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BANKA (BANCA, BANGKA)

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Originally appearing in Volume V03, Page 320 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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BANKA (BANCA, BANGKA)

BANKA (BANCA, BANGKA) , an See also:

ISLAND (O.E. ieg =isle, +land')

island of the Dutch See also:

East Indies, off the east See also:

COAST (from Lat. costa, a rib, side)

coast of See also:

SUMATRA

Sumatra, from which it is separated by Banka Strait, which is about 9 M. wide at its narrowest point. On the east, the broader, island-studded Gaspar Strait separates Banka from See also:

BILLITON (Dutch Blitoeng)

Billiton. Banka is 138 M. in length; its, extreme breadth is 62 m., and its See also:

AREA

area, including a few small adjacent islands, 44.6o ' See A. H. See also:

NASSAU

Nassau+See also:

Kennedy, I.S.M., See also:

BANJO

Banjo-Plectring. 2 For the commercial " See also:

BANK

bank " see See also:

BANKS AND BANKING. sq. m. The See also:

SOIL

soil is generally dry and stony, and the greater See also:

PART

part of the See also:

SURFACE

surface is covered with forests, in which the See also:

LOGWOOD (so called from the form in which it is imported)

logwood See also:

tree especially abounds. The hills, of which Maras in the See also:

north is the highest (2760 ft.), are covered with vegetation to their summits. Geologically, Banka resembles the See also:

MALAY

Malay See also:

Peninsula, its formations being mainly See also:

GRANITE (adapted from the Ital. granite, grained; Lat. granum, grain)

granite, See also:

SILURIAN

Silurian and Devonian See also:

SLATE (properly CLAY SLATE; in M. Eng. slat or sclat, from O. Fr. esclat, a small piece of wood used as a tile; esclater, to break into pieces, whence modern Fr. eclat, the root being seen also in Ger. schleissen, to split)

slate, frequently covered with See also:

SANDSTONE

sandstone, See also:

LATERITE (Lat. later, a brick)

laterite (red ironstone See also:

clay) of small fertility, and See also:

ALLUVIUM

alluvium. The granite extends from W.N.W. to S.S.E., forming the See also:

SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short, irregular See also:

hill-chains. As these See also:

lie generally near the east coast, it follows that the See also:

rivers of the See also:

west coast are the longer.

There are no volcanoes. The See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief rivers Gering, Kotta and Waringin) are navigable for some 19 M. from their mouths and are used for the transport of See also:

TIN (Lat.- stannum, whence the chemical symbol " Sn "; atomic weight =117.6, 0=16)

tin. Banka is principally noted for the See also:

PRODUCTION (Lat. productionem, from producere, to pro-duce)

production of this See also:

MINERAL

mineral, which was discovered here in 1710 and is a See also:

government monopoly_ It occurs in lodes and as stream-tin, and is worked by See also:

CHINESE, JAPANESE AND

Chinese in large See also:

numbers who inhabit villages of their owns. The island is divided into nine See also:

MINING

mining districts, including about 120 mines, under government See also:

CONTROL (Fr. contrdle, older form contre rolle, from Med. Lat. contra-rotulus, a counter roll or copy of a document used to check the original; there is no instance in English of the use of " control " in this, its literal, meaning)

control, with 12,000 workmen, which have produced as much as 12,000 tons of tin in a See also:

YEAR

year. From May to See also:

AUGUST (originally Sextilis)

August, the See also:

period of.the See also:

south-east See also:

monsoon, the See also:

CLIMATE

climate of Banka is dry and hot; but the mean See also:

ANNUAL

annual rainfall reaches 120 in. annually, See also:

RAIN (O.E. regn; the word is common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Regen, Swed. and Dan. regn; it has been connected with Lat. rigare, to wet, Gr. 13pixeav)

rain occurring on an See also:

AVERAGE

average on 168 days each year. The wet, cool See also:

SEASON (0. Fr. seson, seison, mod. saison, Lat. satio, sowing time, the spring, from serere, to sow; in Late Lat. the word is found with its present meaning, the spring being considered as particularly the season of the year)

season proper is from See also:

NOVEMBER (Lat. novem, nine)

November to See also:

FEBRUARY

February, accompanying the north-west monsoon. The heavy, rainfall is of See also:

