Stories from Deli

• Dagblad van Zuidholland en ‘s Gravenhage 18-09-1872

The Hague, 17 September.

Everyone will remember that a few years ago, private agricultural enterprises were established on the Northeast coast of Sumatra under the name of the Deli Company, initially employing Chinese laborers brought in from Singapore or elsewhere. If we are correctly informed, it should come as no surprise that there has been resistance against the European planters. Reports from those involved in these enterprises have indicated that the Chinese coolies, particularly under some entrepreneurs, were horribly mistreated. If we are not mistaken, it has long been seriously considered to request the government to establish an administration in Deli to protect both the entrepreneurs and the laborers, in order to maintain order as much as possible. These suggestions seem to have been ignored, and now the consequences are being felt.

It is clear that things have not been going well with the Chinese laborers, as evidenced by reports in the Semarang newspaper (Mail 23 February) stating that the Deli Company sent an agent to recruit workers. “It seems,” wrote the editor, “that things are not working out with the Chinese. The agent, with the help of a native recruiter, persuaded a total of 150 people to go with him. The recruiter receives ƒ10 for every able-bodied man he delivers. Advances are not provided to the engaged workers until their wives and children are on board the ship that will take them. In the meantime, all these people, men, women, and children, are housed in an empty building temporarily rented on the beach. The recruiter has now cast his nets in the Demak and Grobogan areas, where a good catch is expected, given the high rice prices.”

This is nothing but the lowest form of recruitment, a heartless exploitation of the temporary need of a simple population, unaware of the fate that awaits them as free laborers in Deli. And this has happened and been permitted under the eyes of the government! Let the friends of the Javanese, who passionately advocate for the well-being of the natives (!!), take this to heart! But isn’t it all for the promotion of private industry? And with that goal in mind, one must not be too scrupulous about the means!

Meanwhile, things in Deli seem to be getting more and more out of hand. In response to various urgent pleas from there, and the precarious position in which the troops sent there found themselves, the Dutch government saw itself compelled to send more troops to protect the private entrepreneurs from attacks by the native population, which threatened them from all sides. In early July, a second expedition was hastily prepared for this purpose, consisting of three companies armed with breech-loaders and a detachment of artillery, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Hombracht. A telegram sent on 10 July, made known by the government on the 16th, stated: “Situation unfavorable. Bataks have burned down two plantations. Steamship not detained. Koops reinforced encampment Soengal. Marnix arrived. Landing division disembarked.” People eagerly awaited the arrival of the 500 men from Batavia.

It will be tense here, according to the mail of 31 July, especially now that it is heard that the chiefs of various small kingdoms have joined forces, and on our side, we already have a few dead and several wounded to mourn. There are widespread reports that the enemy is fighting fiercely and desperately, trying to wear down our military by constantly luring them further inland. May God grant that Hombracht brings a resolution here and that this expedition does not extend for several months, which, however, is very likely. The details regarding the causes of this dangerous unrest seem to be missing. According to the Java-bode, it was circulated that the Sultan, feeling strong with the protection provided by our government, arbitrarily and illegally disposed of the lands of his subjects and leased these lands to European planters for payment. According to this account, the Sultan of Aceh is not involved in the current unrest at all, and the uprising is solely a conflict between the native population of Deli and their own ruler.

We are eager for more details about this situation; the mail received today does not present the situation as reassuring, and we still hear nothing new about the causes. However, it can be inferred that private exploitation is closely involved in this matter, as it first failed with the Chinese laborers and then turned to Java to recruit natives, presumably because the Bataks or natives of Sumatra were even less willing than the Chinese to embrace the blessings of free labor and white civilization. Moreover, the European speculator in agricultural enterprises needed land. It is therefore entirely understandable that he turned to the Sultan, who perhaps believed he was acting in the spirit of the government by offering assistance, while now his unlawful actions and the resulting unrest are being blamed on the planters, who are being attacked as foreign intruders, disruptors of ancient rights and customs.

Whatever the case may be, the Dutch government is now reaping the consequences of its generous Sumatra policy. Expensive expeditions must already be sent to remote parts of our Eastern possessions to protect the private entrepreneurs, who are a burden to the state, and to maintain their supposed rights over the native population! What will happen when, after quelling this unrest—at the cost of immense treasure and rivers of blood—not only our countrymen but also foreigners, our neighbors, gradually settle there as a result of the Sumatra treaty, concluded last year with so little foresight? We will then have the dubious honor of protecting them on our Dutch possessions! If this is not done thoroughly, whatever the cost, and even with the depletion of the necessary military forces in Java, England will know how to relieve us of such a costly administration, which will then exceed our capabilities, and put an end to this mixed possession.

It is obvious that what we see happening in Sumatra will not go unnoticed in Java and among the native population there. No one, unless they are liberally blind, will doubt that with the opening up of that island, similar scenes, sooner or later, will occur there as well. The so-called Erfpacht laws of de Waal, followed by the decrees of him and Minister van Bosse, have made that main possession accessible to all nations; and whatever might still be lacking will likely be added by the now-active colonial administration! People seem to be convinced of this, at least in Rotterdam; and in light of what is now happening on Sumatra’s East Coast, what we recently read about this in the N. Hollandsche Courant is too curious not to bring it to our readers’ attention once again. “Rotterdam, 10 September. The firms of Bezier, Jonkheim and Co. and W. Schöffer and Co. here have issued a circular in which they, based on some general considerations (but especially in view of the peace and prosperity that the Deli exploiters enjoy), draw attention to the favorable time for purchasing existing enterprises and leasing uncultivated lands on Java. These gentlemen believe that now is precisely the time (just now, while the entrepreneurs on Sumatra are crying out for help and protection from being murdered) to gather capital in order to be ready to take advantage of the changed circumstances brought about by the new cultivation law (with which the Javanese, while their lands and properties are being taken from them, will likely be no less enthusiastic than the Sumatrans!) to purchase existing cultivation enterprises, very reasonable offers have been made to them. Therefore, they intend to establish a Rotterdam-Indies Cultivation Company with shares, each worth ƒ10,000, under statutes yet to be drafted. They flatter themselves with the hope of general participation (from those who are willing to risk their money and the skins of their agents and overseers in the Indies sooner or later) in this projected company because, now that the rules and conditions of land ownership in Java have been established by the Dutch East Indies government, the thought of the profit that can be derived from it by Western capitalists for the benefit of the colony and the motherland (always according to the unproven doctrine of liberal colonial politicians) must become more lively.” The Minister of Colonies has taken note of the plan and has expressed his sympathy (and this will hardly be doubted by anyone) for its establishment. The draft statutes will be presented at a general meeting of interested parties.”

In any case, we hope that the Minister of Colonies, Mr. Fransen van de Putte, will not deny his sympathy for the Rotterdam-Indies Cultivation Company and his well-known fondness for so-called free labor, but that during the upcoming discussion of the cultivation budget for 1873, he will propose the necessary millions to expand the military forces on Java in order to protect the “Western capitalists” in their selfless efforts, even if the Javanese are ungrateful enough to resist their praiseworthy plans.

Some time ago, it was read in the English newspapers that companies were being established in British India to exploit the northeastern coast, which we protect, in order to take advantage of the Sumatra treaty.