PAHANG

pahang, on the east coast of the peninsula, is situated between parallels 2° 28 and 3° 45 n. and 101° 30 and 103° 30 e. it is bounded on the n. by the independent native states of kelantan and trengganu; on the s. by the negri sembilan and johor; on the e. by the china sea; and on the w. by the protected states of perak and selangor. the coast-line is about 112 m. in length; the greatest length is about 210 m., and greatest breadth about 130 m. the state is the largest in the peninsula, its area being estimated at 15,000 sq. m. the ports on the coast are the mouths of the endau, rompin, pahang and kuantan rivers, but during the north-east monsoon the coast is not easy of approach, and the rivers, all of which are guarded by difficult bars, are impossible of access except at high tides. the principal river of the state is the pahang, from which it takes its name. at a distance of 180 m. from the coast this river is formed by two others named respectively the jelai and the tembeling. the former is joined 20 m. farther up stream by the lipis, which has its rise in the mountains which form the boundary with perak. the jelai itself has its rise also in a more northerly portion of this range, while its two principal tributaries above the mouth of the lipis, the telom and the serau, rise, the one in the plateau which divides perak from pahang, the other in the hills which separate pahang from kelantan. the tembeling has its rise in the hills which divide pahang from kelantan, but some of its tributaries rise on the trengganu frontier, while the largest of its confluents comes from the hills in which the kuantan river takes its rise. the pahang is navigable for large boats as far as kuala lipis, 200 m. from the mouth, and light-draught launches can also get up to that point. smaller boats can be taken some 80 m. higher up the jelai and telom. the river, however, as a waterway is of little use, since it is uniformly shallow. the rompin and kuantan rivers are somewhat more easily navigated for the first 30 m. of their course, but taken as a whole the waterways of pahang are of little value. the interior of pahang is chiefly noted for its auriferous deposits. gunong tahan is situated on the boundary between pahang and kelantan. its height is estimated at 8000 ft. above sea-level, but it has never yet been ascended. pahang, like the states on the west coast, is covered almost entirely by one vast forest, but in the lipis valley, which formerly was thickly populated, there is a considerable expanse of open grass plain unlike anything to be seen on the western seaboard. the coast is for the most part a sandy beach fringed with _casuarina_ trees and there are only a few patches of mangrove-swamp throughout its entire length. history. the ancient name of pahang was indrapura. it is mentioned in the history of _hang tuah_, the great malacca brave, who flourished in the 16th century, and succeeded in abducting a daughter of the then ruling house of pahang for his master, the sultan of malacca. prior to this, pahang had been ruled by the siamese. when malacca fell into the hands of the portuguese in 1511 the sultan, muhammad shah, fled to pahang, and the present ruling house claims to have been descended from him. the title of the ruler of pahang was bendahara until 1882, when the present (1902) ruler, wan ahmad, assumed the title of sultan, taking the name of sultan ahmad maatham shah. up to that time the bendahara had been installed on his accession by the sultan of riau, and held his office by virtue of that chief's letter of authority. about 1855 the father of the present sultan died at pekan, and his son bendahara korish, who succeeded him, drove wan ahmad from the country. after making three unsuccessful attempts to conquer the land and to dethrone his elder brother, wan ahmad at last succeeded in 1865 in invading the state and wresting the throne from his nephew, who had succeeded his father some years earlier. from that time, in spite of two attempts to shake his power by invasions from selangor which were undertaken by his nephews wan aman and wan da, bendahara ahmad ruled his country with a rod of iron. in 1887 he consented to enter into a treaty with the governor of the straits by which he accepted a consular agent at his court. this treaty was finally signed on the 8th of october 1887. in february of the following year a chinese british subject was murdered at pekan in circumstances which pointed to the responsibility of the sultan for the crime, and in october 1888 a resident was appointed to assist the sultan in the administration of his country, that being, in the opinion of the british government, the only guarantee for the safety of the life and property of british subjects which it could accept. in december 1891 disturbances broke out in pahang, the nominal leaders of which were certain of the sultan's most trusted chiefs. the sultan himself took no part in the outbreak, but it undoubtedly had his sympathy, even if it was not caused by his direct commands. the rebels were driven to seek safety in flight in november 1892, but in june 1894 they gathered strength for a second disturbance, and raided pahang from kelantan, in