The Landschapskassen (“territorial treasuries,” singular landschapskas) were the institutional treasuries of the zelfbesturen (self-governing territories) of the Outer Possessions, into which all revenues of a landschap were paid and from which all expenditures for the benefit of the landschap were funded, under the oversight of the Dutch Gouvernement. In the Encyclopaedisch Bureau’s account, the landschapskassen were the principal financial instrument of the post-pacification consolidation of Dutch rule in Atjeh and the wider Buitenbezittingen — the institutional embodiment of the principle that the revenues of a landschap belonged to the landschap (rather than to its ruler) and were to be spent, under Gouvernement oversight, for the benefit of land and people. Kreemer’s 1923 account of the Atjèh landschapskassen supplies the detailed anatomy of the system as applied to the eighteen kassen of Atjèh en Onderhoorigheden.
Account from De Buitenbezittingen (1917) — Landschapskassen
The Encyclopaedisch Bureau’s account of the landschapskassen occupies a central place in the chapter on administrative organisation. The Bureau notes that the institution of the landschapskassen was, before 1904, “only sporadically found in the zelfbesturende landschappen of the Buitenbezittingen, a consequence of the little involvement that we had until that time with the internal administration of those realms.” The Bureau’s narrative of the post-1904 development of the landschapskassen identifies 1910 as a “mijlpaal” (milestone): “before that year the establishment and management of the landschapskassen was rather à l’improviste, without pursuing uniformity in the various regulations; since that year the management and use of the monies have been subjected to general rules and direction, and oversight has been more centralised.”
The institutional instrument of this centralisation was the Bureau van Financieele aangelegenheden, established by G. B. of 30 January 1911 No. 3. The Bureau’s statistical tables show that the total budget of all Buitenbezittingen landschapskassen rose from f 9,199,000 in 1910 to f 13,935,000 in 1913.
Atjeh and Dependencies
For Atjeh and Dependencies specifically, the landschapskassen underwent the most dramatic expansion of any Buitenbezittingen gewest in the 1910–1913 period. In 1910 the gewest had 3 landschapskassen; in 1912 15 new onderafdeelingskassen (sub-divisional treasuries) were created; by ultimo 1913 the gewest contained 18 kassen — the largest number in any Buitenbezittingen gewest. The gewest’s total income from its landschapskassen rose from f 264,910 in 1910 to f 748,802 in 1913.
The gewest was also the only Buitenbezittingen gewest in which the split of concession revenues between the Gouvernement and the Zelfbesturen was not 1:1 but 6:4 — a special fiscal regime that the Bureau notes in a footnote. The gewest was likewise one of the three principal sources of concession revenues in the entire Buitenbezittingen: in 1913 the Atjeh concession revenues yielded f 1,344,000 to the landschapskas — the second-largest such yield after Sumatra’s East Coast.
Kreemer’s account (1923) — the 18 kassen of Atjèh
Kreemer records that all 18 landschapskassen of Atjèh en Onderhoorigheden were created on 1 January 1912 by Gouverneurs Bt. 14 October 1911 N°. 257/P.Z., except Peureula’ (1908), Idi (1909), and Tëmiang (1907). The total of 18 kassen comprised:
- 3 landschapskassen (proper)
- 3 onderafdeelingskassen-landschappen
- 11 onderafdeelingskassen
- 1 afdeelingskas (the Alaslanden’s afdeelingskas, not a landschapskas)
Principle
The principle of the landschapskas was that the Zelfbestuurder (self-governing ruler) is the first servant of his landschap, paid a fixed monthly salary, with up to 3/10 share from enterprises allowed. The landschapskas was administered by an “administrateur” placed in Koeta Radja, assisted by a boekhouder and schrijverspersoneel.
The Beheersreglement
The Beheersreglement of 5 October 1911 (Bt. N°. 229/P.Z.) governed the administration of landschapskassen, based on the “Leidraad” in Bb. 6672. Modified and supplemented by Gouverneurs-circ. of 28 February 1912 N°. 96/P.Z.
The Zelfbestuursregelen 1919
The Zelfbestuursregelen 1919 (Stbl. 1919 N°. 822) further regulated the landschapskassen. Article 1: landschap territory excludes sea area. Articles 21–22: landschapskas budgets must be set annually. Article 30: mining cijns/vast recht allocation.
The restitutie-post
The Government charged a restitutie-post to the landschapskassen for expenses made on their behalf. Total ƒ566,864 was due; reduced to ƒ135,000/year (24%) for 1919, 1920, 1921 (Gouvernements Bt. 28 February 1920 N°. 51) given the gewest’s special condition. Now set triennially instead of annually.
