Translation:Max Havelaar/07

One morning there was an unusual commotion on the boundary between Lebak and Pandeglang. Hundreds of horses in harness covered the road and at least a thousand people – a lot for that place – were eagerly waiting and walking to and fro. We saw the chiefs of the villages, the district chiefs of Lebak, with their entourages, and, as could be judged from the fair half-breed Arabian which, in its rich harness, nibbled a silver snaffle, there was also a chief of higher rank. That was true. The Regent of Lebak, Radhen Adhipatti Karta Natta Negara had left Rangkas-Betoeng with his entourage, and in spite of his age he had covered the twelve or fourteen pales which separated his home from the boundaries of the neighbouring department Pandeglang.

A new Assistant-Resident was expected, and the custom, which in the Indies has more than anywhere else the power of law, requires that the official who takes care of the government of a department, receives a celebratory reception when he arrives. The Controller, a man of middle age, who had substituted for the government for several months after the death of the previous Assistant-Resident, being the next lower in rank, was present as well.

As soon as the moment of arrival of the new Assistant-Resident was known, a pendoppo had been erected in a hurry. A table and some chairs where placed there, and there were some refreshments ready. In this pendoppo the Regent and the Controller waited for their new superior.

After a hat with a wide brim, an umbrella or a hollow tree, a pendoppo is surely the simplest way to make a roof. Imagine four or six bamboe poles hammered into the ground, connected on top by other bamboes, covered with the long leaves of a waterpalm, which is in this area known as atap, that's a pendoppo. It is, as you see, as simple as possible, and it was supposed to be a simple pied à terre for the European and native officials who were to welcome their new superior near the border.

I made a slight error when I called the Assistant-Resident their superior, also of the Regent. An explanation of the mechanism of the government in this area is necessary, for a good understanding of what follows.

The thus named Nederlandsch Indie – the adjective Nederlandsch appears inexact to me, but it has officially been accepted – can, what regards the relation between the motherland and the people, be separated in two main parts. One part consists of the tribes whose princes and dukes accepted the sovereign authority of the Netherlands, but who more or less retained a direct control in the hands of the native chiefs. The other part, which – with perhaps a very slight exception – includes all of Java, is immediately subject to the Netherlands. There are no levies or tributes here. The Javanese is a subject of the Netherlands. The King of the Netherlands is his King. The descendants of earlier princes and lords are Dutch clerks. They are appointed, moved and promoted by the Governor-General who reigns in name of the King. The criminal is sentenced and executed according to laws which came from The Hague. The taxes, paid by the Javanese, go to the treasury of the Netherlands.

These pages will mainly deal with the Dutch possessions in this part, which is truly part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The Governor-General has a council, which cannot uverrule his decisions. In Batavia the different branches of the government are divided in "departments", each managed by a Director, who is the link between the Governor-General and the residents in the departments. When a case of political nature must be dealt with, these Directors consult the Governor-General immediately.

The name Resident dates from the time when the Netherlands ruled indirectly over the people, who were represented by residents in the courts of the reigning princes. Those princes aren't there any more, and the residents have become, being residents, local governors or prefects, managers of areas. The circle of control has changed, the name has remained.

It's these residents, who actually represent the authority of the Dutch over the people of Java. The people do not know the Governor-General, nor the councils of the Indies, nor the Directors in Batavia. They know only the Resident, and the clerks who are his subordinates.

Such a residency – some of them have almost a million people – is divided into three, four or five departments, under control of an Assistant-Resident. An Assistant-Resident is helped by controllers, supervisors and other officials who are needed to receive taxes, to supervise agriculture, to erect buildings, waterworks, police and administer justice.

In each department there is a native chief of high rank with the title Regent, to help the Assistant-Resident. Such a Regent, although his relation to the government is that of a paid official, always belongs to the high nobility of the country, and often to the family of the princes who used to reign, independently, over that area. This means that the ancient feudal influence has been retained – this is in all Asia of great importance, and in most tribes it is part of their religion – while appointing these chiefs as government officials creates a hierarchy, with the Dutch authority at the top, represented by the Governor-General.

There is nothing new under the Sun. Weren't the counts, earls and viscounts of the German empire appointed in the same way by the Emperor, usually chosen from the rich families? Without talking of the origin of nobility, which is in our nature, I'll reserve some room to remark how, both in our continent and in yonder remote India, the same causes had the same consequences. A country must be ruled remotely, and this requires officials who represent the central authority. Under the system of military arbitrariness, the Romans chose prefects, initially the captains of the legions which had subdued the country. Those areas remained departments, that is colonies for profit. But as soon as the central authority of the German empire found the need to be linked to a remote people, not only by material superiority - as soon as a remote region was regarded as belonging to the empire, being of equal rank, language and customs, it was found necessary to appoint a supervisor, who not only belonged to that region, but who also had a higher position than his fellow-citizens, so that the Emperor's orders were readily obeyed, because the people were used to being subject to the person who took care of the execution of the orders. This also partly or completely avoided the expense of an army, paid for out of the Emperor's treasury, or as usually happened, paid for by the departments themselves who had to be monitored by that army. That's how the first counts were elected from the barons of the country, and strictly speaking the word count is not a title of nobility, but only the name of a person with a certain task. Therefore I believe that one had an opinion in the Middle Ages that the German Emperor had the right to appoint counts (for authority over the land) and dukes (for authority over the army), but that the barons stated, because of their birth, that they were equal to the Emperor and subject only to God, apart from the obligation to serve the Emperor, insofar as he had been chosen with their permission and from their number. A Count was invested with an office, declared by the Emperor. A baron was that by the grace of God. The counts represented the Emperor and carried his banner, the colours of the empire. The barons could call people under their own banner, as bannerlords.

The circumstance that counts and dukes are usually chosen from amongst the barons, meant that they could use the influence which they had by right of birth. Probably, in particular when the offices were hereditary, these titles were considered superior to that of baron. Even today many a family of freelords – without a patent from King or Emperor, that's a family which is noble because of the existence of the country, which was always noble because it was noble – autochthonous – would reject a raising to the peerage, finding it derogating. There are examples of it.

The persons who took care of the government of such a county would, of course, hope that the Emperor would assign their sons, or for want of sons other kin – as their successors. So this usually happened, although I do not believe that this succession had ever been recognised as a right, as far as it is for the officials in the Netherlands, for example the counts of Holland, Zeeland, Hainault or Flanders, the dukes of Brabant, Guelderland etc. Initially it was a favour, afterwards a custom, eventually a necessity, but it was never a law that nobility was hereditary.

Almost in the same way – as regards the choice of persons, because there is no equality in tasks, although there is certain similarity – The chief of a department in Java is a native official. He obtained a rank from the government which he combines with his autochthonous influence, and this makes the government easy for the European official, who represents the Dutch authority. And here too it has become a custom that the office is hereditary. While a Regent is still alive, the succession has already been arranged, and it is considered a reward for his zeal and faith when he gets the promise that he will be succeeded by his son. There must be very important reasons to appoint another successor, and even if it happens, one still chooses a successor from the members of the same family.