Holland holds the second place among the successful colonizing nations, though Powers like England, France, and Germany surpass her in the actual area of their colonies and protectorates. Besides her East Indian possessions, which form by far the most important part of her colonial empire, she holds Surinam, or Dutch Guiana, and six small islands, including CuraÇao, in the West Indies, and her colonial subjects number in all more than thirty-six millions, being as many as the colonial subjects of France and at least seven times the population of the Netherlands in Europe. The East Indian Archipelago belonging to the Netherlands consists of five large islands and a great number of smaller ones. It is not within the scope of a book like this to go into details of geographical division, but a glance at the map will show us that the three groups which make up this dependency are extended over a length of about three thousand miles, and inclucle Java and Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes, New Guinea, the Timor Laut archipelago, and the Moluccos. The northern part of Borneo is a British possession, and the eastern half of New Guinea is divided between England and Germany, while half of the island of Timor is Portuguese; the rest of the archipelago forms the possession known as Netherlands India, or the Dutch East Indies. The most important and the most densely populated of these islands are Java and Sumatra; at the last census, in 1899, Java alone had twenty-six millions of inhabitants, more than four times as many as in 1826, but the richness of its soil is so great that it could support a much larger population, though the island is only about the same size as England.

Java was taken by the English in 1811 from the French flag, but was restored at the Peace of Vienna to the Netherlands, together with some of the other Dutch colonies. As Dr. Bright remarks in his 'History of England,' 'it has been believed that its value and wealth were not thoroughly known or appreciated by the Ministry at the time.' It has now become by far the most important of the Dutch dependencies, and the favourite colony for fortune-hunters.

Considering the great wealth of the Dutch Indies, it is a little surprising that so few young men are tempted to go out there to seek their fortunes. As is usually the case in the tropics, those parts of the coasts which are low and marshy are very unhealthy for Europeans, who cannot stay in such places for any length of time without falling victims to malaria, though the Malays do not seem to be affected by the climate; but higher up, from 500 to 1000 feet above the sea, it is healthy enough, and up the hills, in the larger islands, the climate leaves little to be desired. The temperature generally varies between 70 and 90 degrees all the year round, though there is a certain amount of difference between one island and another. North of the equator the rainy monsoon lasts from October to April, and the dry season from April to October, while on the south side these seasons are reversed. On the line, however, the trade-winds and monsoons appear very irregularly, because there are four seasons instead of two--that is to say, two rainy and two dry--and the weather is also subject to frequent changes of a local character, especially in the neighbourhood of mountain-ranges and volcanoes. With the exception of Borneo and the central part of Celebes all these islands are volcanic. In the principal group, which stretches from Sumatra and Java to the Timor Laut archipelago, there are no less than thirty-three active volcanoes, of which twelve are in Java, besides a number of so-called extinct ones which may at any moment burst into renewed life. Some of the smaller islands are merely sunken volcanoes, such as Gebeh, for instance, and the Banda Islands, where the 'Goonong Api' (Fire-Mountain) is a living proof. The best known of all these volcanoes is the terrible Cracatao, one of the three which may be seen in the Straits of Sunda. Readers may remember the great eruption of 1886, when half the island of Cracatao and part of the mountain, which was split clean in two, were swallowed up in the sea, and parts of the coasts of Java and Sumatra were overwhelmed by the tidal wave that accompanied the outburst, ships being lifted bodily on to the land and left perched among the hills. In one day and night 100,000 persons perished, and except a slight earthquake, which, as earthquakes are not uncommon in that part of the world, was naturally not regarded as serious, there was no warning of the impending disaster, for the crater had shown no signs of life for 200 years. During the eruption a roar as of distant artillery could be heard in the middle of Java, fully 400 miles from the scene.

