Stories from Deli

• Arnhemsche courant 01-08-1876

Letters about Sumatra’s East Coast from a “Wanderer.”

Deli, June 8, 1876

Recently, I read the peace message from the “Mail-Courant” and came across two letters—one from a settler, written in very polite terms, but with a shocking twist, addressing the resident and asking about 16 questions, upon the answers to which he would depend whether or not he should request capital to begin cultivation. It was lucky for him that the letter came to the right place because the resident actually lives in Bangkalis; here, there is only an assistant resident. Will he answer the questions? I doubt it, because not only is the assistant resident of Deli overwhelmed with his official duties, but the letter contains some nonsensical questions. The writer, so to speak, makes the assistant resident of Deli, who is probably indifferent to whether or not the writer settles here, morally responsible for the success of his enterprise, should he invest capital in such an uncertain venture based on the answers he receives from the head of the civil administration in Deli.

The other letter was from an Englishman who briefly mentioned that he had surveyed wild lands in Serdang suitable for tobacco cultivation, found them, and according to the attached contract, had signed an agreement with the Pangherang of Serdang to lease 10,000 acres of land for 75 years, on the condition that this contract would be ratified by the resident of the East Coast of Sumatra. He sent it to the assistant resident for this purpose and included letters of credit showing that he had sufficient capital in Penang and Singapore for such an enterprise.

Well, how do you find the contrast between these two letters? It seems quite telling to me. Considering the peace message, one must wonder: how is it that we, Dutch people, are so unfamiliar with our own colonies and often have no clue about what is happening there?

It has been about 12 years since the kingdoms of Langkat, Deli, and Serdang on the East Coast of Sumatra, located between 3°30′ and 4°30′ N latitude and 97°30′ and 99° E longitude from Greenwich, came under our direct control. A Dutchman, Mr. Nienhuys, settled there to plant tobacco. At that time, everything was wild, virgin forest, barely traversed by a footpath, as the few villages communicated mainly by sampan (small boats). The main towns of Deli, Langkat, and Serdang were visited by trading praus from Penang, Singapore, and Riau, but trade was insignificant, consisting mainly of forest products and some pepper, while imported goods were limited to the usual items found in the Indonesian archipelago, with opium playing a major role.

How things have changed now, and what lively trade has developed in those places, with regular steamship connections with Batavia, though only once a month, and with Singapore and especially Penang every five days. This is why planters import almost everything from Penang, even though most European needs can be obtained more cheaply in Batavia.

Deli has become a small town. Langkat is rapidly following; where there used to be a few dilapidated bamboo huts, there is now a street nearly a mile long with one stone house after another, mostly Chinese shops, stores, and warehouses. Where there was only one enterprise, there are now over eighty, most of them operational, with others in the application process. On the Langkat River, two small steam launches serve the various enterprises, and where there were once miserable footpaths or tracks made by elephants and rhinoceroses, there are now wide, good roads connecting the enterprises, passable by horse or cart. Where one used to expect to encounter a herd of elephants, some rhinoceroses, or tapirs at any moment, one now sees long lines of two-wheeled carts, pulled by strong buffaloes, driven by the Klingeese and Hindus in their original national clothing, loaded with bales of tobacco or with all sorts of European market goods coming from Deli, needed at the enterprises.

This is a brief but true picture of the transformation that has taken place here in such a short time, almost without any help from the motherland or the administration in Batavia; many even claim that it is precisely the lack of paternalistic care from the government that has allowed this colony to develop so quickly and robustly. However, there is some ingratitude in this, because when the Bataks rose in rebellion in 1870 and threatened Deli with all its enterprises, it was very welcome that the Governor-General intervened and sent an expeditionary force here, which soon restored peace, order, and calm.

On the other hand, the administration should be grateful for the expansion in this part of the colony because not only do these kingdoms now contribute several tons annually to the state treasury through the takeover of the leaseholders, but more importantly, in my opinion, is that through our peaceful expansion on this coast—by cultivating the land, creating prosperity among the population, and establishing a fair and impartial administration where the common man finds protection against the extortions and frauds of his leaders—these lands are being more firmly tied to us than would ever have been possible through military force.

When one considers that our northern borders directly adjoin the kingdom of Aceh, one can easily see what a counterweight this colony will provide when Aceh is finally subdued, and cultures begin to expand there as well. Already, there have been requests from the neighboring kingdoms of Tawiang and Edi for Europeans to settle there, just as in Deli, and the rulers of these kingdoms are willing to lease lands under even more favorable conditions than those currently offered by the rulers in these kingdoms.

Even the shy and mistrustful Bataks are increasingly approaching us, and it is no longer uncommon for groups of 20-30 chiefs to come down together and seek work on the plantations. Recently, a petition was circulated among the planters in Deli, Langkat, and Serdang to the Governor-General, requesting a police regulation applicable to the conditions prevailing in these kingdoms. I reserve the right to come back to this petition later; for now, I will only cite a passage from it to confirm what I have shared with you.

“The establishment of European industry in Deli dates back only about 12 years. It was Resident Netscher who first drew attention to this fertile coast, and soon after the first European settled in Deli, it became clear that he had not been mistaken. In an incomprehensibly short time, one enterprise after another sprang up, so that at present, no fewer than 39 companies (corporations or firms) are established in Deli, Langkat, and Serdang, together possessing the considerable number of 49 different enterprises. In the kingdom of Deli, no more land is available, and in the two neighboring kingdoms, the rulers are being besieged with requests for new lands.”

“New enterprises are springing up in large numbers, and we know that several applicants have already signed contracts, so that many new enterprises will be established over the next two years.”

