SINGAPORE', one-of the Straits settlements (q.v.), belonging to Great Britain, consists of an island lying off the s. extremity of the peninsula of Malacca, in lat. about 1° 17' n., long. 103' 50= e., and having a city of the same name on its s. side. The island is 25 m. long, and from 14 to 15 broad; area, 224 sq. miles. It is separated from the main-land by a narrow but deep strait,varying from a mile to a few furlongs in width. The surface is generally low and undulating, the greatest elevation (Bukit 'Flinn, or the Hill of Tin) being only 520 feet.. According to Malay accounts, a colony was planted on the site of the present town by tribes tvho are inferred to have been from the circum stance that the name Singapura, which they gave to their settlement, is most probably of Sanskrit origin (lion-town); the Javanese being the only people in these seas who have become fairly Ilinduized. Be that as it may, In ISIS it was found by sir Stamford Raffles to he an island covered with primeval forests, sheltering in its creeks and rivers only a few miserable fishermen and pirates. It seems to have been unclaimed by any power until 1811, when the sultan of .]shore formally annexed it to his territories. The commanding position of Singapore, in the very center of the highway leading from British India to China, lel sir Stamford Raffles to mark it out as the site of the first free port in the 3Ialayan seas; and in 1819 the British thug was hoisted on the new settlement; it was not till 1824 that Mr. Crawford concluded a satisfactory treaty with the sultan of Jailors, whereby the island of Singapore, and all the islands within 10 M. of its shore, were given up in full sovereignty to the East India company, on condition of a considerable yearly payment. Since then time prosperity of Singapore has been almost without a parallel. Its position as an entrepot for the trade of the Malayan archipelago, the Eastern Peninsula and China, and the wise policy that placed the commerce of the new port on an entirely unfettered footing, rapidly established a liourishfug trade. In 1823 the imports amounted to £1,200,000; the exports to .V920,000. In the year ending April 30,
1865, the value of the imports was £6,610,000; the exports, £6,630,000, being fully double the amounts in 1854-35. Notwithstanding the opening up of more direct communica tions whh Europe of many of the markets in China, Cochin-China, and Siam, formerly largely supplied by traders from Singapore, the commerce has increased, and in 1872 the value of imports was .1;8,600,000, and of exports, £7,800,000. The following table shows, in dollars, the value of the import and export trade of Singapore in the years 1875-76: The chief articles of export to Europe and North America are gambir, tin, sago, tapioca, black and white pepper, tortoise-shell, nutmegs, gutta percha, camphor, coffee, sapan-wood, and ratans. Of these, only gambir, sago, and nutmegs are produced on the island to any important extent; all the other articles being imported, chiefly by natives, from other quarters. From Europe large imports are received of cotton manufactures, woolens and linen, metals, hardware, earthenware, arms and ammunition, and treasure in the form of dollars. Large fleets of pralms are wafted by the southerly monsoon toward this great center of trade, laden with the 1111MC1'011S products of the Indian archi pelago, to return again laden with the manufactures of Europe. In 1875, 2,261 vessel, of 1.23,1.786 tons, entered at Singapore, while 2,348, of 1,003,601 tons, cleared—besides 3,171 coasting craft entered and 3,462 cleared. In 1876, 2.149 vessels, of 1,454,689 tons, entered the port; and 2,182 of 1,428,992 tons, cleared; the coasting trade being 3,716 entered and 3,718 cleared. In 1815 the local revenue of Singapore was $136,686, the expenditure being $136,256, In 1876 the figures were—revenue, $170,178; expenditure, $174,861. Education is being steadily advanced in Singapore, and a zealous desire on the part of the Eurasians to learn English is now observable. One school in Singapore had, in 1876, an attendance of 476. It is intended to establish at Singapore a training school for vernacular teachers. There is already a Malay college.