The form of the islands prevents the existence of very large rivers; the largest are in Borneo, the only non-volcanic island in the archipelago which can boast of three navigable rivers each about 400 miles long. Owing to the narrowness of Java and Sumatra, the rivers flowing towards the north-east coasts of these islands are very rapid, and as they are liable to be suddenly swollen by heavy rains, canals have been dug, and others are in course of construction, to ensure a regular outflow and protect the land from floods. In an undertaking of this kind the Dutch are quite at home, for, as every one knows, they are past masters in the art of taming the waters; but they have not to push back the sea here, as they have done and are still doing in their native country; the rivers do that for them, by bringing down masses of gravel and mud, which form wide banks at their mouths and are soon overgrown with trees. The lighthouse at Batavia, in Java, was built about the middle of the seventeenth century at what was then the entrance to the harbour; now it is two and a half miles from the entrance, the shore having advanced that distance in 250 years.

Before passing to the question of government, it may be well to notice the principal races with which the Dutch have to deal. Besides the native population, the Dutch Indies contained in 1892 about 446,000 Chinese, 20,000 Arabs, and 26,000 other Asiatics, but only 55,000 Europeans, including the soldiers, many of whom are Germans. The greater part of all these are found in Java. Of the remaining 355 millions the majority are Malays, including Malays proper and several kindred races, and to this last class belong the Javanese, who live in Java, Madura, Bally (or Bali), and Lombok. Natives other than Malays are the Dyaks, in the interior of Borneo; the Battaks, in the interior of Sumatra; and finally the Papuans, who inhabit New Guinea, or Papua, and some of the small islands near. These Papuans are said to be of the same race as the Australian aborigines, and are the only black people in these islands, the other inhabitants being light brown or copper-coloured. In religion, most of the Malays are Mohammedans, but the people of Bally and Lombok are still Brahmins, while the Dyaks and Battaks are of very primitive faiths. From remote times until 1478 Brahminism and Buddhism were the principal religions, but in that year the faith of Islam began to supersede them. The ancient religions were responsible for a degree of civilization never arrived at by the Mohammedans, traces of which are seen in the numerous ruins of cities and temples that must have been of great beauty and grandeur which are found in Java, and also in the Javanese literature, which is written in its own peculiar characters, and the 'wayangs,' or shadow-plays, which are performed on every festive occasion, and all of which refer to a history of conquest and wars waged in the times of Brahminism.

Here the problem which confronts the Dutch authorities is the old one of uniting under one Government populations differing in blood and religion, a problem which always presents great difficulties and even a certain amount of danger. The system adopted resembles, to some extent, that applied to certain native States in British India, and the islands are governed by native kings and princes, under the paternal supervision of the Netherlands India Government, which consists of a Governor-General, or Viceroy, and a Council of four Councillors of State, of which the Viceroy is President. Under these there are three Governors and thirty-four Residents, all Europeans, with several Assistant-Residents and 'Controleurs,' each of whom has a district assigned to him, in which he has to maintain order and see that the land is kept in proper cultivation. The Indian princes are made Government officials by the fact of being paid by the Dutch Government, and bear the official titles of Regent, 'Demang,' etc., but they also keep their own grander-sounding titles, such as 'Raden Adipatti,' and so on, of which they are naturally very proud. It is the duty of a Resident to advise the Regent of his district and at the same time to keep a watch on him and see that he does not oppress his subjects. If a Regent is proved to be guilty of oppression, or in case of sedition or the fostering of rebellion, he is deposed by the Government, and a better man is appointed in his place, if possible one of his own relatives, so that the lower classes may be protected and the authority of the native nobility be upheld at the same time. In some 'up-country' districts, in Borneo and Celebes, however, the native rulers are practically independent, and the Dutch Government is not at present inclined to assert its authority by force of arms; while in the north-west of Sumatra, though the Atchinese pirates have at last been suppressed, the war party is not yet extinct.

Throughout these dependencies the aim of the Government is to rule the inhabitants through men of their own race, not to substitute foreigners for natives; and if fault can be found with this policy it is that too little restraint is put upon the intermixture of the white and coloured races.

