The Memorie van Antwoord on the Indies budget for 1898 (Memorandum of Reply) was the written answer of the Minister of Colonies J. T. Cremer to the Voorloopig Verslag (Provisional Report) of the Tweede Kamer on the estimates of Nederlandsch-Indië for 1898. Presented in the autumn of 1897, it was the government’s authoritative statement of policy on the Atjeh-oorlog, and was quoted repeatedly by every speaker in the Atjeh debate of 16–17 November 1897.
The financial passage
The most frequently cited sentence of the Memorie was the admission of the war’s fiscal dominance: “Zoolang de Atjeh-oorlog voortgaat de groote offers te eischen, die hij nu vergt en in het laatste 24-tal jaren gevergd heeft, zal ten opzichte van de opheffing van persoonlijke lasten waarschijnlijk niet zoover kunnen worden gegaan als wel wenschelijk ware; zullen vele nuttige uitgaven achterwege moeten blijven; zal op elk gebied groote zuinigheid moeten worden betracht” — So long as the Atjeh war continues to demand the great sacrifices which it now exacts and has exacted in the last twenty-four years, it will probably not be possible to go so far in the abolition of personal burdens as would be desirable. — so long as the Atjeh war continues to demand the great sacrifices it now exacts and has exacted these last twenty-four years, the abolition of personal burdens will probably not be carried as far as would be desirable; many useful expenditures will have to be omitted; great thrift will have to be practised in every field. The Memorie added that for the sake of the Indies finances the government must above all strive for the ending of the state of war in Atjeh, “die reeds zoo lang slepende is” (which has already dragged on so long).
Pijnacker Hordijk opened his speech with this passage; Van der Zwaag read it out to argue that “de Atjeh-oorlog domineert alles” (the Atjeh war dominates everything); and Van Kol returned to it in his reply to prove that no reform of Javanese welfare, education, medical service, justice, railways or irrigation could proceed while the war lasted.
The military-political passage
On page 5 the Memorie stated the government’s conviction “van de doeltreffendheid van het stelsel, dat thans in Groot-Atjeh toepassing vindt” (of the efficacy of the system now applied in Greater Atjeh), and that from a consistent perseverance in the direction now taken it expected the ending of the state of war in that territory. Answering the Voorloopig Verslag’s pointed question as to what political and military objective might be regarded as attained, the Memorie replied that “de rust en de steeds verbeterende toestand in de streken, waar de vijandelijke benden het niet meer wagen door te dringen” (the quiet and the steadily improving condition in the districts where the hostile bands no longer dare to penetrate) gave a conclusive answer, referring the reader to page 8 of the latest Koloniaal Verslag.
As to the sacrifices still required to reach pacificatie, the Memorie answered that these depended on the time still needed to make clear to the chiefs of the resistance that further opposition was useless, “omdat Nederland ditmaal onwrikbaar besloten is om aan den Atjeh-oorlog een einde te maken en het vruchteloos zou zijn opnieuw op verandering van inzichten te hopen” (because the Netherlands is this time immovably resolved to make an end of the Atjeh war and it would be vain to hope again for a change of views).
Bahlmann declared this answer unsatisfactory, noting that the Verslag had suggested the information be supplied in a note reserved for members’ inspection, and that of such a note not a word had been said.
Other provisions cited in debate
The Memorie further stated that a reinforcement of two thousand Europeans for 1898 was considered sufficient by the Indies government; that the service in the new kampementen was not too heavy for the men’s strength; that everything possible was being done to secure proper replacement, equipment and care of the troops; and that the minister doubted whether a still more vigorous action than that now taken in Atjeh would lead to a speedier end of the struggle. It also carried the request for three recherchevaartuigen (search vessels) to suppress the import of war contraband, a number that Kuyper and Van Vlijmen both thought too small.
See Also
- Voorloopig Verslag on the Indies budget for 1898
- Indische begrooting voor 1898
- J. T. Cremer
- Koloniaal Verslag
- Atjeh debate in the Tweede Kamer (16-17 November 1897)
- Recherchevaartuigen
- Groot-Atjeh
- 1897
- 1898
Source
Atjeh in de Tweede Kamer: Debatten bij de behandeling der begrooting van Nederlandsch-Indië voor 1898, uitgave van de Sociaaldemokratische Arbeiderspartij in Nederland (Amsterdam: J. A. Fortuijn, 1897). Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen, Br P95-178, pp. 13–14, 16, 18, 25–26, 29, 47–48.
Acknowledgement of sources. The material in this article derives from Atjeh in de Tweede Kamer: Debatten bij de behandeling der begrooting van Nederlandsch-Indië voor 1898 (Amsterdam: J. A. Fortuijn, 1897). Dutch passages are quoted in the original with an English rendering.