The Mijnwet — the Mining Law — of 1899 is the law introduced by Cremer (liberal minister of Colonies 1899-1904) governing the granting of mining concessions in the Nederlandsch-Indische archipelago, including the future Atjeh oilfields. The law set the cijns (royalty) on mineral extraction at 2 % of gross yield — raised to 4 % by the committee of rapporteurs — and was amended in 1910 by the insertion of Article 5a to bring Atjeh oil contracts within legislative purview.
The legislative process
Cremer’s Mijnwet was introduced in the late 1890s against the background of the 1882 suppletoire overeenkomst — supplementary agreement — between the Billiton Maatschappij and governor-general s’Jacob extending the Billiton tin concession for 35 years without public competition, in violation of the Nederlandsch-Indisch Mijnreglement of 1850 as amended in 1873. The 2 % royalty Cremer proposed was, Vermeulen notes, “aanzienlijk minder dan in 1892 in het contract met de Billiton Maatschappij was bedongen” — considerably less than had been stipulated in the 1892 contract with the Billiton Maatschappij.
The cijns debate
An “uitvoerige en enigszins verwarde discussie” — extensive and somewhat confused debate — developed over whether, economically, the cijns should be levied on net rather than gross yield. Cremer stood his ground, and the Tweede Kamer — “die eigenlijk wat verlegen was met haar beslissing” — rather at a loss with its decision — followed him. The committee of rapporteurs, however, raised the percentage from 2 to 4.
The votes
The bill passed the Tweede Kamer 64 to 9. The dissenters included Mackay, Pijnacker Hordijk and Lohman. The Eerste Kamer vote was closer: 26 to 18, with most dissenters following Van Kol’s view that “over de rechten van de inheemse bezitters van de bovengrond wat al te licht was heengelopen” — the rights of the indigenous owners of the top-soil had been too lightly passed over. The a.r. former minister Godin de Beaufort even joined Van Kol in his preference for state exploitation.
The Perlak-Koninklijke disclosure
Soon after the Mijnwet was enacted, Van Heutsz — then governor of Atjeh — reported that the Perlak Petroleum Maatschappij was letting the Koninklijke work its Atjeh fields for ƒ 2.50 per ton of petroleum extracted. Van Heutsz expressed the opinion that such contracts could equally well be concluded by the Indies government itself, with greater benefit to the treasury.
The Article 5a amendment of 1910
To remove doubts about the legal validity of such government-exploitation contracts, the Mijnwet was amended in 1910 by the insertion of a new Article 5a. Henceforth the contracts the government concluded for mineral exploitation would require the approval of the wetgever — legislature — just as ordinary concession contracts already required the approval of the Staten-Generaal.
Significance for Atjeh
The Mijnwet of 1899 and its 1910 amendment are the legislative frame within which the Atjeh north-coast oilfields — at Pedirse, Peureula, Pasé and elsewhere — would be exploited. The Koninklijke/Perlak disclosure of 1905-1910 is the proximate Atjeh-related episode in the Mijnwet history; the post-1910 Atjeh oil contracts — operated by the N.L.A.M., N.K.P.M. and N.P.P.M. — fall under the Article 5a regime.
See Also
- J. T. Cremer
- J. B. van Heutsz
- Mijnwet art. 5a (1910)
- Billiton Maatschappij
- Koninklijke Petroleum Maatschappij
- Perlak Petroleum Maatschappij
- s’Jacob
- H. B. van Kol
- Lohman (De Savornin Lohman)
- Mackay
- Pijnacker Hordijk
- Godin de Beaufort
- Pedirse
- Atjeh oil complex
- 1850
- 1873
- 1882
- 1892
- 1899
- 1910
Source
Schets eener parlementaire geschiedenis van Nederland van 1849 tot 1901, by Mr W. J. van Welderen baron Rengers, 4th rev. ed., Vol. IV: Oost-Indië 1891-1918 by Dr W. H. Vermeulen (‘s-Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoff, 1955), pp. 303-306.