Singapore.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7940, 2 October 1905, Page 2

Singapore.

BRITAIN'S NEW EASTERN NAVAL BASK. The island ol Singapore, the most important ol the Straits| Settlements, was purchased Iran ihe Sultan of Jahore in 1821 for £12,5110, plus a life-rent of £SOOO. It is separated from the southern extremity of the Malay peninsula by a strait only halt a mile wide at its narrowest. The island is 27 miles long by 11 broad, and its arc is 206 square miles. The capital town, Singapore, which has a population of nearly 200,000, occupies a site commanding the principal waterway for vessels trading between eastern Asia and India and Europe. II came under notice some mouths ago when the great armada, commanded by Admiral RozlKlcstvensky, steamed past the city, and thus entered for the first lime the waters of the enemy. Singapore in a sense marked the last point of comparative safety for the Russians who were then, as events proved, steaming towards their doom. The city is al present defended by" numerous batteries and forts, and is a naval coaling station and depot. The harltour is spacious ami safe and easy of access. There are two graving yards and an Admiralty dock. Hie city was founded hi 1819 bv Sir Stamford Raffles as an emproium for British trade in tl lt . |.,\,sl indies, and has since grown to be an important trading place in the south-east of Asia.