GREAT

great importance to the tin-streaming See also:

INDUSTRY (Lat. industria, from indu-, a form of the pre, position in, and either stare, to stand, or struere, to pile up)

industry. The See also:

TOTAL

total See also:

POPULATION (Lat. populus, people; populare, to populate)

population of the island (1905) is 115,189, including 40,000 Chinese and 70,000 natives. These last are mainly composed of immigrant Malayan peoples. The See also:

ABORIGINES

aborigines are represented by a few See also:

RUDE, FRANCOIS (1784–1855)

rude hill-tribes, who resemble in physique the See also:

BATTAS (Dutch Battaks)

Battas of Sumatra. See also:

Rice, See also:

pepper, See also:

gambier, See also:

COFFEE (Fr: cafe, Ger. Kaffee)

coffee and palms are cultivated, and fishing and the collection of See also:

FOREST

forest produce are further See also:

INDUSTRIES

industries, but none of these is of importance. The chief See also:

TOWN

town is Muntok at the north end of Banka Strait.

See H. Zondervan, Banka en Zijne bewoners (See also:

Amsterdam, 1895), with bibliography; T. Posewitz, See also:

Die Zinn-inseln See also:

IM(K2+a2+h2—2 ah cos 0)

im Indischen Ocean. For See also:

GEOLOGY (from Gr. yp7, the earth, and Abyor, science)

geology and the tin-mines, Jaarboek vor het Mijnwezen in Ned. Ind. (Amsterdam, 1877-1884). BANKER-MARKS, or MASONS' MARKS. The " banker " is the See also:

stone See also:

bed or See also:

BENCH (an O.E. and Eng. form of a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Bank, Dan. baenk and the Eng. doublet " bank ")

bench upon which a See also:

mason See also:

WORKS

works, hence the See also:

TERM

term (so well known to the See also:

trade) of banker-marks, which, as Mr Whitley has pointed out, is more appropriate than that of masons' marks, since the setters, who are usually selected from amongst the best workmen, make no marks upon the stone (See also:

LEAMINGTON

Leamington See also:

Spa See also:

Courier, 1th of August 1888). These must not be confused with other marks sometimes cut on stones as directions to the setters, and so used and employed to the See also:

PRESENT

present See also:

time. Banker-marks are met with throughout the civilized See also:

WORLD

world, and in fact are to be found on all old buildings of consequence, ecclesiastical or otherwise. See also:

PROFESSOR (the Latin noun formed from the verb profiteri, to declare publicly, to acknowledge, profess)

Professor T. See also:

HAYTER, SIR GEORGE (1792–1871)

Hayter See also:

Lewis well observed, " Go where you will, in See also:

England, See also:

France, See also:

SICILY (Ital. Sicilia)

Sicily, See also:

PALESTINE

Palestine, you will find all through the buildings of the 12th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century the same carefully worked See also:

MASONRY

masonry, the same masons' See also:

TOOL (0. Eng. tdl, generally referred to a root seen in the Goth. taujan, to make, or in the English word " taw," to work or dress leather)

tool-marks, the same way of making them." Such masons' marks are to be traced graved on all the chief stones of what is known as See also:

Norman See also:

WORK

work.

Norman tooling, so far as Hayter Lewis could discover, came from the north. and west of See also:

EUROPE

Europe. Since then we get marks made with a " toothed See also:

CHISEL (from the O. Fr. cisel, modern ciseau, Late Lat. cisellum, a cutting tool, from caedere, to cut)

chisel," but however or wherever chiselled the intention was the same. The See also:

SYSTEM

system followed provided an infallible means of connecting the individual craftsman with his work, an See also:

EVIDENCE (Lat. evidentia, evideri, to appear clearly)

evidence of identity that could not be gainsaid. Naturally, because of their simplicity, certain designs were followed much more frequently than others, while occasionally some of a very elaborate See also:

CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character are to be detected. Undoubtedly not a few were suggestive of the See also:

INITIALS (Lat. initialis, of or belonging to a beginning, initium)

initials of the names of the masons, and others were reminiscent of certain animals, See also:

OBJECTS

objects, &c., but no See also:

PROOF (in M. Eng. preove, proeve, preve, &°c., from O. Fr . prueve, proeve, &c., mod. preuve, Late. Lat. proba, probate, to prove, to test the goodness of anything, probus, good)

proof has yet been offered of their being alphabetical in See also:

DESIGN (Fr. desiin, drawing; Lat. designare, to mark out)

design, or arranged so as to distinguish. the members of. different lodges or companies; the journeymen selected any design they cared to adopt. Singular to See also:

state, marks were chosen by gentlemen and others X who joined the operative masonic lodges of the 16th and later centuries, and they were as carefully registered in the See also:

mark-books as those selected by operatives for trade purposes. The same marks are to be seen in the registers used by fathers and sons, and not always with a slight difference, as some have stated, to secure See also:

IDENTIFICATION (Lat. idem, the same)

identification. What should be noted also is that other trades used precisely similar marks and for a like See also:

OBJECT

object, so that the See also:

IDEA (Gr. Ibia, connected with i&eiv, to see; cf. Lat. species from specere, to look at)

idea of their having a mystical meaning, or being utilized for any other object but the one named, seems groundless. The See also:

LATE

late See also:

George See also:

Godwin, F.R.S., F.S.A., &c., See also:

drew See also:

ATTENTION (from Lat. ad-tendo, await, expect; the condition of being " stretched " or " tense ")

attention to the subject of " masons' marks in various countries" in a communication to the Society of Antiquaries in 1841, and also at a little later period (vide Archaeologia, vol. See also:

xxx. p. 113). To him is the See also:

CREDIT (Lat. credere, to believe)

credit due of first See also:

DRAWING

drawing attention to " these signs " in England. It is noteworthy how little such marks are noticed, even in buildings which are visited by archaeologists quite frequently, until a few are pointed out, and then they meet the See also:

eye to an astonishing number.

In the Sessional Papers, 1868-1869, of the Royal See also:

INSTITUTE (from Lat. instituere, to establish or set up)

Institute of See also:

BRITISH

British Architects, No. 9, may be found numerous samples of the marks from various parts of Europe in See also:

ILLUSTRATION

illustration of the See also:

paper by Godwin. No better See also:

plan has been followed in See also:

MODERN

modern times to connect the work done with the worker in stone, and it is probable that a second mark, observable on some blocks, may serve to indicate the overseer. There are even three or more sometimes. The same system was adopted at the See also:

BUILDING

building of See also:

Truro See also:

CATHEDRAL

cathedral, only the marks were inserted on the bed of each stone instead of at the See also:

side as usual, the result being that they ceased to be seen after being placed in situ. Mr Hughan obtained copies of these marks from Mr See also:

James Bubb, the first clerk of the works, and from his successor, Mr See also:

Robert Swain, and had them published in the Freemason, 13th of November 1886. He re-marked at the same time that " many of these designs will be See also:

FAMILIAR (through the Fr. familier, from Lat. familiaris, of or belonging to the familia, family)

familiar to students of See also:

ancient ecclesiastical and other buildings at See also:

home and abroad." Some are interesting specimens. A See also:

HISTORICAL

Historical See also:

TREATISE

Treatise on See also:

Early Builders' Marks (See also:

PHILADELPHIA

Philadelphia, U.S.A., 1885) by Mr G. F. Fort, and Masons' Marks from Buildings in t he Counties of See also:

Lancaster and See also:

Chester, ,with Notesothe See also:

General See also:

HISTORY

History of Masons' Marks (Historic Society of See also:

LANCASHIRE

Lancashire and See also:

CHESHIRE

Cheshire, vol. vii. N.S.), by W. Harry See also:

RYLANDS, JOHN (18o1-1888)

Rylands, F.S.A., may be consulted with See also:

ADVANTAGE

advantage.

The latter declares that " the Runic theory is as unlikely and as untenable as that which places the origin of these marks in the absurd alphabets given by See also:

Cornelius See also:

Agrippa, who died early in the 16th century." See also:

Victor See also:

DIDRON, ADOLPHE NAPOLEON (1806-1867)

Didron copied some 4000 during a tour in France in 1836 and pointed out their value (See also:

Ann. See also:

Arch., 1845). (\V. J.

End of Article: BANKA (BANCA, BANGKA)

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