The splendid fertility of the soil and the great quantity of land yet uncultivated naturally led the Dutch to seek some means by which the natural advantages of their islands might be put to better use, and to this end they set to work to overcome the indolent habits of the natives, who were not inclined to do more than they considered necessary for their own subsistence, and to induce them to devote more of their time and energies to agriculture. In return for good roads and bridges and the protection afforded by the Government, the natives were induced to give a certain amount of their time to the cultivation of coffee, sugar, indigo, and other crops. In this way they were taxed not in coin but in labour; and this system, known as the 'Culture System,' has produced very good results, especially in Java and Madura. Gradually, however, under the influence of the younger members of the governing nation, the cultivation of sugar and partly that of coffee also was dropped by the Government, and left to private enterprise, but, supervision by the Government being thereby abandoned, cases occurred of abuse of power by the concessionnaires; and though much has been done to prevent such abuse, it must be admitted that the condition of native workmen is not so good in the private concessions as it was under the direct authority of the Government.

Meanwhile, the outlook is promising; the development of the natural resources of the islands goes steadily on, though the rate of progress may not be particularly rapid, and the inhabitants are generally peaceful and well-behaved, while their number increases at a rate which seems to indicate continued and growing prosperity. The schools, too, are doing good work, and more and more of the natives are learning the language of their rulers. When a Malay has learned enough Dutch to express himself fairly clearly in that language, he is very proud of the accomplishment, and seldom misses an opportunity of displaying his knowledge.

One of the greatest drawbacks to the moral advance of the native is the bad example set by Europeans, on which it will be needful to say more later. Things are not nearly so bad in this respect as they formerly were, but still the unprincipled life which many of the white men are leading gives rise to doubt in the native mind as to the blessings of Western civilization.

That the native races are generally well-disposed towards the Dutch is borne out by the number that take service under the Government as police and as soldiers. Every two or three miles along the Government roads in Java one may meet a 'Gardoe,' or patrol of the country police, consisting of three bare-footed Javanese constables, in uniform of a semi-European cut and armed with kreeses.

As we have already seen, the Army which the Dutch maintain in their East Indian colonies is quite distinct from the Home Army of Holland. On their arrival the men are quartered in barracks, and the officers and married non-commissioned officers find houses at a moderate rent close by. The barracks consist not of single buildings but of many separate ones, so that the different races among the native troops may be kept distinct. Malays, Javanese, Madurese, Amboinese, Bugis, Macassarese, and the rest must all have separate buildings to themselves. Formerly there were Ashantees too, but the recruiting of these was stopped when the colony of St. George del Mina, on the Gold Coast, was transferred to England on the surrender of British claims in the north of Sumatra; very good soldiers they were, but cruel in war, giving no quarter, and very difficult to restrain in the heat of action. The native troops are officered by Europeans, but the sergeants and corporals are always of the same race as the men under them.

Great care is taken to safeguard the health of the troops, not only in the arrangement of barracks and in the selection of positions for garrisons, which are chosen as much on hygienic as on strategic grounds, but also by the establishment of military hospitals. In most large towns, and in smaller places on the coast where forts have been built, there are military hospitals, and to these any European, whether soldier or civilian, who falls ill is immediately taken; in fact, no others exist, except some sanatoria recently founded in the hills. A naval officer who often visited these hospitals, as well as hospital ships in war time, describes them as 'models of neatness, cleanliness, order, and usefulness.' 'Life in such a hospital,' he declares, 'is a luxury, not to be compared with anything of the kind in neighbouring colonies.'

For many years a considerable force has been constantly employed in Atchin, and a number of ships of war have been cruising along the coast to assist in the suppression of piracy.

The Colonial Fleet is made up of some warships built in Holland and others built in India, expressly for the Indian service, including a number of small coasting-steamers and sailing-vessels, and a steamer or two specially detailed for hydrographical work. The necessity for these last arises from the shoals and coral-reefs which abound in the Java and Flores Seas, in the Straits of Macassar, and among the Moluccos, and from the fact that the creeks and river-mouths are very shallow, and full of convenient hiding-places for pirate proas; it is most important, therefore, that both men-of-war and merchantmen should be kept supplied with good charts.

