Page:EB1911 - Volume 17.djvu/470

 coast of Sumatra. By this treaty the Dutch were precluded from interference in the affairs of the Malay Peninsula, and Great Britain from similar action in regard to the States of Sumatra, with the sole exception of Achin, the right to protect that state being maintained by Great Britain until 1872 when it was finally abandoned by a treaty concluded with Holland in that year. The Dutch took advantage of this immediately to invade Achin, and the strife begun in 1873 still continues and is now a mere war of extermination. It was not until 1833 that the whole territory lying at the back of Malacca was finally brought under British control, and as late as 1887 the Negri Sembilan, or Nine States, which adjoin Malacca territory on the east and north-east, were completely independent. They to-day form part of the Federated Malay States, which are under the protection of Great Britain, and are governed with the assistance and by the advice of British officers.

Malacca, in common with the rest of the Straits Settlements, was administered by the government of India until 1867, when it became a crown colony under the control of the Colonial Office. It is to-day administered by a resident councillor, who is responsible to the governor of the Straits Settlements, and by a number of district officers and other officials under his direction. The population of the town and territory of Malacca in 1901 was 94,487, of whom 74 were Europeans and Americans, 1598 were Eurasians, the rest being Asiatics (chiefly Malays with a considerable sprinkling of Chinese). The population in 1891 was 92,170, and the estimated population for 1905 was 97,000. The birth-rate is about 35 per thousand, and the death-rate about 29 per thousand. The trade of this once flourishing port has declined, most of the vessels being merely coasting craft, and no large line of steamers holding any communication with the place. This is due partly to the shallowness of the harbour, and partly to the fact that the ports of Penang and Singapore, at either entrance to the straits, draw all the trade and shipping to themselves. The total area of the settlement is about 700 sq. m. The colony is wholly agricultural, and the land is almost entirely in the hands of the natives. About 50,000 acres are under tapioca, and about 9000 acres are under rubber (hevea). This cultivation is rapidly extending. There are still considerable areas unoccupied which are suitable for rubber and for coco-nuts. The settlement is well opened up by roads; and a railway, which is part of the Federated Malay States railway system, has been constructed from the town of Malacca to Tampin in the Negri Sembilan. There is a good rest-house at Malacca and a comfortable seaside bungalow at Tanjong Kling, seven miles from the town. Malacca is 118 m. by sea from Singapore and 50 m. by rail from Seremban, the capital of the Negri Sembilan. There is excellent snipe-shooting to be had in the vicinity of Malacca.

See The Commentaries of d’Alboquerque (Hakluyt Society); The Voyages and Adventures of Fernand Mendez Pinto (London, 1653); An Account of the East Indies, by Captain Alexander Hamilton (Edinburgh. 1727); Valentyn’s History of Malacca, translated by Dudley Hervey; Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society; “Our Tropical Possessions in Malayan India,” by the same author, ibid.; Further India, by Hugh Clifford (London, 1904); British Malaya, by Sir Frank Swettenham (London, 1906).

 MALACHI, the name assigned to the last book of the Old Testament in English (the last of the “prophets” in the Hebrew Bible), which according to the title (Mal. i. 1) contains the “word of Yahweh to Israel by the hand of Malachi.” In form the word means “my messenger.” It could be explained as a contraction of Malachiah, “messenger of Yahweh”; but the Septuagint is probably right in not regarding it as a proper name (“by the hand of His messenger”). Not only do we know nothing from internal or external evidence of the existence of a prophet of this name, but the occurrence of the word in the title is naturally explained as derived from iii. 1: “Behold, I send my messenger” (cf. ii. 7). The prophecy must, therefore, be regarded as anonymous; the title was added by the compiler who wrote similar editorial titles to the anonymous prophecies beginning Zech. ix. 1, xii. 1.

The contents of the prophecy fall into a series of clearly marked sections, as in the paragraph division of the Revised Version. These apply, in various ways, the truth emphasized at the outset: Yahweh’s love for Israel in contrast with his treatment of Edom (i. 2-5). Israel’s response should be a proper regard for the ritual of His worship; yet any offering, however imperfect, is thought good enough for Yahweh’s altar (i. 6-14). Let the priests, who are responsible, take warning, and return to their ancient ideals (ii. 1-9). Again, the common Fatherhood of God should inspire a right relation among fellow Israelites, not such conduct as the divorce of Israelite wives in order to marry non-Israelite women (ii. 10-16). The prevalence of wrong-doing has provoked scepticism as to righteous judgment; but the messenger of Yahweh is at hand to purge away indifferentism from worship and immorality from conduct (ii. 17-iii. 6). The payment of tithes now withheld will be followed by the return of prosperity (iii. 7-12). Religion may seem useless, but Yahweh remembers His own, and will soon in open judgment distinguish them from the irreligious (iii. 13-iv. 3). The book closes with an appeal to observe the law of Moses, and with a promise that Elijah shall come before the threatened judgment.

The topics noticed clearly relate the prophecy to the period of Ezra and Nehemiah, when the Temple had been rebuilt (i. 10; iii. 1, 10), the province of Judah was under a Persian governor (i. 8), and there had been time enough for the loss of earlier enthusiasm. The majority of modern scholars are agreed that the prophet prepares for the work of those reformers (Ezra, 458; Nehemiah, 444, 432 ). The abuses of which he particularly complains are such as were found rampant by Ezra and Nehemiah—marriage with foreign women (ii. 11; cf. Ezra ix.; Neh. xiii. 23 seq.; Deut. vii. 3) and failure in payment of sacred dues (iii. 8 seq.; cf. Neh. x. 34 seq.; xiii. 10 seq.; Deut. xxvi. 12 seq.). The priests have fallen into contempt (ii. 9) and have neglected what is still one of their chief trusts, the oral law (ii. 6 seq.). The priestly code of written law was not promulgated until 444 (Neh. viii.-x.); “Malachi” writes under the influence of the earlier Code of Deuteronomy only, and must therefore belong to a date prior to 444. The independent character of the attack on current abuses also suggests priority to the work of Ezra in 458. The prophecy affords an interesting and valuable glimpse of the post-exilic community, with its various currents of thought and life. The completion of the second Temple (516 ) has been followed by disillusionment as to the anticipated prosperity, by indifference to worship, scepticism as to providence, and moral laxity. In view of these conditions, the prophet’s message is to reassert the true relation of Israel to Yahweh, and to call for a corresponding holiness, especially in regard to questions of ritual and of marriage. He saw that “the disobedience of