A remarkable news item was published in this Dutch East Indies newspaper that day. Apparently used the journalist letters written by the Dutchman Busken Huet in October 1869 from Batavia [Djakarta] to another Dutchman named Van Deventer as a statement for his item that the Netherlands had a duty to govern the Dutch East Indies in a proper manner and to protect against foreign enemies. In his opinion were the potential enemies at that moment Japan and Australia and especially Australia. He thought that the Australians were infected by the British imperialism and he was afraid that Australia which was just connected by a thin dread with England would develop as growing important country with imperialistic behaviour. So it was became important for the Netherlands to watch closely the developments in Australia and to prepare herself. Most important was to watch the strong call for a own Australian navy nondependent from England with Australian ships manned with officers and sailors in Australian uniforms under the Australian flag. The fact the British newspapers like the The Spectator and vice-admiral Penrose Fitz Gerard supported this movement increased the possibility that Australia with her own navy would act as a nondependent country. According to him wondered Australians if this expectation was hard or impossible to realize. But he pointed out to Japan where now a strong navy and important shipyards existed were while 20 years earlier there was nothing!(1) To end his story the Netherlands and especially the Dutch East Indies needed a strong navy which could prevent imperialistic behaviour of abroad.
Note
1. This not the whole truth. The Japanese navy was since the sixties of the 19th century slowly but steady progressing and defeated in 1894 the relatively strong Chinese navy and their moment of glory was near in the future. In 1904-1905 Japan defeated with overwhelming success the Russian navy.