which state they had been given shelter by the mahommedan rulers. this event, added to the occurrence of other raids from across the border, led to an irregular expedition being led into trengganu and kelantan by the resident of pahang (mr hugh clifford) in 1895, and this had the desired result. the rebel chiefs were banished to siam, and no further breach of the peace has troubled the tranquillity of pahang since that time. pahang joined the federated malay states by a treaty signed in 1895, and the sultan and his principal chiefs were present at the federal durbar held at kuala kangsar in perak in 1897. population. the census taken in april 1901 gave the total population of pahang at 84,113, of whom 73,462 were malays, 8695 chinese, 1227 tamils and other natives of india, 180 europeans and eurasians, and 549 people of other nationalities. the population in 1905 was estimated at 100,000, the increase being due to immigration mainly from the states on the western seaboard. in former days pahang was far more thickly populated than in modern times, but the long succession of civil wars which racked the land after the death of bendahara ali caused thousands of pahang malays to fly the country. to-day the valley of the lebir river in kelantan and the upper portions of several rivers near the perak and selangor boundaries are inhabited by pahang malays, the descendants of these fugitives. the pahang natives are almost all engaged in agriculture. the work of the mines, &c., is performed by chinese and foreign malays. in the lipis valley the descendants of the rawa malays, who at one time possessed the whole of the interior in defiance of the pahang rajas, still outnumber the people of the land. finance and trade. the revenue of pahang in 1899 amounted to only $62,077; in 1900 to $419,150. in 1905 it was $528,368. the expenditure in 1905 amounted to $1,208,176. of this sum $736,886 was expended on public works. pahang is still a source of expense to the federation, its progress having been retarded by the disturbances which lasted from december 1891 until 1895, with short intervals of peace, but the revenue is now steadily increasing, and the ultimate financial success of the state is considered to be secure. pahang owes something over $3,966,500 to selangor and $1,175,000 to perak, which have financed it now for some years out of surplus revenue. the value of the imports in 1905 was $1,344,346, that of the exports was $3,838,928, thus making a total trade value of $5,183,274. the most valuable export is tin, the value of which in 1905 amounted to $2,820,745. the value of the gutta exported exceeded $140,000, that of dried and salted fish amounted to nearly $70,000, and that of timber to $325,000. general. the geological formation of the states lying to the eastward of the main range of mountains which splits the peninsula in twain differs materially from that of the western states. at a distance of about a dozen miles from the summits of the mountains the granite formation is replaced by slates, which in many places are intersected by fissures of quartz, and in others are overlaid by vast thicknesses of limestone. those of the quartz fissures which have been exploited are found to be auriferous, and several mining companies have attempted to work the deposits. their efforts, however, have not hitherto been successful. a magnificent road over the mountains, with a ruling grade of 1 in 30, joins kuala lipis, the administrative capital of pahang, to kuala kubu, the nearest railway station in selangor. the road measures 82 m. in length. pekan, where the sultan has his residence, was the capital of pahang until the middle of 1898, when the administrative headquarters were transferred to the interior as being more central. none of these towns is of any size or importance. in the kuantan valley, which lies parallel to the pahang river, a european company is working tin lodes with considerable success. these lodes are the only mines of the kind being worked in the federated malay states. pahang is fertile and well suited for agriculture of many kinds. the rainfall is heavy and regular. the climate is cooler than that of the west coast, and the full force of the monsoon is felt from october to february in each year. for administrative purposes pahang is divided into four districts--ulu pahang, in which the present capital is situated; temerloh, which includes 80 odd miles of the pahang valley and the semantan river; pekan, which includes the coast rivers down to endau; and kuantan. each of these is under the charge of a district officer, who is responsible to the resident. the boundary with johor and the negri sembilan was rectified by a commission which sat in london in 1897-1898. authorities.--_journal of the eastern archipelago_ (singapore); _journal of the straits branch of the royal asiatic society_ (singapore); maxwell, _proceedings of the royal colonial institute_, vol. xxiii.; swettenham, ibid. vol. xxvii; clifford, ibid. vol. xxx. (london, 1892, 1895, 1899); swettenham, _about perak_ (singapore, 1893); _malay sketches_ (london, 1895); _the real malay_ (london, 1899); _british malaya_ (london, 1906); clifford, _in court and kampong_ (london, 1897); _studies in brown humanity_ (london, 1898); _in a corner of asia_ (london, 1899); _bush-whacking_ (london, 1901); _further india_ (london, 1904); de la croix, _les mines d'etins de perak_ (paris, 1882); bluebook, c. 9524 (london, 1899); _the straits directory_ (singapore, 1906); skeat, _malay magic_ (london, 1900); skeat and blagden, _pagan races of the malay peninsula_ (london, 1906). (h. cl.) ii.