1917

SARAWAK—BRITISH NORTH BORNEO
1493
Sarawak Union, The (Instituted 1899)
President- -The Bishop of the Diocese
Vice President —The Vicar of Kuching
Hon. Secretary—L. E. Currey
Hon. Treasurer—Lim Thian Liang
Committee—Yap Ghee Heng, Kha
Guan Lim
Auditor—Tan Cheng Pun
St. .Mary’s Mission School for Girls
Miss Mary NcNeil (on furlough in
England)
Miss Agnes Olver
Miss Andrews (left in charge)
Kim Joon ! Eu Oi
St. Michael’s Catholic Club — Kuching
Rev. Father Hardegger—President
Tan Boon Seew—Vice-President
J. Martines—Secretary
Tan Eng Chong —Treasurer
Committees—Hon Chon Vong, J.
L. King Choey, Foo Kee Chit
St. Thomas’ School—Kuching
Warden—The Rt. Rev. The Lord Bis¬
hop of Labuan and Sarawak
Sub-Warden- The Ven. Ro ert J.
Small, b.d.
Head Master—A. N. Ellis
BRITISH NORTH BORNEO
This territory, formerly known as Sabah, situated at the northern end of the island
of Borneo, has a coast line of about 500 miles. The population is made up of
Malays, Bajaus, Dusuns, Sulus, Filipinos, and numbers 220,000, which
includes about 30,000 Chinese. The chief geographical feature in the territory is
the mountain of Kina Balu, about 13,700 feet high. The principal river on the West
coast is the Padas ; but the country possesses many considerable and valuable idvers.
On the East there are the Kinabatangan, Labuk, Sugut, Segama, and many others.
The best harbours are those of Jesselton on the West coast, Kudat on the North,
and Sandakan on the East.
The climate is particularly pleasant for the tropics; the days are rarely very hot,
while a blanket is often required at night; and very little inconvenience is experienced
from insect pests, such as mosquitoes and the like. Hurricanes, earthquakes, and
other natural disturbances are unknown. The seas are teeming with fish, and the
export trade in dried and salted fish is increasing. Trade with Singapore, Hongkong
and the Philippines is well established. A weekly steamship service is maintained
between North Borneo ports and Singapore, by the Straits Steamship Company, and
steamers run regularly to Hongkong and the Philippines. A monthly service is main¬
tained by the Osaka Shosen Kaisha fromformosa, the ports of call being Amoy,Swatow,
Hongkong, Manila, Sandakan, Batavia, Semarang, and Macassar.The majority of the trade
supplies are obtained from and through Singapore, and with Hongkong a regular
timber business has been established. Amongst the zoological productions of North
Borneo are to be noted elephants, rhinoceros, deer of three kinds, wild cattle, pigs,
bears, and pythons. Of game birds there are a few—argus, fireback, and bulwer
pheasants, wild duck, many varieties of wild pigeon and doves, snipe, and quail.
Sandakan, the capital, has a magnificent harbour and is the chief place of trade.
Jesselton, however, on the West Coast, is now rapidly developing, and, owing to its
position, must become, in the near future, the chief port in the territory. It is also one
of the termini of the State Railway. The imports include cloth, rice, hardware, manu¬
factured goods of all kinds, opium, Chinese tobacco, Chinese coarse crockery, matches,
biscuits, oil, sugar, etc. The chief exports are rubber, tobacco, copra, timber, cutch
and rattans, gutta-percha, birds’-nests, seed pearls, beche de mer, sharks’ fins, cam¬
phor, tortoise-shell, beeswax, and other natural products, which are brought in from
the interior, the neighbouringISulu Archipelago, etc.
Coal is being worked in the S.E. of the territory. The Cowie Harbour Coal Mines
at Silimpopon have extracted over 400,000 tons of coal since 1907. The coal is trans¬
ported from the Colliery to the shipping port Sebattik by means of six lighters, which
ha /e been built in Borneo. The Collieries have recently undergone a change in the
pirns for development, and the demand for supplies of coal is at present in excess of