Stories from Deli

Private correspondence from the Java-Bode. 02-03-1877

Circular

The undersigned, Tjia Tjoe Yoe, chief leaseholder of the right to sell opium, will on the twenty-sixth of December assign to the highest bidder the right to retail opium. This auction will be held at the house of the Captain of the Chinese.

Valck.

Signed, Stamp .

The Assistant Resident (Here follow the names of the European residents who have taken notice of this document).

I had previously predicted that the situation here would soon become so bleak—and I certainly did not anticipate that this would be proven true so quickly. The above circular is a small piece of evidence of how carelessly official matters are handled in Deli. It can be understood that the rest is handled proportionally; the purpose of my writing is to make this clear to you with a few examples and to point out the urgent necessity of changing the current situation.

Every day, 2 or 3 prisoners, including murderers, leave the official penal labor or escape from the prison in Laboean. These escaped criminals seem to have joined those Chinese coolies who have been so cleverly informed about their position concerning the employers. In numerous armed gangs, they take refuge in the forest, making the area unsafe at night. On the night of February 6th to 7th, a house near the camp was robbed, and at the same time, one of the boldest crimes ever committed here took place. The administrator’s residence of the Rudolfsburg enterprise was attacked by armed Chinese, and they inflicted fourteen wounds on the resident, Mr. van S., after which the murderers took a chest containing 1,000 dollars. The major, Demmeni, was immediately informed of the incident, whereupon about 25 soldiers, under the command of Lieutenant von Ernst, came to guard the robbed house. Major Demmeni also informed the Assistant Resident, Mr. Valck, of the crime, who received this report on the 7th at around 7 o’clock. His Excellency immediately mounted his horse, arrived in Medan around 10 o’clock, and stayed there briefly—while, notably, members of the Batavian judicial commission were staying there. Although Mr. Valck could have reached Rudolfsburg by 11 or 12 o’clock with a little haste, His Excellency chose to make a detour via Gedong Djohar and the Padang Boelan enterprise, where he spent a night, arriving at Rudolfsburg more than 48 hours after his departure, when he could have covered the entire distance in four hours. (Perhaps) Due to an earlier personal issue with the wounded administrator, he was not even questioned. Such measures are obviously not suitable for keeping the criminal rabble in check.

Similarly, Mr. Valck previously showed apathy towards the thieves who had robbed the administrator D.’s residence at Babalan, simply because that gentleman had not made a favorable impression on His Excellency. As a result, the Gajoes grow more brazen by the day; the same will likely happen with the Chinese robbers, and within three months, not a single European will be left in Deli. The Javanese foreman of the enterprise at Babalan apparently colluded with the robbers, for before the crime was committed, he had packed his belongings in a chest and buried it in the forest; yet this man was appointed as head supervisor of import and export duties. An overseer of the Siepalt enterprise, Mr. Westerbeek van der Horst, committed a minor police offense and was so distressed by the prosecution that he took his own life.

A friend of mine was invited to appear before Mr. Valck; he had to delay his trip to his enterprise by 2½ hours, and when he arrived at Mr. V., the latter had forgotten what he wanted to discuss with my friend. All the Javanese coolies who were dismissed by Mr. Valck from the enterprise at the Babalan River were appointed to a corps of police supervisors. Their duties seem to consist more of forming a personal guard for the police chief than in pursuing various thieves and murderers. It is unbelievable, but the murderers of the Lunmann family have not even been sentenced yet; some of them have already died, others have managed to escape, in short, no deterrent example has been set, which would be of great use in these circumstances.

Several native chiefs have already complained to the Sultan about the alarming increase in insecurity. Now a word about the military population. From a letter by “Cato” in one of the Batavian newspapers, it appears that the current military commander in Deli, Major Demmeni, has managed to acquire land. This indeed seems to be true. This land is said to be located near Tanjong Balie and was taken by our troops in 1872. This land ownership is, of course, not official but is registered in someone else’s name. The major received this land from the Datoe of Soengal in exchange for a carbine, which naturally means that he is no longer free in his dealings with that Datoe, as later events indeed showed.

From Deli, Langkat can only be reached via the Soengal River, where barges occasionally block traffic for entire days. After the completion of the various Langkat enterprises, a military garrison was stationed at Timbong-Langkat, and to facilitate traffic, Major Demmeni wanted to build a bridge over the Soengal River. Lieutenant von Ernst was appointed to build this bridge with numerous free laborers. This officer immediately collected a large supply of wood and marked the location for the bridge. However, the work had barely begun when the Datoe of Soengal protested to the major, and since the major had obligations towards the Datoe, the work was halted. Now, when the water is high, the rebels have free rein, as traffic is impossible without the bridge, and the garrison at Timbang-Langkat cannot even be supplied with provisions or reinforcements.

During the first expedition here, a fort was constructed at Soengal at great expense. Each palisade cost the government f 5, etc. This fort completely covered the kampong of the Datoe of Soengal (the son of the exiled Datoe Ketjil to Tjilatjap). The transport along this river to and from the Datoe of Ampera Pirra could also be controlled in this way, and if it were still there, so much innocent blood would not have been shed in Langkat. During Captain von Ende’s stay here, everyone was almost entirely focused on Medan, despite some disagreements between Major Demmeni and Captain von Ende. Later, on Major Demmeni’s advice, Captain Prelaer dismantled the fort, but instead of selling the dismantled materials for the benefit of the state treasury, they were discarded and later used by the Datoe of Soengal and his kampong residents.

Now it has come to the point where the major wants to build a new fort just a few yards from the old site, but the location will be such that the kampong of the Datoe of Soengal will be entirely free. Are such actions in the interest of the state? Major Demmeni believes that the unrest in Langkat and Deli is entirely political in nature and has absolutely nothing to do with mismanagement. It is certainly possible that His Excellency is genuinely convinced of this, yes, even believes that the state’s interests are better served by his stay in Deli than by, for example, going to Aceh. However, that there are people who do not share the major’s view is evidenced, according to some, by his telegraphed request for leave to Batavia, although others believe that this has more to do with personal domestic matters.

There is justifiable indignation here about the inactivity of the military, who are all stationed on a war footing in Medan, where there is nothing to do. Instead of preventing crimes through patrols, spreading garrisons, or otherwise, and by persistently pursuing the wrongdoers, they limit themselves to occupying the robbed houses where there is nothing left to take. The bloodshed in Langkat is mainly attributable to the dismantler of the fort at Soengal.

Moreover, there is no harmony between the major’s residence and those of the other officers that should correspond to their respective ranks. The government buildings are in such poor condition that they threaten to collapse at any moment, which is particularly undesirable given the many sick soldiers. Since troops are indispensable here and will remain so, the government should gradually proceed to construct more durable buildings. If the troops leave, we will once again face the old boundary issue of 1872, as the civil administration has done nothing to resolve this dispute since that time.

It is our hope that a competent inspector will come to thoroughly and impartially examine these military matters so that an end will soon be put to the expenditure of public funds without the necessary authorization.

I conclude this letter by mentioning a very discourteous treatment of the Sultan by the Assistant Resident. The Sultan politely requested an audience with His Excellency, but the messenger, a trusted servant of His Highness, was sent away with insults. I believe you are now sufficiently informed about our way of governance.