--non-federated states in 1909 a treaty was made between great britain and siam, one provision of which was the cession to the former of the suzerain rights enjoyed by the latter over certain territories in the malay peninsula. these territories consisted of the four siamese malay states: kelantan, trengganu, kedah and perlis, very ancient dependencies of siam, all of which except trengganu, were in a flourishing condition and had been administered by british officers in the service of siam for some years prior to their transference. though the four states were loyal to siam and wished to retain their former allegiance, the change was effected without disturbance of any kind, the british government on assuming the rights of suzerainty placing an adviser at the court of each raja and guaranteeing the continuance of the administration on the lines already laid down by siam so far as might be compatible with justice and fair treatment for all. the four states lie to the north of the federated malay states, two on the east and two on the west side of the peninsula. kelantan.--this state on the east coast, bounded n. and n.e. by the china sea, e. by trengganu, s. by pahang and w. by perak and ra-nge, lies between 4° 48 and 6° 20 n. and 101° 33 and 102° 45 e. the greatest length from north to south is 115 m. and the greatest breadth from east to west 60 m. the area is about 5000 sq. m. the northern part of the state is flat and fertile, but the southern district which comprises more than half the total area, is mountainous and uncultivated. next to the pahang, the kelantan river is the largest on the east coast. it is 120 miles long and is navigable for shallow-draft launches and big country boats for about 80 miles, and for vessels of 8 ft. draft for about six miles. its principal tributaries are the galas, pergau and lebir. the golok and semarak rivers water the west and east parts of the state, falling into the sea a few miles on either side of the mouth of the kelantan river. the climate of kelantan is mild and singularly healthy in the open cultivated regions. the population is about 300,000 of which 10,000 are aboriginal tribes (sakeis and jakuns), 10,000 siamese and chinese and the rest malays. the chinese are increasing and natives of different parts of india are resorting to the state for purposes of trade. kota bharu (pop. 10,000) is the only town in the state. it lies on the right bank of the river, about six miles from the sea. since 1904 it has been laid out with metalled roads and many public and private buildings have been erected. the town is the commercial as well as the administrative centre of the state. tumpat and tabar on the coast, with population 4000 and 3000 respectively, are the places next in importance after kota bharu. a network of creeks render communication easy in the northern districts, the river and its tributaries afford means of access to all parts of the south; 20 miles of road have been made in the neighbourhood of kota bharu. kelantan is connected by telegraph with bangkok and singapore, and maintains regular postal communication with those places. rice cultivation is the principal industry and is increasing rapidly. coco-nut and betel-nut growing are also largely practised. much livestock is raised. about 400,000 acres of land are under cultivation. though reputed rich in minerals, past misrule prevented mining enterprise in kelantan until, in 1900, a large concession was given to an englishman and the country was opened to foreigners. in 1909 three mining syndicates were at work, and several others were in process of formation. gold, tin and galena have been found in several localities and during the years 1906-1909 28,000 ounces of gold were dredged from the kelantan river. the kelantanese are expert fishermen, some 30,000 finding employment in fishing and fish-drying. silk-weaving is a growing industry. foreign trade, which in 1909 reached the value of two and a half million dollars, is chiefly with singapore. principal exports are copra, rice, fish, cattle and gold; chief imports are cotton goods, hardware and specie. the currency is the straits settlements dollar and small silver coin, supplemented by a locally made tin coin of low value. by virtue of a mutual agreement made in 1902 siam appointed a resident commissioner to kelantan and consented, so long as the advice of that officer should be followed, to leave internal affairs to be conducted locally. under this arrangement a council of state was appointed, departments of government were organized, penal, civil and revenue laws were passed and enforced, courts were established and a police force was raised. though formerly of an evil reputation, the people were found to be naturally peaceful and law-abiding, and serious crime