Page 966 : JAY — JEFFERSON CITY
streams. A few large bays, protected by islands, furnish a safe harbor for vessels. From end to end of the island runs the mountain chain of Gunug Kendang, which rises about 12,000 feet. There are 43 volcanoes, of which several are still active.
Climate and Drainage. With the exception of some marshy districts on the north coast, the climate is healthy and pleasant. The heat is moderated by sea-breezes, which constantly blow across the island. Along the highlands of the interior the air is not only breezy, but often cold. The rivers are generally small, but become torrents when swollen by the rains; only a few are navigable.
Resources. The chief wealth consists in luxuriant vegetation and richness of soil. Java’s producing quality and fertility are limited only by the scarcity of laborers; and in consequence of this fact much of the best land remains untilled. The chief products are rice, sugar, coffee, indigo, tobacco and tea. Animals are not numerous. A few tigers are found, besides rhinoceros, deer and wild swine. There are a few birds, which are noted for their beautiful plumage, but there are hardly any which sing. Though in ancient times Java was called “the land of gold,” very little of the precious metal is now found. Silver also is scarce, and there are no other metals.
Commerce and History. Java’s trade is mainly with Holland, the Straits Settlements and Great Britain. It has 700 miles of railroad, and is joined by cable to Europe and Australia. There were Hindu colonies in Java in 412 A. D. Mohammedanism was brought to the island in the 15th century. European merchants gained a footing in the 16th century, and the Dutch rule began in 1610. The English held Java from 1811 to 1817. In 1825 an insurrection began which was not put down till 1830. The population is 38,000,000, the bulk of which is native. The chief towns are Batavia (population 138,551); Samarang (population 96,600); and Soerabaya (population 150,198). There are 563,000 Chinese, 29,000 Arabs and 80,910 Europeans. The natives are of the Malay race in three divisions: the Madurese, the Sudanese and the Javanese proper. Most of the natives are Mohammedans, though there are 12,000 native Christians. See Wallace’s Malay Archipelago and Sir Thomas Raffle’s History of Java.
Jay, any one of a group of birds belonging to one division of the crow family. Jays are birds of moderate size with short, rounded wings and long, rounded tails, and are common in Europe, Asia, and North America. The blue jay of eastern North America remains throughout the year and is widely known. It is blue with black bars on the wings and tail, which are also tipped with white. Underneath it is whitish with a black collar across the chest. Its harsh cry of jay! jay! is varied with other notes. It imitates the sounds of several other birds, especially the hawks. It keeps quiet and retired while nesting, but is abundant in the autumn, picking up acorns and chestnuts. The jays as a group feed on seeds, acorns, eggs and young birds The Florida jay and California jay are mainly blue. The Canada jay is slaty or grayish. The common jay of Europe is crested, as are also the blue jay, the Mexican jay and others.
Jay, John, an American statesman and jurist and first chief-justice of the supreme court, was born at New York, Dec. 12, 1745. He graduated at King’s College, now Columbia University, and became a lawyer. He was a member of the Continental Congress of 1774–75. As one of a committee he prepared an address to the people of British America and another to the people of Great Britain, which gave him a wide reputation. Jay took a leading part in the debates of Congress and in the secret negotiations with France before the Declaration of Independence. He left Congress to sit in the convention of New York, and drew up the constitution of that state, He was sent in 1779 as minister to Spain, one object being to secure a loan. Before he had a chance to do anything, in the face of the coldest reception by the Spanish court, congress drew on him for $500,000. Rather than let the credit of the country be damaged, he accepted the bills at his own risk. He took part with Franklin and Adams in negotiating the treaty of peace at Paris in 1783; then, going back to America, became secretary for foreign affairs till the adoption of the constitution in 1789. The famous Federalist, written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay, had the greatest influence in bringing about this adoption. President Washington offered Jay a choice of the offices in his gift, and Jay preferred to become chief-justice. In 1794 he concluded a treaty with Great Britain that is known as Jay’s treaty. The treaty provided for the payment of British debts and American claims arising out of the Revolutionary War, for the restriction of American trade in the West Indies and for neutrality at sea. It also contained provisions for the surrender to the United States of the northwestern military posts and for denning the eastern boundary between the United States and British America. From 1795 to 1801 he was governor of New York, and -refused to be again made chief-justice. Jay was much interested in religious wrork. His favorite books were the Bible and Cicero. He died on May 17, 1829. See his Life, by William Jay, his son.
Jeff′erson City, capital of Missouri and the county-seat in Cole County, on the
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