr ew pines o r Pandans , of which fou r o r fivekinds inhabit
damp spot s , the bigges t is the Mengkuang (Pandanus
fur cu la s) , the long nar r ow leaves of wh ich are much usedfor making K aj angs ,
’ basket s , hat s and innumerableother things .
The number of gr asses and sedges is r ather small , ast hese ar e no t plent iful in jungle-count ry, but one kind ist oo conspicuous by it s pr esence . The Lalang gras s
(Imp er ata cy l indr ica) cover s gr eat t ract s of count ry , r apidlyspr inging up wher ever the for es t has been cleared. I t
is almost u seles s fo r any purpo se and, when it has t akenhold o f the gr o und, is wit h difficult y er adicat ed .
A large por t ion of the shores of the is land are cover edwith Mangrov e swamps ; and the peculiar it ies of t his class
1”The Kaj ang is a mos t useful cont r ivance used fo r boat o r
car t co ver ings . I t fo lds up , and in the jungle answer s the pur po seof a tent .
”—Swet tenham.
122 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
the deliciously flavour ed pulp than all sense of the smelldisappear s . Wallace, in his well-known work on the
Malay Archipelago , has endeavour ed t o descr ibe the
flavour of t his fr u it , bu t indeed it cannot be described ,it mus t be t as ted t o be app reciat ed. By a judge of fr u itthe Dur ian will be allowed t o take a posit ion in the fr ontrankas one of the fir s t -class fr u it s of the wor ld .
The Mangos t een is , however , mo re gene rally popularwith Eur opeans , and is cer tainly a most beaut iful and
r efr eshing fruit . I t is abou t the size of a moderat e-s izedapple, r ound , with a flat t op on which is the s tar -shapedst igma. In colour it is of a deep mar oon o r blackcr imson ,
and when br oken acro ss is seen t o consist of a var iablenumber of pulpy whit e p ips , each enclosing a seed ,
ar r anged in a circle and enveloped in the thickpink r ind .
The pulp is very sweet and delicat ely flavour ed , theflavour being much impr oved by pu t t ing the fruit in ice
for a few hour s befor e eat ing.
Bot h the Dur ian and Mangos teen have dist inctthough somewhat ir r egular fr uit ing per iods and as theirseasons difier in different par t s of the Peninsula, it happensoft en that the fruit s can be obtained almost all throughthe year .
These not es on the flo ra serve but t o give an
indicat ion of the wealth and var iety o f the vege tat ion.
Few r egions contain so large a pr opor t ion of inter est ingplant s as t hat of the Malayan Peninsula ; and the
s tudy o f bot any her e will well r epay it s votary .
I II .—Gz ono o l cxn s r unns .
TheGeology of Singapor e is very disappoint ing t othe s t udent . The island consis t s of a core of grey granit ecropping out in the bigger hills , as at Bukit Timah , butthe gr eater por t ion is covered wit h s t ifi yellow and red
Geological Feat u r es . 123
clays , sands , gravels , and ir on st one commonly , buter r oneously , called later it e . This format ion is evident lyder ived fr om des t ruct ion of loft ier granit ic hi lls , and
ext ends , also , over a'
lar ge por t ion of the Peninsula. I t is
almos t ent ir ely dest itut e of fossils (a few plant r emainsalone having been met with) , and it is impossible at
pr esent t o conjecture it s age.
CHAPTER XIV.
CLIMATE, Monso ons , &0.
INGAPORE is unusually favoured in the
mat t er of climat e . Sit uated close t o the
Equa t or , i t neve r theles s enjoys climat icadvantages no t shar ed by o ther places in the samelat it ude . The abundant rainfall (the average is over
90inches annually) t emper s the fierce heat of theTr opics ;and v iolent s t orms are unknown . Ther e is no change ofseasons ; the island boas t s an e ternal summer , and is
clo thed wit h a per ennial green . The t hermometer ( in theshade) r anges between 80
°and 90
°
(Fahr .) dur ing the day ,and between 70° and 80° at night : it has never beenknownt o r ise above 94° or t o fall below The mornings are
gener ally fresh and cool ; and aft er sunset light breezescome from the sea t o cool the air . The shelt er ed posit ionof Singapor e secures fo r it these advantages , and other salluded t o in Chapt er I . (See p .
Though ther e is no marked change of seasons , yet theinfluence of the monsoons , o r t r ade winds , is felt inSingapor e . The change of the monsoon is accompanied
by heavy and pr olonged rains ;bu t since rain falls all theyear round , a slight incr ease in the fall at par t icular per iodsis har dly not iceable. The Nor th-eas t Monsoon blowsfr om November t o Apr il, dur ing which t ime the Singapor ewinds usually s it in that q uar t er ; but by no means invar iably . The South-west Monsoon blows fr om May t o
Oct ober , and with it come the winds known locally as
Sumat ras and Java winds . The Sumat r a is a rapid squall
fr om the sout h o r south-west , accompanied by heavy rain
126 Handbook t o Singap o r e.
the air coo l enough t o admit o f out -door recreat ion. The
ear ly mor ning, unt il an hour aft er sun r ise ( i .e. t ill 7 a.m.)is fr esh and cool , and is the best t ime of day for walking,r iding o r shoot ing. The heavy dew that falls dur ing thenight , however , prevent s out -door spor t s such as t ennis o rcr icket in the morning.