is rare. the state revenue, which was practically nothing in 1902, amounted to $320,000 in 1907. islamism was adopted about 300 years ago but the old animistic superstitions are still strong. the state is divided into _mukim_ or parishes, but the _imam_ no longer exercise temporal authority. there are three schools at kota bharu, education in the interior being in the hands of the imam assisted with government grants. no historical records of kelantan exist, and the state was not noticed by the european merchants of the 16th and 17th centuries. consequently little is known of its early history beyond what is to be gathered from brief references in the malay annals and the old chronicles of siam. the sites of ancient towns and the remains of former gold diggings are visible here and there, but all knowledge of the men who made these marks has been lost. the present ruling family dates from about 1790. siam was frequently called upon to maintain internal peace and in 1892 a royal prince was sent to reside in kelantan as commissioner. complications brought about by the incapacity of the ruler led to the making of the agreement of 1902 above mentioned, to the fixing of a regular tribute in money to siam, and ultimately to the merging of the state from chaotic lawlessness into the path of reform. on the 15th of july 1909 the state came under british suzerainty and the commissioner of siam was replaced by a british adviser, from which date the liability to payment of tribute ceased, though in all other respects the administrative arrangements of siam remained unaltered. trengganu.--this state on the east coast, bounded n. and n.e. by the china sea, s. by pahang and w. by pahang and kelantan, lies between parallels 4° 4 and 4° 46 n. and 102° 30 and 103° 26 e. the greatest length from north to south is 120 m., and the greatest breadth from east to west 50 m. it has a coast-line of 130 m. and an estimated area of about 5000 sq. m. there are several islands off the coast, some of which are inhabited. the surface is generally mountainous. principal rivers are the besut, stiu, trengganu, dungun and kmamun, none of which is navigable for any distance. the climate is mild and fairly healthy. the population numbers about 180,000, almost all malays, and mostly clusters round the mouths and lower reaches of the rivers. the capital, which is situated at the mouth of the trengganu river, contains, with its suburbs, not less than 30,000 people. difficulty of access by river and by land render the interior districts almost uninhabitable. communication is maintained by boat along the coast. there are no roads and no postal or telegraphic communications. the majority of the people are sailors and fishermen. rice is grown, but not in sufficient quantities to supply local needs. much pepper and gambier were at one time grown and exported, but about the year 1903 agriculture began to fall off owing to prevailing insecurity of life and property. not much livestock is raised, the few head of cattle exported from besut being mostly stolen from across the neighbouring kelantan border. a successful tin mine under european control exists in the kmamun district, but as everything possible was done in the past to discourage all foreign enterprise, the probable mineral wealth of the country is still practically untouched. silk-weaving, carried on entirely by the women, is a considerable industry. the silk is imported raw and is re-exported in the form of malay clothing (_sarongs_) of patterns and quality which are widely celebrated. the manufacture of native weapons and of brassware was at one time brisk but is declining. the trade of trengganu is not increasing. it is valued roughly at about one and a half million dollars a year, is chiefly with singapore, and is to a great extent carried in trengganu-built ships, which latter also do some carrying trade for other states on the east coast. the trengganu sultanate is one of the most ancient in the peninsula and ranks with that of riau. the state was feudatory to malacca in the 13th century and during the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries its possession was frequently disputed between malacca and siam. the present sultan is the descendant of an ancient family, the members of which have quarrelled and fought with each other for the succession from time immemorial. the last serious disturbance was in 1837 when the grandfather of the present sultan stole the throne from his nephew. until the acquisition of the state by great britain a triennial tribute of gold flowers was paid to siam, and this with occasional letters of instructions and advice, constituted almost the only tangible evidence of siamese suzerainty. of government there was practically none. the sultan, having alienated most of his powers and prerogatives to his relatives, passed his life in religious seclusion and was ruler in no more than name. the revenues were devoured by the relatives, a small part of those accruing from the capital sufficing for the sultan's needs. there were no written laws, no courts and no police. all manner of crime was rampant, the peasantry was mercilessly downtrodden, but the land was full of holy men and the cries of the miserable were drowned in the noise of ostentatious prayer. in fine, trengganu presented in the beginning of the year 1909 the type of untrammelled malay rule which had fortunately disappeared from every other state in the peninsula. in july of that year, however, the first british adviser or agent arrived in the state, which was shortly afterwards visited by the governor of the straits settlements, who discussed with the sultan the changed conditions consequent upon the anglo-siamese treaty and laid the foundations of future reform. kedah.