Piracy is an evil which the Colonial Fleet is specially designed to check, and it used to be very bad at one time before the Ballinese War of 1845. In the year before this, a Dutch merchantman, the Overyssel, stranded on the coast of Bally, and the crew were massacred, and ship and cargo looted by the Ballinese. This led to three expeditions; one in 1845, another, which was undertaken with an insufficient force and ended in disaster to the Dutch, in 1847, and the third and final one, successfully carried out by an army of 10,000 men and six warships, together with 6000 auxiliary troops from the island of Lombok. But while piracy was thus put down to the east of Java, the Atchinese pirates grew bolder than ever in the west, and complaints from Malay traders who were Netherlands subjects became more and more frequent. Numerous punitive expeditions were sent against the piratical Rajas in the north-west of Sumatra, but in most cases the real culprits escaped. At last, about 1873, the Government resolved to put an end to this state of things, and a force under General van Swieten seized the Kraton, or chief fortress. General van der Heyden took over the command in 1877, and soon captured and fortified Kota Raja, and two years later, though his troops suffered heavily from the climate, he had the whole country of Atchin subdued. The Home Government, however, misled by the apparent submission of the enemy, did away with military rule before they had made certain that no treachery was meditated, and on the arrival of a civil Governor all the advantages which had been won were again lost, and at last a state of war had to be proclaimed once more. From that time onward the Atchinese War became a chronic disease, but since an aggressive policy was adopted in 1898 the war party in Atchin has rapidly diminished, and it is now almost extinct. Fighting of a guerilla kind is reported from time to time, but peace is so far restored that the General is able to send some of his men home, and the people can cultivate their rice-fields and pepper-gardens unmolested. They are for the most part well disposed towards the Dutch, whose officers, in their proclamations, have always been careful to explain that the war was only against the murderers and robbers who made the coasts and country unsafe, and that no one would be harmed so long as he went peacefully about his business. Piracy on the Atchinese coast is now also a thing of the past, and will be so as long as the Government remains firm.

To turn to more peaceful subjects, Netherlands India is favoured above most lands in the richness and variety of its products, its mineral wealth alone being sufficient to make it a most valuable possession from a commercial point of view. A part of the Government revenue is derived from the sale of tin, which is found in several islands, and coal-fields exist in Sumatra and Laut, while gold is found on the west coast of Borneo and also in Sumatra, where the Ophir district no doubt owes its name to the presence of the precious metal. Another mineral product is petroleum, which has made the fortunes of several lucky colonists; it is found in many places, but the principal supply comes from Sumatra. These are some of the chief products, but they by no means exhaust the list, nor is the wealth of the colonies confined to minerals; there are the pearl-fisheries, for example, amongst the little islands lying south-west of New Guinea, and the Moluccos contribute mother-of-pearl and tortoise-shell, but the real wealth of the islands lies in the extraordinary fertility of the soil. Most of the land is clay, coloured red by the iron ore which it contains, and will grow almost anything, besides being very suitable for making bricks. Sugar, tea, coffee, indigo, and tobacco are grown in large quantities for export, and the principal crops cultivated by the natives are rice (in the marshy districts), maize, cotton, and many kinds of fruit which are also grown in British India. Most of the inhabitants are tillers of the soil, but the maritime natives are naturally occupied chiefly in the fisheries, and it is a very pretty sight, at any little fishing village, to see the boats start out for the hoped-for haul. Just before sunrise scores of little fishing-boats with bamboo masts and huge triangular mat-sails slip out of the creeks before the fresh land-wind, which lasts just long enough to carry them to the fishing-ground in the offing, and about four o'clock in the afternoon a sea-breeze springs up, and back they all come, generally laden with splendid fish. The evening breeze often attains such strength that the little boats would capsize if it were not for a balancing-board pushed out to windward, on which one or two, or sometimes three, men stand to act as a counterpoise, so that it may not be necessary to shorten sail. The Malays excel in boat-building, and rank very high in the art of shaping vessels which offer the least possible resistance to the water, and their boats fly over the surface of the sea in the most wonderful manner. If we except the rude tree-trunks used here and there, the vessels made by the Malays may serve, and have served, as models for swift sailing-craft all over the world.