All things considered , Singapor e is one of thehealthies tplaces in t ropical lat itudes . Choler a, the scourge of theEast , is almost unknown , owing t o the abundant rainfall ;and dysentery is rar e . The annual deathrate is est imat ed at471per t housand . The chief disadvant age of the climate
t o Eur opeans and other s accus t omed t o change of seasonsis the absence o f any such change in Singapo r e ; the cfiectof the eternal summer is somewhat r elaxingand ener vat ingt o t hose who have come fr om temper ate r egions .
130 Handbook t o Singapo r e.
element , is now dis svllahic ; and in regar d t o accent ,t r ochaic. This , in connect ion with it s br oad vowels andso ft consonant s , is t he secret of it s mu sical sound .
No t only is the ear charmed by the music and
rhy thm o f the spoken t ongue , bu t the mind is alsodelighted by the s imple and graceful forms o f speech , ex
pr ess inghighly poet ical ideas , which are often on the lips of a
people no t conspicuously r omant ico r imag inat ive. Many ofthe common words and phrases o f o rdinar v life are, from a
west ern po int o f v iew, highly poet ical , owmg t o the childlike, bu t ar t ist ic combinat ion o f ideas t hat are no t natu
r ally connect ed . The Malay , fo r examp le, calls the sun
JIa ta-har i ,“the eve o f dav he speaks o f a br ookas anak
mmgei. the son o f a r i ver ; when he is sor r owful o r
angr y he sav s he is sa id! Imri , s ick at hear t .
”
An
eclipse o f the sun o r mo on he r egards as a t emporar y
illnes s o f t hese bodies— saint mam-Iaa r i , sakit bulan. Such
idiomat ic and poet ical exp res s ions fo rm one of the chiefcharact er is t ics o f the language .
Malay , as s poken in the St rait s Set t lement s , in t he
Peninsula , and in many o f the is lands in the Archipelago ,
has been great ly modified, and it s vocabu lary has beenlargely enr iched bv the influence o f fo r eign languages .
The Hindu conq ues t of Malay a, many cent u r ies ago ,
impo r ted Sanskr it words and ideas int o the language .
(The int r oduct ion t o W. E . Maxwell’s Manual of theMalay Language
”
gives a car eful and scho lar ly account o fthe natu r e and extent o f Sanscr it influence . ) In the
t hir t eenth cent ur v came the Mahommedan supr emacy ,dur ing which the mo st o f the Malay s embr aced I slam ;
and consequent ly bor r owed lar gely fr om the Arabic
language t o supply deficiencies in their own . Lat er st ill ,Eur opean influence made it self apparent , —Por t uguese,
Dut ch and English wo rds being fr eelv adopt ed t o expres s
. l/a la y Language and Lil er a/u r c. 131
ideas int r oduced by t he fo reigner s . In Singapor e theHalav colloquial is a hybr id language few of the grea tlanguages o f the wor ld are unrep resent e din it s v oc abular y .
The pu res t Malay is spoken in Perak. the mo s t no r therno f the Nat ive States under Br it ish Pr o tect ion .
Malay is free from inflect ions , and ,like mo s t pr imi
t ive languages , poo r in connect ives . The j uxtap o sit iono f t wo words is generally enough t o imply their connect ion . The verb is s imple compared with the elaborateconjugat ions of the per fect clas s ical languages of the Eas tand Wes t , Ar abicand Gr eek it is no t declined at all ; it s
t enses are expr es sed by means o f auxiliar ies , and it s modesby pr efixes . Number is indica ted bv numerals , with o r
without numeral co -efficieut s somet imes ( indefinitely) byr e-duplicat ion gender , by the addit ion of the wordmale ”
o r female,”
and that onlv when dis t inct ionof sex is requir ed by the cont ext and case is no t indicat edat all , except , perhaps , by the posit ion o f the word in the
The best Malay Grammar and Dict io nary (by
the lat e Dr . Mar sdenf ) are now o u t of p r int . Copies mavbe bought occasional]v , but at a p rohibit ive pr ice. Mes s r s .
W. E . Maxwell , the pr esent Co lonial Secretar v o f the
St rait s Set t lement s , and F. A . Swet tenham, Br it ish
Res ident of Perak, have bo th published workswhich give a fair int roduct ion t o the spoken language ;
1‘Malay has been called a most ungrammat ical but most idiomat ic language.
”This is t r ue if inflect ions only cons t itute grammar .
An ungrammat ical language is one without laws either o f syntax or
o f idiom ; and that Malay cer tainly is no t .