--this state, on the west coast of the peninsula, lies between parallels 5° 20 and 6° 42 n., and is bounded, n. by palit and songkla, e. by songkla and raman, s. by province wellesley and perak, and w. by the sea. the coast-line is 65 m. long, the greatest distance from north to south is 115 m. and the greatest breadth 46 m. off the coast lies a group of islands, the largest of which is langkawi, well peopled and forming a district of the state. the total area of kedah is about 4000 sq. m. the land is low-lying and swampy near the coast except towards the south where the height known as kedah hill rises from the shore opposite penang, flat and fertile farther inland, and mountainous towards the eastern border. the rivers are small, the sungei kedah, navigable for a few miles for vessels of 50 tons, and the s. muda, which forms the boundary with province wellesley, being the only streams worthy of notice. the plains are formed of marine deposit, and in the mountains limestone and granite preponderate. the population is estimated at 220,000, of whom about 100,000 are malays, 50,000 siamese and samsams and 70,000 chinese and madrassis (klings). there are three towns of importance. alor star, the capital, on the kedah river, 10 miles from the sea, in a flat, unhealthy, but fertile locality, is a well laid out town with good streets, many handsome public and private buildings, and good wharfage for small vessels. the population is about 20,000, of whom more than half are chinese and the remainder government servants and retainers of the local aristocracy. kuala muda (pop. 10,000) and kulim (pop. 8000) situated in the south, are unimposing collections of small birch houses and thatched bamboo huts; the latter is the centre of the kedah tin mining industry. the bulk of the population is scattered over the plains in small villages. a good road runs north from alor star to the border of the state, a distance of 40 miles, and other roads are being constructed. the state has 185 miles of telegraph line and 75 miles of telephone line. mails are closed daily at alor star for penang and there is a good internal postal service. the chief industry is rice cultivation. coco-nut, betel-nut and fruit plantations are many, and the cultivation of rubber has recently been taken up with prospects of success. the estimated area under cultivation is about 300,000 acres. there are rice-mills at alor star and at kuala muda. the principal exports are rice, cattle and tin. the chief imports are cotton goods, provisions, hardware and raw silk. accurate trade statistics are not available. the ruler holds the rank of sultan and is assisted in the government by a council and by the british adviser who since the state passed from siamese to british protection in 1909, has replaced the officer formerly appointed by siam. the sultan comes of a family long recognized by siam as having hereditary right to the rulership. the penal and civil laws are administered in accordance with the precepts of islamism, the official religion of the state. though much has been done to improve the courts, justice is not easily obtainable. a land registration system is in force but is in a state of confusion, though a land law passed in 1905 gives security of tenure over lands newly acquired. the mining laws are similar to those of siam. in 1905 the siamese government advanced two and a half million dollars to kedah, to pay the debts of the state, which sum was refunded by the british government on assuming the position of protector. the annual revenue is $1,000,000 and the expenditure about the same. chief heads of revenue are opium and land tax. many revenue monopolies, created in the past, have not yet expired; but for this the revenue would be greater than it is. there is no army. in 1906 the police service was reorganized under british officers, resulting in great improvement to this department. the state is divided into a number of administrative districts under malay officials. each district comprises several _mukim_ or parishes, the _imam_ of which exercise both spiritual and temporal control. there are schools in the chief towns, but education has not yet been seriously undertaken. kedah was founded by colonists from india in a.d. 1200, about which time the siamese had subdued nakhon sri tammarat and claimed the whole malay peninsula. when the rise of malacca shook siamese authority in the peninsula, kedah oscillated between them, and on the conquest of malacca by the portuguese, fell to siam, though the capital was raided and burnt by the europeans. the ruler and his people were converted to islam in the 15th century. in 