Sources of income
The landschapskassen drew income from:
- Wasé oelèëbalang (mostly absorbed into kas salaries)
- Pantjang alas (10% tax on forest products)
- Hasil pantjang (fishery tax in Tëmiang)
- Mining concession cijnsen (especially Peureula’ petroleum)
- Ha balè (court fees) and ha praé (estate-fees)
- Bird-nest cave leases (e.g., Lam Peu’ Oeë’ at ƒ900/year)
Types of kassen
The Encyclopaedisch Bureau’s account distinguishes three principal types of territorial treasuries: the landschapskas proper (the treasury of a single landschap under a zelfbestuur), the onderafdeelingskas (the treasury of a sub-division under direct administration), and the afdeelingskas (the treasury of a whole division under direct administration). The post-1910 centralisation saw the progressive consolidation of smaller landschapskassen into larger onderafdeelingskassen and afdeelingskassen — a process that the Bureau’s tables document in detail for each gewest.
Significance
The landschapskassen are, in the Encyclopaedisch Bureau’s account, the principal financial instrument of the post-pacification consolidation of Dutch rule in Atjeh and the wider Buitenbezittingen. The 1910 mijlpaal of centralised oversight, the 1911 establishment of the Bureau van Financieele aangelegenheden, the 1912 creation of fifteen new onderafdeelingskassen in Atjeh, and the 1914 codification of the landschapskassen principle by the Zelfbestuurs-ordonnantie together mark the financial consolidation of the new colonial order. Kreemer’s account, in turn, supplies the technical anatomy of the eighteen Atjèh kassen — the Beheersreglement, the sources of income (wasé, pantjang alas, ha balè), the restitutie-post arrangement, and the Zelfbestuursregelen 1919 — that allows the financial machinery of the Atjèhsche consolidation to be studied in detail.
Account from Atjèh by J. Kreemer (Deel II)
Kreemer provides the following detailed account of the landschapskassen in Atjèh specifically.
All 18 landschapskassen in Atjèh were created on 1 January 1912 by Gouverneurs Bt. 14 October 1911 N°. 257/P.Z., except Peureula’ (1908), Idi (1909), and Tëmiang (1907).
Principle: The Zelfbestuurder (self-governing ruler) is the first servant of his landschap, paid a fixed monthly salary, with up to 3/10 share from enterprises allowed. The landschapskas was administered by an “administrateur” placed in Koeta Radja, assisted by a boekhouder and schrijverspersoneel.
The Beheersreglement of 5 October 1911 (Bt. N°. 229/P.Z.) governed the administration of landschapskassen, based on the “Leidraad” in Bb. 6672.
The 18 kassen comprised: 3 landschapskassen (proper); 3 onderafdeelingskassen-landschappen; 11 onderafdeelingskassen; 1 afdeelingskas (the Alaslanden’s afdeelingskas, not a landschapskas).
The Zelfbestuursregelen 1919 (Stbl. 1919 N°. 822) further regulated the landschapskassen: Article 1 stated that landschap territory excludes sea area; Articles 21–22 required landschapskas budgets to be set annually; Article 30 governed mining cijns/vast recht allocation.
The restitutie-post: The Government charged a restitutie-post to the landschapskassen for expenses made on their behalf. Total ƒ566,864 was due; reduced to ƒ135,000/year (24%) for 1919, 1920, 1921 (Gouvernements Bt. 28 February 1920 N°. 51) given the gewest’s special condition.
Sources of income: Wasé oelèëbalang (mostly absorbed into kas salaries); Pantjang alas (10% tax on forest products); Hasil pantjang (fishery tax in Tëmiang); mining concession cijnsen (especially Peureula’ petroleum); Ha balè (court fees) and ha praé (estate-fees); bird-nest cave leases.
See Also
- Zelfbesturen
- Zelfbestuurs-ordonnantie
- Zelfbestuursregelen 1919
- Korte Verklaring
- Bureau van Financieele aangelegenheden
- Civiele lijst
- Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden
- Pacificatie van Atjeh
- Buitenbezittingen
- Departement van Binnenlandsch Bestuur
- Gouverneur Swart
- Wasé oelèëbalang
- Pantjang alas
- Ha balè
- Peureula’
- Idi
- Tëmiang
- 1904
- 1907
- 1908
- 1909
- 1910
- 1911
- 1912
- 1913
- 1914
- 1919
- 1920
- 1921
Account from Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu
Subsidized the inheemsch internaat in Koetaradja (1920) and Langsa (1931).
Source: J. Jongejans, Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu (Baarn: Hollandia Drukkerij N.V., c. 1938), pp. 314.
Sources
De Buitenbezittingen 1904 tot 1914, Deel I, bewerkt door het Encyclopaedisch Bureau, Mededeelingen van het Bureau voor de Bestuurszaken der Buitenbezittingen, Aflevering X (Weltevreden: Landsdrukkerij, 1917), pp. 7–17 (sections “Bestuurs-organisatie” and “De Landschapskassen”).
Atjèh. Algemeen samenvattend overzicht van land en volk van Atjèh en onderhoorigheden, door J. Kreemer, Archivaris van het Atjèh Instituut. Tweede Deel. Leiden: N.V. Boekhandel en Drukkerij voorheen E.J. Brill, 1923. Identifier: Delpher MMKB02B:000001798; PPN 395084288. Koninklijke Bibliotheek.
Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu, by J. Jongejans, Oud-Resident van het Gewest Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden, with a foreword by Dr. H. Colijn (Baarn: Hollandia Drukkerij N.V., c. 1938), pp. 314.