!Dr . Marsden was a contempo rar y of Sir Stamford Raffles ; hisGrammar and Dict ionary were p ublished in 1812, and deal with thelanguage as he knew it in Sumat ra . The Peninsular Malay difl
’ers
considerably from the Sumat ran ; but Marsden’
s works might bet e-p r inted with such addit ions as are necessary fo r s tudent s of thelanguage as it is now spoken and wr it ten inMalaya.
£32. l /andbook l o Singap o r e.
but t her e is s t ill room fo r a his t or ical and Scient ific
grammar , and fo r a larger dict ionar v . Vis it or s t o the
St rait s Set t lement s will find the small hand-bookp ublished by Messr s . Fraser and Neave, Singapo r e, a useful
guide t o the colloqu ial .The liter atu r e of the Malays is ext ensive and copio us ,
but no t r ich . I t cons is t s o f her o ic tales and legends , workson ethics and laws , and a large number of pr overbs andpoems . Of the liter at ur e as a whole it may be said thatit is imit at ive r ather than or iginal ; and this may beaccount ed fo r by the fact tha t the Malays have no t fo r
many cent ur ies enjoyed an independent nat ional exis
t ence ; and, also perhaps , by the fact that the ar t ofwr it ing was unknown t o them t ill t hey came int o contactwith nat ions more power ful and mor e civilised thanthemselves ; and contact of t hat kind means conques t .
It is pr obable t hat the acquisit ion o f the ar t of wr it ingdates fr om the Mahommedan invasion jn the thir t eenthcentu ry fi
‘
“ Mal ay is wr it t en in the Ar abic char act er , witha few modificat ions o f some let ter s t o repr esent soundsno t fo und in the lat t er t ongue . The vowel point s ar e no tin gener al use; consequent ly t her e is cons iderable uncer
taint y as t o the cor rect o r thogr aphy .
The chr onicles and legends are said t o be painfullygenealogical and as t edious and unint er es t ing t o the
Wes t ern r eader as a Chinese drama t o a Eur opean spectat o r . They have , however , an int er es t of their own, and
ar e no t without lit erary grace . The best known t o Eur o
p eans is the H ikayat'
t o f Abdu llah bin Abdul Kader ,
This is dispu ted by some who claim t o have found t races of an
ear lier Malay writ ing.
IThe word Hikay a t , used by the Malays , is theArabicword for
s tory . A t ranslat ion of the greater par t of Abdullah’
s H ikay a t , byJ . T. Thomson, ma s s , is published by Henry S. King 8; Co .
134 f l aw/book t o Singap o r e .
had embarked for England with his co llect ion, t o okfir e at
sea ; and though he escaped wit h the res t o f the pas senger sand the crew,
the manuscr ip t s were des t r oyed .
TheMalav s mav o f ten be heard reading far int o the
night . One man reads aloud t o a company o f lis tener sand the method o f reading is a kind o f chant ing o r
intoning.
SINGAPORE TRAMW'
AYS.
NEW HARBOUR AND Jo HNsr o s’
s PI ER SEe'r ION .
TIME TABLE .
LEAVES N Ew HARBOUR—9 a.m. ; 1000 u.m. ;
l p .m p .m . ; p .m 5 p .m.
LEAv Es NEw HARBOUR FOR TANJ ONG PAO AR ONLY . p .m .
LEAv Es Jo a Ns 'r ON’
s PI ER a .m. ; 11a.m . : p .m.
p .m . ; 3p .m . ; p .m . p .m .
On Sa tur days , af ter 3p .m . , the Ca r r uns between New Ha rbo u r
and Tanj o ng Paga r only , as under .
LEAVES NEWHARBOUR p .m . ; 5 p .m . ; p .m.
LEAVES TANJONG PAGAR p .m p .m .
(No Car on Sunday s . )
BOCHORE SECTION .
On weekday s (‘
ar s r un abo ut ever y 7 minut es , between
the hour s o f a .m . and p .m. ; on Sunday s , f r om
p .m. t o p .m .
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Withmuchuseful Stat ist ical and other Informat ion,PUBLISHED ANNUALLY,
AND
Co n t a ins o ve r 900 p ages .
PRESS OPINIONS .
The SINGAPORE AND STRAITS DIREt Tonv fo r 1892 isnow ready . I t is again enlarged, and pr act ically containsthe name o f every Eur opean in the who le Far Eas t .Instead of filling the vo lume with irrelevant mat ter amasso f info rmat ion relat ing to the p roduct s , t rade, his tory , &c.
,
o f each p lace is given, and in it s way the publicat ion bidsfair to become a second Whitaker ’s Almanac. I t is cer
tainly without a r ival in the East , and is ext remely cheapat $5 . BangkokTimes .
The “ SINGAPORE AND STRAITs DIRECTORY fo r 1892is more than ever remarkable fo r the almost overwhelmingamount of really useful info rmat ion it contains . Theworkis go t up with the carefu l accuracy character is t ic o f it s
publishers .—Hongkong Telegr ap h
Comp iled, P r int ed and Publ ic/zed
AT TH E
SINGAPOREandSTRAITSPRINTINGOFFICE,RO BIN SO N STREET , SINGAPO RE .
PR ICE $5 PER. COPY .