1768, the siamese kingdom being disorganized, the sultan of kedah entered into direct political relations with the hon. east india company, leasing the island of penang to the latter. further treaties followed in 1791 and 1802, but in 1821 siam reasserted her control, expelling the rebellious sultan after a sanguinary war. the sultan made several fruitless efforts to recover the state, and at length made full submission, when he was reinstated. in 1868 an agreement between great britain and siam was substituted for the treaties of the east india company with the sultan. the present sultan succeeded in 1881, and for 14 years governed well, but in 1895 he began to contract debts and to leave the government to his minions. the result was chaos, and in 1905 the siamese government had to intervene to avert a condition of bankruptcy, adjusting the finances and reorganizing the general administration to such effect that when, four years later, the state became a british dependency, a government was found established on a sound basis and requiring nothing but the presence of a firm and experienced officer as adviser to maintain its efficiency and assist its further advance. perlis (_palit_).--this small state, consisting of the left bank drainage area of the perlis river, lies between setul and kedah, which bound it on the n. and w. and on the e. respectively. it touches the sea only round the mouth of the river. the population is about 10,000, malays and chinese. the chief town, perlis, is situated about 12 m. up the river. a good deal of tin is worked, and rice and pepper are grown and exported. in the early part of the 19th century perlis was a district of kedah, but during a period of disturbance in the latter state it established itself as a separate chiefdom. in 1897 siam restored the nominal authority of kedah, but the measure was not productive of good. in 1905 the siamese government advanced a loan of $200,000 to perlis, and appointed an english adviser to assist in the general administration. this money was refunded to siam and the adviser relieved by a british officer when the state became british in july 1909. the condition of the state has improved, but the revenue, $80,000, is not sufficient for the immediate needs of government. authorities.--norman, _the far east_ (london, 1895); h. clifford, in the _geographical journal_ (london, 1896); carter, _the kingdom of siam_ (london, 1904); graham, _reports on kelantan_ (bangkok, 1905-1909); skeat and blagden, _pagan races of the malay peninsula_ (london, 1906); hart, _reports on kedah_ (calcutta, 1907-1909); graham, _kelantan, a handbook_ (glasgow, 1907). (w. a. g.) malay states (siamese). the authority of siam, which at one time covered the whole of the malay peninsula, now extends southward to an irregular line drawn across the peninsula at about 6° 30 n. between that line and the isthmus of kra, usually accepted as the northernmost point of the malay peninsula, there lie some 20,000 sq. m. of territory inhabited by a mixed population of siamese and malays with here and there a few remnants of the aboriginal inhabitants clinging to the wilder districts, and with a few chinese settlers engaged in commerce. formerly this tract was divided into a number of states, each of which was ruled by a chief (siamese, _chao muang_; malay, _raja_), who held his title from the king of siam, but, subject to a few restrictions, conducted the affairs of his state in accordance with his own desires; the office of chief, moreover, was hereditary, subject always to the approval of the suzerain. the states formed two groups: a northern, including langsuan, chaya, nakhon sri tammarat, songkla, renawng, takoapa, pang nga, tongka and trang, in which the siamese element predominated and of which the chiefs were usually siamese or chinese; and a southern, including palean, satun (setul), patani, raman, jering, sai (teloban), re nge (legeh), yala (jalor) and nong chik, in which the population was principally malay and the ruler also malay. four other states of the southern group, kelantan, trengganu, kedah and perlis, of which the population is entirely malay, passed from siamese to british protection in 1909. with the gradual consolidation of the siamese kingdom all the states of the northern group have been incorporated as ordinary provinces of siam (q.v.), the hereditary _chao muang_ having died or been pensioned and replaced by officials of the siamese civil service, while the states themselves now constitute provinces of the administrative divisions of chumpon, nakhon sri tammarat and puket. the states of the southern group, however, retain their hereditary rulers, each of whom presides over a council and governs with the aid of a siamese assistant commissioner and with a staff of siamese district officials, subject to the general control of high commissioners under whom the states are grouped. this southern group, with a total area of about 7000 sq. m. and a population of 375,000, constitutes the siamese malay states. a british consul with headquarters at puket, and a vice-consul who resides at songkla, watch over the interests of british subjects in the states of the west and east sides of the peninsula respectively. other foreign powers are unrepresented. _palean._--this small state on the west coast, bounded n. by the province of trang, e. by the songkla division, s. by the state of setul, and w. by the sea, is about 900 sq. m. in area, and has a population of about 20,000. it is attached for administrative purposes to the province of trang, and its people are chiefly engaged in the cultivation of pepper, of which about 150 tons are annually exported. a few tin mines are also worked. _satun_ (_setul_).