“Considering that in 1873 there were only 13 agricultural enterprises, it would not be an exaggeration to say that this colony is advancing by leaps and bounds and promises a future that need not fall short of that of any other colony; that even now, the assistant residency of Deli can be equated in importance with the main possessions of the Dutch East Indies and surpasses most of them in this respect.”

“Petitioners therefore believe that they are not asking too much when they call for Your Excellency’s special attention and care for this colony.”

“The public is so inclined—and the Dutch East Indies government has been accused of this as well—to identify the Dutch East Indies with Java, while all the other possessions are lumped together under the common name of ‘outposts,’ as if they were pushed into a corner and regarded more as burdens that it would be better to abandon if not for political reasons, rather than as important sources of revenue that, with wise exploitation, could prove to be no less productive than Java.”

“However, such a view regarding Deli, Langkat, and Serdang would be completely wrong, as can be seen, and petitioners trust that Your Excellency will in no way share this view.”

“It is true that Deli has so far brought few direct benefits to the Dutch East Indies government, but after the right to levy taxes from the Sultan of Deli was taken over from July 1 last year, for a sum of less than f 100,000 per year, the first leasing of the opium, distilled spirits, gambling, pig slaughter, and pawnshop taxes already yielded the significant sum of ƒ 372,000 annually, to which must be added the revenue from import and export duties, which were not leased as was customary here.”

“From the Pangherans of Langkat and Serdang, the right to levy taxes has also been taken over for a much smaller sum, and with the enormous increase in the number of immigrants (especially Chinese) during the last half-year, it can be safely assumed that a large sum will soon be retained from all these rights. We do not hesitate to say that every expense laid upon our colony will prove to be a productive investment.”

“Moreover, one must not forget to take into account the indirect benefits that a revived trade brings about, and which in this case almost exclusively benefit the motherland.”

“The main product of this coast, tobacco, is marketed exclusively in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. The yield of 1875, already partially known, can safely be estimated at a value of 3½ to 4 million guilders, being almost 1/6 of the total yield of Java, from the particularly favorable year 1874, or one-third of that of the entire island of Java in 1870.”

“Especially this year, the tobacco from this coast, although quantitatively below reasonable expectations due to bad weather, is of particular importance to the Dutch market because it meets the need for wrapper leaves, which otherwise could not have been met due to the widespread failure of the Javanese crop, and thus helps to maintain the great market of the motherland’s reputation.”

“Considering the significant increase in the number of our coolies and enterprises, it is not an exaggeration to estimate the production of the year 1876 at double that of the previous year.”

“Moreover, especially in recent years, many nutmeg plantations have been established, the trees of which are still mostly young and have so far yielded little fruit, but promise a harvest in the near future that will surpass that of Banda in size and importance. The number of trees planted by the native population in Deli alone can be estimated at at least one million, while the number of trees planted by Europeans is estimated at more than 100,000. The quality of the nuts and mace need not fall short of those from Banda.”

“The above may serve to give an idea of the importance of this settlement, which surely deserves the government’s special care.”

Well, my friend, what do you think of this sketch of Deli? Surely you did not imagine such a picture of this region, and neither did thousands of our fellow countrymen. For what is Deli—where is it? I hear many people ask, and unless memory fails them, someone may remember that there were military expeditions here in 1870 and 1872—or that there is a type of tobacco called Deli tobacco, which is used mainly for cigar manufacturing, and that these cigars are genuine Deli. Among a few merchants and tobacco brokers in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, the knowledge may go a step further, for they can tell you the names of the principal plantations, the numbers and letters of the most renowned brands, and finally that the Deli Company paid fabulous dividends to its shareholders last year—dividends so high that they almost cast doubt on the company’s solidity, even though it is highly esteemed here and stands as firmly as any of our enterprises.

But beyond that, the knowledge ends for a colony that promises to become one of the richest and most important of our so richly blessed Insulinde.

I will end for now—if you value these communications, I promise to send you more letters of the same content, for there is so much more to tell about these lands and their inhabitants: the tobacco and other cultures that are mainly cultivated here—the coolie issue—the Batak lands and their inhabitants. And to return to my starting point, who do you think will go further: our Dutchman with his highly cautious letter to the resident of Deli, who does not want to risk his dimes until he has 4/5 certainty that he cannot lose anything, or our Englishman, who confidently, based on the results he sees before him, forms a company with sufficient capital, secures 10,000 acres of good land, and may already deliver a crop of 300-400 pikols of tobacco next year?

You see, I don’t blame anyone for being cautious in placing their money, but that caution can be taken too far. And when one is so unfamiliar with one’s own country that one doesn’t even know where the best regions are and only learns of them through the splendid results achieved by foreigners, then one has only oneself to blame.

But you will see, it will be the same old story here—our neighbors from Penang and Singapore, who have already watched our settlement on this coast with envy, will seize the best lands, and later, when our cautious Amsterdammer finds his questions satisfactorily answered, he may also come and try to find something that suits him—but of course, he’ll be fishing behind the net and may have to settle for a piece of swampy land where he can build canals with drawbridges to let the towboats through.

I get bitter when I think about it, so I’ll put down the pen, for neither of us can change anything. Yes, if we Delianers were to create impossible railways, like “The Deli-Batak and Western Coast Sumatra Railway” or some nonsense-based “United Deli-Serdang and Langkat Coal Mining Company” with a magnificent prospectus, directors, board of administration, etc., etc.—not forgetting the more than certain dividends of at least 12½% p.a.—then we would surely find enthusiasts; but as it is, the matter is too simple. Located in your own country, inhabited by a large portion of your own countrymen, and governed by your own government—well, who would risk their dimes on that! A hundred times better to invest in North America, Germany, or Russia. And with that, I bid you farewell for now.