Amongst the other industries for which the Malays, and the Javanese especially, are noted, the principal is the manufacture of textile fabrics; sometimes these are very skilfully dyed in ornamental patterns, and show considerable artistic taste.

Besides boat-building and weaving, the crafts of the blacksmith and carpenter should be mentioned, and also that of the gold and silver smith, for this indicates the source of many of the treasures with which wealthy Dutch homes in the old country abound.

Now that the war in Atchin is practically over it is not unlikely that the next few years may see greater advances in the commerce and industries of Netherlands India, especially as the trade returns report that a great industrial awakening is taking place at the present time in Holland, in which case there will be a rush of emigrants to the colonies. As has been said before, the climate out there is not unhealthy as a rule, but of course Europeans have to adapt their life to their surroundings. Profiting by the example of the natives, they have learned to make their houses very airy and cool. A large overhanging roof shades the entrances, front and rear, and the windows are without glass, except in the old cities, its place being taken by bamboo Venetian blinds. Verandahs run along the front and back of the house, which has generally one story only, and never more than two, and the rooms open either on these verandahs or on a central room which divides the house through the middle. The kitchen and store-rooms are in outbuildings at the back, and the garden all round the house is planted with cocoanut, banana, and mango trees, for the sake of their shade as well as for the fruit.

On paying a visit to such a house you go up two or three steps on to the front verandah, where a servant-boy offers you a chair and a drink, and then goes to find his master, who presently joins you. You are never asked to 'come in;' if the front verandah is too hot, an adjournment is made to the back. Sometimes, in the interior of the country, visitors are received in the garden, where they enjoy their cheroot Indian fashion, reclining rather than sitting. But this dolce far niente does not kill work, for merchants in the towns work pretty hard, and have to be at their offices during the heat of the day, from nine to five, and even on Sunday, if it happens to be mail-day. Other people take life rather easier, especially in the country, where the routine is as follows more or less: rise at six, bathe, breakfast at seven; then dress and go to work at nine; at twelve o'clock lunch, after which one lies down to sleep or read for a couple of hours; tea at four, and then a second bath. After five it is cool enough to dress and go for a walk or drive until dinner-time, and after dinner you may go for another drive or visit your neighbours. On Sundays you go to church from eleven to twelve, and take things easy for the rest of the day.

Travelling, if for any distance, is done at night, both by Europeans and natives, and if a native has to walk far he usually carries a mat, and when the day begins to get hot he unrolls his mat and lies down on it by the roadside. It does not surprise any one, therefore, to find seeming idlers asleep in the daytime along the roadside. Naturally, the little wayside shops which are found at every corner are not shut up or removed at night, as most of their trade is done then, but if customers are few the shopkeeper will fall asleep among his wares. The Government roads are well guarded by the native police, and at regular intervals there are stations where fresh horses can be procured if they are bespoken in time by letter or telegraph.

The colonist's life does not seem to be a very hard one on the whole, though no doubt there are drawbacks, such as, for instance, the want of schools. At present many Dutch children born in India are sent to Holland to be educated, not, as in the case of Anglo-Indians, for the sake of their health, but because there is not a sufficient number of schools in these colonies. This want will be remedied in time, so that colonists may be spared the trouble and expense of sending their children to Europe; but the only Dutch schools in Java that I know of are the 'Gymnasium' at Willem III (Batavia) and one high school for girls. Native schools are more numerous, and are being multiplied not only by the Government but by the missionaries. The attitude of the Indian Government towards missionary work has changed immensely for the better in the last forty years, and the labours of the missionaries are now appreciated very highly by both the Indian and the Home Government, and deservedly so, for the task of the Government has been very much lightened through the improvement in the attitude of the natives, owing largely to the work of the missions.