--this small state, bounded n. by palean, e. by songkla, s. by perlis, and w. by the sea, contains about 1000 sq. m. area with a population of about 25,000, malays, siamese and a few chinese. the principal production is pepper, which is exported in junks and in the small penang steamers which ply on the west coast of the peninsula. in 1897 setul was placed under the control of kedah, then a siamese dependency, but the arrangement was not a success, and in 1907 the siamese government was forced, owing to prevailing corruption and misrule, to restrict the powers of the chief and, cancelling the authority of kedah, to place him to some extent under the orders of the high commissioner of songkla. by the terms of the anglo-siamese treaty of 1909 about half of the state of perlis was added to satun, an arrangement by which the importance of the latter was considerably increased. _patani._--the seven malay states of nawng chik, patani, jering, yala (jalor), sai (teloban), raman and ra-nge (legeh) were constituted from the old state of patani at the beginning of the 19th century. in 1906 they were reunited to form the patani administrative division of siam, but each state retains its malay ruler, who governs jointly with a siamese officer under the direction of the siamese high commissioner, and many of the ancient privileges and customs of malay government are preserved. the group of states is situated between 5° 34 and 6° 52 n. and 100° 54 and 101° 58 e. it is bounded n. by the china sea, e. by the china sea and kelantan, s. by perak, and w. by kedah. the total area is about 5000 sq. m. the country is mountainous except close to the coast. the principal rivers are the patani and the teloban, long, winding and shallow, and navigable for small boats only. the population is about 335,000, of whom the great majority are malays. each state has its capital, but patani (the headquarters of the high commissioner) is the only town of importance. communications are poor and are chiefly by river, but roads are under construction. patani and sai are in telegraphic communication with bangkok and singapore, and regular weekly mails are despatched to those places. the area under cultivation is small except round about patani and in nawng chik, where much rice is grown. tin mining is a growing industry; many chinese own mines and several european syndicates are at work in raman, ra-nge and patani, prospecting for, or mining, this metal. fishing and salt-evaporation occupy a large proportion of the population. the annual export of tin is about 400 tons, and dried fish, salt, cattle and elephants are other exports. steamers up to 300 tons maintain frequent communication with bangkok and singapore, and the patani roads afford good anchorage at all seasons. mahommedan law is followed in the settlement of inherited property disputes and of matrimonial affairs; otherwise the laws of siam obtain. efficient law courts have been established in each state, and there is a serviceable force of gendarmerie recruited from amongst malays and siamese alike. the revenue amounts to about 600,000 ticals, or £45,000 a year, one-third being payable to the rulers as private income for themselves and their relatives, one-third expended on the administration, and one-third reserved for special purposes, but it is usually found necessary to devote the last-mentioned third to the expenses of administration. patani has been subject to siam from the remotest times. it is said that the old state adopted islamism in the 16th century, the chief, a relative of the kings of siam, embracing that religion and at the same time revolting to malacca. it has several times been necessary to send punitive expeditions to recall the state to its allegiance. the present rulers are mostly descended from the ruling families of the neighbouring state of kelantan, but the chief of patani itself is a member of the family which ruled there in the days of its greatness. throughout the 17th century patani was resorted to by portuguese, dutch and english merchants, who had factories ashore and used the place as an emporium for trade with siam. in 1621 an engagement took place in the patani roads between three dutch and two british ships, the latter being taken after the president of the british merchants, john jourdain, had been killed. in 1899 the border between the state of perak and raman was fixed by an agreement between england and siam, a dispute of old standing being thereby settled, but the question was reopened in the negotiations which preceded the anglo-siamese treaty of 1909, when a new border line was fixed between british and siamese possessions in the peninsula. (w. a. g.)