Singapore (Capital of the dependency)

Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)

the capital of the dependency of the same name, is the only town on the island. It occupies a pleasant site on the S. E. coast, on the Strait of Singapore, the principal waterway for vessels trading between eastern Asia and India and Europe. This city was founded by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819 as an emporium for British trade in the East Indies, and it has since that time advanced and grown in prosperity till it has become the most important trading-place in the its only competitor being S. E. of Asia, its Batavia in Java, from which it is 600 miles distant. Singapore is a picturesque, well-built town, wn, with fine public buildings and all kinds of appliances in the nature of public works. It possesses a governor's residence, St. Andrew's Protestant cathedral (1861-1870), a Roman Catholic cathedral, Mohammedan mosques, Hindu temples, Chinese joss-houses, Raffles museum (1823), the supreme law-courts, post-office (1883), hospitals, jail, barracks, and fine botanical and zoological gardens. It is defended by numerous batteries and forts, and is a naval coaling station and depot. The docks, stores, and dwelling houses extend for 6 miles or more along the sea front. The harbor is spacious and safe and remarkably easy of access, and its dock accommodation embraces two graving docks, an admiralty dock, and several docks of the ordinary kind. The total annual trade of Singapore has increased at a remarkable rate since the city was founded. The imports in 1918 were valued at £67,219,285, and the exports at £57,940,969. The imports embrace nearly every kind of European manufacture, while the exports consist of the productions of the East Indies, China, Japan, and the islands of the Western Pacific. The tonnage of the vessels entering the port has been known to increase at the rate of 75 per cent. annually. The vessels of the P. and O. Company, and other large companies trading to China, Australia, and the East put in regularly at Singapore. The population has grown at the same rapid rate as the commerce: in 1824 the town had 10,603 inhabitants; in 1919 about 325,000. The death rate is high, yet the climate, in spite of Singapore being situated little more than 1° N. of the equator, is uniform and agreeable, the nights being particularly cool and refreshing. The thermometer ranges between 67° and 94° F. and has a mean of about 82°. The rainfall varies from 65.6 to 92.2 inches in the year. There was a former town on the site of the present city, which was founded by Malay converts to Hinduism from Java or Sumatra, apparently in the 12th century; but it had wholly disappeared when Sir S. Raffles laid the foundations of the existing Singapore (i. e., "Lion City"). It was made the capital of the STRAITS SETTLE- MENTS (q. v.) in 1830, superseding Penang.