As to the life and customs of the natives, it is not necessary to describe all the different races, but the Malay villages deserve notice. In Java and Sumatra these are not arranged in streets, but the houses are grouped under large trees, and are separated from the road by a bamboo fence, on the top of which notice boards are fixed at intervals bearing the names of the villages; these are necessary, because it is often difficult to see where one village ends and the next begins. In the open spaces may be seen a few sacred 'waringin' trees, in which are hung wooden bells, used to sound an alarm or call the villagers together. Before the house of a native Regent is an open square, with a 'Pandoppo,' or roof on pillars in the centre, and here meetings are held, proclamations read, and distinguished visitors received. The houses are built of bamboo and roofed with palm-leaves; and sometimes they have floors of split bamboo, but often the hard clay soil serves as a floor. There are usually two or more sleeping-places, called 'balÉ-balÉs,' also made of bamboo, split and plaited, and over these another floor, which forms a sort of loft or store-room. There is no fireplace, all the cooking being done outside. Such a house can be bought for about five shillings! It takes a few men two or three weeks to build one, but to take it down and remove it to a new site is a matter of only a few hours. Near the houses are the stables, where the buffaloes and carts are kept, and here and there is a well, over which hangs a balancing-pole with a bucket at one end and a stone at the other.

The children play about naked until they are ten years old, when they dress like their elders, and consider themselves men and women. The costume of the Malay women consists of the 'sarong,' a cloth about 31/2 yards long and 11/2 wide, which is wound round the body and held by a belt and then rolled up just above the feet; over this a wide coat called a 'kabaya' is worn, and over all a 'slendang,' which is very like a 'sarong,' but is worn hanging over one shoulder, and in this is slung anything too large to be easily carried in the hands--even the baby. The men wear either 'sarongs' or trousers, or both, and a cotton jacket, and are always armed either with kreeses or chopping-knives, carried in their belts; the weapons are for cutting down cocoanuts and bamboo, and for protection against snakes and tigers. Both sexes wear their hair long, the men with head-cloths and the women with flowers and herbs, and all go bare-footed. The men are very good horsemen, and ride, like the Zulus and other coloured men, with only their big toes in the stirrups.

In Bally and Lombok the inhabitants are of the same race as the people of Java and Sumatra, but differ in religion and habits, having never been wholly subjected by the Mohammedans. The difference is chiefly noticeable in the construction of their houses, which are of stone in many cases, and built in streets. Each house has three compartments and a fireplace, or altar, which stands in the middle, opposite the door, the floors are sometimes paved, and the roofs are often covered with tiles instead of leaves, and supported by carved pillars.

These Brahmins have numerous temples, which are quite different from anything in the neighbouring islands, being built of brick and divided into sections by low walls, but without roofs; walls and gates are painted red, white, and blue, and inside stand a number of altars, on which offerings are laid. Brahminism survives in some of the other islands, at some distance from the coast, and occasionally a religious festival ends in a riot between Brahmins and Mohammedans.

The staple food of the Malay races is rice, which is cooked very dry, with fried or dried fish or shrimps and vegetables, and flavoured with chilis, onions, and salt. Dried beef and venison are also used, and wild pig and chickens and ducks are plentiful; other articles of food being maize, sweet potatoes, and many kinds of fruit, such as cocoa-nuts, bananas, mangoes, mangusteens, and so on. In the Moluccos the staple crop is not rice, but sago, which is prepared from the sap of the sago-palm. To an inhabitant of Java or Sumatra the cocoa-nut tree is indispensable; when a child is born, a nut is planted, and later on, if the child asks how old he is, his mother shows him the young palm, and tells him that he is 'as old as that cocoa-nut tree.' The nuts are boiled for the oil, and the white flesh is eaten, cooked in various ways, generally with other food. All kinds of provisions and other goods, from butcher's meat to needles and thread, are sold at the 'passars,' or markets, which are attended by large crowds.

Mention has been made of the moral example set by some Europeans to the natives. Generally the relations between the white and coloured races are those of superiors and inferiors, but in the matter of matrimony there is a difference. Many white men in Netherlands India never dream of marrying; they take to themselves 'Njais,' or house-keepers. The same thing is done in other colonies, at least in provinces far removed from European society, when native customs allow it. The ancient customs of the Malays and Javanese did not prescribe any religious ceremony for marriages; they had their 'adat,' or customs, which were as strictly adhered to as if they had been religious, but there was nothing consecrating the marriage tie. Moreover, their notions of hospitality, which are similar to those of most primitive races, no doubt encouraged the above-mentioned free marriages, or at least they explain how it was that the Malay women had no objection to becoming the 'Njais' of Europeans. Where such a woman was the daughter of a prince or chief, the European who took her was invariably some high official, whose position brought him into contact with noble Javanese families. These young women are remarkably graceful, even fascinating, and besides have received a good Javanese education, and it is not surprising that such 'marriages' were sometimes happy and permanent.

The sons were sent to Europe to be educated, being entrusted to the care of a guardian, uncle, or friend, and on their return to India soon found employment in the service of the Government; the girls stayed at home, and generally married well.

Such instances, however, are rare; more often the man regarded his 'Njai' merely as a temporary helpmate, and if he saw a chance would marry some rich European girl, when the Indian wife would be set aside--'sent into the bush,' as the phrase was. That such behaviour should have roused the wrath and hatred of the discarded wives and their relatives was but natural. Often the European bride, sometimes the faithless husband too, fell by the hand of a murderer who could never be found, or was poisoned by a maidservant or cook who was bought over to assist in the work of vengeance. The cast-out children sometimes played a part in these tragedies; if not, they certainly retained a hatred of Europeans generally, and rumours of mutiny were the consequence.

How this state of things can be remedied is a question which has long occupied the attention of the Government. Gradually, however, the mixed population is becoming more educated, and can find employment in Government and mercantile offices, as all excel in beautiful handwriting. A better feeling generally exists, and a keener sense of social duty is coming over the Europeans, so that a good many have really married the mothers of their children, a thing which fifty years ago was never heard of. There now exists a mixed race of Eurasians, children of the children of European fathers and Indian mothers, which at one time threatened to become a source of danger and insurrection, but all fear of trouble in that quarter is past. Of the 'inland children' many are now receiving a good education. In the Government schools they can learn enough to hold their own in point of knowledge against a large proportion of the Europeans in the colony, and they find employment in offices and shops, on the railway and post-office staffs, and on public works almost as quickly as pure whites.

Administrative system
Amusements, national
Army, the
Art, modern

Canals and their population, the
Capital, life in the
Capital punishment
Characteristics, national
Christmas customs
Church, relation of State to
Churches, Dutch
Clergymen, Dutch
Colonies, the Dutch
Costume, rural
Court, the
Customs, popular

Divorce, the law of
Dykes, the

Easter customs
Education, public

Farms and farmers
Freemasonry, Dutch
Friendly Societies
Funerals, customs at

Games, children's
Girls, freedom of Dutch

Home life

Indies, the Dutch

Justice, administration of

'Kermis,' the

Labour, conditions of
Law court, description of a Dutch
Literature and literary life

Marriage and marriage customs
Music

National Characteristics, types
Navy, the
Newspapers, the

'Palm Paschen'
Peasantry, the
Poets, modern Dutch
Political life and parties
Press, the
Professional classes, the

Queen Wilhelmina

Readers, the Dutch as
Reading Societies
Religions life
Renaissance, the literary
'Rommelpot'
Rural customs

Schools, the
Sculpture in Holland
Skaters, the Dutch as
Social life
Society, Dutch
Song, national love of
State, relation of Church to
St. Nicholas, festival of
Student life
Sunday in the country

Theatre, the
Thrift, Dutch

Universities, the

Village life

Wages of labour
Wedding customs
Women, position of
Working classes, the

The End